I Am the Vine

Transcript

GR 395
3/29/1981
I am the Vine
John 15:1-3
Gil Rugh

Some of you who have been at Indian Hills for a number of years can remember parking lots like this. I can remember after one of our services some of the men having to go out, when we were still in our small chapel, and push someone who was stuck in the mud right at the front door. They had stopped to drop someone off, and that was a mistake. Must have been a visitor because anybody who was a regular in those days knew not to come to the front door!

John chapter 15 in your Bibles. John's gospel and the 15th chapter. We come to a section of the Word that has been much misunderstood. One author that I was reading this week noted that only Hebrews chapter 6 has occasioned so much misunderstanding and controversy as John chapter 15. We're going to spend some time in working through the details of this chapter and try to see it in its immediate context but also the broader context of what the Old and New Testament alike reveal on the subject at hand.

The time is the evening immediately preceding the betrayal and crucifixion. In all probability, the disciples and Christ have left the upper room and are on their way to Gethsemane as this discussion is carried on. Chapter 14 ended with Jesus' comment, "Arise, let us go from here." Now it is difficult in the flow of things through these chapters to determine exactly where they are along the way. But it would seem with that comment at the end of chapter 14 that the disciples would at least have made preparation to leave the upper room. And exactly where they are on the way until we get to Gethsemane, we don't know and it's not necessary for understanding the import of what is being said. We are just within a short time of Jesus being betrayed and He wants to prepare the disciples for His departure and what it will be like after He is gone.

Now in chapter 15, there is going to be an analogy drawn, and in the analogy the basic contrast is between two kinds of branches—branches that bear fruit and branches that do not bear fruit. Branches that abide in Christ, branches that do not abide in Christ. And my understanding of this section is that the contrast is between those who are believers in Christ and those who are not believers in Jesus Christ. The contrast is between those who are saved and those who are not saved. So if you keep that in mind, then we’ll try to substantiate that and see if that fits as we compare the details. Some have taken John 15 to teach that believers could lose their salvation, and we’ll see that that’s not the case. Some take John 15 to be drawing a distinction between two kinds of Christians—those Christians who bear fruit and those Christians that do not bear fruit. Those Christians who abide in Christ, and those Christians who do not abide in Christ. I do not believe that is consistent with what the Scripture teaches on bearing fruit and on abiding. Rather, the contrast here is between believers and non-believers.

Jesus begins by setting the setting for the analogy or parable by describing Himself as the genuine vine. "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser,” or the husbandman. "I am the true vine,” the genuine vine. Now many have come up with some very interesting reasons why Jesus would have used this analogy. Some project that the disciples with Christ would have been walking to Gethsemane and they would have passed many vines on the way. And also, in the fields there would have been the smoldering fires from burning the dead branches and the pruned parts of the vine. Some project that the disciples and Christ have walked to the temple, and that at the temple there was an inscribed vine. Some really have some interesting detail. At least one commentator projected that they were still in the upper room and there was a vine growing up over the ledge and into the window, and that’s cute but how do you know? I think probably the most obvious reason Jesus uses this analogy is the correct one, and that is the Old Testament is saturated with emphasis on the fact that Israel is the vine of God. Now we're going to look at several passages, not all of them by any means, but several to help give us something of the background the disciples would have had. And you'll note, in each of these passages where Israel is denoted as a vine, it is as a degenerate vine that has failed to accomplish God's purposes, that has failed to produce the fruit that God expected and required of His vine. And that background explains why Jesus said "I am the true vine", I am the genuine vine, I am the vine of God that is all that God intends for His vine to be. I am everything that Israel ought to have been but was not. I am that One who truly, accurately, perfectly represents and reveals the character of God.

Turn back to Psalms 80 first. The 80th Psalm, verse 8. "You did remove a vine from Egypt; You did drive out the nations, and did plant it." Here referring to Israel. Israel was taken out of Egypt by God, and then was planted or rooted in the land that He had promised. The nations were driven out before Israel. Israel was established in Palestine. "You did clear the ground before it, and it took deep root and filled the land. The mountains were covered with its shadow; and the cedars of God with its boughs. It was sending out its branches to the sea, and its shoots to the River." Now note—"Why have You broken down its hedges, so that all who pass that way pick its fruit? A boar from the forest eats it away, and whatever moves in the field feeds on it. 0 God of hosts, turn again now, we beseech You; Look down from heaven and see, and take care of this vine, even the shoot which Your right hand has planted, and on the son whom You have strengthened for Yourself. It is burned with fire, it is cut down; they perish at the rebuke of Your countenance." You see here the vine of God having been ruined as the chastening and judgment of God for failure to produce as God intended it.

