John chapter 15 is a wonderful chapter about the promises of God and it gives assurance to the believer. It was first brought to my attention through a contact which God made with me in 1981. Let us examine a few of the verses.
Verse 1 says “I am the True Vine, and my Father is the Husbandman.” Jesus said He is the true Vine. There are many vines, even Satan is a vine but is not the True Vine. There is only one True Vine and this is Jesus Christ.
Verse 2 says “Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit He taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.”
If you are in Christ and you are not bearing the fruit that He desires He will take you out. He will cut you off because it is not possible to be on the Real True Spiritual Vine that is Christ and not be bearing the fruit of righteousness. The Husbandman which is God is the One who assess the believer and knows if that individual is bearing the right fruit.
The Scriptures say that those who are bearing fruit will be purged by God. Children of God go through purging every day, every tribulation, trials and problems that you have in your day to day living, is a form of purging. This purging is what makes you to be a better person, without problems you cannot be spiritually better, without problems you cannot develop into or be the follower that God wants you to be. As we go through life, we do not appreciate the problems that we face but we must learn to embrace them because in every problem that you face God is teaching you a valuable lesson. Ensure that you learn the lesson so that you will not be taught that same lesson again.
Verse 3 says “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.”
It is the word of God that makes us clean. Many persons believe that it is how energetic you are in worship or how fervent you seem to others but none of these by themselves make you spiritually clean. What makes you clean is your godly lifestyle which is made possible by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the studying and understanding of the word of God. This is what leads you into the path that teaches you what God wants you to know.
It is possible to come to an Assembly daily and participate in all activities yet you have not an ounce of godliness in you, because you are not living in obedience to the God’s will and purpose. It is the written word and the guidance of the Holy Spirit that bring understanding of God’s will and submission to His will. The devil always tries to prevent everyone that is called by the name of the Lord from knowing the word because he strives in ignorance. One’s educational capabilities is not a deterrent to obeying God. God ministers to the inner man. Some sometimes or often say I can’t read or I don’t like to read, I don’t like to write, I don’t like to do this, I don’t like to do that. That is the devil at work in those life; he loves to put boundaries around you that will prevent your blessings.
Verse 4 says “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.”
By abiding in Me, Jesus means live in Me and when you live in Me, I will live in you. Jesus can only live in you when you are bearing the right fruit. He can only live in you when you are the real true branch attached to the real True Vine. Jesus further stated that if you do not live in Me, you cannot bear fruit, you cannot be out there hanging in the wind and you bear the right fruit, you only do so when you abide in Christ. It is good to live a life that is pleasing to God, it is good to live a life that is in Christ so that as you go from day to day you can bring forth godly fruit.
Verse 5 says “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.”
Jesus said that He is the Vine and everyone who has repented, been converted and transformed into a new creature is the branch. You cannot be a branch unless you have repented and turned from sin. When you are the branch, you bring forth much fruit. Notice that when you begin to progress you first bring forth fruit, then you bring forth more fruit, then you bring forth much fruit.
Children of God are not static and that is why you do not need to covet anything, because the more you lift up God is the more God uplifts you. When you lift up God with a true heart, you live for Him not because you are looking for something but because you love Him and you have dedicated yourself to Him. As you obey Him, He will lift you up and multiply you as you go along. His gifts are permanent especially to the obedient ones. What God has given to anyone cannot be taken away except by Him.
Verse 6 says “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.”
If one does not abide in Christ, live in Him or obey His words such individual will not be accepted in God’s Kingdom. What does it mean to abide in Christ? It means being obedient and living in obedience to the will of God. That is where we have a problem, because being humans with a carnal desire we want to do our own thing, sometimes we think that God is too slow or restrictive. Sometimes the way in which God is dealing with something is not how you want to deal with it, so you want to find another avenue to deal with it, but the word of God tells us, if you are not living in obedience to God through Jesus Christ, then you shall be cast off as a branch and you shall wither.
