What is the Vine and Its Spiritual Significance in the Bible

What is the vine? This expression was used by Jesus in the new testament, to give his disciples a word that would mark the history of mankind. For this said Christ and is quoted in the chapter of (John 15: 5) "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing. "

The Lord in this atmosphere of celebration and farewell, let us not forget that all this dialogue takes place during the Passover meal (John 13), reveals to his disciples something as important as the absolute necessity of remaining united to Him. more understandable, take as a reference the vine, whose wine they had tasted during dinner.

What is the vine?

What is the vine: in horticulture, the vine, is a twisted trunk climbing plant with young or tender branches and long, flexible and knotty, sprouting from the plant. It has alternate leaves, petiolate, large and divided into five pointed lobes; throw greenish flowers in bunches that turn into grapes. The fruit of the vine is, then, the grape. This plant is native to Asia, and is grown in all temperate zones.

Biblical meaning of the vine.

In the Old Testament: what is the vine represents the people of Israel (Psalm 80: 8-9), who is loved and protected from the Lord, but who by his pride, stubbornness, idolatry and continued disobedience, became a vine wild that only produced bitter grapes (Isaiah 5).

In the New Testament: the condition of the vine passes from the people of Israel to Jesus. Christ himself says: I am the true vine; Jesus is the true vine because he fulfilled what God had for Israel. The place of Israel as the people of God is now taken by Jesus (the vine, and his disciples the weapons).

It is no longer because of the Jewish blood that the people of Israel connect or relate to God, it is now because of their relationship with Jesus. The old community ceases to exist in order to establish a new one: the relationship of Jesus with his disciples and with us. It is our relationship with Jesus that connects us to the vine of God.

That requires a vine.
It requires three (3) things:

1. requires a farmer to take care of her.

2. It requires the farmer to prune it.

3. It requires branches that produce fruits and more fruits.

In every vineyard it is necessary that there is a person to care for, clean, water and constantly monitor the plants. This person is the farmer or vinedresser

Each year the farmer has to clean the soil where the plants are located, see the condition of the plants, trim the excess leaves, prune the branches so that the branches or shoots can grow vigorously and produce a good harvest, and remove the dry branches, which are then thrown into the fire and burned. Sometimes it is necessary to cut the plants to the same trunk of the bush, so that the shoots emerge with more vigor and produce a super abundant harvest.

In the biblical account of the vine, Jesus says that the husbandman is his Father. And if Jesus is the vine and we the branches or shoots (branches), we are also cared for by our heavenly Father, we are pruned to produce better fruit and even removed and thrown into the fire if we are dry.

What are the parts of a vine.
Like all fruitful plants, the vine has a trunk, branches or shoots, leaves, flowers and fruits. One of the most important parts of a plant are the branches. Without them, the plant can not produce fruit.

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The branches are of the same nature as the plant, and have only one life and one spirit with it. From here, 3 important lessons emerge:

1. One of total consecration, just as the branches live only to produce fruits, so we must live to produce fruits.

2. One of absolute dependence, just as the branches depend for their subsistence on the food that the vine supplies to them, so must our dependence on Christ be.

3. One of absolute trust (comparable to our faith) as the branches submit and depend on the vine to receive, even health, so we must submit and depend to receive: I can all things through Christ that it makes me stronger.

How a vine is cut out
In John 15: 2, 2 ways in which God cuts the branches are mentioned:

1. Removing (eliminating) them completely.

2. Cleaning them so that they produce more fruit than before.

In the natural world:
All dead wood must be eliminated, because it becomes a room for insects and diseases that cause the plant to rot.

All live wood must be cut drastically in order to prevent the life of the vine from being absorbed by the wood of the branch instead of being absorbed by the fruits. This is why the vine is cut almost to the trunk after the harvest, so that in the fall it emerges leafy and full of fruit.

Just as the farmer prunes his vineyards, God cuts the dead wood from among his saints (Judas) and prunes the wood alive (Peter). Sometimes the cut is so excessive that it seems unfair; but these are the saints who, having suffered much, produce a greater abundance of fruit, for the life that comes from the vine to feed the branch and the fruits will produce an over abundant harvest.

In the spiritual world:
The dry branches are identified with people who no longer live in Christ or no longer have an intimate relationship with the Lord. To these people God rejects them. An example of this was Judas Iscariot. He walked with Jesus, he was one of his disciples, but his fruits were bad.

