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The True Vine
By Edgar Jones
INTRODUCTION
Here we take a careful look at the Parable of the Vine from John 15. But first we should acknowledge that this does not meet the strict requirements of a parable, which is defined as "a short, fictitious story that illustrates a religious principle." There is no fictitious story here, but rather a series of comparisons that more accurately constitute an extended metaphor. Nevertheless, we will refer to it as a parable to conform to common usage. We should also note that the Fourth Gospel, in sharp contrast to the synoptics, does not contain a single parable that conforms to the definition. Some may maintain that the "Woman in Travail" of John 16:21 is a parable, but there is no "fictitious story" there either. The word "parable" does not appear in this gospel. This is surprising given the heavy emphasis on parables in the synoptics.
This paper also continues a series of papers recently published that have a two fold purpose. First, we have defined Jesus' vision for the incorporation of his disciples while they remain in this world. Second, we have examined the Christian Church in the light of Jesus' vision. By this means we have learned that the Christian Church, including its many divisions, cannot be the corporate body that Jesus envisioned for his disciples.
Now we focus on The Parable of the Vine, which condenses his vision into a single, powerful metaphor of astonishing simplicity. We must first examine the parable as recorded (RSV) then we will continue by expanding on critical words and verses below. You who have been depending on a church with its ministry to educate and guide you should prepare for a shock as he describes the true corporate body of his disciples.
I. The Text
John 15
1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine dresser.
2 Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
3 You are already made clean by the word which 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. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
6 If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as 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 will, and it shall 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.
12 "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
13 Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
14 You are my friends if you do what I command you.
15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.
16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide; so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
17 This I command you, to love one another.II. The True Vine
I am the true vine.Jesus himself is the vine in its totality. Why did he specify, "true vine?" Surely it is because there is at least one false vine, and it is in contrast with it that Jesus is the true vine.Can we identify a false vine? Yes, because Jesus founded many of his conceptions on Old Testament precepts, and there we find a vine clearly defined, in the following texts:
Israel is a luxuriant vine that yields its fruit. The more his fruit increased the more altars he built; as his country improved he improved his pillars. Their heart is false; now they must bear their guilt. The LORD will break down their altars, and destroy their pillars. (Hosea 10:1,2)In the prophetic texts we come repeatedly to Israel as the vine that is being punished or condemned, having been planted as a vine of the Lord but not having borne fruit. These two are typical of the texts referring to Israel or Jerusalem as the vine that did not bear the desired fruit.Restore us, O God of hosts; let thy face shine, that we may be saved! Thou didst bring a vine out of Egypt; thou didst drive out the nations and plant it. Thou didst clear the ground for it; it took deep root and filled the land. The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches; it sent out its branches to the sea, and its shoots to the River. (Psalm 80:7-11)
I conclude, therefore, that it is against this background that Jesus referred to himself as the "true vine." The nation of Israel was intended to bear fruit for God, but it failed. Now Jesus, the true vine, has been planted and is bearing fruit for the Father. He does not fail, and so he is the true vine. The nation of Israel did not bring forth the desire fruit, therefore we find Jesus saying,
Matthew 21:43As king of the fruit bearing nation, Jesus is himself the nation in its totality, and he does not fail to bring forth the fruits of the kingdom.
Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing the fruits of it."
III. The Vinedresser
". . . my Father is the vinedresser."
We also know the identity of the one who cares for the vine. He is the Father of Jesus, "Our Father who is in heaven." "Vinedresser" is rendered from the Greek word, georgos, that in turn comes from ga (earth) and ergos (work) and is, literally, a worker in the earth, a tiller of the soil -- in modern English, a farmer. Insofar as the vine is concerned, the georgos digs about the vine and does other things as we shall see. Those whose name is "George" will be interested in learning that this is the derivation of their name, and that somewhere there may have been a farmer in the family tree -- or a vinedresser.
We will see below that it is by means of the Word that the Vinedresser prunes the Vine. The Father is the active pruner, or vinedresser, because it is His Words that do the pruning. The words were uttered by Jesus, but he heard them first from the Father.
