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Fruit Bearing For God, Part II, John 15:1-10
John 15:1-10, I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 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. 3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 4 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. 5 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. 6 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. 7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. 8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. 9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. 10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
Two chapters previous to this passage the Apostle John recorded the strong and pointed words of Jesus Christ regarding the subject of fellowship between himself and His disciples.
I open this lesson with this instruction because I believe our passage in John 15 continues this theme of fellowship with great emphasis by Christ on the consequences of neglect in this all important relationship.
In John 13 we are told that our Lord rose from supper, laid aside his garments, took a towel to gird himself, poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet.
I imagine that astonishment was displayed by His disciples who said nothing until Peter, who was obviously taken aback by such an unusual thing, questioned Jesus saying, Lord, dost thou wash my feet?
Jesus replied, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.
Jesus is saying here, Trust me Peter for this is how you are to live hereafter for a life walked by faith is a life of trust in my knowledge.
But Peter instead of grasping this truth reacts in his usual spontaneity and impulsiveness.
For he responds thinking such a humble thing being done by the Christ himself on him, a sinner, was absurd, saying, Thou shalt never wash my feet.
Perhaps Peter expected some recognition by Christ due him because of what seemed to be an act of humility on Peter’s part, an admission that he was not worthy to have his feet washed by the Christ.
But this was not to be for instead of recognition Peter was rebuked with these strong words.
For Jesus powerfully said, Peter, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.
Now absorb this statement carefully for this was said to the same Peter who had earlier identified Jesus as the Christ.
He was a part of the inner circle of disciples.
But Peter being Peter again impulsively responded, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.
And Jesus said unto Peter and his disciples, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.
This later phrase, but not all, referring to Judas.
But the point here is that, for believers, Jesus communicates that there are dire or dreadful consequences to not submitting to the washing of the word.
The foot washing recounted in John 13 is the physical demonstration of what is to take place in the life of believers.
For to maintain fellowship with Christ, requires a daily submission to God’s word which will bring washing and cleansing.
Peter refused his feet and Christ quickly without delay and in no uncertain terms told him: If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.
Now those are dire or dreadful consequences for they mean separation from Christ.
There is nothing here about Peter losing his salvation for this applies to Peter’s time on Earth, in his natural body, for in one’s natural body there is always a need for daily cleansing, herein expressed in a physical way by Jesus Christ washing the feet of his disciples.
The message is: Our feet get dirty and require a daily cleansing not by ourselves but by Jesus Christ, the living word of God.
Jesus Christ is telling Peter in this passage that fellowship with him requires Peter to submit his feet to Jesus Christ.
Peter must submit his feet that have gotten dirty that day, to the word of God so the word of God can wash off the dirt of his daily walk.
Peter, this is not simply confession of sin and God's forgiveness.
Peter, it is the searching out of the word of that which leads you and me into sin.
Peter, it is allowing the light of the word of God to do a work of grace in your heart.
Let the light in and search out those ways in your heart that are your ways, ways that are not God's ways.
It is the attitude of the Psalmist:
Psalm 139:23,24 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
This is what Jesus was demonstrating by the act of foot washing.
Jesus saw feet that needed cleaning and did not tell his disciples to go wash them but instead he washed them.
That is why it is so important to daily study God's word so God can do the washing away of the dirt of our daily walk.
God does not take us away from the dirt of this world.
As long as we are in this world our feet will get dirty.
God knows that, but he has provided a remedy to remove the dirt, and that remedy is the word of God.
Don't avail yourself of the washing of the word and your feet will continue to be dirty and fellowship with Jesus Christ is broken.
You will have no part with him, Peter!
He that is washed signifies the washing of the whole body.
He that is washed means he that has been bathed, that is, his whole person has been cleaned.
He is saying that acceptance in the beloved person of Jesus Christ requires a full bathing of the whole person.
But there is a partial cleansing that must take place because of the daily walk the believer makes in the way of this world.
If your whole body is washed and you walk in the dust and dirt of the way, all that is needed to be washed is your feet.
Our daily contact with the evil of this world causes the spiritual affections of our heart to be dulled.
And therefore a partial washing must take place to keep those spiritual affections strong.
John has this same message in I John 1:6 when he says: If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
In other words: If we say that we have fellowship with him, and have dirty unwashed feet, we are lying to ourselves.
