John 15:1-8 Sermon

Introduction

15 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in Me, and I in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself but must remain in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches; the one who remains in Me, and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain in Me, he is thrown away like a branch and dries up; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you remain in Me, and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. (John 15:1-8 NASB)

In John 15, Jesus continues on in a longer sequence known as the "Upper Room Discourse;" a passage of teaching by Christ stretching from John 13-John 17. In this discourse recorded in John's Gospel, Jesus Christ is teaching His closest disciples with great clarity that He would soon be betrayed into the hands of the Romans, that He would suffer and die, and yet that He desires that the disciples remain hopeful and assured by the resurrection and the promised Holy Spirit. Yet it is in this exact moment, from the first eight verses of John 15, that Jesus describes one of the most impactful metaphors of Jesus to His followers: as a Vine to its branches.

Jesus, as the true Vine (as contrasted with the imperfect "Vine" describing Israel in Psalm 80:8-9), is the One to whom all Christians are to abide so that they may produce good spiritual fruit. The Holy Spirit Himself, known as the "Helper/Comforter" (John 15:26), will be sent to assure this reality through guidance and remembrance of what Christ said. And finally, what God assures us about the value and power of prayer given to the disciples; a promise which we can tentatively know is assured to us (1 John 5:14-15).

To Bear Fruit: Embracing the Divine Invitation to Abound in Fruitfulness

15 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in Me, and I in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself but must remain in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me.

Jesus is inviting His disciples to abide in Him! Jesus states that they cannot bear fruit unless they abide in Him. This is meant to bring to mind the image of a grapevine whose branches must be connected to the vine in order for grapes to be produced! If the branch is not actually connected to the vine, then the branch will not be able to survive or produce fruit. Likewise, if a branch seems like it is connected to the vine, but internally the branch has an obstruction and is not actually receiving any nutrients from the Vine, then it will not produce fruit. As such, these branches will be known as defective by their lack of fruit; a fact which any good farmer (or "Vinedresser," as the Bible describes) would respond to through a removal of that branch.

Likewise, Jesus is explaining to His disciples that He desires that they have spiritual abundance in their fruit! Jesus explains that He is the only way by which they can abound in spiritual fruit and grow to be able to glorify God in their actions. Rather than simply offering eternal life the moment one believes and then never doing anything more, Jesus calls His followers to experience eternal life now; while we are still alive on Earth, we are to experience the maturity and strength which comes from a relationship with God. Jesus' disciples were being invited to stay connected to Christ in the same way that a branch is to the vine, all so that they may live and bear fruit.

By abiding in Christ, Jesus is calling His disciples (and even us modern Christians) to rest in Him so that we may grow in our Spiritual likeness to Him! To be able to grow into the image of Christ is a blessing, and we should always rejoice in having the opportunity- yes, even the invitation- to reflect the goodness of our Savior to a world in need of saving.

Christ Jesus: The True Vine and the Source of Spiritual Nourishment

5 I am the vine, you are the branches; the one who remains in Me, and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

Jesus, as the Vine, reminds us that we- the branches growing out of the vine- are entirely dependent on Him for our healthy development, spiritual maturity, and survival! We cannot survive without Jesus. Even more than that, we could not truly live without Jesus. While survival is focused on moment-by-moment avoidance of death, truly living is about seeing abundant growth in one's own walk with God. Not only will we share in the eternal life which flows from Jesus' own divine essence, but we can experience a fruit-bearing life while here on Earth! Christians who are truly abiding in Christ will see themselves mature and bear spiritual fruit.

Knowing them By their fruit

As a matter of fact, if someone says that they became a Christian and yet are living the exact same life they did before converting, there ought to be a serious question as to whether they had truly submitted to God and are abiding in Him. Even for lifelong Christians, one should ask themselves if their behavior is any different from the actions, beliefs, and responses we see from the unbelieving world. If one says that they are a Christian who "has been one since they were a child," yet they deny what Jesus taught and choose to believe in what the modern world dictates regarding "right and wrong," then this person should pray for God to change them.

Every Christian, no matter their background or how they came into the faith, should be pursuing the act of abiding in Christ. And what does it look like to "abide in Christ" as a Christian? Jesus tells us it in the following verses:

7 If you remain in Me, and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.

And again, the verse just a few words after:

9 Just as the Father has loved Me, I also have loved you; remain in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love. 11 These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.

It is by having Jesus' words abide in our hearts and by believing in His words and teachings that we can be said to be abiding by Him. Jesus knew that the disciples would face great confusion and persecution during the death of Christ and even after His resurrection, respectively. For this reason, Jesus told His disciples to abide in the word of God, to allow God's word to remain in them so that they would remain strong amidst the challenges which would surely come. And if we believe in the words He said and cherish them, then we will be motivated to live a life bound to Christ: the One who invites us into a life of spiritual abundance!