John 14IV. The Pruning
24 He who does not love me does not keep my words; and the word which you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me.2 Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.This task, pruning, is a very critical one in a real vineyard and requires great skill born of experience. That Jesus understood this shows that he was very familiar with grape culture, otherwise he could not have known that by pruning a fruit bearing branch one can cause it to bear more fruit. He also knows that each branch has its fruit bearing life, after which I must be removed from the vine, for it will bear no more fruit. Those who are interested will find a good description of grape culture, including the expertise required for proper pruning, at the following link:
3 You are already made clean by the word which I have spoken to you.http://www.msue.msu.edu/vanburen/e-1935.htm
By what means does the Father dress the vine, or prune it? We find the answer in v. 3. The pruning is also the "making clean" of the heart and soul of the individual, which he accomplishes by means of the Word. We must always keep in mind that when Jesus speaks of the Word in such a way, he means the Word of God that issues from his lips. His disciples were already clean because they had cast off all the impediments to receiving his Word and so, receiving the Word, they were cleansed by the Word. The close relation between the pruning and the making clean is seen clearer in the Greek, where "pruning" and "cleaning" are both rendered from kathairo. They are the same word. So Jesus tells his disciples:
3 You are already pruned by the word which I have spoken to you.How does the Word work to accomplish this pruning, or cleansing? To give personal examples, I was once a patriot -- then the Word pruned my patriotism. I was once a churchman -- then the Word pruned my ecclesiasticism. I was once a lover of life, but the Word is cleansing me of that love, that I might know that love that is far better. It is thus that the Word prunes, or cleanses, us. If one is to hear, receive, and believe his Word, there are some things that just have to go!
V. The Fruit
What is the fruit of this vine?
This is the crucial question, for the whole raison d'etre of the vine is its fruit. In the case of grape vines, the fruit is grapes and, ultimately, the fruit of the vine that is wine. Indeed, Jesus applied this expression, "fruit of the vine" to wine at the last supper (Luke 22:18). But of course, the fruit of this vine is not grapes or wine, for this is only a metaphor, and grapes and wine must stand for something other than themselves.
There are three ways to derive an answer for this question. One is to search the gospels to see what Jesus may elsewhere have defined as the fruit desired by the Father. So, we have:
Matthew 12Without a doubt, Jesus viewed the words we speak as fruits, and the nature of the words to be indicative of the status of the heart, for
31 Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.
32 And whoever says a word against the Son of man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.
33 "Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or make the tree bad, and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit.
34 You brood of vipers! how can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
35 The good man out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.
36 I tell you, on the day of judgment men will render account for every careless word they utter;
37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.". . . out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.Furthermore, it is our words that will testify for or against us on the Day of Judgment, since it is by our words that we will either be justified or condemned. The words come from the heart and bear testimony for or against us on the last day. It is very probable that Jesus means that our words are the fruit of this Vine.The second way to derive the answer to our question, "What is this fruit?" is to examine the prophetic texts that speak of the vine and see if the fruit of the vine is further defined there. I quoted two such texts above, but they have no direct mention of fruit. The following text, that also identifies Israel as the vine, then proceeds to identify the fruit:
Isaiah 5Here, Israel and the "men of Judah" are not just a vine, but the whole vineyard, nevertheless the fruit is clearly identified. The Lord looked for grapes, but got wild grapes. He looked for justice, but received bloodshed. He looked for righteousness, but behold, a cry!.
1 Let me sing for my beloved a love song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill.
2 He digged it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; and he looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes.
3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, between me and my vineyard.
4 What more was there to do for my vineyard, that I have not done in it? When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes?
5 And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down.
6 I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and briers and thorns shall grow up; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.
7 For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting; and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, a cry!Justice and righteousness are the desired fruits of the failed vine that was Israel.
Furthermore, these fruits are set before us throughout the prophets as the desire of the Lord from Israel:
Amos 5:24 But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.The latter of these texts points directly to Jesus, and again, justice and righteousness are the fruits the Lord desires.Jeremiah 23
5 "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.The third way to get an an answer to our question, "What are the fruits?" is to examine the context, and this is perhaps the most direct and reliable way. The two ways we have examined thus far require that we reach outside the immediate context and create relationships with other scriptures, which necessarily degrades the assurance that we are deriving the correct answer to our question. But when we examine the immediate context as quoted above, beginning at v. 8, we read:
8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples.Closing the parable with the simple statement, that the Father is glorified when the disciples bear much fruit and so prove to be his disciples, Jesus then asserts that the disciples will abide in his love if they keep his commandments. This "abiding in my love" is clearly another way of describing how the branches abide in the vine, and it is accomplished by keeping his commandments, as he has kept the Father's commandments and abides in the Father's love.
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.John 14:15We abide in him through abiding in his love, and the mark of this is the keeping of his commandments. By keeping his commandments we prove our love for him. This is the proof that the disciples are in the vine, or are abiding in his love. But, by v. 8, it is the bearing of "much fruit" that is the proof that we are his disciples.
If you love me, you will keep my commandments.Conclusion?
