Bibles again now to the 15th
chapter of John. John 15. Now all of the words of our Lord
are meaningful. All of the words of our Lord
are important. But these four chapters in John's
gospel, chapter 14, 15, 16, and 17, are especially precious to
every believer, because these are the final words and the last
instructions and the final communion which Christ had with his disciples
before he went to the cross. Mr. Spurgeon said one time, I
feel like that I ought to take off my shoes when I walk through
John 14, 15, 16, and 17 because I feel that I'm walking on holy
ground. I'm listening to family secrets
The Lord is talking to the inner circle. He's speaking to his
beloved disciples, to the children. And these are the words of the
Master before he gave his life for our sins on the cross. And
he begins verse 15 with these words. Look at it carefully.
I am the true vine. Now, why does he call himself
the true vine? I am the true vine. He didn't
just say, like he did in verse 5, I am the vine. He says, I
am the true vine. So let's turn to John chapter
1. We'll get a little light on this
by reading three or four verses. Now, first of all, in John chapter
1, verse 9, talking about the ministry of John the He was the
forerunner of Christ. He was the one the Father sent
to prepare the way for the Son. In verse 7, talking about John
the Baptist, the Scripture says, "...the same came for a witness
to bear witness of the Light," capital L-I-G-H-T, "...that all
men through him might believe." John was not that He was sent
to bear witness of that light. That was the true light. The
true light. I am the true thine, Christ said,
and here He is called the true light, which lighteth every man
that cometh into the world. Now John 6. Turn to the 6th chapter
of John, verse 32. Now the question that I'm asking
is this. Why did the Master say, I'm the
true thine? And he was called in John 1,
the true light, and now in John 6.32, listen to this. Then Jesus
said unto them, John 6.32, Very, very, I say unto you, Moses gave
you not that bread from heaven, but my Father giveth you the
true bread from heaven. Talking about the manna that
the children of Israel ate in the wilderness. And he compares
himself to that bread and he says, I am the true bread, I
am the true vine, I am the true light, I am the true bread. Now let's turn to another scripture,
Hebrews 9, Hebrews chapter, I beg your pardon, Hebrews chapter
8. In the 8th chapter of Hebrews, verse 2, Now, there's nobody
here who's not familiar with the tabernacle in the wilderness,
the tent which Moses erected for the worship of the Lord.
All of you are familiar with it. It's called the tabernacle.
Well, in Hebrews 8, verse 2, the Lord Jesus Christ is spoken
of here and is said to be, let's read verse 1 and 2. Now, of the
things which we have spoken, this is the psalm. We have such
a high who was set on the right hand of the throne of the majesty
in the heavens, a minister of the sanctuary," this is talking
about Christ, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched
and not man. I am the true tabernacle. Christ
is the true tabernacle. All right, Hebrews 9. The answer
is found in Hebrews 9, verse 24. Now Christ said, I am the
true vine. He is the true light. He is the
true tabernacle. Now in Hebrews 9 verse 24, For
Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands,
which are the figures of the true. Christ is not entered
into the holy place made with hands, into the tabernacle Moses
erected in the wilderness. He is not bringing through the
veil the blood of animals and goats and heifers and turtle
doves and so forth. But he has entered into the presence
of God, into heaven itself. And these holy places made with
hands are figures, are pictures of the true, the true vine, the
true light, the true tabernacle. The adjective true is used to
show that all of these past ceremonies, all of these past rituals, all
of these past types are but pictures and shadows of Christ who is
the true vine, the true light, the true bread, the true tabernacle. When we break bread at the Lord's
table, people of God are gathered The pastor stands before the
people, the deacons distribute this bread and this wine. This
bread is not the Savior, it's a picture of the Savior. This
wine is not the blood itself, it has no saving power. There's
no saving power in the elements of the Lord's table. These elements
are pictures, they're types. of the true Savior, the true
broken body and the true blood. And in the same way, every Old
Testament type, every Old Testament picture, the ark, the brazen
serpent lifted up, that serpent did not heal those Israelites. The one whom the serpent represented
healed them. He is the true serpent lifted
up. He is the true bread from heaven.
