So we're in John chapter 15,
and reading from verse one. I am the true vine, and my father
is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth
not fruit, he taketh away. And every branch that beareth
fruit, he purgeth it, or pruneth it, that it may bring forth more
fruit. Now ye are clean through the
word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit
of itself except it abide in the vine, no more can ye except
ye abide in me. 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. 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. If ye abide
in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will,
and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified,
that ye bear much fruit, so shall ye be my disciples. Amen. May the Lord bless to us this
reading from his word as well. So having spoken in the previous
chapter about the help that he would provide for his disciples
upon his return to heaven, the Lord Jesus goes on to describe
in this passage his union with his church. that close, mystical,
divine, spiritual relationship that he has with his people. And to do so, to describe his
union with his church, the Lord employs a similitude. Now a similitude is a comparison. It's an analogy. Similitude isn't
a word that we use very often nowadays. It might be a new word
to many of you. But it is a good word to describe
the way that the Lord often uses pictures. of familiar things
to convey truths and lessons about something deeper. This isn't a parable. It's a
picture, an analogy, a similitude. He uses to describe something
profound, something perhaps we could say abstract. Because here's
the thing, there is nothing in the world comparable to Christ's
union with his church. It's unique. There are lots of
relationships in the world. There's the relationship of husband
and wife. There's a relationship of father
and children. There's a relationship of a king
or ruler and subject. There are lots and lots of relationships,
but there is nothing There is nothing as intimate, there is
nothing as precious, there is nothing as mysterious and mystical
and glorious as the relationship between the Lord Jesus Christ
and his people. It's unique. So how do you begin
to describe it? And the Lord does so by using
a similitude to open up the meaning. Now, I guess we all understand
that the Lord is not teaching us here about growing vines and
harvesting grapes. The Lord's lesson to his followers
teaches us about this sublime, perfect, blessed, fruitful union
that we have in being joined to him spiritually. He is the head and we are his
body. He is teaching us what it means
to abide in him or to be kept by him. And all who have faith
in Jesus Christ, have this spiritual union with Christ. Now our faith
might be small or it might be large, it might be great faith.
But if we have faith, we are united to the Lord Jesus Christ
and we abide in him. So here the Lord is speaking
about the spiritual union that he has placed us in by joining
us to himself and he likens it to fruitful branches attached
to a vine, to a stem, the stem of the vine that grows up and
the branches that are attached to that central stem. And actually, the figure of the
vine is a very appropriate similitude. The one true vine That could
also be translated the vine of truth, which would be equally
opposite for the Lord Jesus. But the one true vine is the
Lord. Its fruitful branches are those
that have been placed in Christ, and the labor of the husband
man who is the god, the father. He is the one who tends the vine.
He is the one who, perhaps we might think, planted the vine
and manages the vineyard and looks after the well-being of
the vine. He is the father, and this picture
of the vine and its branches and the husbandman is full of
beautiful applications and imagery that the Lord uses to describe
our relationship with him. The husband man, the grower,
plants and nurtures the true, the finest vine. Just as the
Lord Jesus Christ is the finest, the true saviour of his people. He works with the vine to promote
its growth and its fruitfulness. We learn of some branches that
don't bear fruit, so he chops them off. They're not real branches,
they're not fruit-bearing branches, so he chops them off. But the
branches that bear fruit, he prunes, he purges them to improve
their yield and to increase their harvest. Really the Lord is speaking about
his church and what it means to belong to him and to be joined
to him spiritually. What it is to be understanding
by faith. the relationship that we have
with him. Christ is telling us that he
is the source of all spiritual grace, all spiritual growth,
and all spiritual life and fruitfulness in our lives. He's telling us
that outside of Him, there is no grace, there is no growth,
and there is no fruitfulness. If we would have grace, growth,
and fruitfulness, it must be abiding in Christ. We can do
nothing of ourselves. Now naturally speaking, in this
physical life that we have, every breath that we breathe, every
heartbeat is God's gift. And it comes to us at his discretion. And similarly, according to the
similitude, every part of our spiritual life comes from God
through the Lord Jesus Christ. All spiritual life is His and
we are without strength except we are joined to the vine. This is useful, this is helpful.