The keeping of his commandments is the fruit that he requires of this vine.
So, by one means we have determined that good words are the desired fruit of the vine; by the other, we arrive at justice and righteousness; by yet another means we have determined that the fruits in this parable consists in keeping his commandments. Jesus singles out his New Commandment, "Love one another," (v. 12) but clearly all of his commandments are involved because he first uses the plural, "commandments." We find this insistence on keeping his commandments in the other gospels as well. We have this:
Luke 6This identifies the commandments that Jesus has in mind in the Parable of the Vine. They are the commandments that issue from his lips, from "what I tell you." To be specific, they include the commandment to love our enemies and to turn the other cheek when struck, and all the seemingly severe commands of the Sermon on the Mount.
46 Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you?Must we then choose one from three different answers?
No, not at all, because the answers are not really different. They are only different ways of expressing the same answer.
If a person loves him and if one abides in his love, one will keep his commandments. These are the commandments expressed by the words of Jesus and, when kept, the result will be good and edifying words because our words issue from the heart and our hearts will be right when we keep his commandments. Keeping his commandments also produces justice and righteousness. All are fruit in the mind of Jesus, and so it all goes together. As fruits, they cannot be separated, and when they are produced they are indicative of the true disciple.
We have here a trinity of divine fruit. We produce good words from a good heart; we produce justice and righteousness; and third, we produce obedience to the commandments of Jesus.
Those who abide in the vine also abide in his love, and they love Jesus. They then bear the desired fruits, all of which go together -- they keep his commandments, good words issue from their lips and their hearts and they produce fruits of justice and righteousness. These are the fruits of the vine, and all grow together.
VI. The Branches
5 I am the vine, you are the branches.The disciples, individually, are the branches. The first disciples, to whom Jesus first addressed these words, were individual branches of the vine and we, if we are true disciples of Jesus, are each a branch in the vine.There have been numerous false conceptions of the branches. Some have said that each branch is an individual church; some have said that each branch is a separate denomination, and so on. All of it is false, for Jesus has himself clearly define each branch as an individual disciple. One disciple = one branch; two disciples = two branches. So Jesus confirms in saying,
6 If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers;You see? A man = a branch. Each branch is an individual person.The fruits of the branches must then be the fruits of individual disciples, not of corporate bodies.
Note carefully how each branch (each disciple) is individually attached to the vine, which is Jesus. The branches do not have branches, they only have fruit.
Do you see the cleansing power - the pruning power - of the Word of Jesus? When we listen to him, even to this simple parable, we learn that each branch is a branch of his due only to its individual connection to the vine, which is Jesus. Receiving this Word cleanses each disciple from the putrefaction of ecclesiasticism, from that frame of mind that has one saying, "I am of Luther." and another saying, "I am of Calvin." and yet another saying, "I am of the Baptists" and yet another saying, "I am of the Catholics." Or another saying, "I belong to First Methodist Church; their pastor is so great!" Or yet another saying, "I belong to Second Baptist Church; their adult Sunday School teacher really knows his Bible." All who truly receive the Word find that all these, and every other evil thing, gets pruned so that we can produce more fruit.
The churchmen are so deaf that they cannot hear this simple thing and, not receiving the Word, are not cleansed. In Truth, absolutely no disciple of Jesus belongs to anything whatsoever but to the Vine, which is Jesus. This idea, of belonging as an individual to anything other than this Vine, is an idea that makes one sterile so that no fruit results.
Such thinking gives branches to branches -- interposes other men between the disciples and Jesus -- so that the words of men come between the disciples and the Words of Jesus. This always issues in sectarianism. No! Absolutely not, for the Father, by his cleansing, pruning Word does not allow it!
He is truly cleansing! He is truly pruning!
VII. The Abiding
1. The Word
We find, in the parable, these specific statements that speak of abiding:
1. (v.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."Abiding" is the English translation of the Greek verb, meno. Both words, used intransitively as they are here, mean simply to stay, remain, continue or sojourn in a place. In this case, the place is in the vine that is Jesus, and we can perceive from the heavy emphasis upon it in this parable that It is very important.2. (v.5) He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
3. (v.6) If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned.
4. (v.7) If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.
5. (v.9) As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love.
6. (v.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.
