Jesus is the Vine

John 15:1-11 - "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete." (NIV)

Another wonderful metaphor from the lips of the Savior. I am currently leading a small group through a Bible study based on this passage so I thought I'd write up a quick tidbit. In this passage, Jesus teaches us about Himself, about His Father and about us. Namely He teaches that (1) He and the Father are to be distinguished from each other, (2) that they both are working to grow the good branches and dispose of the bad, and (3) what good branches and bad branches look like.

(1) Vine and Gardener

This is pretty straightforward, Jesus is the Vine and the Father is the Gardener. The metaphor beautifully illustrates the relationship between Father and Son as the vine does not sustain itself apart from the gardener and the garndener isn't a gardener if there is no vine to tend. It also gets at the intimacy of their relationship as the gardener cares for the vine (by pruning and cutting) and the vine produces branches with fruit accordingly. We want to be careful, here, not to take the metaphor beyond it's means. Because Jesus describes Himself as the Vine and His Father as the Gardener, this does not mean that Jesus is less than the Father as a real vine is less than its gardener. It is equally true that Jesus is a not a created being as a real vine is a part of creation. Whence the Holy Spirit in this metaphor? It is quite possible that Jesus does not explicitly include the presence of the Holy Spirit in this passage because He had just finished describing the Spirit's role as a Counselor. The Spirit would fit into this metaphor implicitly, then, by being the pruning shears used by the Gardener and by being the life-giving substance that flows from the Vine into the branches.

(2) Good Branches, Bad Branches

How do you know whether you're a good branch or a bad branch? This question was raised during the small group meeting on Sunday (we were focusing on v. 2) and I offered the following take. First, and foremost, the particulars of your relationship with God are between you and God. I am in no place to question whether or not you are a Christian, especially if you've been breaking bread with me at the Lord's table; God is the final judge of your heart. However, we are called to hold one another accountable and this can be used as sort of a litmus test. If you are a Christian then your life will look a certain way as you continue to bear the fruit of genuine salvation. When you cease to bear fruit your brothers and sisters will (hopefully) call you out and set you straight. This is what the pruning process looks like: you sin, God cuts the sin out and you grow stronger. Bad branches come in just as wide a variety as good branches but, like good branches, they have common characteristics (another sort of litmus test). They don't find their identity in the vine and some even try to grow fruit apart from it. These Christians are motivated primarily by self and they are stubbornly against reproach and being held accountable. They are comfortable living in sin and guilt does not drive them to repentance and when it does they are still reluctant (rather than relieved).

(3) The Gardener Gardening and the Vine Vining

Here is where we start digging into the metaphor a bit deeper. The Father as Gardener tends the Vine by either pruning the branches that are producing fruit or by cutting off those branches that don't produce fruit. The purpose of pruning a vine's branches is so that those branches will grow stronger and produce a greater yield come harvest time. Keep in mind that this is something the gardener does to the branches based on his own judgment and assessment of the branch's condition. The branch is either producing fruit or it's not and the pruning shears are utilized respectively. Likewise, the vine continues to grow and produce branches; it gives life and support to those branches that produce fruit and to those branches which are grafted on where non-producing branches were cut off.

An interesting quandary is brought up by this passage. We know that ultimately there are only two kinds of people: saved and unsaved. It would be easy to make the analogy of "saved = Christian" while "unsaved = non-Christian" but we see in this passage (and others) that this is not the case. From passages like these we get the distinction between what is called the "visible" Church and the "invisible" Church. So, the term "Christian" refers to anyone who is a member of the visible Church regardless of whether they are also members of the invisible Church. Let's translate this over to the vine metaphor for a bit more clarity. Jesus is the Vine (the visible/invisible Church and the branches are Christians (members of the visible/invisible Church) . The Father, then, is the one who either prunes those abiding in the Vine and producing fruit (Christians that are members of the visible and invisible Church) or He cuts off those not abiding and not producing fruit (Christians that are are members of the visible Church only). Much more can be discussed here but I'm trying to keep this brief; suffice it to say that this doesn't change the truth of there only being two kinds of people. Rather, this view enables a more nuanced understanding of the term "Christian" from within a covenantal framework.