Thought on This Chapter
Verses 1 thru 6 is talking about how He is the vine and we are the branches.
We can do nothing without Jesus. And in the middle of this Jesus says,
JN 15:3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
In verse 4 Jesus continues on talking about the vine
and the branches with an emphasis on how we need to abide in Him.
JN 15:4 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.
JN 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.
JN 15:6 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.
JN 15:7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye
will, and it shall be done unto you.
At first glance verse 3 seems to be out of place.
Read verse 3 again. JN 15:3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
There are no verses out of place in the Bible.
Every one is exactly were God wants it. So what is a verse that tells us
that the Word of God has a cleansing effect doing surrounded by verses that are
talking about abiding in Christ?
You cannot be abiding in Christ and be walking in sin.
In Him is no darkness at all and He will not fellowship with sin. Abiding
in Christ is not talking about getting saved. It is talking about walking
in close fellowship with Christ after you are saved. To walk close to
Christ we need to confess our sins daily. The word of God is like a
mirror. It shows us where we are messed up. The word of God brings
conviction. It helps us to clean our lives up and bring them into
conformity to the will of God. The Bible has a cleansing effect.
1) We are to abide in Christ and can do nothing without
Him.
2) To abide in Christ we need to confess our sins
and receive forgiveness. (1 John 1:5-10)
3) The Bible helps us grow in Christ. The Bible
has a cleansing affect upon us. The Word of God has a big part in us being
able to abide in Christ.
The application should be obvious. Since the Word
of God helps us abide in Christ, then we need to be in the Word of God every
day.
Thought On This Chapter
JN 15:8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear
much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
There is a clear expectation from Jesus that we should
bear fruit. It is to be expected. Bearing fruit is what is normal.
It should not be a shock when a Christian bears fruit. No it is the other
way around. It should be a shock when a Christian does not bear fruit.
A lack of fruit means that something is wrong.
I have an orange tree and when it does not bear fruit,
then I know something is wrong. The tree does not have enough nutrients,
or it's roots are getting choked out, or there is a lack of nitrogen in the
soil. A tree needs the right amount of water and the right amount of
light. When the tree does not produce, then steps need to be taken to get
it back into a fruit bearing condition. A healthy tree will bear fruit.
A healthy Christian will bear fruit. If a
Christian is living a fruitless life, then something is wrong. They are
not being watered enough by the word, or they are not looking enough unto Jesus
for light, or they have too much pride choking them out. It could be a lot
of different things, but like the orange tree, the problem will not just go away
on its own. Steps need to be taken. Maybe it is a return to prayer,
or confessing sin to God, or a return to Bible study. If you are not
bearing fruit, then take steps to get back to being a healthy Christian.
And notice how much fruit He expects from us.
"that ye bear much fruit" Much fruit. And in this verse we are told
that when we bear fruit that it glorifies God.
Do you want to glorify God? Do your want your
life to count for something? Then live in a way that will allow God to use
you to bear much fruit for Him.
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