He is our Passover. When the children of Israel placed
the blood on the doorpost in Egypt, that animal blood had
no way in this world of holding back the judgment and wrath of
God. It was the one whom the blood represented. And that's
the reason Christ said in verse 1 of chapter 15 of John's Gospel, I'm the true vine, I'm the true
light, I'm the true bread, I'm the true tabernacle. Now notice
the next line, And my Father is the husband one. It is not
by chance that there is a vine. It is not by chance that there
are branches borne by that vine. It is by the purpose of the husbandman
who planted the vine that bore the branches. It is according
to the purpose of the planter. He's not only the planter, he
is the owner, he is the cultivator, he is the protector. The Father
ordained the vine. I am the true vine. My father
is the owner. My father is the planter. My
father is the cultivator. My father is the protector. The scripture says, For God so
loved the world that he gave his son. There's a covenant of
grace because the father decreed it. There's a way of salvation
because the father planned it. There's a redeemer because the
father sent him. There is a vine because the Father
planted it, and there are branches in that vine because the Father
put them there. Galatians 4 verse 4 says, In
the fullness of time God sent forth his Son, made of a woman,
made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law.
In Hebrews 5 verse 5, the Scripture talking about the priest of old. These men did not take it upon
themselves to become priests. But God ordained them, God appointed
them, even so the Son took not on himself to be the Savior,
but he was ordained and he was sent. It pleased the Father that
in him should all fullness dwell. I want you to turn to 1 Corinthians
1. My Father is the husbandman. This thine grows according to
the purpose of the husbandman. There is a vine because of the
husbandman. He is the owner, he is the cultivator,
he is the planter. In 1 Corinthians 1, verse 30,
But of him, but of him, of the Father, of his will, of his purpose,
of his love, of his grace, of him are you in Christ Jesus. I'm the vine. You're the branches,
but my Father is the husbandman. And it's of his will are ye in
Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us all that we need, wisdom,
righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. My father's the
husbandman. Now look back at John 15 in verse
2. 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."
Two statements here of vital importance. Number one, every
branch in me, this is a very important word, in me, every
branch in me that beareth not fruit, he purgeth, or rather
he taketh away, and every branch that beareth fruit he cleanseth,
he purgeth." Now then, Christ is not speaking to or of unbelievers. As I said, these are family matters. Christ is speaking here to his
beloved. Christ is talking to the children.
Christ is speaking here to the Church. He's not talking to unbelievers. unbelievers are not in Christ.
These branches are in Christ, the two types of branches here.
But one thing that is true of both types, they're in Christ. The two types of branches. Now
Christ said, I'm the vine. I'm the source of life. I'm the
giver of life. My Father's the one who planted
the vine. My Father's the one who owns
the vine. It's according to my Father's
purpose and plan that there is a vine, and every branch in me
and of God are you in Christ. You're planted in Christ, grafted
in Christ by God the Father's act of sovereign mercy. Now, there are two types of branches. There are those who bear no fruit,
and there are those who bear fruit. Now let's look at those
who bear no fruit first. Christ says of them, every branch
in me. that beareth not fruit." Now,
the fruit we're talking about here, as we'll see later on,
the fruit here is repentance toward God, it is faith in Christ,
it is holiness of life, it is the fruit of the Holy Spirit,
love, joy, peace, meekness, longsuffering, humility, written in Galatians
5.22. Now, unfortunately, There are
some branches in Christ who do not bear fruit as they should,
unfortunately. Their attitude does not manifest
the grace of God. Their lives do not glorify God
as they should. And so the Master said, every
one of these branches in me that bears not fruit, my Father, my
Father, it's an act of the Father. Now, in the other verse down
here, it talks about withered branches that men gather and
cast into the fire. But these are branches in the
vine that bear not fruit. Christ said, My Father will take
them away. Now then, I'm not especially
happy when preachers stand up and flaunt their knowledge of
the Greek and the Hebrew. It always seems to me to be a
kind of a way of getting around something, when a preacher is
always saying, now this doesn't mean that, it means something
else. But I have to tell you this on this particular statement. Every branch, and we know by
what Christ is saying, every branch in me, they're in Christ. Of him are you in Christ Jesus.
