Divinity Estates

if God’s people would take their
Bibles and turn once again to John, John’s Gospel, and we find
ourselves in John Chapter 15. John Chapter
15, the Christians, one of the favorite
chapters of believers. John Chapter 15. I am the true vine, and My Father
is the vine dresser. Every branch in Me that does
not bear fruit, He takes away. And every branch that bears fruit,
He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean
because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and
I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit
of itself unless it abides in the vine, so 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, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me,
He is thrown away as a branch and dries up and they gather
them and cast them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide
in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it
will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this,
that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.
just as the Father has loved me, I have also loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep
my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept
my Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things
I have spoken to you that my joy may be in you and that your
joy may be made full. This is my commandment. that
you love one another just as I have loved you. Greater love
has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.
You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer
do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his
master is doing. But I have called you friends
for all things that I have heard from my father I have made known
to you. You did not choose me, but I
chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit,
and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the
Father in my name, He may give to you. This I command you, that
you love one another. If the world hates you, you know
that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world,
the world would love its own, but because you are not of the
world, But I chose you out of the world, because of this the
world hates you. Remember the word that I said
to you, a slave is not greater than his master. If they persecuted
me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they
will keep yours also. But all these things they will
do to you for my name’s sake, because they do not know the
one who sent me. If I had not come and spoken
to them, they would not have sinned. But now they have no
excuse for their sin. He who hates me hates my father
also. If I had not done among them
the works which no one else did, they would not have sinned. But
now they both have seen and hated me and my father as well. But
they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their
law. They hated me without a cause. When the helper comes, whom I
will send to you from the Father, that is the spirit of truth who
proceeds from the Father, he will testify about me. And you
will testify also because you have been with me from the beginning. John chapter 15, those opening
verses, present to us a very fascinating image. And we don’t
have to shy away from it when we see that what is being referred
to there is a vineyard. Because a vineyard not only ultimately
could produce grapes that could produce wine, an alcoholic beverage,
but they also produce the grapes themselves. And in that culture,
they would boil down the grapes to an almost sugary syrup consistency,
almost like honey. What God allows us here is a
peek, as it were, into His vineyard. If God owned a vineyard, and
here, that’s the image that’s being presented, it is as if
God is allowing us to climb up on the hedge and to peek over
into His vineyard. to watch the operation in progress. Jesus had gotten up from dinner,
from the Lord’s Supper, from the Last Supper, and He noticed
the concern on His disciples’ faces, now just 11 of them. He knows the concerns in their
hearts, all that He has shared with them, and He wants to encourage
them. He wants to remind them that
all is not lost, that God is still sovereign, that He still
deeply loves them, and that they will continue to be united to
Him in a very real way. And so He presents to them essentially
a parable, an allegory, if you will. And it’s a picture that
is not only of a vineyard that God owns, but it’s of It’s a
picture of God’s people related to the Savior. One described
it in these terms. The union of Christ and believers
is very close. The closest that can be conceived. It is the whole secret of the
branch’s life, strength, vigor, beauty, and fertility. And so
he says that this image of a vine and branches is exceedingly appropriate
when you think of the believer in his relationship to his savior. Separate from the parent stem,
It has no life of its own. That’s essentially what verses
2 and 6 tell us. The sap and juice that flow from
the stem are the origin and the maintaining power of all its
leaves, buds, blossoms and fruit. Cut off from the stem, it must
soon wither and die. The union of Christ and believers
is just as close and just as real. In themselves, believers
have no life or strength or spiritual power. All that they have comes
from Christ. And so this parable, this story,
this useful story about a vine and its branches, about its caretaker,
the vine dresser, about the consequences of abiding on the vine, or not
abiding on the vine, all of those are meant to teach that deep
spiritual truth. If I may, I want to give you
kind of the roadmap of where we will be the next several weeks. I don’t want to hand myself in
by even telling you how many weeks, but over the next few
weeks, this is kind of the roadmap of where we will be. As we look at the features of
God’s vineyard, I want to look first at the choice vine. That’s where we’ll be today.