The living branches are those people who guard and care for their relationship with Christ and to whom God prunes them of their lives anything that can deviate or hinder the vital flow of the life of Christ in their lives. Example: Pedro.

Some branches of the same vine can produce bad fruits and other branches produce good fruits.
Yes, it can happen. In every plant there are branches that produce bad fruits. (Example: Judas.) These are the ones that the farmer rejects and throws into the fire. On the other hand, living branches such as Pedro are the ones that are going to be cut out in order to produce the best fruits.

Speaking spiritually, the fruit is the quality of Christian character that God is enthroned through his life and his testimony.

Fruit is all that brings glory to God, showing that we are born again in Christ Jesus and that he is the one who reigns in our lives, being transformed from glory to glory. It is everything we do according to the will of Christ. And allow Christ to live and manifest through us.

But, for this to work like this, it is necessary that we be in Christ and He in us, because without Him we can do nothing (John 15: 4 and 5). Our churches are full of people who think that because they believed, they are saved from hell; but they do not count in their brain that it is an indispensable requirement to be in Christ. Others suffocate the Word because of the cares of life, or because of its prosperity, and they abandon following Christ. Others are because their religion or their faith is placed in the wisdom of men and not in the power of God. These are the ones that when problems, temptation or persecution comes, they withdraw, because they were not anchored in Christ.

We must take root in Christ, be fed by the Spirit, to give primacy to the work and glory of Jesus.

How to know what kind of branch I am.
(Matthew: 13:23) When he speaks of the lands where the seed fell, he says: ... that which was sown on good ground, this is he who hears and understands the word, and it brings forth fruit.

(Proverbs 11:30) says: The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life.

(Matthew 7:20) says: ... by their fruits you will know them.

(Romans 7: 4) says that we must bear fruit for God.

(Galatians 5:22) describes the fruits of the Spirit.

The fruit is the quality of Christian character that brings glory to God through his life and his testimony and its fruit is all we do according to the will of Christ and the fruit is to allow Christ to live and be manifested through from one, then I am a living branch.

How could I distinguish between those who lead a life full of the spirit (living branches) and those who do not (dry branches):
The Bible tells us that there are 3 kinds of people:

1. The natural man (is the one who has not received Christ) (1 Corinthians 2:14) says: But the natural man does not perceive the things that are of the Spirit of God, because to him they are foolishness, and can not understand them , because they are to be discerned spiritually, that is, the people we call also unconverted who have never confessed Christ as their Lord and Savior.

2. The spiritual man (the Christian who is directed, empowered and empowered by the Holy Spirit) (1 Corinthians 2:15) says: ... the spiritual judge all things ... and 2:16 says: ... we have the mind of Christ.

3. The carnal man (he is the Christian who lives a life of defeat because he tries to live the Christian life by his own means, efforts and own concepts; he is the one who tries to feed on the vine by his own efforts without letting it be the The vine that gives him the food (1 Corinthians 3: 1-3) says: "So I, brothers, could not speak to you as to spiritual spirits, but as to the flesh, as to children in Christ. I gave you to drink milk, and not to eat, because you were not yet able, nor are you still able, because you are still carnal; Since there are jealousies, strife and dissensions among you, you are not carnal and you walk like men? "
   

   
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We can say, then, that connected to the vine, we are spiritual (living branches) and carnal (dry branches).

What are the fruits of both:

Paul, speaking to the Christian Galatians, mentions in chapter 5 verses 19 to 23 the existence of 2 kinds of fruits:

1. The fruits of the flesh.

2. The fruits of the Spirit.

This enumeration is given as an example in which we should look at ourselves in the same way we look in a mirror, to see what kind of fruits we are producing; but also, Paul himself says in verse 21, when he enumerates the fruits of the flesh, that in addition to those he mentions, there are others; This means that the list is even more extensive.

The fruits of the flesh: (Galatians 5:19 to 21)
The human being is selfish by nature, does things that he should not do. Any person who does not allow himself to be guided by the Spirit will end up giving free rein to the desires of the flesh.

Perhaps you may be interested in reading: The Parable of the Sower ... A Handbook for Fruiting!