Now what do you do with something that is withered and has become dried wood? You take it and light a fire. So, when one is cast off from Christ, one has become useless and is only suitable for the fire. When you are cast off you have no good relationship with God, you might think you have one but you have not. Many who are living in hypocrisy are empowered by familiar spirits. These familiar spirits do not give rest. There is always an inner battle being fought. Everyone should be aware of the manifestations of familiar spirits because this spirit can be transferred through contact activities. There can also be a transference of power. We must be vigilant to avoid the transference of familiar power, because if an individual has the spirit of lie and he/she is your close friend, you steadily become a liar because you are mingling with the same spirit. If you do not have the same spirit, you cannot be close friend of anyone whose behaviour is in rebellion to holiness.
If the individual is full of pride or is contentious and that individual is your close friend you can acquire that spirit and get corrupted as you go along. It is fitting that we bear in mind this quote, “show me your company and I will tell you who you are.” If one aligns oneself with people who are spiritual, you become spiritually strong, and if you align yourself with weak fences you will topple over, this has been proven repeatedly. That is why Jesus said if you are not abiding in Me, I am going to cast you off because two cannot walk together except they be agreed (Amos 3:3). Therefore, it is important for us to live in obedience to the will of God.
Verse 7 says “If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.”
Many prayers are unanswered because we are not in the will of God, if we are in the will of God we asked according to the will of God and God answers according to His will. Today almost everyone is running after signs and wonders, they do not want the word of God they want signs and wonders and because they are going after signs and wonders they are losing sight of the best thing - the word of God. It says abide in Me and My words will abide in you. As the song writer says “My stubborn will at last hath yielded I would be Thine and Thine alone, and this the prayer my lips are bringing, Lord, let in me Thy will be done.”
The word of God has power and it gives you strength to fight the Goliaths of your life, it is what gives you the wisdom to overcome the words that are going against you, to make the right decisions and to live a life that is pleasing to God. When the word of God abides in you whatever you ask for will be according to His will. A believer cannot be like Herodias and ask for the head of John the Baptist but will instead ask the Lord for wisdom, knowledge and understanding, ask the Lord to give you a clear eye sight, ask the Lord to give you a clean heart and a clear mind, ask the Lord to remove carnalities from you and that every destructive force that the devil has set up in your life be removed. When you do this, you are building a relationship of holiness with God.
Verse 8 says “Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be My disciples.”
When it is that you abide in Jesus and the will of Christ is shown in your life then it is that you will give glory to the Father. That is when God the Father will find glory in you. Your acceptance of Christ will be a great demonstration that Christ’s sacrifice was not in vain. When you are bearing much fruit, you are a disciple of Jesus, ask yourself, am I a disciple of Christ? A disciple is one who is disciplined. Am I disciplined in Christ or am I partially disciplined? If you are partially disciplined you are not a disciple.
Jesus continues in verse 9 which says “As the Father hath loved Me, so have I loved you: continue ye in My love.”
The song writer wrote “He left the Splendour of Heaven knowing His destiny, was the lonely hill of Golgotha, there to lay down His life for me. If that isn't love.”
Wasn’t that love? He left the splendour of Heaven knowing that His destiny was the cross on Golgotha’s hill, was the spitting in His face, was the smiting on the cheek, was the gambling for His garment, for the crown of thorns, for the whip on His back and the cross and the journey to the place of crucifixion. He did it for us yet when you are faced with a little difficulty to you the Christian journey becomes hard. Suddenly you cannot manage. You no longer focus on Christ and know thar Him grace is sufficient for you and His strength is made perfect in weakness.
Self takes over and pride and ego stand in the way. Your ego is not you, your ego is the devil using you, when the ego comes up recognize that the devil is at work, therefore, remove ego and put Christ in the centre of our lives. We are promised love from the Father if we abide in Christ because Christ loves us unconditionally.
He points out something very important in verse 10 which says “If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love.”
What are the Commandments that He is talking about, it goes back to the same Ten Commandments given on Mount Sinai. Every command that Christ gives is anchored in the Ten Commandments. One will say that it wasn’t Jesus who gave the Commandments, it was God, Jesus gave it too, because as His Father did so did He, whatever His Father does He sanctions it, He said I and my Father are one, therefore, it is God’s Commandments, it is Jesus’s Commandments. It says if you abide in them or you keep them you shall live in Christ’s love, it says because Christ has kept them; He was enjoying His Father’s love.
