John 15:1-8
"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 bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
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."
Jesus Christ is the True Vine and we, who have given our lives to him, are the branches. Thus the resurrected life and power that flows from the True Vine flows into the branches. How profound is that!
It is important to embrace the fact that it is Jesus and Jesus alone who is the True Vine. How many attach themselves and pour their lives into worldly vines that have little or no power and eventually wither and die. Anything we abide in that leaves Jesus out is a false vine that will leave us with a lack of sustenance.
So what happens when we become branches of the True Vine? A host of resources and spiritual power for a new life flows into our very being and changes us from the inside out. Old habits and useless baggage can be purged from our lives as we are changed into new creatures in Christ.
As that new life flows from the vine into the branches we realize we have the same Father and Spirit that Jesus has. We experience forgiveness, salvation, reconciliation, and sanctification as we put off the old nature and put on the new.
We can be filled with the Spirit. We become citizens of a new kingdom with all its rights and responsibilities. We are made part of a royal priesthood. Our spiritual ears and eyes are opened and we begin to see our world as Jesus sees it. We take on the mind of Christ. We bear good fruit. We can ask of God and expect Him to answer. We can call ourselves disciples of Christ.
If you find your life lacking direction and purpose, come to God and let Him graft you into the True Vine. Give yourself completely to being that branch in Him and experience the power and strength that flows from the Lord Jesus Christ into you.
John 15: 1,2 "I am the vine and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit..." (NIV) The words "cuts off" bother me. I am in Jesus because of my faith in His substitonary atonement. How can I be "cut off?" The answer is that I am not "cut off." Strong's concordance states that the verb variously translated as "cut off" or "taken away" in this verse is "airo" a verb that means "to raise up, take up, lift away." When the gardener finds a branch that is lying on the ground covered with dirt and grime, he does not cut it of and throw it away, he picks it up, washes it off and wraps it around the trellis where it absorb the sustenance of the vine and the life giving light that enable it to bear fruit.
ReplyDeleteWhen I get covered with the dirt and grime of my sin, the Gardener does not come and cut me off, He comes and cleanses me (isn't that what Jesus did to the disciples feet?) brings me into the light of His Presnce and enables me to bear fruit. If I confes my sin He is faithful and just to forgive me and to cleanse me.
I am thankful that I am not cut off!
Wow!
ReplyDeleteI'm not the author of this installment of the blog, but I am here with a triple
"Amen" followed by bold, italicized, underlined exclamation points!!!
There are, indeed, various translations of Strong's G142. The blog entry quoted the New King James Version: "takes away" instead of the NIV's "cut off."
The NKJV gives as an alternate translation "lifts up."
These are semantics. But salvation was written in blood and power--and it seems to me that your objection to the NIV's "cut off" is consistent with the overarching meta-narrative of the cross of Jesus Christ.
I commend your insight, your vivid explication, and your passion!
Amen!