Just looking at the first part of verse 1, I am the true vine. But there is not only a choice
vine, but there is, we’ll see the meticulous grower’s skills. And what we get an image of there
is the vine dresser, the owner of the vineyard, who comes in
and skillfully prunes the vineyard. He not only cuts off dead branches,
but he even prunes healthy branches in order to help them produce
even more fruit. There is a vital clarification
in verse 3, which we will come to. Basically, I’ll tell you
right now that fruitfulness is not a means of salvation. There
are a lot of people that look on the outside to be fruitful,
but it is not salvation by works that is being advanced here.
And so Jesus issues forth a vital clarification there in verse
three, you are already clean because of the word that I have
spoken to you. You do not have to earn your
salvation by fruitfulness, he tells his disciples. And then
we have a very lengthy section, verses four through seven, where
we see the functioning vineyard. We basically get to peek over
the hedge and to watch the vine dresser in action, to watch the
vines, essentially watching them grow and produce. We see what
happens with the severed branch. We see what happens with the
flourishing branch. And that will ultimately lead
us to God’s glorious purpose in verse 8, that God is glorified. This is essentially the Christian
life in a microcosm, in a parable, if you will. And so if you would,
go back to verse 1. I want to start this morning.
As we look at divine acres, features of God’s vineyard, I want to
look first at the choice vine. Jesus says there in verse 1,
I am the true vine. And we think perhaps that the
image of a vine seems to be substandard. When you think of the mighty
oak or when you think of some massive sequoia or some other
plant that could be a representation of God and especially of Christ. When you think of some choice
in the plant world, perhaps in our mind a vine is not the first
choice that we would make. Certainly, there were many trees
in Palestine that would have been likely choices to speak
of God and His might and to speak of Christ and His perpetual goodness
to His people, spreading out branches and flourishing along
a riverbank. But that’s not the image that
Christ seizes upon. And so in order to understand
the use of this image, the vine, and may I just say the grape vine,
you have to understand the importance of this produce in that particular
community. The first biblical reference
to a grape vine occurs in Genesis 920 where Noah planted vineyard and almost immediately
he abused it and fell into drunkenness because of it and that’s why
I will say that this is referring to a grape vine these grape vines
these vineyards were cultivated in Palestine from the earliest
days and and long before even Israel came into the area one
described the particular geography as being ideal for growing grapes
in this region, scarcely second to any country in the world in
adaptation of soil and climate for its culture. In other words,
the area of Palestine was just perfect for growing grapes. And
as such, the land that was ultimately promised to the children of Israel
was one of vines and fig trees and pomegranates. Deuteronomy
chapter 8 verse 2 just listen briefly. You shall remember all
the way which the Lord your God has led you into the wilderness
these 40 years. He’s calling them in the book
of remembrance to remember all that God did on their behalf
that he all these 40 years that he might humble you testing you
to know what was in your heart whether you would keep his commandments
and he goes on to begin to detail all the ways that the Lord did
just that. For the Lord your God is bringing
you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains
and springs, flowing forth in the valleys and hills, a land
of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates.” Joshua likewise made note of
this land that God had given to them. I gave you land on which
you had not labored, cities which you had not built. You have lived
in them. You are eating of vineyards and
olive groves which you did not plant.” It was a rich and fertile
territory. Nehemiah mentions it as well,
Nehemiah 9.25. The bottom line was vineyards
were plentiful in the area. It was one of the key parts of
the national economy. of Israel, grape growing. And
as I mentioned, grapes ultimately could be used to produce wine,
but they were also eaten and they were also cultivated as
a primary source of sugar. And that whole process was done
by boiling down the grapes until it became almost a syrup, honey-like
product. Certainly, as I’ve already mentioned,
It was used to produce wine, which some throughout judges,
