The author asks a question which is crucial to every professing Christian,

B earing fruit is central to redemp­tion and salvation. Jesus said, "I chose you, and appointed you,

thatyoushouldgoandbearfririt,"vs. 16. In 15:2, He said, "Every branch in Me that does not bear fiilit; He takes away;" is cast into to fire and burned up, vs. 6. The issue of bearing fruit, therefore, is not optional; it is the evidence and the productofbeing in Christ, the vine. Does this mean that a person can be "in Christ," be saved, and later be cut off because he does not' bear fruit, l?e lost? What is the fruit that we are to bear? How can I bear fruit for Christ?

1.. I AM THE TRUE VINE, 15:1, 5. This is another of the "I AM" sayings

of Jesus by which Jesus revealed His identity to His disciples and the world.

The nation of Israel had been com­pared and likened by God to a vine or vineyard. Isa. 3:14, "The Lord enters into judgment with the elders and princes of His people, "It is you who have devoured the vineyard;" Is a. 5:1-7, vs. 7, "For the · vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house oflsrael...He looked for justice, but be­hold bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, acryofdistress." See also Hosea 10:1-2, 14:2, 4~8. Herod's temple at the

·time of the N.T. had a huge golden vine above the entrance symbolic of the nation of Israel as God's vine, much like the Bald Eagle which is a symbol of Amer­ica.

J esus applies to Himself the desig­nation as the Vine, and the TRUE vine. Israel had failed to bring

forth the fruit that God desired, and had

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Are you

demanded. Jesus is in effect saying that He is the true Son of God, the one in and through whomrighteousness and justice will be established. He is the true Israel­ite and those in Him are true Israelites, the people of God.

The disciples and followers of Jesus were also afraid of being cut off from the physical - external nation of Israel to whom the promises and covenant be~ longed. This is reflected in several pas­sages, 12:42, 9:22, 16:2. One of the threats used by the religious leaders was that of exclusion, being cut off, put out, "excommunication". Since it was to the nation that the promises belonged, to be putout of the synagogue was tantamount to having your inheritance cut off, your participation in the kingdom of God.

_ J esus says, in effect, "Hey, I am the true vine. If you are in Me then you have nothing to worry about. You

don't need to worry about being put out of the synagogue." He says this to assure His followers and to comfort them. II. MY FATHER IS THE VINE­DRESSER~ 15:1.

A. Jesus is the Son of God. The Vinedresser is the owner of the vine or vineyard. He is God. For Jesus to say that "His" Fatheris the vinedresseris another way for Him to identify Himself as the SonofGod.

B. Jesus is God the Father's vine. The Gospel of John places great emphasis on the fact that everything thatJ esus did, He did because He was doing the will and workofGodtheFather. Note17:4;5:17, 19f.; 6:38-40; 44~45. See 3:16, it is God the Father who gave His only begotten

bearing fruit? John 15:1-17

by Wayne Rogers

Son. It is the Father who sends the Holy Spirit, 14:16.

The inclusion of Jesus' reference to the vinedresser is all important. Jesus' intent is to identify Himself and His work with the purpose and plan of God, the Father. Jesus came to accomplish and complete the work assigned to Israel as God's vine in the O.T. Redemption has as its goal the establishment of righteous­ness and justice, Is a. 5:7. There is conti­nuity between the purpose of God in the O.T. and the N.T. Jesus wants us to understand that as the vine, He came to produce through His death all the fruit that God desired and demanded. ill. YE ARE THE BRANCHES - 15:5.

A. Who are the branches? It is clear that there are two classes of

branches, those that bear fruit and those that don't. There are good, fruitful branches that are pruned in order to ~ear more fruit, and there are unfruitful branches that are cut off and cast into the fire. Who, therefore, are the branches? Can a person be a branch ''in Christ" and then be cut off, cast into the fire? Does the firerepresentetemal punishment, hell? Does it refer to the discipline of Chris­tians? Is Jesus making a distinction be­tween unfruitful Christians and fruitful Christians, or is He making a distinction between fruitful Christians and false or non-Christians?

