Jesus the true vine.
As an antecedent, once the Lord Jesus finished his teaching to the eleven, because Judas was not there, they left the place where what we call the Last Supper took place. It was night. One can not know with precision if it was on the road or in some other place, that the Lord Jesus continued to teach his eleven apostles. John records what is known as the parable of the vine and the branches. A parable is a real or fictional story, well known to listeners, from which a spiritual lesson is drawn. John 15: 1 says: I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
This is the seventh time that the Lord Jesus uses the expression, I am, to refer to some aspect of his person. These two words constitute the essence of what the name Jehovah means. In this case, the Lord Jesus is the true vine. This is the reason why the Lord Jesus presents himself as the true vine, that is, the perfect fulfillment of what the husbandman, the heavenly Father, expected of his vine.
Now notice brothers of steemchurch what is written in John 15: 2. Every branch that does not bear fruit in me will take it away, and everyone who bears fruit will cleanse it so that it will bear more fruit. The branches are the branches, so to speak, that together with the vine, produce the grapes, the fruit of the vine. The text shows that there are some branches that despite being attached to the vine, however do not bear fruit. The farmer removes these branches from the vine.
What cleanses a believer is the word of God. The apostles were already cleansed when they received the word of the Lord Jesus and recognized that it is the Christ, the Son of God, the Messiah. At this point, the Lord Jesus in his parable focuses on the branches. Something interesting is that the branches can not produce fruit unless they are attached to the vine. In the same way, believers can not produce fruit unless we are totally united to the vine that is Christ. Notice what John 15: 4 says: "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch can not bear fruit by itself, if it does not remain in the vine, so neither can you, if you do not remain in me. "To remain means to stay in the place where it is at a certain moment. The believer is in Christ; This is where you are.
In his daily life the believer should remain in intimate communion with the Lord. The branch that remains in the vine receives the rich sage of the vine, and this results in producing fruit. In the same way, the believer must remain in Christ investing time in prayer, reading and obeying his word, in communion with other believers. Only then will the believer produce the fruit that God seeks in him. The branch can only bear fruit if it remains on the vine. The only way believers can bear the fruit of a character similar to that of Christ is by living in constant contact with the Lord. Pay attention to what John 15: 5 says: "I am the vine, you are the branches, he who abides in me, and I in him, he bears much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing" The branch has only one and sole purpose
Fruit. It is not good for anything else. It does not work to make furniture or houses. It does not even serve as firewood. The only thing it serves is to bear fruit, as long as it remains on the vine. When a branch does not remain on the vine, it can not bear fruit and consequently it is cut, dried and burned. Notice what John 15: 6 says: "He who does not abide in me shall be cast out as a branch and be dried up, and they shall gather them and cast them into the fire, and they shall burn." This verse has been the subject of much controversy, in interpreting it in the sense that a believer who does not produce fruit can lose his salvation. But it's not like that.
Friends of steemchurch, The Lord Jesus overflowed with the joy that results from remaining in His Father. This is the joy of which he speaks. The Lord Jesus wants that this same joy that he has, is also a reality in which we are his disciples. What produces this joy in which we are his disciples is the permanence in him. Only thus, our joy will be fulfilled. Do you want a life of joy as a believer? Then practice abiding in Christ, in prayer, in his word, in obedience to his word and in service.
All references are from Reina valera 1960
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