Psalm 104, was considered a good gift of God. But the preparation
of the vineyard was so labor intensive, so costly, that it
was really, vineyards were owned almost exclusively by wealthy
people. The vine, because of its proliferation
throughout the community, growing not only wild but cultivated,
the vine was so common that it became the national symbol of
Israel and even biblical use of the
imagery. to dwell under the vine, to dwell
under the fig tree was used metaphorically to speak of just a blessed life. Listen to a couple of references. First Kings 4.25, Judah and Israel
lived in safety. Every man under his vine and
his fig tree. He just was, he’s talking about
the safety, the security, the blessedness. in which Israel
and Judah lived. Micah 4.4, each of them will
sit under his vine and under his fig tree. Speaking of the
future, Zechariah likewise in that day declares the Lord of
hosts, every one of you will invite his neighbor to sit under
his vine and under his fig tree. It’s a land of peace, it’s a
land of productivity, it’s a land of blessedness. And then of course
we know that not only were these vines actually present, not only
was there this metaphor of blessedness to have grape vines, three of
the Lord’s parables are built on vines and vineyards. In Matthew chapter 20, you may
recall that there’s the parable of the vineyard laborers. Remember
where the vineyard owner goes out early in the morning and
hires some, and then he goes out later and hires some, and
he offers to pay them each the same wage, and then he goes out
again at noon and again at three, and then there’s this complaint. There’s another parable in Matthew
chapter 21. This one is the parable of two
sons. This time the vineyard is still
the focal point, but he has two sons. He asks each of them to
work. One of them promises to go work
and doesn’t. The other one says, forget about
it, and then repents of it and goes and labors in the vineyard. And then there’s a third parable
in Matthew chapter 21, this one perhaps we’re most familiar with.
It’s the parable of the vineyard owner and the worthless slaves.
It’s a picture of Christ of God rather, sending servants, sending
his prophets to go and appeal to those in the vineyard, ultimately
sending even his son whom they kill in an attempt to take over
the vineyard for their own. Matthew chapter 21 verses 33
through 46. So this image Not only was a literal image
of grapevines growing everywhere, not only was there this very
common metaphor of blessedness and sitting under the vines,
but then Jesus himself employs this terminology, this image
of vines and vineyards. And so there was actual imagery
as I’ve suggested, and perhaps we have to wonder exactly what
prompted Jesus to use this figure once again, I am the true vine. And there were a lot of different
suggestions. One called them guesses and conjectures,
no more. Because Jesus doesn’t tell us
why he seizes upon this image one more time. He just tells
us, I am the true vine. Somebody suggested that it was
because of some actual vine that he saw on the way out the door.
Remember, he had just gathered them and they were going. We
don’t know where precisely yet. John hasn’t articulated it. But
perhaps there was a vine growing nearby and on the course of their
walking they saw this vine. We certainly know that the prolific
growth of grape vines throughout the area. Some even suggested
that perhaps there was one that was creeping up over the wall
and into the window where Jesus sat. And all he would have had
to do is gesture over at the vine. I am the true vine. There were also vineyards. And
if they left this upper room, all they had to do is walk out
and all of that, the mount of olives would have been visible
to them, which was also replete with vineyards, groves of grape
orchards. There is also implied imagery. Maybe Jesus didn’t actually see
a grapevine, or maybe that’s not where we get the idea. There
was also implied imagery because they had just come from the Last
Supper, the Lord’s Supper, where there was the fruit of the vine
on the table in which they just ate. Matthew 26, 29, Jesus says, I say to you, I will not drink
of the fruit of this vine from now on until that day when I
drink it anew with you in my Father’s kingdom.” And so there’s
this image, and the image was everywhere. The image was overwhelming,
growing on vines, metaphorically used in Jesus’ parables. And
now even at the Lord’s table itself sat this cup, the fruit
of the vine. This image was everywhere. In
fact, it was even on the Maccabean coin. It was the national emblem
of Israel, and the Maccabees used it regularly on the back
of their coins. But there’s another astounding
