Abiding in the Vine
It’s spring and things are growing. Gardens are starting to produce and newly planted flowers are also showing their colors. What a time! As we see things grow, we are reminded of the scripture in John 15 which equates the relationship of God, his Son, and man with a vineyard. We first read in John 15:1, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.” Christ is speaking and saying that he is the only Savior and only Son of the Father with God being the husbandman or farmer. When we stop to admire the natural beauty all around, coupled with the splendor of the sky and wonder of the universe, not to mention the intricacies of it all, how can we dispute the fact that there is a creator or mastermind behind all of this. The Father has also begotten his Son who has become the “true Vine” and savior.
As many of us have planted various things we have seen them mature which helps us identify with the husbandman and vine, as well as the branches mentioned in verse five, “I am the vine, ye are the branches.” Christ is the vine and those of us who are trusting him as our Savior and Lord are the branches. We should be one in him and he in us. If you are not a Christian, you must first ask Christ into your heart and confess your sins to him; ask forgiveness for them and then ask him to be your Savior and Lord. You then become part of the Vine.
Does that mean that we are home-safe with him and can never be broken off? In verse two we read the following: “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.”
We must continue to bear fruit in order to stay connected to the Vine as we just read in verse two for he said that if we don’t bear fruit, we will be cast away! Yet, if we bear fruit, he will purge us so we can bear more fruit. Christ takes away the unfruitful things in our lives as the dead twigs are broken off from the fertile branch. The pruning or trials we experience as Christians purges the impurities in our lives so we can “bring forth fruit to perfection.” (Luke 8:14) If there is no fruit abiding that part of the plant, it is completely cut off as Christ does so with the branches that no longer bear fruit!
How can we then keep from being cut down? By abiding in Him and his Word. In verse three he continues, “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.”
We can continue to stay “clean” with the Father and Son by prayer, reading the Word of God, and applying it in our lives with His help. We must read it daily, practice it daily, attend a church where the Bible is preached and considered God’s Holy Word, as well as stay in communion with Christ as we read in verse four. “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.” How can we say that we are a part of the Vine and yet not abide in him and go our own way without reading and communing with him? The Holy Ghost, which is the third person of the trinity, will fill us and allow us to stay better connected to the Vine if we will take the time to “abide in Him.”
To say the Christian life is not marked with trials is untrue as some things come our way to purge us as mentioned above, others as a messenger of Satan, and others as the result of wrong decisions that we have made. But if we abide in the Vine, we are abiding with our greatest friend “that sticketh closer than a brother.” Proverbs 18:24
When we realize that we can are insufficient in ourselves and can do nothing without Him, it is good evidence that we are abiding in the Vine as our Lord further said in verse five which was mentioned above, “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.” Sometimes we must just get off our pedestal, put down the paintbrush of our lives, get back on the easel and let the Master have control. When we can do that, then we are abiding or living in the Vine and our lives will be more exciting, not to mention a home waiting for us in heaven! (All quotes from the KJV Bible).
Pastor Roger Purdy, Sr.