Jesus did not free us from sin so that we would use this freedom to give free rein to the flesh and to subject ourselves again to the bondage of slavery, as the Galatians did (5: 13,16,17,24,25; Romans. : 1,2), therefore, by accepting to be circumcised, they were separated from Christ and replaced by the Mosaic Law; and this, would make them return to their old nature and to a carnal life. In this situation they could not be part of the vine, and consequently, their branches would die and have to be thrown into the fire. That is why the apostle Paul says in Galatians 5:21 ... those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

The fruits of the meat are:

1. Sexual immorality: (immoral conduct, immoral sexual relations, pornography in all its forms)

2. Impurity: (sexual sins, deeds and vices, including thoughts and desires of the heart).

3. Corruption: (sensuality, give free rein to passions and desires to the point of not having public embarrassment or decency)

4. Idolatry: (worship of spirits, people or images, trust in any person, institution or thing that has equal or greater authority than God and his word)

5. Sorcery: (witchcraft, santeria, spiritualism, black magic, worship of demons and use of drugs to produce physical or spiritual experiences)

6. Enemistades: intense hate. Intentions and hostile acts; extreme displeasure

7. Litigation: Discord; to argue; antagonism; struggle to be superior to others. (Rom.1: 29; 1 Col. 1:11; 3: 3)

8. Jealousy: Resentment, gossip, criticism, envy for the success of another. (Romans 13:13, 1 Cor 3: 3)

9. Iras: Explosions of courage that produce violent words and acts. (Col. 3: 8)

10. Struggles: Selfish ambition; search for power. (2 Cor.12: 20; Philippians 1: 16-17)

11. Heresies: Introduce teachings that produce division and that are not supported by the word of God. (Romans 16:17)

12. Dissensions: Sedition; uprising against authority; division within the congregation in selfish groups or situations that destroy the unity of the church. (1 Cor 11:19)

13. Envy: Resentment or antipathy towards another person who has something that one wants.

14. Drunkenness: Drunkenness that causes mental deterioration or physical control caused by alcoholic beverages.

15. Orgies: Excessive and revelry parties; a party spirit that involves alcohol, drugs, sex or similar.

The apostle Paul, speaking of these people, says that any Christian who does any of these things closes the doors of the kingdom of God and does not possess eternal salvation (Galatians 5:21).

I invite you to read this post to learn more about the fruits of the flesh and be free of them: Iniquity.

The fruits of the Spirit:

It is that which occurs in the children of God as they allow the Spirit to direct them and influence their lives to destroy the power of sin, especially the acts of sinful nature and walk in communion with God. The fruits of the spirit include:

1. Love: (take care of and seek the highest welfare of another person without personal gain or selfish motives) (Romans 5: 5) and (1 Corinthians 13) (Ephesians 5: 2) (Colossians 3:14)

2. Joy: (the feeling of joy based on the love, grace, blessings, promises and closeness of God that belongs to those who believe in Christ) (Psalm 119: 16) (2 Corinthians 6:10 and 12: 9) ) (1 Peter 1: 8)

3. Peace: (the tranquility of the heart and mind based on the knowledge that all is well between the believer and his heavenly Father) (Romans 15:33) (Philippians 4: 7) (1 Thessalonians 5:23) ( Hebrews 13:20)

4. Patience: (endurance, endurance, being slow to anger or despair) (Ephesians 4: 2) (2 Timothy 3:10) (Hebrews 12: 1)

5. Kindness: (not wanting to hurt anyone or cause them pain) (Ephesians 4:32) (Colossians 3:12) (1 Peter 2: 3)

6. Goodness: (the zeal for truth and justice, and dislike for the bad, may be expressed in acts of kindness or in rebuking and correcting evil) (Luke 7: 37-50) (Matthew 21: 12-13 )

7. Faith: (unwavering firmness and loyalty to a person to whom we are bound by a promise, trust and honesty) (Matthew 23:23) (Romans 3: 3)

8. Meekness: (brake attached to strength and bravery, describes a person who can have courage when needed and submissive when submission is needed)

9. Temperance: (self control, controlling our desires and passions, including fidelity to marriage vows, and purity)

What we should do as Christians
Paul himself says that we must practice these virtues again and again, since there are no restrictions for this lifestyle. And all this we can if we maintain and celamos our relationship with Christ.

For the spiritual Man, God has provided an abundant and fruitful life. Jesus says in (John 10:10) "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." And in (John 15: 5) it 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. And he says also in (Acts 1: 8) "but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.