These branches are in Christ, and these branches are not bearing
fruit. And he says, will take them away. And actually the words here are
to lift up, to lift up, or to take up, or to raise. That's
exactly the word used here in the Greek New Testament. Every
branch in me that does not bear fruit, my Father take him on
to glory. That's what it's saying. My Father
remove him. not my Father send him to hell.
The word is to lift up. God will remove that branch from
the world. That branch is in Christ. Now
then, the next group of branches he talks about, and he says,
every branch that bears fruit, every branch that bears fruit,
that by attitude and life and language and words and actions
bears fruit to the glory of my Father, my Father will purge
it." Now, the word here is to prune, or to cleanse. Now, the word cleanse is the
best word because the next verse tells us that. Now, you are clean. Now, you are clean. I am the
true vine. Here is the source of life, it's
Christ. We don't feed on experience,
we feed on Christ. We don't feed on organization. We feed on Christ. We don't feed
on doctrine. Doctrine is not our life. Christ
is our life. Christ is our Savior. He is divine. He is the source of spiritual
nourishment and strength and life. And my Father is the husband,
and he planted it. Now it will branch in me. By my Father's will and by my
Father's sovereign purpose, every branch in me who by attitude
and action does not glorify God, that branch will be taken up,
it will be raised, it will be lifted away. And those branches
that bear fruit, my Father will cleanse them in order that they
might bear more fruit. in order that they might bear
more fruit, that they might day by day even more show forth the
praises of the Lord, the glory of God, the work of his grace. Now, verse 3, Now you are clean,
you are clean through the words that I have spoken unto you.
Now, my friends, I cannot overemphasize the place of the word of God
in the life of a Now, I don't like to stand up
here and tell you how much I read the Bible, because I have more time, I realize,
to read the Bible than you do. It is my business to read the
Bible. It is my business to know something about the Word of God.
I wish that one of the elders or one of the men of the church
could be up here in my place speaking on this particular point
right here. because I feel like it would
be more effective, because I know all of you will say, well, preachers
are supposed to read the Bible, preachers are supposed to study
the Bible, preachers are supposed to base their lives and their
messages on the Word of God. But I wish that I could emphasize
properly the place of the Word of God in the life of a believer. Now, here is a branch that's
bearing fruit. That branch loves Christ. and loves other people. That
branch has faith in Christ and is a branch that is of good report
by those without. That branch has a spirit of patience
and humility and kindness and a forgiving spirit toward others.
And the Lord says, My Father is going to prune that branch. My Father is not going to take
it away. He's not going to remove it. That's a good branch. And he's
going to prune it, he's going to dress it, and he's going to
care for it, he's going to cleanse it, that it might even grow more
and more in these fruits of grace and fruits of the Spirit. Now,
how's he going to do that? He does it through the Word.
That's what it says right here. My Father is going to cleanse
it, and you men have a Greek lexicon. You look up that word,
purge, there. It's cleanse. That's what it's
prune or cleanse. It's not to purge, as if you
cut it off and violently deal with it. He's going to cleanse
it. Now, you are clean through the Word. Now, brethren, faith
comes through the Word of God. The Scripture says, faith cometh
by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. In other words,
I come to know my sins through the Word. I come to see Christ
as my Savior through the Word. I come to see the fulfillment
of all the prophecies and promises through the Word. I see Christ
as my my substitute and sacrifice through the Word. I see him buried
and risen again, my mediator through the Word. Faith cometh
through the Word of God, but growth also comes through the
Word of God." The Scripture says, "...desire the sincere milk of
the Word, that ye may grow." That you may grow. We're commanded to grow in grace
and the knowledge of Christ. Paul prayed that the church might
grow in faith, that it might grow in love, that it might grow
in humility. He named all of these fruits,
and he said, I want you to grow. Desire the sincere milk of the
word that you may grow. Now, regeneration comes through
the word of God. Of his own will begat he us through
the word of truth. But sanctification comes through
the word of God, too. Sanctify them through thy word,
thy word is truth. Wherewithal shall a young man
cleanse his way. Preacher, I'd like to have more
patience and more humility and more love, and I'd like to have
more faith, and I'd like to have more of these fruits of the Spirit.
