John 15: fruit

I am the vine, you are the branches . . .

Where does fruit grow?  It grows on the branches.  The branch though can not produce fruit by itself.  The branch produces fruit because of the life (sap) that comes up through the tree and into the branches.  We can not produce love or other fruit of the spirit by ourselves.  The Holy spirit has deposited these things in our hearts and we must nurture those things so they can mature.

Ideas came from a letter to LHOP from Doug Stone in 2008.

John 15:1

...and my father is the husbandman.

Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of you mind that you might know that good and perfect will of God.

God is the head gardener of the vine. The gardener decides where the vine is to be planted, which direction to grow the vine in, for when and how much to prune the vine, how and how much it is to be watered and nurtured.

Jesus was dependent upon Gods choices for all these things. The vine is our example. Everything in the natural has a supernatural correlation. So as Jesus was totally dependent on God for where he was planted, when he was pruned, how he was fenced in, how and when he was watered, when he was to be challenged by outside forces, so we are dependent on these things.

As we pursue Gods will by renewing our minds on Gods word, we recognize that our planting is not our choosing. It is the choice of the master Gardener, God himself.

The Right Stuff

Five points of resemblance between the vine and believers.

1. The Right Stock - Jesus said I am the true vine - The first essential in planting a vineyard is having the right stock. A nurseryman who sells stock guarantees the plant he sells is true to type. Jesus is the true stock, the one true vine, He is the one and only original from which all others must come from.

2. The Right Expert - My father is the husbandman - Great vineyards are taken care of by experts. An expert who knows when to prune as well as how much to prune and when to fertilize as well as how much to fertilize. He knows how to produce a maximum crop. This spiritual vineyard is taken care of by God himself the foremost expert on training and developing the maturity of man.

3. The Right Culture - Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh it away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he cleanseth it, that it may bear more fruit - to keep the culture pure pruning must take place.

4. The Right Contact - Abide in me, and I in you -

5. The Right Fruitage - the same beareth much fruit - the expert keeps the right stock with the right culture connected to the right contact bearing the right fruit.

The Gospel of Belief, Merrill C. Tenney p 227

Gods Names and Attributes in John

My (Jesus) Father - used by Jesus in 15:1
the vinedresser - 15:1
the one who sent Jesus - 7:33, 8:18, 8:29, 8:42
the Father bears witness of Jesus - 8:18
the Father taught Jesus - 8:28
The Father is with Jesus - 8:29
The Father honors Jesus - 8:54
The Father knows Jesus - 10:16

15:1

I am the true vine

Over and over in the Old Testament Israel is pictured as the vine or the Vineyard of God.
the vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel (Isaiah 5:1-7)
Yet I planted you a choice vine (Jeremiah 2:21)
Ezekiel 15 likens Israel to the vine as does Ezekiel 19:10.
Israel is a luxuriant vine (Hosea 10:1)
Thou didst bring a vine out of Egypt (Psalm 80:8)

The vine had become a symbol of the nation of Israel. It was the emblem on the coins of the Maccabees. The vine was part and parcel of Jewish imagery, and the very symbol of Israel.

Yet Jesus proclaims that he is the true or real vine. It is as if he is saying "you think that because you belong to the nation of Israel you are a branch of the true vine of God, but the fact that you are a Jew can not save you. the only thing that can save you is to have an intimate living fellowship with me, for I am the vine of God and you must be branches joined to me.

the Gospel of John volume 2, William Barclay p 172-173

Seven I AM's

John is filled with a witness or testimony of who he is that calls for belief or faith which results in life if faith is put in him. The seven I AM's are Jesus own testimony of His deity. Jesus said:

I AM the bread of life (6:35)
I AM the light of the world (8:12)
Before Abraham was, I AM (8:58)
I AM the good Shepherd (10:11)
I AM the resurrection, and the life (11:25)
I AM the way, the turth, and the life (14:6)
I AM the true vine (15:1)