Jesus is telling Peter: I expect you to maintain continual dependence upon me if we are to maintain fellowship.
The road of this life is rough and dusty and dirty and I know that in your strength you cannot wash anything away by yourself.
Cleaning the road will not maintain fellowship.
I do not intend to clean the road!
I do not intend to get rid of the dust and the dirt!
I do not intend to make the way clean!
I do not intend to clean up the road so your feet will not get dirty!
And I don't expect you to clean it up either for the road is beyond cleaning.
I don't rebuke you either for having dirty feet, for having dirty feet is the way of this world.
I simply expect you to come to me daily knowing that your feet are dirty and you need them washed by the water of my word.
My word will not clean the world.
My word is intended to clean you every whit!
That is my plan for you to maintain fellowship with me as long as you are in this world.
And I expect you to submit to me daily and I will do the washing by the water of my word.
So this is the message of Christ to His own and that message is again told in chapter 15 by Christ telling his disciples that He is the vine and they are the branches.
And in this passage fruit enters the picture for we are told that fruit will not be produced unless the branch is a clean branch in fellowship with the vine.
And Jesus Christ tells his disciples He will not leave them to their own devices but will enter into the process of cleansing and insuring that the branch is husbanded to produce fruit.
He tells them that those branches that are not producing fruit, he will lift up and put them in a place where fruit will come.
And those branches that are producing fruit he will purge and cleanse them that they produce more fruit and eventually much fruit.
And Jesus Christ says: Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
This statement tells us that the disciples were connected to the vine.
The disciples were branches and therefore connected to bear fruit.
All is in place for the disciples to bear fruit and the husbandman will do his part to insure that fruit is forthcoming in each branch for they were clean through the word of Christ.
They were newly born branches attached to the vine, attached to the Word of God.
Their standing before God was assured because their standing was dependent upon Christ.
But their state depended upon them abiding in the vine for only continued abiding in the vine will cause fruit to come.
And in John 15:4 Jesus makes this very clear: 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.
So Jesus Christ describes a union.
It is the union of the human and divine natures.
Believers are branches of this Vine.
The root is unseen, as a believer's life is hid with Christ.
There are many branches but all meet in the vine.
The vine cannot bear fruit without a branch and the branch cannot bear fruit without the vine.
God has chosen to make both necessary to fruit bearing, giving his children the gift of being a co-laborer with Him.
Abide in me, and I abide in you. This is a must for fruit bearing.
The branch is attached to the vine but there must be a continuous flow of nutrients from the vine to the branch.
The branch is totally dependent upon the vine for daily sustenance if the branch is to not only live, but to live and to bear fruit.
Jesus Christ said in John 6:56: He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
The vine takes in the water and nutrients from the soil and processes it and sends it to the branch.
The branch consumes the food and water it receives from the vine.
In essence it eats the vine’s flesh and drinks the vine’s blood and only by this process the branch lives and bears fruit.
The vine is ready to send the proper nutrients to the branch but the branch must abide in the vine for this to take place.
This fellowship of the branch with the vine is the only way the branch can bear fruit for the husbandman.
Any so called or pseudo fruit of the branch that comes apart from this fellowship is not accepted by the husbandman.
The question to Christians is: are you bearing fruit for God or are you bearing fruit for yourself?
Are you abiding in the vine? Or are you too busy in ways that you chose to serve?
But we need to ask the question, too busy for whom?
For whom are we to bear fruit?
Does He want fruit in our lives or does he want activity.
What will bring his "Well Done", thou good and faithful servant?
Psalm 92:13,14 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;
God plants his own in his house and he expects his own to flourish throughout life and to continually bring forth fruit.
And Jesus continues in John 15:5, 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.
This statement from the lips of Jesus Christ puts all effort of man in perspective.
Without Jesus Christ you can do nothing.
Jesus Christ says that all that is done without him is vain and he counts it as nothing.
Effort done in yourself is as a branch that is severed from the vine and of no value except to cast into a fire and receive some heat from its burning.
A branch severed from the vine is incapable of producing fruit for the husbandman.
It must abide in the vine if fruit is to result.
This shows once and for all the complete dependence of the believer upon Christ for all fruit bearing. |