Where can I get them? Right here. Right here. Wherewithal shall a young man
cleanse his way by taking heed to the word of God. Let's read
2 Timothy. This would be good to read right
here. Everybody turn over to 2 Timothy chapter 3. Now this
would be good for all of us to look at together right here on
this point. In 2 Timothy 3 verse 15, Paul talking to Timothy.
Here's what we're saying here now. Those branches that don't
bear fruit, God will take them out of here if they're his children. These are family secrets. This
is a family discussion. This is the master talking to
the children. And he says, Now my father is the husbandman.
He put the vine and the branches here, and the branches that don't
bear fruit, my father will take them away. But those that do
bear fruit, my father is going to cleanse them, that they might
bring forth more fruit. And my father will cleanse them
through the Word. Now watch this, 2 Timothy 3, verse 15. And that
from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are
able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ
Jesus." Now, that's where you start. You come to faith through
the Word. You neglect the Word, you miss
faith. Faith coming through the Word of God. You think sinners
ought to read the Bible, preacher? By all means. You think seekers
ought to read the Bible? By all means. You lost people
read the Bible? By all means. That's how the
Holy Spirit brings me into faith. through the scriptures. Verse
16, now watch it, "...and all scripture is given by inspiration
of God, that God breathed, and all scripture is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
that the man of God might be perfect." The word there is mature. truly furnished unto all good
works. That's what it's all about. I think the reason some of us
are not growing in grace is we're neglecting the means of growth,
which is the Word of God. I think the reason some of us
are immature, adolescent Christians non-fruit bearing, and God will
take you away if you're one of His. If you're in Christ and
you don't bear fruit, God will cut your journey short. He said
that. I'll take them out of here. My
Father will take them away. But every branch that bears fruit,
it looks like it's going to be a profitable branch. Looks like
it's going to bring forth a a little food for the family. You're not
going to keep a tree out there in your yard to clutter up the
place. It doesn't bear fruit. You're going to cut it down and
plant one that will. And if you can't bear fruit and
point me into Christ, then God will move you and He'll take
that little branch that looks like it's going to grow and it's
going to bring forth a little fruit and studies the Word of
God and seeks to be more like Christ, and he'll cleanse it,
and he'll prune it, and he'll dress it up, and he'll work on
it, and he'll make it bring forth more fruit. And it's all through
the Word. You are clean through the Word. Now look at verse 4.
Now let's get right down where we live here now. The Lord says, and I in you. Abide in me." Now,
my friends, to be in Christ and to abide in Christ can be two
different things. You notice the difference here.
In verse 2, he talks about the branches in me. And we know how
a branch is in a vine. It's part of the vine. There's
no closer communion than a branch in a vine. It's like a head and
a body. You are in me, Christ says. And of God are we in Christ. God put us there. Now then, here
in verse 4 he says, it's a commandment, he says, you abide in thee, abide
in me. Now the word abide here means
this, it means to stay in a given place. It means to continue in
a given place, stay right there. Now, to be in Christ is a union
that's affected by the power of God. A man is never commanded
to be in Christ. That's something you can't do.
To as many as received him, to them gave he power to become
the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, who
were born not of blood, not of the will of the flesh, not of
the will of man, they were born of God. It's not of him that
willeth, it's not of him that runneth, it's of God that showeth
mercy. And that branch that grows out
of that vine didn't do it of itself. It grew out of that vine
by the power of God. To be in the vine, to be in Christ
is a union, a vital living union. by the power of God. We're never
commanded to be in Christ. We're never commanded to be born
again. We're commanded to believe. But
being born again is something God has to do. The begetting
of his own will beget he us. You can't give yourself life.