J esus is drawing a distinction be­tween true Christians, disciples, and those who are not true believers at

all. The crucial difference and distinc­tion between the two is the presence of fruit.

1. Both branches are said to be in Him, in the Vine, in Christ, vs. 2. The fruitless branch "in Christ'' refers to the person who has been in the vine as the Jews had been, as Judas had been. They had been in close contact with Jesus, even in the nation oflsrael, but they had not brought forth the fruit of faith and repentance. John 6:29 says, "This is the work of God (the fruit that God desires) that you be­lieve in Him whom He has sent." See 17:6-8 also.

A s Jesus addressed these words Judas had departed to betray Him. Judas had been in the

vine, but he did not bring forth the fruit of faith. This is the same sentiment as John later expressed in I John 2:19, "They went out from us, but they were not of us."

The reality was that it was possible to be in close contact with Jesus, to be in the Twelve, and nevertheless, to fail to bring forth fruit. The nation of Israel had been God's vine, but they failed to bring forth the fruit God required. Therefore, they would be cut off and burned up.

2. The Fruitless Branches are false disciples, false Christians. Every branch in Him that does not bring forth fruit "is cast into thefire,"vs. 6; is taken away, vs. 2. Both Matthew 13:20 and25:41 indi­cate that to be cast into the fire is to be cast into hell, condemnation, cut off from God. This is not a disciplinary measure for Christians, but the separation of the people of God from those who are not. A tree is known by its fruit, Mat. 7:15-23. The fruit is the evidence as to whether the tree is good or bad.

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T be Gospel of John throughout · makes a distinction between

only two classes of people, the believer and the unbeliever. See 8:42-44, 3:36, 14:23-24, 5:24,3:19-21, 10:27-29. Those who followed Jesus for a while, who appeared to be "disciples," but who fell away, are un-believers, 6:64-67, 8:31.

3. The Fruitful Branch is the Chris­tian. He is a Christian because he ii in Christ, he abides in Christ, and therefore, he bears fruit. Fruit is the effect and the evidence and the experience of being in Christ

J esus' threat of hell-fire is not di­rected at His disciples. He says in vs. 3, "You are clean." In vs. 2,

Jesus bad said that every branch in him that bears fruit, he prunes or literally "cleans" it further for more fruit So, when in vs. 3 He says that you are already clean, he is saying that you are already fruitful branches. He is telling them that the unfruitful branches, such as Judas, should not alarm them. They will be cut off. The true branches are those who abide, and they will bear fruit. Indeed, as 15:16 say, "I chose you, 1q1d appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and THAT YOUR FRliTT SHOULD REMAIN."

Who are the branches, the true branches? They are those who REMAIN, persevere in faith and obedience. And they bear fruit. The fruit is the evidence of being in Christ and being a Christian.

B. What is the Fruit? There has been much discussion over

the years about what the fruit is a refer­ence to. Is it a reference to the fruit of the Spirit, Gal. 5; is it a reference to the "fruit" of souls being saved as the result of evangelism? What is it? What is th~ fruit?

T he fruit that we bear is based on what Jesus said in John 12:23-27. Jesus hadsaidthatifHedied

that he would bear much fruit, vs. 24. If He dies He will produce much fruit, or many more "grains of wheat". And then He said that they, like He, must not love their lives, but lose their lives for him. In effect, then, · the fruit that we bear by abiding in Christ is all the fruit, the re­sults, the effects of our following and serving Him, 12:26. It is the fruit of

seeing people come to know Christ, it is the fruit of the Spirit; but it is more than that.

The fruit should not be limited too narrowly. The real emphasis in John 15 is on fruit as an analogy. Fruit is the by­product of the vine and the branches. The emphasis is that if you lo~e your life for me, live in me, abide in me, find me as the source of your life and vitality, that you will produce all the work and character thatGodredeemed you for. You will find the life and works of God in Christ being produced in you.

In the O.T. passages that we looked at the "fruit" was the fruit of righteousness, holiness,justice, which in themselves are expressions of the manifestation of the presence of the kingdom of God. Jesus said that the :gjngdom of Heaven is like a seed that is sown and grows up and be­comes a tree so vast that all the birds of the air come and nest in it,Mat.l3:31-32.

