JOHN 15:1-111I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 2Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. 3Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 4Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 6If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. 7If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. 8Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. 9As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. 10If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. 11These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. (John 15:1‑11)
Verse 1. "I am the true Vine, and My Father is the Husbandman.”
WE first notice the time when this parable was spoken, and the place. It was in the upper chamber at Jerusalem, where the Lord Jesus had partaken of the Passover with His disciples, at the commencement of the fourteenth day of the month Abib, which began at sundown of the thirteenth; as an immediate foreshadowing of the fact that, on the same day and before the next sunset, He Himself, as the substance of the type, should become the true Paschal Lamb—"Christ our Passover, sacrificed for us." It was also after He had instituted the Lord's Supper, the standing memorial during the present dispensation of His sufferings and death.
John 14 had been spoken whilst sitting at the table, after he had washed His disciples' feet, and taken His garments again. Now He calls upon His disciples to "arise" and follow Him, as He went forth to give the world this proof of His love and obedience to His heavenly Father.
But ere He closed this season of communion with His disciples by the wondrous prayer of John 17., He gave them this parable of the Vine.
These five chapters of John's Gospel, from the thirteenth to the seventeenth, constitute a peculiarly sacred portion of Holy Scripture.
From the commencement, the Lord Jesus realized "that His hour was come that He should depart out of this world unto the Father," "that He was come from God, and went to God"; so that IN SPIRIT He takes His place beyond death, and enters as the High Priest of our profession in the value of His atoning blood within the veil.
He had taught His disciples that except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone, so that union with Himself must be in the power of the Holy Ghost in resurrection life, and the abiding in Himself which is spoken of in this chapter must be by faith in a risen Christ.
In the former dispensation under the first covenant, Israel nationally was the vine, and Jehovah, the triune God, was the Husbandman. (See Psalm 80:88Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it. (Psalm 80:8) to end.)
In Israel the flesh of man was put to the test to see if, under the most favorable circumstances, it was capable of bringing forth fruit unto God; but here, as in every other case, man under responsibility failed. (See Isaiah 5:1-71Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: 2And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. 3And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. 4What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? 5And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: 6And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. 7For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry. (Isaiah 5:1‑7).) Under the new covenant, Messiah, as Son of God, is the "ROOT," and as Son of David He is the OFFSHOOT, "the BRANCH," the "SON OF MAN," whom Jehovah made strong for Himself (Psalm 80:15-1715And the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted, and the branch that thou madest strong for thyself. 16It is burned with fire, it is cut down: they perish at the rebuke of thy countenance. 17Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself. (Psalm 80:15‑17)), on the ground of whose atoning work and prevalent intercession Jehovah will plant Israel again with His whole heart and with His whole soul (Jeremiah 32:4141Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul. (Jeremiah 32:41)), and then "Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit" (Isaiah 27:66He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit. (Isaiah 27:6)).
During the present, or Church dispensation, Jesus Himself takes His place as the true Vine, and His Father is the Husbandman; not Jehovah, as of old, the Sovereign dealing with the nation, but God the Father dealing with those who, through faith in Christ, have become His children (John 1:1212But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: (John 1:12)).
There are three beautiful Scriptural figures in some points similar, in others different—the lampstand in the Tabernacle, the shaft in the center representing Christ as the source, center, and subject of testimony, in the power of the Holy Ghost, associated with the six branches in LIGHT-GIVING before God.
Secondly, The head and the members, Christ and those who partake of His Spirit manifesting the LIFE of God before men.
Third, The vine and the branches, emblematic of Christ and His disciples in FRUIT-BEARING to God.
It is with this last we have now to do.
Verses 2-11. "Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit He taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can ye, except ye abide in Me. I am the Vine, ye are the branches; he that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit, for without Me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be My disciples. As the Father path loved Me, so have I loved you: continue ye in My love. If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love, even as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love. These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”
In order to fruit-bearing, two things are essential—First, Living union by the indwelling of the Holy Ghost. Second, Continuous abiding by faith.
It is not enough that a branch should be to all appearance a part of, and in, the vine, except the sap of the vine flows into the branch; so, "If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His" (Rom. 8:99But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. (Romans 8:9)), however apparently consistent in character and fair in profession. The scion may be grafted into the stock, but unless the sap of the stock flows into the scion there will be no fruit-bearing from the graft.
This twofold, living union is expressed by Christ thus: "He that abideth IN ME, and I IN HIM, the same bringeth forth much fruit" (John 15:4, 54Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. (John 15:4‑5)).
Secondly, Continuous abiding. It is on this point the teaching of the Lord Jesus in this chapter is so emphatic and important. It is essential for LIFE that the living sap of the vine should flow into the branch, and this is by the indwelling Spirit of God; but in order to FRUIT-BEARING there must be a continuous supply of the living sap, and this is received by faith.
In fruit-bearing there is development—first the blossom, then the fruit, then the maturity of the fruit. For this a continuous, an ever-fresh, supply of sap is needed.
Second, The obedience of LOVE:
Third, The COMMUNION of the Holy Ghost: "In that day [when the Comforter has come] ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in ME, and I in you" (John 14:2020At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. (John 14:20)).
For life, growth, and fruitfulness three things are essential: First, Living and walking in the presence of God, in the light and sunshine of His smile and favor.
Second, In living fellowship with the Person of Christ as branches of the Vine.
Third, The power of the Holy Ghost, as the shower that falls, the dew that distils, and the rivulets of living water that nourish and refresh the roots.
The PRESENCE of God, the PERSON of Christ, and the POWER of the Holy Ghost.