FRUIT FOR HIS GLORY
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Opening Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank you for your grace and mercy that are greater than my sin. Undeserving as I am, I praise you for your love and care.
Read JOHN 15:1–8
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
The Vine and the Branches
15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 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. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also 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.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
Reflect
‘Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.’1
Jesus makes his seventh and final ‘I am’ saying: ‘I am the true vine’ (v. 1). What does he mean by the vine being ‘true’? He seems to be comparing himself to Old Testament descriptions of Israel as a vine (or vineyard), in which Israel is depicted as faithless and doomed to punishment: ‘Your vine is cut down, it is burned with fire; at your rebuke your people perish’.2 By contrast, Jesus is the true and faithful One: ‘the son of man you have raised up for yourself.’3
Jesus’ fundamental desire is to draw his listeners into a relationship of mutual indwelling. He urges his disciples to ‘Remain in me’ (v. 4) and also assures them that he (and his words) remain in them. What do we need to do to remain in Jesus? One answer comes earlier in the gospel: ‘Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them.’4 We need to accept Jesus’ death—his sacrifice of love—and participate in remembering it with faith.
Speaking as a terrible gardener, I know exactly what happens when plants aren’t pruned. Their stems grow tall and thick, and you don’t get many flowers or fruit. Eventually, you have to hack them back and start again. Jesus places before his disciples a challenging choice. Are they going to ‘remain’ in him (and submit to his ‘pruning’ or cleansing touch) or go their own way but find that their lives are fruitless?
Apply
Go for a walk, perhaps in a garden (or vineyard!). Ask God how you should ‘remain’ in him.
Closing prayer
Father, prune my heart in ways that draw me closer to Jesus; enable me to be more fruitful, and bring you glory as I show others who you are.
1 Eph 1:3. 2 Ps 80:16. 3 Ps 80:17. 4 John 6:56.
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