Look over in Isaiah chapter 5. "Let me sing now for my well-beloved a song for my beloved concerning his vineyard. My well-beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill. And he dug it all around, removed its stones, and planted it with the choicest vine. He built a tower in the middle of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; then he expected it to produce good grapes, but it produced only worthless ones." You see again a worthless, degenerate vine. "And now, 0 inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between Me and My vineyard. What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have not done in it? Why, when 1 expected it to produce good grapes did it produce worthless ones?" You note the responsibility here is upon Israel for its failure to produce as God intended. God said, 'I did everything necessary to make this a productive vine yet it was not and it's the vine’s fault.' "So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard: I will remove its hedge and it will be consumed; I will break down its wall and it will become trampled ground.” Note how similar to Psalm 80. "I will lay it waste; it will not be pruned or hoed, and briars and thorns will come up. I will also charge the clouds to rain no rain on it. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah His delightful plant. He looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress." Note the fruit that Israel was to be producing—justice and righteousness, but it was lacking.

Jeremiah chapter 2. Just one verse in Jeremiah chapter 2, verse 21. "Yet I planted you a choice vine, a completely faithful seed. How then have you turned yourself before Me into the degenerate shoots of a foreign vine?" Again, the emphasis. This vine has not been what it ought to be. It has not produced as it ought to produce.

Ezekiel chapter 15. The 15th chapter of Ezekiel is very important because much of what is in John 15 has its background in Ezekiel 15, and you'll see much similarity as we move through this in a couple of weeks. Ezekiel 15, "Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, 'Son of man, how is the wood of the vine better than any wood of a branch which is among the trees of the forest? Can wood be taken from it to make anything, or can men take a peg from it on which to hang any vessel? If it has been put into the fire for fuel, and the fire has consumed both of its ends, and its middle part has been charred, is it then useful for anything? Behold while it is intact, it is not made into anything. How much less, when the fire has consumed it and it is charred, can it still be made into anything! Therefore, thus says the Lord God, 'As the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so have I given up the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I set My face against them. Though they have come out of the fire, yet the fire will consume them. Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I set My face against them. Thus I will make the land desolate, because they have acted unfaithfully.'"' Note the stress in Ezekiel 15. The vine's wood is not good for anything. The point that is going to be made in John 15 that is made in Ezekiel 15—if the vine does not produce fruit, it is worthless! What could you use the wood of the vine for? Verse 3 of Ezekiel 15, "Can wood be taken from it to make anything?" You don't even make a peg to hang things on. Vine wood is not good for making things. It's not like an oak tree, where if it is cut down its wood can be made into things. People don't cut down vines to make houses. Its wood is not good for that. It's not even good for burning in your fireplace. You go down and cut down a vine and put it in your fireplace, what happens? It's consumed. It's not good for burning and giving off heat. All it's worth if it doesn't produce fruit is to be thrown into the rubbish heap and be consumed by fire. The sole purpose of a vine is to produce fruit. If it does not produce fruit, it is worthless! That will be a background for John 15.

One other verse. Hosea chapter 10, verse 1. We'll just read one verse here. "Israel is a luxuriant vine." Or even as you have it in the margin, "a degenerate vine." "He produces fruit for himself. The more his fruit, the more altars he made; the richer his land, the better he made the sacred pillars." You see what has happened? Israel is not producing fruit to God. The more Israel prospered, the more degenerate it became and used its prosperity for degenerate purposes. So that is something of the emphasis of the Old Testament so when you come to John 15 now, and Jesus speaks and says "I am the true vine" contrast with the nation Israel that was always a degenerate vine in spite of God's faithfulness. It did not produce the character of God as God intended, but Jesus Christ is the true vine, the Father the husbandman.

Now all are going to be seen in light of their relationship to Him as the true vine. Note verse 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." The issue is producing fruit. There are two kinds of branches—those that produce fruit, those that do not produce fruit. Those that do not produce fruit are removed. Those that do produce fruit are trimmed and pruned so that they might produce more fruit. Now. It is my understanding and we’ll look at some support for this is that the branches that do not bear fruit are not believers. They are unsaved individuals. We talk about some times a fruitless Christian. But as the Scripture speaks, there is no such thing as a fruitless Christian. A person who is fruitless is not a Christian. Every Christian bears fruit, produces the character of God as a result of the work of God in His life.

