Bearing or Burning3/29/2020  The word abide is my favorite word in the Bible! Abide means to remain in continually. This word is found over 20 times in the Bible. My favorite place in scripture that this word is found is in John 15:1-11. “’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 does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.’”[1] There are four things that I want to bring to your attention from this passage of Scripture. 1) The Vine The Vine is our Lord Jesus Christ. We understand that He is not a copy of a vine, neither was He made from another vine; He is the original vine from which all other vines are a copy. Jesus being the vine also points to the fact that He is living. We are not connected to a dead vine that is still in the grave, but we are connected to a living vine who defeated death. Warren Wiersbe provides a beautiful illustration of the vine. “When we lived in Chicago, we had a small grape arbor in our backyard, but what we cultivated was noting like what is even today cultivated in the Holy Land (Israel). Ours was a very fragile plant and it was easy to break off a branch. The vines I saw in the Holy Land were large and strong, and it was next to impossible for anyone to break off a mature branch without injuring the vine itself. Our union with Christ is a living union, we may bear fruit; a loving union, so that we may enjoy him; and a lasting union, so that we need not to be afraid.”[2] 2) The Branches We, those that believe in Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior, are the branches. If you think about it, branches are only good for two things: bearing or burning! Bearing fruit only comes when the branch is connected with the vine. Burning comes when the branches is disconnected from the vine. We have the ability to choose a life that is connected to the vine and bearing fruit or a life that is disconnected and thrown away and burned. “The sooner we as believers discover that we are but branches, the better we will relate to the Lord, for we will know our own weakness and confess our need for His strength.”[3] 3) The Vinedresser The Vinedresser is God the Father. The Father is the one that prunes the branches (believers) so they will produce more fruit. It is interesting to me to see the progression of fruit in these verses: no fruit (John 15:2a ESV), just fruit (John 15:2b ESV), more fruit (John 15:2c ESV), and much fruit (John 15:5, 8 ESV)! The reason the vinedresser prunes its branches is so it will bear “much fruit”. The Father prunes us so we will bear “much fruit” and glorify Him. (John 15:8 ESV). This does not mean that God only prunes the bad things away so that we can grow. A vinedresser prunes two things: (1) is the dead parts of the branch and (2) some living tissue of the branch. The vinedresser cuts off the dead parts of the branch to protect the entire branch and possibly the vine from insects and from disease that, with time, could cause the vine to die. The vinedresser also cuts of some living tissue so that the branch does not stop growing. When the living tissue is cut off the branch will grow it back and more to make up for the loss of some tissue. Sometimes God will prune away the bad things in our life, but sometimes God will take away some good things so that we can grow and experience more of Him and in return bear “much fruit”. 4) The Fruit The fruit that comes from the branch is proof the branch is truly connected to the vine. The fruit the branch produces, because it is connected to the vine, is not for the branch itself but for others. The fruit we produce as believers in Christ is not so we can satisfy ourselves; it is so we can serve others. This fruit, that a true branch that is connected to the vine will produce, is evidence of life. If there is no fruit then there is no life and that branch becomes worthless. It’s no good for bearing it is only good for burning! [1] John 15:1-11 ESV [2] Wiersbe Bible Commentary: New Testament [3] Wiersbe Bible Commentary: New Testament As branches we are to be abiding in the vine daily. So many people think that we are to just connect to the vine as the branches and then do nothing, and that type of branch is pruned. When we, the branches, make the decision for Jesus, the vine, to be our Lord and Savior; then we must continually, each day, abide in Him. This will causes us to grow, bear fruit, be pruned, grow, bear fruit, and be pruned time and time again.
My challenge for unbelievers: Are you willing to lay everything else in your life aside so that you can abide in the only thing that can give you life? If so, I challenge you to find someone that is near you that believes in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and talk to them and they will lead you into a decision to abide daily in the vine. My challenge for the believers: Are you daily abiding in the one true vine, Jesus? If we are doing this then we will bear fruit! Our health as a branch depends on if we are daily abiding in the vine or not. Let this challenge push your relationship with Jesus Christ to a deeper level.
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