I Am the True Vine John 15:18
I Am the True Vine
John 15:1-‐8
• “I am the bread of life” (6:35)
• “I am the light of the world” (8:12; 9:5)
• “I am the door” (10:7,9)
• “I am the good shepherd” (10:11,14)
• “I am the resurrecIon and the life” (11:25)
• “I am the way, the truth and the life” (14:6)
• “I am the true vine” (15:1)
I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away: and every branch that bears fruit, He purges it, that it may bring forth more fruit. 3Now you are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 4Abide in me, and I in you.
As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can you, except you abide in Me. 5I am the vine, you are the branches: he that abides in Me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without Me you can do nothing.
6If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. 7If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you. 8Herein is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; so shall you be My disciples.
Isaiah 5:1-‐7 Now let me sing to my Well-‐beloved a song of my Beloved regarding His vineyard: My Well-‐beloved has a vineyard on a very fruiXul hill. 2He dug it up and cleared out its stones, and planted it with the choicest vine. He built a tower in its midst, and also made a winepress in it; so He expected it to bring forth good grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes
The Original Vine: Israel Isaiah 5:1-‐7 3“And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, please, between Me and My vineyard. 4What more could have been done to My vineyard that I have not done in it? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes? 5And now, please let Me tell you what I will do to My vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it shall be burned; and break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down.
The Original Vine: Israel Isaiah 5:1-‐7 6I will lay it waste; It shall not be pruned or dug, but there shall come up briers and thorns. I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain on it.” 7For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are His pleasant plant. He looked for jusIce, but behold, oppression; for righteous-‐ness, but behold, a cry for help.
“what more could I have done”
“wild grapes”
Jeremiah 2:21 Yet I had planted you a noble vine, a seed of highest quality. How then have you turned before Me into the degenerate plant of an alien vine?
• Hosea 10:1-‐2 Israel empIes his vine; he brings forth fruit for himself. According to the mulItude of his fruit he has increased the altars; according to the bounty of his land they have embellished his sacred pillars. 2Their heart is divided; now they are held guilty. He will break down their altars; He will ruin their sacred pillars.
self-‐absorbed
The Problem: self-‐sufficiency
Hosea 14:8 “Ephraim shall say, ‘What have I to do anymore with idols?’ I have heard and observed him. I am like a green cypress tree; your fruit is found in Me.”
“visit this vine” • Psalm 80:14–17 Return, we beseech You, O God of hosts; look down from heaven and see, and visit this vine 15and the vineyard which Your right hand has planted, and the branch that You made strong for Yourself.
“visit this vine” • Psalm 80:14–17 16It is burned with fire, it is cut down; they perish at the rebuke of Your countenance. 17Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand, upon the Son of Man whom You made strong for Yourself.
Not the opposite of false; but perfect, essenIal, enduring
• True Light (1:9) • True Bread (6:32) • True Tabernacle
(Heb. 8:2)
: _________________________ (3)
“clean through the Word”
“bear fruit” (2) “bear more fruit” (2) “bear much fruit” (5, 8)
William Barclay
“At certain Imes of the year. It was sIpulated by law of the people were to bring wood offerings to the temple to supply the fires a sacrifice. But it was also sIpulated that the wood of the vine must not be brought, because it was useless for that purpose. It burned too quickly. The vine was useless apart from producIon (Ezekiel 15:2-‐4).”
A. He graphs the branches “in Christ” (2)
“My Father is the Vinedresser.” (1b)
A. He graphs the branches “in Christ” (2)
B. He li@s up to separate from the world (2)
“airo” -‐ 4 basic meanings:
a) To lij up or pick up b) To lij up figuraIvely as to lij up one's voice or eyes
c) To lij up with the added thought of carrying away
d) To remove
A. He graphs the branches “in Christ” (2)
B. He li@s up to separate from the world (2)
C. He prunes to increase producIon (2-‐3)
1. “prunes” (2)
2. “pure” (3)
katharós = clean, pure
kathaírō = to cleanse, purify
John 15:3 Now you are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
Psalm 119:9 Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to Thy word.
A. “Abide” (4-‐6, 9-‐11)
Used 51 Imes John’s wriIngs:
• John 1:38 • John 4:40 • John 14:2
1. Trust: By depending completely on the Vine (4, 5)
2. Obey: By yielding to (10) & being controlled by His word (7)
searching tendrils
A. “Abide” (4-‐6, 9-‐11) B. “Ask” (7-‐8)
C. “Love one another” (12-‐17)
D. “Remember” (18-‐25)
"This is the LM pilot. I 'd like to take this opportun-‐ity to ask every person listening in, whoever and wherever they may be, to pause for a moment and contemplate the events of the past few hours and to give thanks in his or her own way." He then ended radio communicaIon and there, on the silent surface of the moon, 250,000 miles from home, he read a verse from the Gospel of John, and he took communion. Here is his own account of what happened: "In the radio blackout, I opened the lirle plasIc packages which contained the bread and the wine. I poured the wine into the chalice our church had given me. In the one-‐sixth gravity of the moon, the wine slowly curled and gracefully came up the side of the cup. Then I read the scripture, 'I am the vine, you are the branches. Whosoever abides in me will bring forth much fruit ..Apart from me you can do nothing. '
Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong
July 20, 1969
He then ended radio communicaIon and there, on the silent surface of the moon, 250,000 miles from home, he read a verse from the Gospel of John, and he took communion. Here is his own account of what happened:
"In the radio blackout, I opened the lirle plasIc packages which contained the bread and the wine. I poured the wine into the chalice our church had given me. In the one-‐sixth gravity of the moon, the wine slowly curled and gracefully came up the side of the cup.
“Then I read the scripture, ‘I am the true vine, you are the branches. Whosoever abides in Me will bring forth much fruit . . . apart from Me you can do nothing’.”