C hristianshavecornetoapplythe reference to the fruit to simply the fruit of evangelism or the

fruit of the Spirit. This certainly includes the fruit of seeing people come to know God in Christ through the proclamation of the Gospel, and the fruit of the Holy Spirit in their lives. But that does not exhaust it. The command to "Go" and bear fruit I believe clearly implies that this is connected with the "going" related totheGreatCornmission. Butthe"Going" commanded in the Great Commission as a going that envisions a going to "make disciples of all the nations ... teaching them to observe all that I commanded you," Mat. 28:19-20. Just as God had com­manded Adam to be "fruitful" and to multiply, and to cultivate the earth, the fruit that God requires is the fruit of all men and nations becoming His disciples and observing His commandments in all holiness,justice, and truth. The very fruit of our redemption in Christ is described in terms of holiness, righteousness, and truth, Eph. 4:24.

C hristians today want to bear fruit, but they go out and pluck it before it matures. In other

words, they see the purpose and mission of the church as simply evangelism and personal discipleship. They won't let the fruit ripen into the fruit of holiness and

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justice in tenns of the nations. Until we understand and believe that

fruit that we are to bear is the fruit of the redemption of the world, we can count the fruit and polish the apples all we want, but we have not "gone" and brought forth the fruit that Christ came to produce and to grow. IV. HOW DO WE BEAR THE FRUIT?

Jesus does not reveal some secret spiritual "fertilizer" in this passage. He does re-emphasize and assert those basic and fundamental aspects that must char­acterize the life of the people of God in their relation to Him. A. YoumustloveGod. John 14:21, "He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father; and I will love him, and will disclose Myself to him." 14:23 says, "If you love Me you will keep My commandments." Fundamental to bearing fruit is loving God and keeping His commandments. His last and ultimate commandment is that we go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing, and teaching them all that He commanded.

L o. ve forChristmeans losing your life and Serving Him and others. There is no substitute! There is

no other path! The key to seeing the Great Conunission realized is not some new evangelistic program or method - It is loving God and serving Him - self­abandonment, self-surrender, self-com­mitment. God's hand is not shortened that it cannot save. It is our lack of faith, vision, and obedience. B. You must love one another, John 13:34, 15:12-15 .. This is a new com­mandment There is a special emphasis on a NEW cotnmandment. What is the essential aspect and nature of this love? It is love that has the quality of the willing­ness to lay down its .life for the other, to humble itself before another in order to serve him. It is not a love, as many suppose, that tolerates and condones evil, sin, error, and untruth. But, it is a sincere and humble attitude that is willing to serve one another unto death.

This new love is the evidence of the transforming power of God to produce and accomplish that which most men see as the greatest need among men -love for

one another, the ability to get along, to show true and genuine loving concern and selfless compassion. It is by this that all men would know that they are the disciples of Jesus, 13:35. It is our failure to practice the same character, the same "love" of Jesus, that inhibits the progress of the Gospel. There is no substitute! C. You must abide in Christ, 15:4, 5. This is not some tricky, mystical, magi­cal, spiritual experience. The disciples had lived in total dependence upon Christ. Whenever they went out on their own they invariably got into trouble. Jesus has just informed them that He is going away and that they will see Him no more. Nevertheless, they must continue as they had in the past to depend upon Him for the source oflife, truth, protection, provi­sion, etc. He says later in 17: 11 that they are going to "remain" in the world. As they remain in the world, they must remain in Him as the source of their light, life, knowledge, wisdom, and power. How do we "remain" in Christ?

1. YoumustabideinPrayer, 15:7,16, 14:12-14. There is no substitute!

2. You must abide in the Word, 15:7, 14:13-14. ItistheWordofGodthatgives content to our prayer, and direction to our life. It is theW ord of God that is powerful to the casting down of thrones and do­minions, II Cor. 10:4-5.

J esus says in 17: 17 that it is the Word that sanctifies them. Sanc­tification here is not primarily a

reference to the process whereby we become more and more holy. It has a greater significance here.