God has to give you life. but to abide in Christ in a continual
communion is commanding. Now, that is commanding. And
for me to neglect prayer, and to neglect worship, and to neglect
daily communion, and to neglect my first love, which is a living,
vital, personal, intimate relationship with Christ, is for me to invite
a fruitless existence and the judgment of God. That's what
I'm inviting. Every branch in me that beareth
not fruit, my Father will take it away. Now you abide in me. You abide in me. That's my commandment
to you. You are put in me by the will
of the Father. Now you abide in me. And we abide
in Christ by staying in a given place, by continuing in communion
with him. Look at the next line. A branch
cannot bear fruit of itself. The branch does not produce the
fruit. You will know something about
fruit-bearing trees and vines, grape arbors. The branch doesn't
produce the fruit, it bears the fruit. You see the word there? The branch cannot bear fruit
of itself. It can't bear it. It certainly
can't produce it. It is the vine that produces
the fruit. The branch simply bears it as
a result of the life of the vine. Now then, we may begin a life
of fruit. I've seen people whom I believe
knew the Lord. I've seen them receive the gospel. I've seen them brought under
heavy conviction. I've seen them come to the place
where they say, yes, I believe Christ died for my sins. I trust
him. I believe on him. They begin
diligently to search the world. They attend the services of the
church. They read books at home. They buy the good books, and
they take some time to sit and read them and to study them. And they ask me questions, and
they come to prayer meeting, and Sunday morning, Sunday night,
Bible conference, a special meeting, go out of town to hear preaching. And then one day, I don't know
what happens, I can't explain it, but there's a loss of interest,
there's a loss of zeal. There's a loss of that first
love. There's a loss of that fire that
once burned. And the branch gets to where
it doesn't bear the fruit that it used to bear, that it did
at first. It looked like a promising branch,
and it is a branch. I don't doubt that. It's in the
vine. It's in Christ. And while the
next period is a branch laden with fruit, here this branch
just Well, it has a little old trivial apple on it here and
there, one that looks pretty good, but it's just not bearing
fruit. Today's victory and today's grace
is not sufficient for tomorrow. That's the reason Christ said,
Abide in me. Abide in me. Abide in me, and
I in you. The branch cannot bear fruit
of itself. Without that living, vital, daily
communion with Christ, that branch cannot bear fruit. Now, that
branch may grow out of that vine, may be in that vine, and as long
as the nourishment and the sap is running between that vine
and that branch, it's a living, vital branch on fire just bearing
fruit. But when that communion is broken,
And the life, the self, the nourishment is just not coming forth. That
branch is not going to bear any fruit. And the Father will just
pluck it out and take it on home. That's what he's saying. You've
got to abide in me. What I've got to do, I don't
care if I am a minister of the gospel, I've got to stay before
God in prayer. I don't care if I am a child
of God. Today's victory won't do for
tomorrow. Today's grace is not sufficient
for tomorrow. Tomorrow is a brand-new day.
Next Sunday is a brand-new Lord's Day, and I've got to abide in
Him. I've got to abide in Him. You
cannot, the branch cannot bear fruit of itself. It's never sufficient. It's never independent. It's
never faith, except, look, except it abide in the vine, and no
more can you, except you abide, abide in me. What I'm saying,
preacher, this thing is a, is a daily race, that's what I'm
saying. It's a daily race. It's not to run the first quarter
mile and then trot the rest of the way home. It's to run. The
man that finishes, he gets the prize. Now look at the next line. I am the vine. Our Lord repeats
again what he said. I am the vine, you are the branches.
And there are two reasons why he repeats this. I am the vine,
you are the branch." And he repeats it for two reasons. Number one,
he wants to reemphasize, and I must reemphasize, he is the
source of life. He is the source of grace. He
is the source of redemption. He bears us, we don't bear him. He produces the fruit, we just
bear it. He's just life. I'm never on
my own. I'm divine," he said, and you're
the branches. The second reason why he says
this again is to emphasize the close relationship we have with
him. You're not out there by yourself.