Now a question here. "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away." Before we look at some of the emphases in the Scripture on bearing fruit, what about that expression "in Me"? Does that not seem to mean that you’re dealing with a believer? If you are in Christ, you must be a child of God. "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes it away." Well, I think what you have to be careful of is reading back into this expression what is developed later in the Scripture. In other words, as Paul uses this expression in the Book of Ephesians, for example, it would have a more specific and technical meaning than it does in the gospels. In the gospels, this expression "in Me" would be basically synonymous with being "in the kingdom." Being in the kingdom. Now later on it will take on added dimension, but the baptism of the Spirit has not yet occurred. First Corinthians 12:13 says "By one Spirit we have all been baptized into one body," but that is yet a future thing. Remember we talked about the word "called" in the Scripture. In the gospels, the word "called" is used of the general invitation that goes out to all humanity to believe in Jesus Christ. When you come to the writing of the Apostle Paul, the word "called" is used in a much narrower sense. It is used only of those who have come to believe in Jesus Christ as Savior, who responds positively in accepting or believing the call. Now you have a problem if you try to read Paul's use back into the gospels. You run into the same kind of problem with this expression "in Me". It must be interpreted in how it would be used in the gospels during Christ's earthly ministry. What would it mean to be "in Christ"? It would mean to be a part of His overall kingdom which included believers and non-believers alike.

Look at a couple of passages in Matthew. Matthew chapter 8. In the gospels, you can be in the kingdom and not in the kingdom, and that sounds confusing. But basically you can be in the external kingdom but not truly belong to Jesus Christ, destined to share in the Kingdom over which He will rule and reign. Matthew chapter 8, verse 11, "I say to you, that many shall come from east and west, and recline at table with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; but the sons of the kingdom shall be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'" You see those who are identified as sons of the kingdom, yet they are going to have no part in the kingdom. So the same idea—they are "in Christ" and yet they don't belong to Christ. Here they are Jews who have an external relationship by their physical lineage. But they are going to be closed out of the kingdom and yet they are called sons of the kingdom. They have an external relationship but no true relationship to the one who is the king.

Look over in chapter 13 of Matthew. In Matthew 13 we have the various parables—the soils, etc. The tares and wheat in verse 24. He presented another parable to them, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares also among the wheat, and went away. But when the wheat sprang up and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. And the slaves of the landowner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?' And he said to them, 'An enemy has done this!' And the salves said to him, 'Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?' But he said, 'No, lest while you are gathering up the tares, you may root up the wheat with them. Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, 'First gather up the tares; and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.'"'

Look in verse 41. "The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness" as He explains the parable of the wheat and the tares and those who commit lawlessness and explaining the parable of the wheat and the tares. In other words, both the wheat and the tares are viewed as being in the kingdom.
They have this external relationship, but at the end of time, Christ will send forth the angels to root out the tares. So they are in the kingdom yet they are not really part of the kingdom. Same thing Jesus would be talking about when He says, "Every branch in Me" (in My kingdom) "that does not bear fruit, will be removed."

Now look down to verse 47 while you're in Matthew 13. "Again, the kingdom is like a drag-net cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down, and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. So it will be at the end of the age; the angels shall come forth, and take out the wicked from among the righteous, and will cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." You note the net has gathered good and bad fish. The kingdom has collected good and bad fish. Now they will be rooted out. They will be separated. So, still during the earthly ministry of Christ and when you're in John 15 and Jesus says "Every branch in Me" it must be understood in light of what His teaching has been during His earthly ministry, referring to those who would be in His kingdom, who would profess an external relationship. They would profess a relationship, but it would be only external. "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit," He takes away just like the tares. The tares, taken away; the bad fish, taken away. "Every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it that it may bear more fruit."

The Scriptures are clear. Everyone who has a relationship to God bears fruit, and fruit is the testimony or evidence that you are a child of God. If there is no fruit in your life, you do not belong to Him. You can tell whether a person is genuinely a child of God by looking at his life and seeing whether the character of God, which is the fruit, is being produced in his life.