Unless we are joined to the Lord Jesus Christ, we have nothing
of ourselves. It is Christ who enables, it
is Christ who empowers his branches or his people to live spiritual
lives. Those who imagine that they are
in some way autonomous, in some way living under the light of
God's Word and having to act and having to work and having
to live in their own strength and their own power and live
to the glory of God, have failed to grasp the point that the Lord
is making here. God the Father, knowing our deadness,
knowing our weakness, knowing our inabilities, knowing our
poverty, sent into the world the Lord Jesus, sustained in
the world, the God-Man, for the purpose of gathering a harvest
of men and women, boys and girls, into his kingdom. Jehovah God
is the first cause in all spiritual life. The Lord Jesus is the root
stock upon which we live and from whom we draw all goodness
and all grace. The Lord speaks of two kinds
of branches, barren and fruitful branches. Barren branches bear
no fruit, meaning telling us that not all professors of faith
are true believers. That's something that is always
worth remembering when we come to think about the Christian
witness, the Christian testimony, so-called in our land and all
the different churches that there are and all the different ministries
and teachings that exist. Not all professors are true believers. Many claim to possess spiritual
life, but the absence of fruit betrays their dead spiritual
state. They have no spiritual union
with Christ, and God will not allow them to remain amongst
his people. Sooner or later, they will be. They must be discarded and burned
up. However, of greater interest
to us today are the fruitful branches, and the Lord has much
to say in this similitude about these. And I trust that what the Lord
says will continue to bless us, as I'm sure it blessed the Lord's
disciples when he spoke this sermon to them. I think I mentioned
yesterday in my little note, it's possible, it's probable,
perhaps likely, that this sermon was preached to his disciples
after the Passover feast and after the Lord's Supper had been
instituted. And so here, reclining after
supper, the Lord lays forth this sermon concerning the union that
we have with him. We're going to speak a little
later about the Holy Spirit as well, but the first part of his
sermon speaks about this union that we have with him. And I'd
like to take, or I'd like to ask, three questions from what
the Lord says here today. The first one is this. What does
it mean when the Lord says, ye are clean? What does it mean
to be clean? You cannot be united to Christ. You cannot bear spiritual fruit
in your life if you are not clean in God's sight. Second question
I have is this. What is the purpose of pruning? What is the purpose of purging
and pruning? And is it as painful as it sounds? And thirdly, what kind of fruit
do we actually bear? So those are my three questions.
What does it mean to be clean? What is the purpose of purging?
and what kind of fruit do we bear? So my first question then,
let's see if we can answer it. What does it mean to be clean?
The Lord tells his disciples, now ye are clean through the
word which I have spoken unto you. Now ye are clean through
the word which I have spoken unto you. And if I may be so
presumptuous, This verse seems to be inserted here as a premise
that isn't quite connected to the verse before and not really
linking to the verse afterwards. The Lord speaks about being the
vine, and then he speaks about the branches, and then in verse
three he says, now ye are clean through the word which I have
spoken unto you, and then he goes on to talk about abiding
in the vine again. And there doesn't seem to be
an obvious connection between this verse inserted where it
is and the larger similitude that the Lord presents. Nevertheless, It ought to hold
our attention, if for no other reason, than here the Lord Jesus
Christ, who is God, tells this group of sinful men, for we're
all born in sin, we're all shaping in iniquity, we all do evil,
There is none that doeth good, no not one, tells this group
of sinful men they are clean in the sight of God. That should
cause us to be curious and interested about what the Lord is saying
here. Long ago, long, long time ago, Bildad the Shuhite, I think
I've said it before, that's a brilliant name, Bildad the Shuhite, Ask
the question, how then can man be justified with God? Or how
can he be clean that is born of a woman? Bildad understood
the impossibility of purity, perfection. cleanliness in the
sight of God. He wanted to know how can a man
be justified? How can a man be righteous before
God? How can he be clean that is born of a woman? And here
the Lord Jesus gives us the answer. Men and women are made clean
through the word of the gospel. men and women are made clean
through the word of the gospel. Sinners are justified by the
death and cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. And that's what
makes them clean and righteous, justified in the sight of God. Now, let me remind us all When
we talk about the word that has been spoken or this gospel, it's
not merely a message that is to be read and believed. Like
we read a weather forecast and we believe that the weather forecast
is true because of what is going to happen. It's not just that
when we talk about the gospel, we're not just talking about
the message itself, the bold, bland message. It's a word that
gathers together and describes the whole extensive work of God
in the gracious and merciful purpose of the salvation of sinners. The gospel includes it all. It
is the everlasting love of God. It is the justifying, electing
purpose of Jehovah. It is the sin-bearing work on
the cross of the man, Christ Jesus. It's the regenerating,
sanctifying work of God the Holy Spirit. It's the full saving
purpose of the triune God in time and eternity, in choosing,
redeeming, regenerating those loved by God from before the
foundation of the world. That's the gospel. That's what
we mean when we talk about the gospel. And the Lord Jesus Christ
tells his disciples that they are clean. They are justified
in the sight of God according to the word that he had preached
to them in the gospel. That is, according to God's free
grace and his atoning blood. all that is contained in the
work of the triune God to accomplish the salvation and deliverance
of sinners. And note how complete this is. Christ says, you are clean. You are clean. The Lord is clearly
and emphatically stating this to be so. He did not say, you're
almost clean. or you'll soon be clean, or you're
getting there. He declared them clean, and this
is so important. Christ, Christ, in all His holiness,
