March 11
“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing,” John 15:4-5.
In the beginning of chapter fifteen of John’s Gospel, Jesus speaks a parable, and in a wonderful way He makes the application. Jesus calls Himself the Vine. God the Father is the Vinedresser or the Gardener. As in a true vineyard, the Gardener is concerned about the branches bearing fruit.
In order for a branch to bear fruit, it must stay connected to the vine. Separated from the vine, the branch withers and dies, and it bears no fruit. It is cut off and burned. The good branches are pruned so that they will bear more fruit.
Jesus calls Himself the Vine, and the disciples and followers of Jesus are the branches. In order to bear fruit, Christians must abide in Him, and He in us. As Christians, we abide in Him by faith. We keep in contact with Jesus by faith in His Word and promises. We are kept spiritually alive by believing and trusting in Him as the Son of God and our only Savior, who by His holy life fulfilled the Commandments of God in our place. By His innocent suffering and death, He paid the price for our redemption. Scripture assures us that, “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin,” 1 John 1:7.
When we stay connected to Christ by faith, we bear fruit – that is, we live the Christian life, and thereby give glory to God. When we stay in close contact with Christ by faith, He, as the Vine, supplies us with the power and will to bear fruit. The branches are indeed alive as long as they are connected to the vine.
Here we see the importance of keeping in contact with the Word of God, which is the source that brings us to faith in Jesus as God’s Son and our Savior, and the source that keeps us in the faith, as Scripture states: “(You) are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation,” 1 Peter 1:5. The Holy Spirit working through the Word keeps the Vine and the branches connected. By our own strength we cannot bear any fruit.
The Savior’s final words in the text above are words of warning: “Without Me you can do nothing!” We are warned against trying to go it alone through life, and we are shown the folly of separating ourselves from the love of Jesus as revealed in the Gospel. In contrast to the words, “Without Me you can do nothing,” we have the assurance in God’s Word, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” Philippians 4:13.
“Chief of sinners though I be,
Jesus shed His blood for me;
Died that I might live on high,
Lived that I might never die.
As the branch is to the vine,
I am His, and He is mine.
Oh, the height of Jesus’ love!
Higher than the heav’ns above,
Deeper than the depths of sea,
Lasting as eternity.
Love that found me – wondrous tho’t!
Found me when I sought Him not.” Amen.