Introduction
In this study we will look at the branches, what they mean and the role they play in producing fruit. In doing this we will find out exactly what the Lord Jesus is teaching us about the Christian life.
The branch
““Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit” (:2).
The branch only finds existence because of the sustenance that the vine gives it. It cannot live or produce anything if it disconnected from the vine. The vine needs branches if it is to be fruitful itself. Therefore branch that fails to bear fruit brings dishonour to the vine, and has to be removed by the husbandman.
The branches share the same nature and life as the vine, and as such are not seen as separate entities to it, unless of course they become detached from it. As believers we are “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4) because we have “the Spirit of Christ” dwelling in us (Romans 8:9). To a certain degree we share His likeness, and ought to exhibit the same in this world. Nevertheless, we are totally dependent upon Christ for all things, for just as the vine feeds the branches, so too do we find our strength in Him. “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13).
We must be content to simply be branches, for too many have desired to be the vine, only to find that their spiritual life withered and died. Our job is to receive everything the vine offers us to grow abundantly and produce much fruit. If faith works, then this is how it does.
I and You
“I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing” (:5).
Notice how Jesus personalises the parable. Our whole Christian life finds its foundation on these two little words. It is Jesus and us, that is, a personal relationship with Him. If we get the order right then our lives will be fruitful, but put ourselves first and we’ll quickly be disappointed.
As branches we rest in and are secured by the vine. This is the Christian life explained in sheer simplicity, but in fact informs us of its greatest blessing. If we abide in Him, we will never suffer loss. If we submit to this formula then we will find that obedience, holiness and fruitfulness are not so difficult at all. In reality Jesus has done all the work so that we can be fruitful. We have simply got to stop trying to do the work of the vine.
We ought not to doubt about our salvation, for the One we are dependent upon is the True Vine that the Husbandman planted, therefore we are in the right place if we are attached to Him. Nor should we, as so many do, fear losing our salvation. How can we be lost if we continue to abide in the vine? Added to this is the knowledge that both the Husbandman and the Vine has ordained that we produce much fruit. “And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life” (1 John 5:20).
Withered branches
“If 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” (:6).
The sad fact is, just as the parable states, there are some who branches that become divorced from the vine. So though the teaching is simple, there is a solemn side of it that cannot be avoided. The withered state can only be reached by those who refuse to abide in Christ and feel they can live the Christian life without His power. Maybe they started out well, but came to believe that good deeds and law-keeping would give them a fast route to fruitfulness. “Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? … Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?” (Galatians 3:3, 5:7).
We see then that it all comes down to not abiding in Christ, or what we may call holy obedience. Those who become withered are just happy that they said a sinner’s prayer in an evangelical setting in the past. Jesus is just a ticket to avoid Hell. In a nutshell, they have never loved the Lord or truly worshipped Him from their heart, nor have they forsaken all to follow Him. “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:24-26). They became religious instead of Christian. Then as soon as tribulation arose, they began to wither away. “And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away” (Matthew 13:6).
There is no point to this parable if the branches were not first attached to the vine before they withered and died. The whole point is that it is possible for a believer to stop believing by allowing an “evil heart of unbelief” to cause their “departing from the living God” (Hebrews 3:12).
Conclusion
Once again we have learnt that God has provided every means possible for our spiritual growth and fruitfulness. It is not His will for us to wither, but instead that we produce much fruit by abiding in Christ. “And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper” (Psalm 1:3) … “Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing” (Psalm 92:13-14) … “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit” (Jeremiah 17:7-8). Let us be always found trusting and obeying the Lord.
© 8/3/2010