In His last major teaching, Jesus called His disciples to produce fruit. Clearly, our fruit is not ours at all, but the vinedresser Father’s who owns the vineyard and tends to our health. Our fruit is His fruit!
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
The vineyard is the cultural identity of O.T. Jewish people. The first century Christians saw themselves as the vineyard planted by God, Ps. 80, Hosea 10:1, Isaiah 5:1-2, etc. Jesus is connecting to Vineyard people, us. We are His branches!
The vine dominated Jewish culture led into the era of Jesus’ life on earth. He gave His disciples a vineyard picture of what our human relationship looks like in Christ Jesus, “the true vine.” In this John 15 passage, the fundamental issue is fruit, front and center!
But the issue is not just fruit, it is quantified by the branch connected into the vine. If the branch does not receive the nurturing of the Word and Spirit, it bears no fruit and is cut off. If it does bear fruit, it is cleaned and pruned to bear “more fruit.” But the branch that is continually abiding in the Vine, bears “much fruit.”
So it is, according to this passage, our goal is “abiding” so that our branch is one bearing “much fruit.” Our purpose, then, in this GraceNotes, is to understand within ourselves, what hinders constant “abiding” in our Lord Jesus Christ so that we bear much fruit!
The vineyard displays people cared for by God, the Vinedresser. He is giving “grace” to each individual branch according to how much fruit is being produced. God’s grace is intentional and specific according to the need of each branch. Discrete care provides nurturing to each and every branch. God tends to our spiritual needs so that we become like Jesus Christ, (We will look at 2Cor. 4:7-12 for more details next GraceNotes). Grace is providing every branch the possibility to produce “much fruit.”
Fruit is the life of Jesus in us. The Vine flows its life blood freely into each branch so righteousness from Jesus Himself, expressed in His flesh, is now manifested in our flesh. We all need to make this continuous miracle our life-style. The tipping point in making this happen is our will to choose, in other words, faith. Our deliberate choices, in Christ through grace, will produce much fruit. Constantly examine personal choices.
God’s grace provides not only gifts added to our character, grace also includes pruning and cleaning, grooming us into whom we are intended to be so that we bear much fruit. God’s grace is living water bubbling up inside, forever quenching our thirst, as well as the trauma in losing what or who we cherish. Grace also includes suffering, but the sustaining resurrection power is in our faith. Grace is applied to and in us, shaping us into the image of Jesus Himself. Understanding this grace relationship is vital to our fruit and faith. God is intentional in our life.
When we are created new in Christ Jesus, we are born spiritually by the personage of God, not of man, nor the will of flesh but of God Himself! God is a Spirit and our relationship in Christ is now created spiritual, “the old is passed and the new has come.” The fruit on our branch is Spiritual! Our life in Jesus is not natural carnal, it is now spiritual natural. In order to operate, or live a spiritual life in this natural carnal clay vessel requires grace from God. We live in clay but our identity is changed from darkness to light, from flesh to spirit. Our home no longer is earthly but eternal, absolute and righteous. We have been transferred from a natural carnal kingdom of darkness and staked down into the Lord Jesus’ spiritual kingdom of light. This is all part of the new creation completed in us by our new birth in Jesus Christ. This part of our salvation is secured in the Greek aorist tense! Know who we are in Christ!
Living spiritually, in a natural clay vessel, in a temporal world built upon self-preferences, requires the resurrection power of Jesus. God’s grace received and consumed by faith makes us conquerors, overcomers and possessors of Jesus’ living water. In other words, it is us abiding in The Vine. Nothing from us, everything from God!
Living in Jesus Christ by faith is a realm requiring supernatural strength and character. It is totally outside of where our flesh draws breath and strength. Abiding in Christ makes perfect sense. Where else can we breathe eternal air, understanding spiritually, while living in temporal circumstances and in clay conditions. God’s medium for us while living in time and clay is grace. Our eternal response to eternal grace is faith. So faith, our will to consume God’s grace, is our instrument for abiding and grace is our eternal medium to understand both darkness and light, sin and righteousness, self and love. Grow in grace!
Grace is God’s culture of our life on earth in flesh because we are now in Jesus Christ. As Paul put it, we are standing in grace. God never leaves or forsakes us but rather ministers to our every spiritual need. The Old Testament sentiment of “Steadfast Love” becomes a reality in every believer. What God has begun, sending His Son into flesh, He will complete in each individual believer who has accepted His gift of life into our branch experience. This is how God spells Love. This is the Vinedresser at work making us righteous in Jesus Christ.