Look at a couple of passages again with me. Back to Matthew chapter 3, just to look at this matter of fruit. Very concerned, some of us have been discussing in recent weeks, even the body here at Indian Hills Community Church that there are those who profess a relationship with Jesus Christ, who maintain an external association but have no real life and its evidence, maybe not to them, because there is a lack of fruit in the life. Note what Jesus says. First we'll pick up with the preaching of John the Baptist in Matthew chapter 3, the Pharisees and Sadducees have come out to see Him, to follow His ministry. Verse 8 says, "Therefore bring forth fruit in keeping with repentance; and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our father;' God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham." You note they have an external relationship. They thought because they had a physical linage, they were physically related to Abraham that guaranteed them a part in the Messiah's kingdom. They were in the kingdom, they were in the Messiah, they were in Christ, but externally only. Verse 10, "The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." Verse 12, "And His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean His threshing floor..." The chaff will be burned up with unquenchable fire, at the end of the verse. So if the tree doesn't bear fruit, good fruit, it is cut down and thrown into the fire. Destruction is its end.

Look over in Matthew chapter 7, verses 13 and 14. Jesus talks about the way to life and He says "...the way that goes to destruction is broad, and many are on that road that leads to destruction." The way to life is narrow and there are few people that find it. Some people take consolation in the fact that all these people couldn't be wrong. Sometimes the criticism is 'Oh you people think you're the only ones right.' Well, keep in mind that Jesus says the way to life is narrow. The majority of people are on the road that leads to destruction.

Then note what He says, "Beware of the false prophets." These are those who would lead you down the broad way instead of the narrow way. "...who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? Even so every good tree bears good fruit." You note, every good tree bears good fruit. Every child of God bears good fruit. There is no such thing as a fruitless Christian. Every good tree bears good fruit. And the analogy here, there are the good trees with the good fruit, and the bad trees with the bad fruit. The believers and the unbelievers. Those on the road to life, those on the road to destruction. Every good tree bears good fruit. The rotten tree bears bad fruit. You say, 'Wait a minute, I know a person who professes to be a believer in Jesus Christ but they bear rotten fruit.' What does Jesus say? You've got a liar. You've got a false teacher, a false prophet. But their fruits you know them. Not just by what they say, but by what they are! By what they do, by the character being produced in their life.

"A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down, and thrown into the fire." Note consistently, and we're going to see this in our next study as well, the destiny of the unbeliever is fire, gathered and cast into the fire. "So then (verse 20), you will know them by their fruits." Now that ought to be clear to us. Jesus has repeatedly stressed, "You will know them by their fruits." Now note what He goes on to say. "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father, who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' I will say to them, 'I never knew you; Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.'" Note. They maintain an external identification. Their profession was to belong to Him, to do miracles in His name. They are not genuine. They are in the kingdom but not in the kingdom. They are in the external sphere of profession. When it comes to the kingdom that Christ will set up, they will be rooted out and destroyed. The fruit is the testimony or evidence.

This carries over into the epistles as well. Look over in Romans chapter 7. Now you note here. You are not saved by doing good works, producing good fruit. You must have the good tree. You must have the branch that is related to the vine, and the evidence of life in the branch is fruit. We have many people who are the best they know how living the best life they know how to produce the right fruit, but they are dead! You’ve got to start with a live tree. You've got to start with an apple tree to get apples. That's just the way it is. You have to start with a branch that is related to the vine that has life flowing into it from the vine. You can go and take a piece of poplar tree and get a rope and tie it onto your grape vine, but that won't make it a fruit producer.
It's not there, there's no life. There's no vitality that would produce the fruit.

Romans 7 speaks to this clearly. Verse 4, "Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead..." You note, when we came to trust Christ, we died with Him, we were raised up to new life with Him. In order that "...we might bear fruit for God." God's intention in our salvation, in our death and resurrection with Christ was so that His character might be produced in and through us. That's what the fruit is that we're talking about.

Look over in Ephesians 5 and it will tell you about the fruit. Ephesians 5, verse 9. He uses the word "light" here—one of John's favorite light. To be in the light is to have a relationship with God, to have believed in Christ. Ephesians 5:9, "For the fruit of the light consists.. wi" What is the fruit of the light? "...all goodness and righteousness and truth." That's what we're talking about. The character of God—goodness, truth, righteousness—being produced in my life. We often talk about fruit as being souls saved. The word "fruit" is used some sixty times in the New Testament, sixty-six times I believe. And only one of those is it clearly talking about souls that are saved. Basically, we're talking about the character of God being produced in the life of an individual. Goodness, truth, righteousness!

