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 (John 15:1-2).
The story of the Vine now becomes the story of the husbandman, the farmer, who has a vision for the Vine and His branches. His Vine is a choice Vine and His goal is that it produce good fruit. Therefore, the husbandman’s job is to deal aggressively with every branch so that it brings to fruition the will of the husbandman (God) and the Vine (Jesus) so that the branches produce in perfect harmony with the Vine. Jesus says, “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He, My Father, takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” We are not concerned at this point with what is taken away but are focusing on what remains! You are the branches that remain. “By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples” (John 15:8).
The Father is glorified in the branches that remain and learn to abide in the Vine; they are not called to toil, spin, or struggle, but to abide. Fruit comes from abiding in the Vine, not from human effort.He says, “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). Jesus is the only Vine the Father has or needs! All that the Father produces comes from and through Jesus! Any other vine (source, fountain) is not of God, for He says, “I am the true vine” which indicates false vines or sources. In John 1:3, he says, “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made” (John 1:3). Jesus is the Father’s eternal source! He has chosen to join you to Christ, thus making you a part of God’s eternal produce and producing!
Pastor Don