We have the striking analogy of our Lord likening Himself to "the true vine" (John 15:1-81I 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. (John 15:1‑8)), in contrast to Israel, likened to a vine planted by Jehovah, yet producing no fruit for God. Read Psa. 80:8-19,8Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it. 9Thou preparedst room before it, and didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land. 10The hills were covered with the shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars. 11She sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river. 12Why hast thou then broken down her hedges, so that all they which pass by the way do pluck her? 13The boar out of the wood doth waste it, and the wild beast of the field doth devour it. 14Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine; 15And 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. 18So will not we go back from thee: quicken us, and we will call upon thy name. 19Turn us again, O Lord God of hosts, cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved. (Psalm 80:8‑19) and you will see how the vine of responsibility (Israel) failed entirely, and how in verse 17 of that Psalm all hope for the future is centered in Christ, "Let Thy hand be upon the Man of Thy right hand, upon the Son of Man whom Thou madest strong for Thyself."
We find the fulfillment of this prophetic utterance in John 15:1-8,1I 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. (John 15:1‑8) where the Lord presents Himself as " the true vine," and His disciples as the branches. The whole analogy is full of comfort, and yet there seems the tendency on the part of many to extract doubts and fears, where God puts none. Indeed, our Lord tells us, "These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that YOUR JOY MAY BE FULL." (John 15:1111These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. (John 15:11)). If we extract doubts and fears from this passage of Scripture, it is because we have misunderstood and misapplied it.
In the matter of Israel as the unfruitful vine, the branches had to furnish the fruit to the vine, and not the vine to the branches, for Israel was put under the law, which demanded a response, but furnished no power to satisfy its claims. In the case of the true vine, it is the blessed Lord, who furnishes the sap and strength and vitality that are needed. Not only so, but the Father is the Husbandman, or Cultivator. This brings out the teaching that the "purging" of the branches, in other words the hand of the Father in wise and loving discipline, is to the end that the branch, the believer, might bear more fruit. We read,
"Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be My disciples." (John 15:88Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. (John 15:8)). What then is the secret of fruit-bearing? It flows from the branch abiding in the vine, from the believer abiding in Christ.
To abide in Christ is the mark of the true believer. To be a professed branch, yet to have no vital connection with the vine, to be lifeless, that is without life, is the analogy of the mere professor. The worthless branch is cast forth, withered and burned. The mere professor, one who makes an empty profession of abiding in Christ, will meet his doom when the books are opened at the Great White Throne, and, in the unutterably solemn words of Scripture, the lake of fire for eternity will be his doom. Judas Iscariot among the apostles, may well stand as an example and a warning of the branch that did not abide in the vine, which never had this vital connection.
May each reader only extract joy out of our Lord's words, and not doubts and fears that a true believer may fall away and be lost forever. To have all our fullness in Christ, a fullness which can never fail us, to have the Father's hand " purging " the branches, in wise and loving discipline in cutting out the dead wood, retarding growth and fruitfulness, thus helping us to a deep reality, to abide in Christ, should indeed fill the true believer with fullness of joy.