purity, and perfection, looked these men in the face and told
each one of them that they were clean and righteous in the sight
of God. By the grace of God, sinful men
and women are pardoned and justified by the blood of Jesus Christ. They are regenerated by the Holy
Spirit. They are born again by the creation
of a new heart within them. They have implanted a new heart
and principle of wholesomeness, of cleanliness, the grace of
God in our souls, in our hearts, in our minds. The disciples were
clean because they were united to Christ. All their blessedness
derived from being united to Him. So that picturing Christ
as the vine, them as the branches, speaks to us of this cleansing
that has been accomplished in the life of His people and the
fruitfulness that flows from that comes from what Jesus Christ
has done for us in the Gospel. They were justified in Christ,
sanctified in Christ, reconciled in Christ, holy in Christ, wise
unto salvation in Him, so that all our standing before God is
derived from the Lord Jesus Christ. And yes, it is true they were
still men in the flesh, Yes it is true they retained the old
nature of sin and that old man would contest the new creation
from that day forth but in the sight of God make no mistake
they were clean and this is true for every believer. We may be
a young believer, we may be an old believer, we may be a conscientious,
sincere, earnest believer, or we may be backslidden and careless
and thoughtless in so many ways, but the reality of the matter
is this. In God's sight, we are clean
if we are in Christ, and that's true for us all. We are much
more aware, I am sure, of the old nature than the new, because
it's the old man that distresses and disturbs us so much. Nevertheless,
Christ's word is true. Ye are clean. The gospel, the word that Christ
had spoken, is instrumental. It's the instrumental means of
bringing personal knowledge of God's mercy and grace into the
experience of redeemed men and women. Thereby, our souls are
renewed by the Spirit of God. Our hearts are cleansed from
sin, our conscience is cleared of guilt, and we are made all
fair and without spot as the righteousness of God is imputed
to us and received by faith and believed upon to the salvation
of our souls and the joy of our hearts. And if I haven't already made
the point, let me do it again. This is a fact. It did not depend on the disciples'
feelings. It did not hinge upon their efforts. It was not conditional on their
compliance or that they should keep the law. Justification,
sanctification and holiness was God's free gift of grace to these
men. And so it is to all to whom the
gospel or the word of Christ comes with power. May the Lord
give us all wisdom to receive this truth and live before him
in faith, in the faith that what I have just said is the truth,
what the Lord said is the truth. and may it find us trusting in
the success of Christ's work to make us completely clean before
God. That's the first question. I trust answered somewhat. What
does it mean to be clean? Here's my second question. What
is the purpose of pruning? Here the Lord tells us that there
yet, even although we are clean, there yet remains in the believer's
life the need for purging or pruning. And pruning, I'm going to use
the word pruning. Pruning is a useful depiction
of trial and trouble. in a believer's life. That it is a work, that it is
God the Father who is the husbandman, the one who, as it were, performs
the pruning, that it is a work undertaken by God the Father
in Christ's similitude, ought to reassure and comfort
us. Because what the Lord Jesus Christ
is telling us here is that God the Father, who has loved us
with an everlasting love, who has done so much in choosing
us and sanctifying us in Christ, in setting us apart, in sending
His Son into the world to die for us, so much to accomplish
our good and our salvation, that it is He who takes those pruning
scissors and sends these trials and troubles into our life ought
to be of comfort and ought to be of great reassurance to us. This work of pruning is conducted
by Him who loves us as a father loves a son, as a husband loves
a wife, as Christ loves those for whom He died. as we love
our own bodies. A master gardener prunes branches
to encourage abundance. He does not do it to punish the
vine or to hurt or harm or punish the branch. And just so, the
Lord God clips and crops and cuts away all hindrances to our
spiritual growth and to our spiritual development. That's what Christ
is telling us here. Pruning is not punishment for
sin. It is the preparation for more
and greater blessing, more and greater fruitfulness. And God's
pruning is sparing. He sends no more trial and trouble
into our lives than best suits our case and certainly no more
than we can endure. And he will supply sufficient
grace to overcome every cut and every bruise. He will give grace
for grace. He will give us strength to teach
us perseverance, patience to teach us long-suffering, disappointment
to keep us humble. And in such ways, He will have
the most fruit in us and the greatest honour to Himself. Is pruning, is purging as painful
as it sounds? Sure it is. Absolutely it is. In fact, if a vine could squeal
when it was pruned, it surely would. And when God's people
are tried and tested, they do not enjoy the experience for
a moment, and they wish it soon to end. And yet, This is the
means that God employs to increase our faith and enlarge our views
and our affections for Christ. By our sadnesses, by our pain,
by our hardships, by our frustration, by our longings and our loneliness,
by all our troubles, God employs these things to increase our
faith and bless us. He teaches us humility and patience
and forgiveness and mercy and love and joy and peace. He sharpens our desire for the
Savior, for the tender presence, the gentle touch, for the loving
embrace of our Savior. These things are more precious
to us because of the hardships that are sent and we learn from
pruning to value the union that we have with Christ and the blessedness
of abiding in Him. He is the source of all our spiritual
grace, all our growth, all our fruitfulness. Outside of Christ,
we can do nothing. Every breath, natural and spiritual,
comes from Him. All spiritual life is his and
we are without strength except and unless we are joined to the
true vine who enables and empowers and fructifies his branches. Makes us fruitful. Here's my
third point. What kind of fruit do we bear? Lord Jesus enables those who abide in him
and those in whom he abides, those who are united to him,
to bring forth much fruit. He enables us to do that. It's
Christ's work in us. So often we think that this is
our work. It is not. It is Christ's work.