This Greek word for "sanctify" here is a unique word unparalled in its usage in the N.T. It is the Greek word that was used to translate the Hebrew word that referred to the "sanctification" of the sacrifices in the O.T., and the consecra­tion of the priests, Ex. 28:38, 41. When Jesus said in 17:19 that He "sanctified" Himself he wasn't saying that He was going to increase in holiness. He meant that He "consecrated'' Himself to the missionGodhadgivenHim. John 10:11-18 seems to say the same thing, Jesus consecrated, committed Himself to be the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep. We, too, are "consecrated'' or "setapart''

and "devoted" to God by the Word of

God. It is the Truth that sets us apartfrom the world and protects us from the "evil one," 17:15. Jesus said, "I have given them Thy word; and the world has hated them ... .I do not ask Thee to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one," 17: 14~15.

discover and apply the truth. It is this lack of humility and commitment to truth it­self that has caused the Christian Church to become weak, ineffective and irrele­vant in our day. There is no substitute for the truth!

It is our knowledge of and commit­ment to the Word of God as the truth that "sanctifies," consecrates us to God. And it is the Word of truth by which we are protected from the attacks and decep­tions of Sa tan. This is the same emphasis of John in I John 2:18-29. We recognize that not all Christians agree in every area of doctrine. However, we live in a time when concern for doctrine and truth at all is ridiculed and regarded as being too dogmatic. Jesus said, however, that it is the truth that sets us apart and preserves us from the evil one. Moreover, when and where we differ with other Chris­tians, we do not often deal with one another in a spirit and attitude of love, humility, and teachableness in order to

I s not what we have been describi.ng the characteristics that marked the church in Acts? They had no semi­

nars, videos, programs. Theyjustcontin­ued in the Apostle's doctrine, in fellow­ship, in the breaking of bread, and prayer, Acts 2:42. They were remaining in Christ!

There are no shortcuts or substitutes to fruitbearing. We don't want the fruit that rots, but remains, 6:27, 15:16. We don't want plastic fruit that looks pretty on the outs ide, but is empty on the inside. The good and abiding fruit that remains is the fruit that is produced and can only grow in the soil of Christ. It comes from being rooted, abiding, dwelling in Him. It comes when we lose our lives, and serve Him, the world, and one another.

Geneva Bible once again to become available, in very limited quantities

Almost exactly a year and a half ago we learned of a man in California who was planning to reprint the Geneva Bible. We sent a substantial amount of money in order to reserve a number of copies during the pre-publication period. During the past year and a half we have wondered whether we would ever see either the Bibles or our money. Now, it appears that the Geneva Bible will be available in April, or (hopefully) shortly thereafter.

The Geneva Bible was first printed in 1560. It was produced by the English-speaking Christians in Calvin's Geneva. John Knox was one of the leaders among these English­speaking reformers. This Bible was used by the Puritan clergy in England, Scotland and America. It was the frrst Bible published in Scotland and was authorized for use in the Church of Scotland. It was used by Oliver Cromwell and by JohnB unyanandJ ohn Milton. It is, doubtless, the Bible used by Shakespeare. The Calvinistic notes made this Bible popular among the godly people in the frrstcentury

following its publication. Later, when soundness was on the wane, otherversions, such as the King James Version, became more popular. It is worth noting, however, that those who produced the KJV were influenced by the Geneva Bible, and used many phrases directly out of the Geneva Bible. It appears that we will only have about eight (8) copies to make available to ourreaders,

when they do come off the press. We wiJJ hold a CORY for the first eight people who send a $400.00donation to The Counsel ofChalcedon. No phone calls, please. If more than eight people send a donation, we will try to obtain additional copies in order to fill the orders. If a Bible is not available, for any reason, your money will be returned. We cannot guarantee that the Bibles will be available by a certain date, but if you send $400.00 and later lose patience waiting for delivery, we will gladly return your money. [When last in print the Geneva Bible sold for $99.95 retail. The binding on this new edition is purported to be superior. This and other inclusions make it worth more than that)

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