If one abides in Jesus one can bear fruit, but if not, one can do nothing. To abide in Jesus, in the Vine, one must keep his commandments, which very thing one will do if one loves Jesus. Then, keeping his commandments and loving him, one will abide in his love and one will abide in him. But his commandments come to us in his Word, therefore one must receive his Word to keep his commandments and so abide in him. Consequently, Jesus makes this very thing most clear in v.7:
If you abide in me, and my words abide in you . . .This Parable of the Vine is a graphic portrayal of relationships specified in the preceding chapter, Chapter 14, where we find these statements:10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority; but the Father who dwells in me does his works.When Jesus utters his words, which are the words of the Father, he does the works of the Father "who dwells in me." Jesus is in the Father, and the Father is in Jesus because, by the Word, the Father does his works. Here the delivery of the Word is equivalent to "works." It is the medium of the Word that places Jesus in the Father and the Father in Jesus.
11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in me; or else believe me for the sake of the works themselves16 And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you for ever,Enter the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, and again it is by the medium of the words that the Holy Spirit enters and dwells within one, according to this saying of Jesus:
17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him; you know him, for he dwells with you, and will be in you.John 6:63You see how it is that "the words that I have spoken to you" are equivalent to the Spirit?
It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
So, apart from receiving his words, one cannot receive the Holy Spirit.Now, back to Chapter 14:
19 Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more, but you will see me; because I live, you will live also.
20 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.23 Jesus answered him, "If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.Do you see it? Do you see and realize the supreme importance of our response to the Word of the Father uttered by Jesus? It is the Word that mediates all, for it is through the Word and the keeping of the Word that the love of the Father is realized in one, and it is through the Word and the keeping of the Word that the Father, the Son, and The Holy Spirit enter into one and make their home there, and it is by this means that one enters into the Lord and into the Father, and abides in the Vine! Therefore we are assured of the Truth and have perfect confidence in the promise of v. 23:If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.2. The LoveThe Parable of the Vine, with all the "abiding in" that one finds there, ends at v. 15:8, but then Jesus continues immediately with a related discourse on love such that one understands that love is the bond that holds one in him. It is through love for him that one receives his Word and obeys his commandments, thus entering into him and he into each one; and it is through obeying the commandments of Jesus that one loves him, the Father, and the others in the Vine that is Jesus. So we find Jesus teaching:
John 15Note especially v.10:
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.
12 "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
13 Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love.But we have already learned that it is through keeping his commandments that one abides in him (in the Vine), therefore we know that abiding in him is equivalent to abiding in his love, which is the status of all who keep his commandments and so portray their love for him. Therefore love binds all together within the Vine, and all abide by the commandment,12 "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.How marvelous! The Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit and the disciples are all bound together within the Vine that is Jesus, and this binding is the love that passes among them. And it is the Word of the Father as uttered by Jesus and recorded in the gospels that mediates all!
VIII. The Asking
All who abide in the Vine are recipients of the most astonishing promise ever rendered by God to man. Surely there is a catch?
7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.It shall be done for you! There are no apparent qualifications whatsoever . . . except for the one condition, "If you abide in me."But is it true? Can we really depend on this promise?
Think of the countless prayers that must have been offered up through the ages by the Christians, and in Jesus' name. Think of the many prayers that are being offered up this very day in his name. Are all of them being granted?
One poor soul, on death's bed, offers up the prayer for recovery and extended life. Not only so, but those who love the dying person are praying earnestly for healing and recovery . . . but death comes nevertheless.
The whole land is in the midst of a great drought; crops are failing, babies are starving, and the skies are clear. The entire nation is earnestly praying for rain. Does it rain? Not that day!
The nation is on the verge of war, and the Christians are earnestly praying for peace throughout the land . . . but war comes.
One is heavily indebted through no fault of one's own, when a better paying position opens up at the office. So, one prays for the promotion, and does not get it.
Can we really depend on this promise of Jesus?
We are tempted to doubt that Jesus really made such a promise. Could the disciples have misunderstood him?
No, because this promise is not only listed here, but repeated many times in the gospels. Consider the following:
Matthew 7:7This promise it too well attested to be a misquote of the Word. Jesus made this promise, and many have fallen away because of the resulting loss of confidence in Him when he failed to give whatever was asked. Is this the iceberg that sinks his ship?
Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.Matthew 7:11
If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!Matthew 18:19
Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.Matthew 21:22
And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.John 14:13
Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son;John 14:14
if you ask anything in my name, I will do it.John 15:16
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide; so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.John 16:23
In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask anything of the Father, he will give it to you in my name.John 16:24
Hitherto you have asked nothing in my name; ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.No, because what people overlook is that Jesus made this promise specifically and only to those who "abide in the Vine." That is the one condition and it is absolutely critical! The promise is solely to the branches. Everyone has been pruned by the Father, and is being pruned. This pruning results in severe restrictions on the kind of things for which we ask the Father. The reason prayers go unanswered is not a failure of Jesus and the Father to keep this promise. It is that the prayers are offered by those who are not branches of the Vine. They are unpruned, so they ask for things that the Father is not inclined to give. They are unpruned, and the Father does not even listen to them. The promise is not given to them, but only to those who abide in the Vine. It is only to individuals of the "little flock" that Jesus made this promise, and it never fails!