Galatians chapter 5 tells you what the fruit of the Spirit is. "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control..." The character of God produced in an individual.
That is the fruit of God in the life. That is THE evidence that we belong to God.

So you come back to John chapter 13. "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit", every branch that professes to belong to Me, that claims part in My kingdom but is unfruitful, what will we do with it? We'll take it away. We'll remove it. Just like the tares, just like the bad fish. Why? It's fruitless. It doesn't belong to Me at all. "But every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it..." Now you note here. That doesn't mean that every Christian is bearing as much fruit as he can or as much fruit as he should. But every Christian is bearing fruit. If there is no evidence of the character of God in your life, you don't belong to Him. I don't know how to stress this enough. There's a great danger that we come and sit as part of this group and be just like the Jews. They assume something that was not so, and if the character of God is not being produced in your life, you do not belong to Him!! You may belong to this church. You may be active in this church, but if the fruit of God, His character, is not genuinely being produced in your life, you do not belong to Him! But those branches that do bear fruit, they are pruned that they might bear more fruit, to make them more productive. Every believer bears fruit. God works through every believer to enable them to produce more fruit. Then twice he will talk about much fruit—down in verse 5, bearing much fruit; and down in verse 8, bearing much fruit. The goal is that we abundantly fruitful, as the parable of the soils in Matthew. That productive soil that produces a hundredfold, very fruitful. The pruning process* Now note what the pruning process was—where the husbandman, the vinedresser, would come through and trim back the branches. Trim off those things which would keep the branching from producing as much fruit as it could. Many of you do this in your gardening and in your yardwork, where you trim back growth that would be detrimental to the real production that you want out of that plant or that tree. So it is in our lives as believers. There are things that we tolerate. There are things that we indulge in that are detrimental to production of fruit, and God's goal and intention in our salvation is that we produce His character, fruit, and so that necessitates His coming in and cutting off those things. I might come over and watch you do your gardening, since I don't do any of my own, and you'd be going through trimming back certain branches. I'd say, 'Why are you doing that, it wasn't hurting anything. I mean, it's just there.' And maybe it was alright. You say, 'Yes, but as long as that's there, it is detracting from the production of this branch, from the fruit that ought to be grown.'

Look over in Hebrews chapter 12. Here the writer talks about the discipline of the Lord and what its purpose is. At the end of verse 10, we're told that God disciplines us for our good in order that we may share His holiness, that His holiness might be characteristic of us. Now note verse 11, "All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful." You note that. All discipline. I never discipline my kids but that it's a sorrowful occasion for them. God never disciplines us except that it is unpleasant. "...yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness." What does God do? He chastens us. He disciplines us as His children. Why? So that we might produce more fruit. What is the fruit? Righteousness. His character seen more and more in my life. I as a believer need to have this riveted in my mind. Why do the trials come? Why do the difficulties come? Why do the sorrows come? Because a loving God is pruning me. He's disciplining me for my good, so that the ultimate goal might be realized of the production of more and more of His character. Sometimes we as believers mire down. We stop and say 'Why should this tragedy happen to me? Why did the Lord allow this sorrow to come into my life?' Because He loved me, and the goal is His character being produced, His fruit in my life. And it's a necessary part of it. So I don't look down at the discipline and maybe I don't rejoice because of the discipline but I do rejoice because of the results that are accomplished through the discipline. Even my kids can learn that. They can even sit and talk about the discipline, even when we’re going through it. Talk about its unpleasantness, but have enough maturity to say it’s necessary so we'll be the right kind of people, isn’t it. I need to manifest that maturity in my life as God's child. 'Boy, Lord, this is unpleasant. I’m really not enjoying this, Lord. Lord, this really hurts but it’s necessary, isn't it? It's necessary, Father, so I can produce your character, your fruit, like I need to.' That's what is being accomplished. I'm being pruned. There are those things in my life that need to be trimmed out. We ought to be sensitive to those. We as believers have a tendency to tolerate things we call neutral. That does not make them acceptable. Does this practice, this activity, does this involvement contribute to the production of fruit in my life? If it does not, it needs to be removed. Let me tell you, it's easier when I remove it than when the Lord removes it. It hurts to be pruned. It hurts to be trimmed. It hurts to be disciplined. We as believers need to examine our lives carefully to see if all that we are tolerating, all that we are indulging in really can be said to contribute to the ultimate goal of life and eternity, the production of the character of God. We fill our lives with nonessentials. We fill our lives with so-called neutral things. But you know, you don't allow the vine to fill itself with that. Why? Because they in a subtle way sap off the strength, sap off the vitality that ought to go to the production of fruit. So they are no longer neutral. They are detrimental and harmful because the ultimate goal is the production of fruit and we are pruned to that end.

