Jesus is the true vine, in which the life of believers, as abiding branches, is hid. Abiding in Him, the believer is able to walk in purity of life, with Christ sharing in all the interests of his life, taking all burdens to Him, and drawing all wisdom and strength from Him. It is only the abiding life that bears fruit to the glory of the Father.
John 15
1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
2 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.
3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
4 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.
5 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.
6 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.
7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
10 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.
11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
17 These things I command you, that ye love one another.
18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep your’s also.
21 But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me.
22 If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin.
23 He that hateth me hateth my Father also.
24 If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.
25 But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.
26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
27 And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.
John 15 Intro – J. Vernon McGee
John 15:1 – J. Vernon McGee
John 15:2-4 – J. Vernon McGee
John 15:6-11 – J. Vernon McGee
John 15:3 – J. Vernon McGee
John 15:4 – J. Vernon McGee
John 15:5-6 – J. Vernon McGee
John 15:7-14 – J. Vernon McGee
John 15:15-27 – J. Vernon McGee
John 15:1-9 – The Condition of Fruitfulness
The vine is not able to do its work in the world without its branches; they stretch far from the root, to bear its strength and sweetness to those who stand outside the wall, Genesis 49:22. We need the Lord Jesus, but He also needs us. Without us He cannot bless men as He would. What a sublime thought is here—that Jesus needs something which I can yield Him! Service to God and man is possible only through abiding union in Him. Let us yield ourselves to be pruned by the Word, that we may not need the pruning of awful sorrows. It is said that three out of five of the vine-berries are cut off that the remainder may attain their full size. How many of our own promptings have to be excised in order that our best fruit may be yielded!
We cannot be severed from Christ, our covenant head, when once we are truly united to Him for salvation; but we may cease to abide in Him for the supply of grace and power in ministry. Abide in me, says the vine to the branch. Do not allow the aperture to become choked, and I will cause the sap to pulsate through thee. Abide in me, says the Lord, and I will be in thee strength in thy weakness, love in thy lovelessness, grace and beauty in thy uncomeliness. “From me is thy fruit found,” Hosea 14:8. —Through the Bible Day by Day
John 15:4—Abide in Me, and I in you.
The unity between the Lord and his members is beautifully set forth in this exquisite parable; which was perhaps suggested by the swaying of a vine in the evening air, as they essayed to go from the upper room towards Gethsemane. In certain conservatories the pliant branches are trained along roof or wall for vast distances; yet one life pervades the whole plant, from the rugged root to the furthest twig and leaf and cluster. Thus there is one holy life pervading all who have belonged, or shall belong, to Jesus. They live because He lives. His life is theirs.
We are in Christ by grace; but we need to realize and accentuate the union by meditation and prayer. Waiting more absolutely for his impulses in intercession and action. Being silent for Him to speak Drawing on Him by the constant appeal of faith which becomes as natural as breathing. Looking away to Him for his commendation. Seeking only his verdict on what may have been said and done So closely joined to Him, that He may produce in and through us whatever fruit He will for the refreshment of men and the glory of God.
We are in Christ for ever, so far as our standing is concerned; but we may be “taken away,” so far as our opportunities of ministry are concerned. How many of us have failed to be what He desired, so that He has had to bestow elsewhere the luxury of ministering to Him!
We are in Christ, not because we hold Him, but because He holds us; therefore we must expect the Fathers pruning. Yet do not dread the knife. It is his Word, wielded by a Father’s hand; and if we will yield to the golden pruning-knife of the Word, we shall escape the iron one of sorrow. —Our Daily Homily
John 15:10-16 – “I Have Called You Friends”
We must estimate the Father’s love to Jesus before we can measure His love to us. We are told to love one another with the same love, but enabling power is needed, or we can never fulfill His command. Our love is not like His, unless it is prepared to sacrifice itself even unto death. Not servants, but friends! The first stage is that of the bondservant, who does what he is told, not because he understands, but because he has no option. Friendship involves obedience on our part; and on His part the making known of the deep things of God. Even the Son learned obedience by the things which He suffered. It is by implicit obedience alone that we can pass into the closer intimacy of friendship and ultimately of sonship. There is no limit to what the Father will do for those whom His Son calls “friends.” —Through the Bible Day by Day
John 15:17-27 – Suffering for Jesus’ Sake
We have been appointed for the one purpose of bearing imperishable fruit, but our holy service to the world will never be appreciated. The world has its own god and religion. It hates without cause. The more Christlike we are, the closer we shall be identified with His sufferings. There is no limit to the hatred and persecution which the world will vent on those who have ceased to belong to it because of their identification with the Crucified. But through the pitiless storm, we must be glad; there must be no slackening of our love, which will as certainly conquer hate as tomorrow’s sun the darkness, John 15:26-27. In each Christian century there has been this double witness of the Spirit in the Church. The voice of the Church has testified to the living Christ, not arguing but attesting; and to each word of testimony the Holy Spirit has borne assenting witness. Christian apologetics are of less importance than the witness of obscure but Spirit-led lives. —Through the Bible Day by Day