He enables us to bring forth much fruit. He empowers us to
do so. All believers truly abide in
Him and He in them. So if you are a believer, all
believers bring forth fruit. Now maybe you think you don't
have much fruit. You trust in the Lord, but you
look at your life and you think, that's pretty barren. There's
very little of the graces, very little of the goodness of Christ
in my life. Well, that's because you are
not looking aright. That's because you're not assessing
things properly. Many, many pastors, many preachers
make bringing forth fruit a burden for believers. Some talk about
being soul winners and making converts is our fruit. Some say that it is obedient
living and they send their followers to the law and they bring them
again under the yoke that Christ has forever removed. Some make
Christian life a drudgery of self-affliction and self-denial
as if gloominess makes for sanctification and hardship substitutes for
holiness. This is all wrong. Fruitfulness
is God's work in our life. The graces that evidence fruitfulness
in a believer all come from the Lord Jesus Christ. Without Him
we can do nothing. How many times does the Lord
have to say it? He that abideth in me and I in
him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. If we are believers,
we abide in him. It is Christ that keeps us. If we are believers, the same
bringeth forth much fruit. It is much fruit. For without
me, you can do nothing. If it was only a little fruit,
then it's the Lord who would be looked to and questioned about
why this branch, why this believer only brought forth a little fruit.
He is the one who says, you will bring forth much fruit. And if
he has said it, it's like that cleanliness question. If he says
you're clean, even although you don't feel it because of the
struggle with the old man, We take the Lord at his word and
we believe it to be so. If he says we bring forth much
fruit, we take the Lord at his word and we believe it to be
so. We abide in Christ by faith and fruitfulness is deepening
faith and increasing reliance upon Christ. You hear what the
Lord says. He says the father is glorified
when his people bear much fruit. Now, that's the Lord that is
going to glorify His Father in us by making this much fruit
be produced. The Father is glorified when
Christ's people trust His Son, love His Son, and cleave to the
Son in this world of sin. Fruitfulness. should not be thought
of as a duty or a demand imposed by Christ. Fruitfulness is a
blessing derived from Him. God the Father is glorified when
Christ's people bear fruit and that fruit is our faith. In order
to glorify the Father, the Son ensures all his people are fruitful. He conveys and he disperses spiritual
grace and blessings to us all to boost and to increase our
trust and our dependence upon him for everything. That's what
the pruning succeeds in doing. That's what the purging succeeds
in doing. And thereby, we are fruitful,
the Lord causes us to abide in him, and the Father is glorified. Barren branches have no faith. They're spiritually dead. They're
cut off, they're cast aside. Fruitful branches live by faith
in the Son of God who loved us and gave himself for us. I mentioned
in the little note yesterday, we're not totally passive in
all of this. The Lord teaches his church to
seek and to ask for such blessings and mercies as will tend to our
fruitfulness and contribute to God's glory. Ask what you will,
he says to his disciples. Ask anything. Without Christ's
strength, we can do nothing. Yet in him and by him, we can
do all things. We shall ask what we will in
him and it shall be done unto us. What then will we ask for? What shall we ask for? When believers
abide in Christ, we desire the glory of God and we seek the
will of God. That's all we want. We want the
glory of God and we want the will of God. We want what God
wants. We desire what God desires. Faith asks no more than that
the will of God be done. We trust Him. We believe that
He has our greatest good at heart. Therefore, we ask Him to do His
will in our lives. No more. We seek whatever is
for the glory of God and for the benefit of His people, the
church. We seek whatever is agreeable
to the words and doctrines of Christ, which abide in us as
we abide in Him. Everything of this kind that
is asked in faith with a submission to the divine will, we may expect
to obtain. It is after all merely the will
of God. May the Lord bless these thoughts
to us today and encourage us with the Saviour's words. Amen.