If and when one finds that one's prayers in Jesus' name are not being answered, the most common explanation is that one does not ask in faith. That may be true, but it is not the fundamental reason, which is that one is not abiding in the Vine.
IX. The Casting Forth
6 If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned.Note carefully the sole condition here: "If a man does not abide in me . . .." This must refer to individuals who were never a branch of the Vine that is Jesus, for they do not abide in Jesus, they do not abide in the Vine. We must interpret this in the light of Jesus' other utterance concerning the fierce Judgment of God. He explained the Parable of the Weeds as follows:Matthew 13We also have this concerning false prophets that, since it speaks of fruit, it is even more applicable to the Parable of the Vine than is the Parable of the Weeds:
37 He answered, "He who sows the good seed is the Son of man;
38 the field is the world, and the good seed means the sons of the kingdom; the weeds are the sons of the evil one,
39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels.
40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age.
41 The Son of man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers,
42 and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.
43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.Matthew 7To these we add other utterances of Jesus as follows:
15 "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
16 You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles?
17 So, every sound tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears evil fruit.
18 A sound tree cannot bear evil fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.
19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
20 Thus you will know them by their fruits.Matthew 18
8 And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life maimed or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire.Matthew 25This is the destiny of all who do not abide in the Vine. I understand the reluctance of many sweet souls to believe that the Father will thus dispose of all who do not abide in the Vine, but Jesus said it and I will not deny it.
41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels;Now look again at the parable and compare the "casting forth" verse 6 with verse 2:
John 15It is often thought that these are two ways of saying the same thing, one involving a "casting forth" and the other a "taking away." This is not the case, for the two verses speak of completely different categories of individuals.
2 Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.6 If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned.
The condition in v. 2 is the bearing of fruit. The condition in v.6 is "If a man does not abide in me." The unfruitful branch in v.2 abides in the Vine, but it is unfruitful. The branch in v.6 does not abide in the Vine.
The result, in v.2, is that he "takes away." The result in v.6 is that he "casts forth."
Everything is different, so Jesus is speaking of two completely different categories. We have identified the category of v.6. How do we identify the category of v.2?
Jesus did not elaborate, which is somewhat of a mystery since he makes everything else so easy to interpret. But let us consider two things and then we will be able to interpret it clearly:
1. The branches of the Vine represents the disciples of Jesus only while they live in this world.I think Jesus did not identify the unfruitful branches that he "takes away" because he was speaking to people who were very familiar with the culture of grapes and the maintenance of vineyards. He knew they would understand, and we should also, that the branches that the vinedresser "takes away" are the disciples of Jesus who, perhaps grown old and feeble, can no longer bear fruit in this world. These are the ones he "takes away" to be with him in his Glory.2. In grape culture, the fruitful branches grow old and, one by one, cease to bear fruit. Then the vinedresser "takes them away."
Jesus has clearly stated the destiny of those who do not abide in the Vine. The Second Verse then, must refer to the eternal destiny of the true disciples who abide in him while they remain in this world until they can no longer bear fruit.
Conclusion
The True Vine is an organism -- a living entity among all the plants of the earth. I have carefully selected the word, "organism" because it conveys exactly what the Parable of the Vine intends to convey, according to this definition:1
2 : an individual constituted to carry on the activities of life by means of organs separate in function but mutually dependent; a living being.Jesus is the individual, who said, "I am the true vine." His true disciples are the organs, separate in function but mutually dependent. Therefore Jesus is alive in the world today and always as the True Vine.Every branch bonds directly to Jesus. It is directly from him, through his Word, that the true disciple receives nourishment. There is absolutely no intermediary between Jesus our Lord and each of his disciples such as we find among the churchmen.
All the branches, as branches of the same True Vine, are mutually bonded, the one to the other, because they obey his commandment, "Love one another." They are therefore bonded together in love, and mutually dependent.
Finally, its life comes from the Spirit and is mediated by the Word, as Jesus so simply stated:
John 6:63The Parable of the Vine therefore leaves no place for the Christian churches, with their ministers, administrators and authorities. They are excluded by the Word. Examine this parable carefully and with an open mind, as we have sought to do here, and you will see that it is so.
It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
1. http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?va=organism
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