Verse 11 says “These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”
Jesus is telling us these things because He wants us to have joy, everybody has happiness, but when it comes to joy it is your connection in Jesus that gives joy. Joy is a fruit of the spirit, so except the Holy Spirit is living in you, you cannot have joy. When you have joy do not allow any situation to take it from you. There is a song that says “I still have joy, after all I’ve been through I still have joy.” Hold onto joy no matter what you are going through, because it is your connection to God. Jesus was telling us that the joy He have within Him will remain in us so that our joy might be full. Do not focus on the negative things in life but focus on the positive things and keep your joy.
Verse 12 says “This is my Commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.”
It doesn’t matter what anyone has done to you; there is no need for hatred. Do not hate them, allow God to deal with the issue. He will deal with it in due time. Christ asks us to genuinely love one another. When we talk about love we are talking about agape love which allows us to deal with every situation fairly. Jesus Christ deals with us fair and justly, so it is that we must deal justly.
Verse 14 says “Ye are My friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.”
It says here that you are My friends, in John 13 Jesus spoke about servants, that as a follower of Christ you are a servant. In John 15 He said that you are His friend, in John 20 He says you are His brethren. When you abide in Him know that you are not only a servant, but you are a servant who is a friend, you are a servant who is a brethren, you are a brethren who is still a friend and a servant. Our relationship with Him is intertwined together.
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down His life for His friends.
Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe, sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow. Do not tell me about what I was, do not tell me about what I have left behind, tell me about what I am now. Gone are the days when the devil could have pointed his finger. Now being a person who has been converted to righteousness and living in Christ he has to stand aside and know that he has no authority to accuse you because you are washed in the blood of Jesus Christ, you are saved and sanctified and on your way to the kingdom of God.
Do not harbour thoughts about yesterday, tell yourself about today and your intention to go through. Sing with confidence, “I intend to go thru, I intend to be true, thru sunshine or thru shadows dim” Even in the rain of circumstances when Jordan is flowing bank to bank, by the grace of God you will go through.
Think on the words of this song “I’m too near to my home, too near to my glorious home, I can’t turn back in sin I’ve made my choice, there is nothing worthwhile to look about now praise God, God’s kingdom is due, I’m too near to my glorious home to turn back now.”
When it is that the devil points his finger, when he throws stones at you, when you look and you see darkness, remember there is light, because your life is hidden in Christ, there must be light. Tell yourself, I am going to be like Jacob, I am going to hang on and I will not let go until I get the blessing from the Lord.
Sometimes we give up too early, we get frustrated too early. Press on the battle won’t be very, very long, press on the battle won’t be long, if we ever meet again, we will join the glorious run press on the battle won’t be long. The same God who told Jehoshaphat that the battle is not yours it’s the Lords’, is the same God that fight battles in your life. Weeping might endure for the night but joy comes in the morning, cry through the night but hold on joy is coming. The song writer says “On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand,” another one said, “Let me loose myself and find it Lord in Thee may all self be slain oh God and I see all there and it cost me grieve and pain let me find my life again when I loose myself and find it Lord in Thee.” “
Still another encourages us with these words, Lord walk beside me, lead me and guide me and take all those memories of sinning away, hold me so close Lord till I feel your heart beat and don’t let me wonder away.”
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down His life for His friends.
Jesus categorised who His friends are, He said you are His friends if you do whatsoever, He commands you. Walk in the will of God, live in the will of God, do not let any circumstances in your life determine whether or not you are going to live for God. Know deep within you that your life is hidden in Christ, you know deep within you that for you to live is Christ and to die is gain, know deep within you that you are anchored on the True Vine and you are cared for by the Husbandman and that as you live and abide in the presence of God from day to day you shall bring forth fruit, you shall bring forth more fruit, you shall bring forth much fruit and you shall be a servant who is both a friend and a brethren of Jesus Christ.
Let your anchor be in the Lord and let nothing persuade you to lose your joy but hold on to your joy. Weeping endures but for a night but joy comes in the morning and every challenge makes you sharper for the Lord, so you are used better, you are more effective, embrace your problems and embrace the power of God in your life.
Abide in the Lord and He shall most certainly abide in you.
Writer - A. E. Fisher
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