The Holy Spirit and Its Empowerment: Enabling Fruitful Living in Union with Christ

However, both the Father and the Son knew that it would be very difficult for the disciples to remain steadfast in their walk with Christ when they could no longer see Him. For this reason, the next chapter explains this very truth:

5 “But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, grief has filled your heart. 7 But I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I am leaving; for if I do not leave, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. 8 And He, when He comes, will convict the world regarding sin, and righteousness, and judgment: 9 regarding sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 and regarding righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you no longer are going to see Me; 11 and regarding judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.

Jesus promised that He would provide for us The Holy Spirit, who would convict people of righteousness even when Jesus cannot be seen! The Holy Spirit unites the disciples of Christ to Himself and also to each other- a message explained further when we move on into the 17th chapter of John's Gospel. How can we differentiate between a true disciple of Christ empowered by the Holy Spirit and one who is not following Christ? Jesus identifies these groups in this verse:

6 If anyone does not remain in Me, he is thrown away like a branch and dries up; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you remain in Me, and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. (John 15:6-7)

For those who do not have the Holy Spirit, they will not produce fruit! And if they do not produce fruit, these so-called "unfruitful branches" are not true Christians. As such, we can know ourselves to be true followers of Christ if we have the fruit of the Holy Spirit growing in us. It is the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Godhead, who brings about a sanctifying change in the life of a believer. Only then will their prayers be aligned with the will of God such that their prayers will be answered. What, exactly, would be entailed by "fruit"? A helpful passage in Galatians can provide some valuable insight:

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things, there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. (Gal. 5:22-26)

Let us work towards growing in Christ by trusting in the guiding power of the Holy Spirit!

Much Fruit: The Abundant Harvest of a Life Connected to the Vine

Not only will be bearing fruit, but the passage details that we will be bearing "much fruit":

7 If you remain in Me, and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.

How is the Father glorified by these fruitful branches? He is glorified not only in them bearing fruit but in the process of them "bearing much fruit." It is a sign of how we can trust the original disciples of Christ (Peter, John, James, etc.) to have spoken honestly about what they saw and beheld in the life and teaching of Christ; not only that but also a reminder of how any disciple of Christ is called to experience abundant spiritual growth in Christ! Those who abide in Christ, who trust in the Holy Spirit to lead them in their own process of sanctification, will be those who are producing fruit that is glorifying to God! Even elsewhere in the New Testament, it speaks to this exact same reality about our abundance in God:

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)

And again, in the book of Romans:

13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)

For in this, even John's Gospel emphasizes the fullness of our blessing, which Jesus prayed for in John 17:

But now I am coming to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves. I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I am not asking You to take them out of the world but to keep them away from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. Just as You sent Me into the world, I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes, I sanctify Myself, so that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. “I am not asking on behalf of these alone, but also for those who believe in Me through their word, 21 that they may all be one; just as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may [f]believe that You sent Me. (John 17:13-23)

Disciples’ Future Glory

22 The glory which You have given Me I also have given to them, so that they may be one, just as We are one; 23 I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected [g]in unity, so that the world may [h]know that You sent Me, and You loved them, just as You loved Me.

Application and Practical Insights

Now that we have explored the context of the passage and what Jesus intends for the eleven disciples to know before He is crucified, there is one question left: "How does this apply to us today?"

Thankfully, there is a great deal to be taken from this passage and applied in our daily lives. But first and foremost, we should know that God calls us to abide in Christ, to know His words and study His ways. What are some ways that we can abide in Christ? Here are some practical examples:

• Spending Time with God through an active prayer life.
• Studying the Old Testament and the New Testament.
• Participating in a Bible Study with our church congregants.
• Obeying the Commands of the Lord.
• Volunteering at one's church to serve the body of Christ.
• Memorizing and reciting one verse a day

No matter what method above, you choose to abide in Christ, our Good Shepherd, and grow in our faith; you will see amazing growth in your daily walk! Let your conversations with others be directed toward honoring Christ. Let your time be spent valuably in ways that one would not see in the unproductive branch. Serve at your church, and make your church a place where people can have but a small taste of the Father's house, which awaits us in Heaven! Whatever it may be, know that we can do all of this and more if we abide in Christ: our Savior and our God!

Conclusion

In John's Gospel, a great many words are set on describing this process of abiding and resting in God. Chapter 15 is no exception. Reading the words of Jesus should motivate us to more excitedly and fully rest in Him. We find peace in His words and strength in His teaching. Our lives are blessed by the very invitation to abide in Christ, and the process of fruit-bearing is as much a way to honor God as it is to bless us.

So live a life that is focused on setting Christ as Lord, relying on the Holy Spirit Himself to empower you and unite you with Christ. Once we do that, the spiritual depth of our prayers will be greater, and our wills shall be in alignment with what God has for us!

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