Isn't it exciting to be able to look at our lives in that vein, that light? To know the sorrows, the difficulties, the hard times—they're all there by a God's discernment and control who is doing it so I can be more productive. I don't have to bemoan the tragedy. I can praise the Lord for the pruning, that I’ll produce more fruit when this is done. As a result of going through this, I’ll be a more productive branch and the character of God will be more evident in my life.

Back to John 15. ’’...pruned that we might bear more fruit." Now He reminds him in verse 3, and that’s as far as we'll go, "You are already clean because of the word which 1 have spoken to you." You note the reminder. You need pruning but you are clean. You’ve been cleansed. You are part of the vine. Does that remind you of something back in John 13 where Peter said ’Don't just wash my feet, wash all of me'? And Peter says in John 13:10, "He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet." He is completely clean. Same analogy in John 13. You've received a bath, now your feet need washed. In John 15, you’re part of the vine. Now you need pruned to produce more fruit. Same point with a different analogy.

Now in John 15 something else has happened. There has been an unfruitful branch that has been removed. Judas is gone. He's been taken away. He’s no longer part of the group. His character is now to be revealed for what he is. He was an unfruitful branch. Amazing that Judas could be part of that group for three years. Involved in all those ministries for that along, yet he was an unfruitful branch. He never had a true relationship to the vine. There was never any life flowing from the vine in Judas. He fooled the disciples but he never fooled Jesus Christ. He never fooled the vinedresser. He knows who is clean. He knows who is cleansed. He knows who has life in them, who is producing His character and He prunes them that they might produce more of His character.

Question. Are you a fruit producing branch? Not, Do you come to Indian Hills. Not, are you active at Indian Hills? Is the character of God honestly and truly being produced in your life? Now you may have fooled many people. You may have fooled your husband or your wife. Many others. But you haven't fooled the husbandman, and He’s the only one that matters because He’s going to be the one who comes along and takes away the dead wood and consigns it to destruction. You need to examine yourself closely. Is God's character really being produced in my life? If not, you don't belong to Him.

Secondly, if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, if you have come to trust Him as the One who died for you, then He will be producing His character. But is there as much fruit as there ought to be? Now none of us have arrived, but it seems sometimes we are pretty pitiful branches. A few grapes here and there when we ought to be overflowing with clusters of fruit, when we think it is the power of God at work in us. Remember what we read about Israel in the Old Testament? God said, 'I have done everything necessary to make you a fruitful vine.' If you are not producing fruit as you should, it's because you are not being what you should. Then He'll intervene and begin the pruning process. It hurts; it's not pleasant. But praise God He loves us enough to do it. Pray that God will give us the wisdom, the discernment and the strength as you're going through the trials, the difficulties. Some of you are going through a pruning process, a discipline process. That's not always because of specific sin in the life. It's simply part of the growth process. I need to praise God for what He is accomplishing, even as you're bowed under the sorrow, pressured under the difficulty that His purpose which is that you might be more conformed to Him, that you might partake of His holiness and His righteousness to bear much fruit. Let's pray together.

Father, we thank you for all that you've done for us in Christ. Lord, that we are privileged to be related to Him who is life, to have His life in us. Lord, the result of that life is fruit. Lord may we be a people who are bearing much fruit. Lord, open and receptive to the discipline and chastening and the pruning; Lord, recognizing the value that it has in enabling us to produce the peaceable fruit of righteousness.

Lord, we pray that we might be a people who examine ourselves, our lives, to see if we are tolerating those things which draw strength away from the production of fruit and thus the ultimate purpose. Lord, I pray above all for those who are here who are branches that have no fruit because they have no life. Lord, I realize that only the Spirit of God can cause these individuals to see the hopelessness of their situation. Lord, I pray that you might grant them the honesty and openness to admit before you their sinful condition that they might come to trust the One who loved them and died for them, for we pray in Jesus' name