Tuesday, April 26, 2011

"I Am the True Vine" By David Buck (10/09/2007)

In John 15:1-11 Jesus tells his disciples “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” What does Jesus mean by these statements? Why did He use the illustration of the vine? How does the statement I am relate to the Old Testament? In this report I will provide you with the answers to these questions in order to help the reader to understand how this particular statement shows the deity of Christ.

What events took place around the statement “I Am” the true vine?

Leading up to this statement Jesus comforted His disciples while trying to prepare them for His departure. Judas Iscariot had already left to betray Jesus when He made this statement. This statement was made just hours before Jesus would be arrested in the garden and eventually crucified.

What does Jesus mean by these statements?

In John 15:1-11 Jesus uses the illustration of the vine to describe the new relationship which His disciples are about to enjoy with Him and with the Father. In the following paragraphs I will breakdown each verse in an attempt to provide a better understanding of what is written.

John 15:1 states “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.” In the Old Testament, the “vine” is a well-known symbol for the nation Israel as it is written in Isaiah 5:1-7 and Psalms 80:8-18.

Isaiah 5:1-7, I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit. “Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad? Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be destroyed; I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled. I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and briers and thorns will grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it.” The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the garden of his delight. And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.

Psalms 80:8-18, You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. You cleared the ground for it, and it took root and filled the land. The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches. It sent out its boughs to the Sea, its shoots as far as the River. Why have you broken down its walls so that all who pass by pick its grapes? Boars from the forest ravage it and the creatures of the field feed on it. Return to us, O God Almighty! Look down from heaven and see! Watch over this vine, the root your right hand has planted, the son you have raised up for yourself. Your vine is cut down, it is burned with fire; at your rebuke your people perish. Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand, the son of man you have raised up for yourself. Then we will not turn away from you; revive us, and we will call on your name.

Jesus speaks of Himself not only as a vine, but as “the true vine”. The Father is the “gardener”, the One who tends the vine. Every branch which does not produce fruit in the Vine is removed by the Father. The purpose of the vine is to bear fruit.

In John 15:2 Jesus continues in saying “He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” By this Jesus is explaining that the unfruitful branches are removed from the vine and destroyed while those branches bearing fruit get life through the vine, are sustained by the vine, and produce fruit through the vine.

John 15:3 states “You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.” The disciples that Jesus is talking to are clean because they are already attached to the vine (Jesus).

In John 15:4-5 it is written “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” This clearly says that we cannot bear spiritual fruit apart from abiding in Him. Here Jesus instructs us that we can do nothing apart from Him, in which we constantly draw from His life, His strength, His truth. Thomas Arnold writes, “That in Him and through Him is all our life; that if at any time we sever our communion with Him by walking as it were by ourselves, and doing our works as our own works, then our strength fails, even as our faith has failed; that at the very moment we lose our sense of being united to Christ as branches to the vine, and as deriving all our spiritual life from His Spirit, the supply of strength so to speak is stopped; showing us that as we can do nothing, and by the deeds of the law, which we were endeavouring to do, there will no flesh be justified.”1

John 15:6 follows in stating “If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.” This clearly states the consequences if you choose not to remain in Him. By “thrown into the fire” Jesus is speaking about judgment. Elmer Towns writes, “The challenge of verse 6 is interpreted a four ways. First, the one who does not bear fruit is to lose his salvation, as he is “cast” into the judgment of hell. Second, some see the conditional “If” and view it as a warning against presuming to be saved. This is the professing Christian who does not possess eternal life; he is “cast” into judgment. A third interpretation is that this is a believer who loses his reward. The verse begins with “anyone” (singular) but ends with “they are burned” (plural), Which is reference to his rewards being lost(1 Cor. 3:12-15). The fire is not a reference to hell, where the unsaved are punished, but to the fire of the bema judgment where Christians are judged (Romans 14:10; 2 Cor. 5:10). The fourth interpretation implies the premature death of the believer who does not abide in Christ.”2

John 15:7-8 says “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” When we abide in Christ, we bear much fruit, bring glory to the Father, and we prove ourselves to be disciples of Jesus.