visible physical image of grapevines, and that was the one that adorned
the temple. Perhaps, and this is totally supposition, conjecture
that many suggested was a possibility if it were a moonlit night, they
could have looked out over the temple and seen the actual gates
to the temple. And on those actual gates, there
was a golden vine, a grape vine carved complete with grapes hanging
golden grapes hanging from that principal gate of the temple. The historian Josephus captured
this image, and he describes it in these terms. He says, the
gate, which was at this end of the first part of the house,
was all covered over with gold, as was its whole wall about it. It had golden vines above it
from which clusters of grapes hung as tall as a man’s height. Now, if they had just come out
of the upper room and looked down upon the temple, they could
have seen that image, but they were certainly familiar with
it. And in part, it was used because that imagery was already
so rich in the life and history of Israel. But it was also rich
biblical history, rich biblical imagery, and when often used
of Israel, it was used of a degenerate, decaying vine, but it was imagery
with which Israel and these men would have been very familiar. If you would, and I’m going to
take you on a, I promise, a brief tour, but I want you to turn
to Psalm 80 to begin with. Psalm 80. And as I’ve already told you,
it’s fascinating that every time that Israel is called the vine,
it’s because it is a degenerating vine. The image that is presented
as soon as you mention a vine is one of life, it’s one of vigor,
it’s one of productivity, it’s one of blessing. But when God
frequently refers to Israel as a vine, it is one that did not
fulfill its God-given purpose. Psalm 80, beginning at verse
8. You removed a vine from Egypt,
you drove out the nations and planted it, you cleared the ground
before it, and it took deep root and filled the land. The mountains
were covered with its shadow, and the cedars of God with its
boughs. It was sending out its branches
to the sea and its shoots to the river, Why have you broken
down its hedges so that all who pass that way pick its fruit? A boar from the forest eats it
away, and whatever moves it in the field feeds on it. O God
of hosts, turn again now, we beseech you. Look down from heaven
and sea and take care of this vine, even the shoot from which
your right hand has planted. And on the sun, whom you have
strengthened for yourself. It is burned with fire. It is
cut down. They perish at the rebuke of
your countenance. Let your hand be upon the man
of your right hand, upon the son of man whom you made strong
for yourself. Then we shall not turn back from
you. Revive us and we will call upon
your name. O Lord of God, O God of hosts,
restore us. Cause your face to shine upon
us and we will be saved. Israel and the apostles themselves
knew about that psalm. They knew about that imagery
of Israel as the vine. A vine taken from Egypt, planted
in rich, moist soil, and for all intents and purposes should
have been productive. And it wasn’t. Turn over a couple
of 40 or so chapters, Psalm 128. Some of you are familiar with
Olive Tree. This is the very passage from which we lifted
that name, Olive Tree. But in this passage, there is
also the mention of a fruitful vine. How blessed, Psalm 128,
verse 1, how blessed is everyone who fears the Lord. who walks
in his ways. When you shall eat of the fruit
of your hands, you will be happy and it will be well with you.
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house, your
children like olive plants around your table.” And so he uses this
imagery to speak of the richness, the blessing of a fruitful grapevine. One more turning and then I’m
going to read a few just on my own. If you would turn to Isaiah
chapter 5, and some of these you know, you’ve heard them,
you know well the imagery. This one is another difficult
assessment of Israel, which should have been a fruitful vine, should
have been a blessing not only to their own people but to the
cultures and nations around them. Isaiah chapter 5, look at verse
1. Let me sing now for my well beloved
a song of my beloved concerning his vineyard. These are Isaiah’s
words singing about God and His vineyard. My well-beloved had
a vineyard on a fertile hill. He dug it all around, removed
its stones, and planted it with the choicest vine. And he built
a tower in the middle of it and hewed out a wine vat in it. Then
he expected it to produce good grapes, but it only produced
worthless ones. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem
and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. What more
was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it?”