I am divine, you are the branches. That's how close we are. We have
a spiritual marriage, husband and wife. We have a living relationship,
I am the head and you are the body. I am the vine, you are
the branches. He that abideth in me, and I
in him, that close, intimate fellowship, well, you'll bear much fruit.
If you do, you'll bring forth much fruit. If you don't sever
the communion, You'll bring forth much fruit. It's just like two
people who are married. If they're in happy communion,
it's a blessed fruitful home. There will be the fragrance of
kindness and love and forgiveness and patience and all these things,
but when the communion is broken, There's no fruit produced, there's
no happiness there in that place, there's no joy in that place.
The communion's broken, and Christ is saying, you abide in me, and
you'll bring forth much fruit. You abide in Christ as a branch
abides in the vine, and keep that circuit open, and keep that
channel open. through prayer and the reading
of God's Word and the fellowship of God's people and coming to
the spiritual table and eating, and God says, you will bring
forth fruit. You just will. But without me
you can do nothing. Look at Galatians 5.22. Let's
look at some of this fruit. I want you to turn with me to
Galatians 5.22. Let's ask ourselves, are we bearing this fruit? Is
God producing this through us? Is the glorious vine producing
through us this fruit? The fruit of the Spirit, Galatians
5.22, is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, that's patience, gentleness,
gentleness. gentleness, goodness, faith,
meekness, temperance. Turn to Colossians 3. Go over
here to Colossians 3 a moment. Let's look at this together.
Colossians 3, beginning with verse 12. Colossians 3, to put on therefore
as the elect of God, holy and beloved, vows of mercy, kindness,
humbleness of mind, neatness, long-suffering, forbearing one
another and forgiving one another. You may have a quarrel against
any, even if Christ forgave you, so also do you. And above all
things, above all these things, put on love. This is the bond
of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule
in your hearts. To the rich also you are called
in one body, and be you thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell
in you, richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one
another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with
grace in your heart to the Lord. And whatsoever you do in word
or deed, do all of it for the glory or in the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him. Wives,
submit yourselves to your own husband as it fit in the Lord.
Husband, love your wife. Be not bitter. against them. Children, obey your parents in
all things. This is well-pleasing to the
Lord. Fathers, provoke not your children
to anger, lest they be discouraged. Servant, obey in all things your
masters according to the flesh, not with our services men pleases,
but in singleness of heart, fearing God. And whatsoever you do, do
it heartily as unto the Lord, not unto men. As fruit And that's only born and produced
by the Savior through a living, vital, open communion of abiding
in Christ. Now, last of all, and I close
our times up, if any man abide not in me, He is cast forth as
a branch and withered, and men gather them, cast them into the
fire, and they are burned. Now, the consequences of not
abiding in Christ, of not continuing in repentance toward God and
faith in Christ and holiness of life, is here described in
the character of men gathering dead, withered branches from
a tree and burning them. Now, J.C. Rouse said this about
this verse, and I think it's good. The Lord comes here to
warn false professors, for even in the inner circle there was
one whose name was Judas. And while he talked to the family,
the family circle, about the vine and the branch relationship
He warns of the apostate, the false professor, because there
was one there, who professed to be a believer. And the end
of false professors will be like the end of a withered branch. Sooner or later, sooner or later
they will be discovered, and sooner or later they will be
cast out and burned. And these words must apply to
the false professor of Christ. for there must be about a man
some appearance of faith in Christ before he can come to the state
described here. He professes to be a branch,
and he appears to be a branch, but the union was not true and
the grace was not real, and therefore he was cast out. Our Father,
we love this book. all the precious promises, the
precious word of the living God. How thankful we are for it. And
we're so dumb and we're so ignorant, and we're so bound by custom
and tradition, and we're so bound by our own thoughts that we're
not open to the word. Forgive us, our Father. Take
away the tradition. that binds us like Pharisees
of old, and the unwillingness to listen to thy word with an
open heart. And our Father, through thy Spirit,
teach us, lead us in a plain path in the way of truth. For
Christ's sake we pray, amen.