God desires to produce righteous fruit in His branches by our abiding in Jesus, The True Vine. It is a living, organic dynamic! But the quality of abiding is also at issue. The character of abiding effects the quality of fruit produced. Is the joint clean? Are there too many new sprouts at the joint? Are we joined to Him or in Him? What is the nature of our abiding relationship? The fruit Jesus is talking about is produced in our grace relationship. We are not external objects of His work, we are His living work! If we live in the Spirit, we should also walk in the Spirit.
There are several levels of fruit production in this John 15 passage. There is no fruit, fruit, more fruit and much fruit. The vinedresser Father is tending to each branch so that it will bear much fruit which requires abiding in The True Vine.
Grace at this level is very much an organic relationship. We must learn to recognize grace in order to consume grace. We are to grasp and apply provisions of life supplied in the expectation of divine completion. If we don’t use God’s grace, there is no room to receive more, or worse, we may loose opportunities to deepen our faith in Christ. Producing fruit is consuming grace. Many are the opportunities we miss recognizing what we should have done but chose instead to apply our own judgment instead of recognizing and consuming God’s grace. Our branch may be cut off without receiving a more complete understanding of being in Jesus if we fail to abide in Jesus. Worship!
“I in you and you in me,” John 14:20. This verses summarizes a love relationship. The purpose of abiding in Jesus is, of course, love but love has many nuances and meanings. “I in you” is an active focus while “you in me” is a passive acceptance. These two parts must work together as one but our will must be emphatically active in both. This is love at a very high level.
It is not enough we know and understand the mechanics. We need to be connected into Christ so we are in sync with ownership. Ownership can be an issue. Remember, we are redeemed with the blood of Jesus. If we hold back a little because of some personal preferences, then our love has a little reserve in it. Sometimes we are actively “I in you” while playing it soft with “you in me.” Or it may be just the opposite. We can be intentional about our “you in me” relationship while passive about faithful service. Pray for discernment so that our “gut” knows the sound of our Savior’s voice. Ponder Hebrews 5:14!
Here is an intentional Old Testament example of “I in you and you in me.” When Israel received the law in the desert, they also received the tabernacle. This was a picture of redemption and Christ’s provision of grace. Israel received not only the law, but with it God’s provision of righteousness through sacrifice. They received the law and God’s provision for forgiveness by faith through redemption’s sacrifice.
The tabernacle’s holy place was 15’ X 30’ and covered with four layers of linen and skins. The inside ceiling layer was pure white linen with the cherubim embroidered with spread wings in purple, blue and red, looking down upon the occupants in this holy place. The priests were inside the righteousness of Christ.
Each layer has a meaning but the outside layer, drab in appearance, was water proof protected made of “badger skins.” A better translation of the Hebrew, we are told, is water cows. These probably were porpoises which, we are also told, were prolific in the area of the Nile at the time of Moses.
The question becomes, how did the Israelites get porpoise skins in the middle of the desert for the tabernacle? A little known fact pops out to us in Ezekiel 16:11, “I clothed you also with embroidered cloth and shod you with fine leather…” “Fine leather” is the same word used for “badger skins.” The top layer of the holy place where God was to dwell among the people was the leather intended for walking in the desert.
The Israelites planned their journey in the dessert using “badger skins” for walking shoes or sandals. But the Lord was proposing these skins for the outer covering of the tabernacle. How then were the people going to walk the stony desert without sandal protection? The Lord made them a promise that went something like this … you give me your “badger skins” and I will protect your feet, Neh. 9:21, Deut. 8:4, 29:5. This is God’s grace relationship in action, “I in you and you in me”. God is actively participating in lives both spiritually and temporally by producing fruit in our character through “I in you and you in me.” Remember, the Old Testament is written for example and learning.
This level of intimacy is inherent in agape love and grace relationships. The second layer covering under the “badger skins” over the tabernacle was goat skins, a blood sacrifice securing our redemption. Jesus’ divine blood on His Calvary tree is “I in you and you in me.” It is not just symbolism, it is both blood and guts. It is our Savior being mindful of our practical, daily needs and entering into them so we can learn to trust our God who is a Spirit. He that hath begun a work within us will continue to complete it.
We are all gifted according to God’s provided grace. What we do with God’s grace is what faith is all about. Faith is simply our response to God’s grace. Israel gave up their “badger skins” and God protected their feet in the desert. Grace is definitely an organic relationship. Amen?
Our training time on earth demonstrates our organic relationships and our fruit production demonstrates our faith, i.e., no fruit, fruit, more fruit or much fruit. Our faith measures our eternal capacity to glorify our Father. Choices allow resurrection power! Choices allow abiding! Choice glorifies our Father! Faith choices grow much fruit! Choose this day whom you will serve, Joshua 24:15.
We are known by our fruit, Matthew 7:16.