In John 15:9 Jesus continues by saying “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.” Jesus now speaks of abiding in Him as abiding in His love. Our Lord’s love for His disciples is like the Father’s love for Him.

John 15:10 states “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love.” Jesus says here that we are to keep His commandments just as He has kept His Father’s commandments, thus abiding in His love.

In John 15:11 it is written “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” If His disciples abide in Him, their sorrows will disappear and be replaced by great joy; His joy, full joy. Their hearts will overflow with joy.

Why did He use the illustration of the vine?

Jesus often used nature to illustrate spiritual truth. As simple as it sounds, fruit grows on branches that are connected to a vine. Jesus makes it clear in his analogy that he is the vine; we are the branches. Our job is not to bear fruit. We are to remain, or abide, in him. He will see to it that the fruit is produced. Elmer Towns writes, “A generally accepted view is that the branches in this illustration represent all Christians. Simply, fruitfulness is a result of being a Christian.”2

Just as the branch must receive its life from the vine, so believers must depend on Christ to find their spiritual vitality. If any part of the system fails, fruit will not appear.

One of the greatest temptations is the belief that one can produce fruit without abiding. Jesus makes it clear that when a branch abides, it will bear fruit. When the branch does not abide, fruit is impossible. If the vineyard is well-tended, the grape will be sweet. If the vineyard has been treated poorly, the fruit will be shriveled and sour. Fruit tells the truth about what’s going on in the system and that is probably why Jesus used it to talk to the disciples about there relationship to Him.

How does the statement I am relate to the Old Testament and reveal the deity of Christ?

There are a number of occasions where Jesus identifies himself as the “I Am” of the Bible. In the Old Testament the great “I Am” revelation has numerous predications that make amazing claims: I am with you always, I am your healer, I am your rock, I am the first and the last, I am Yahweh and there is no other,” etc. We also find Jesus’ revelation of himself making similar claims: I am the way, the truth, and the life; I am the resurrection and the life; I am the good shepherd; I am the door; I am the vine; etc.”

Certain verses stand out because of their claims of “I am” without predicates. In John 8:58 the Pharisees were disputing over the identity of Jesus, and Jesus said that Abraham rejoiced to see his day. They challenged this statement because Jesus was not yet fifty years old. Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I Am.” And they wanted to kill him for blasphemy. In that very same chapter, verses 24 and 28, Jesus said, “unless you believe that I am.” Make the comparison to Isaiah 43:10-11 which says “You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no savior.” You can see that same thing is said by God in the Old Testament. Clearly, Jesus was equating himself with Yahweh, the I Am of the Old Testament. These and other passages show that Jesus was identifying himself with God. Finally, Jesus declared “I and the Father are one” in John 10:30.

How does “I Am” statement show the deity of Christ?

All of the “I Am” statements in some way show the deity of Christ. In this particular statement the connection is very clear. The words “I Am” proclaim deity in their very definition. “I Am” is used several times in the Old Testament but I think that there are two verses that prove His deity if compared to the “I Am” statements made by Jesus in the New Testament. The first verse is in Exodus 3:14 which states “God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’" The second verse is found in Genesis 17:1 “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless.” Henry Allan Ironside states, “There is no other like Him. His very presence among men was the condemnation of all other men, for here, at last, was one Man absolutely holy, utterly true, perfectly righteous.”3

Conclusion

The “I Am” statement helps to support the belief that Jesus is Lord. John used these statements to accomplish his goal of leading people to believe that Jesus is Lord. After reading this report you should now know what Jesus meant by these statements, why He used the illustration of the vine, how the statement I am relates to the Old Testament, and how this statement shows the deity of Christ.

Bibliography

1 Arnold, T. Sermons on the Christian Life—It’s Hopes, its Fears, and its Close, 6th edition. London: T. Fellowes, 1859.

2 Towns, Elmer. The Gospel of John: Believe and Live (Chattanooga, Tennessee: AMG Publishers, 2002)

3 Ironside, Henry Allan. Addresses on the Gospel of John (Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers, 1974)

_ _ _. New Men’s Devotional Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: The Zondervan Corporation, 2006. THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

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