Do you hear the question there? He says, what more could I have
done to make you a fruitful nation? He used the choicest vines. He
put them in the richest soil, plenty of moisture. There was
nothing lacking. Why, when I expected it to produce
good grapes, did it produce only worthless ones? So let me tell
you what I’m going to do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge,
and it will be consumed. I will break down its wall. It
will become trampled ground. I will lay it waste, and it will
not be pruned or hoed, but briars and thorns will come up. I will
charge the clouds, no rain upon it. So for the vineyard of the
Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah
His delightful plant. Thus he looked for justice, but
behold, bloodshed. For righteousness, but behold,
a cry of distress. And so there’s this image that
is supposed to be one of richness and blessing, but in their case
was just barrenness. Jeremiah 2.21 says the same thing. I planted you a choice vine. Ezekiel, three times over he
mentions it, and here what one commentator referred to as caustic
satire. How would you like that in scripture? Ezekiel 15.2, son of man, how
is the wood of the vine better than any wood of branch which
is among the trees of forest? He basically calls Israel into
account and says, you’re no better than any wood that I would pick
up off the ground for burning. Fit only for burning. Ezekiel
17, it was planted in good soil beside abundant waters that it
might yield branches and bear fruit and become a splendid vine.
Ezekiel 19.10, your mother was like a vine in your vineyard,
planted by the waters. It was fruitful, full of branches
because of abundant waters. And over and over and over was
this image used, not only of Israel in its barrenness, but
just of a grape vine in its blessedness. Joel 2.22, the vine has yielded
in full. Hosea 10.1, Israel is a luxuriant
vine. He produces fruit for himself. Zechariah 8.12, the vine will
yield its fruit. Malachi 3.11, nor will your vine
in the field cast its grapes. And you say, what on earth? Why
have we done all of this? Passages with which we’re already
familiar. Because in John chapter 1, he
sets forth two contrasts, two amazing contrasts. First, in
this one simple statement, the first contrast is that Jesus
Christ is the true vine as opposed to some other kind of vine. It is a qualitative contrast. And so we have to back away and
say, which image of a vine was Jesus contrasting? Was Jesus
contrasting an actual vine growing along the wall as he and his
disciples walked? Was Jesus contrasting the fruit
of the vine at which they had just sipped at the Lord’s table? Was Jesus contrasting the common
image that was found on the coins of that day? Was Jesus contrasting
the powerful image of the golden vine, golden clusters of grapes
adorning the temple gate? Was Jesus contrasting the rich
biblical imagery of Israel figured as a vine? Which one was it? I would say yes. all of it. Jesus was contrasting all of
it. Any kind of vine, any image of
a vine, not only the grape vine growing, not only the fruit of
the vine, not only the image of a coin, not only the rich
biblical imagery, Jesus is establishing a contrast here with all of it. And he says, of all of those
images, I alone am the true vine. He’s contrasting His person and
whatever kind of vine we could conceive of. A vine that produces
juice, a vine that grows upon the wall, a vine that is figured
as a rich biblical imagery. There’s no reason to narrow this
down because Jesus doesn’t isolate it to any one image. He contrasts
himself as the true vine over against all of those other images. Even an actual grapevine is a
fleeting and earthly reality compared to an everlasting Savior. So when Jesus says, I am the
vine, the true vine, He’s pointing up that he is the reality of
which everything else is just a symbol. Even an actual grapevine
is just a symbol of the richness and the reality and the blessedness
of Christ alone. Christ is the only true. Christ
is the only real. Christ is the only perfect vine. It wasn’t just that Jesus said
that I am the true vine as opposed to the false vine, the feeble,
the weakened and dying vine of Israel. It’s the Jesus Christ. Jesus
Christ existing from eternity past was the actual vine, was
the actual image from which all other images were drawn. Physical vine is just a shadow. The Christ, the eternal, is the
only true real vine. But there’s a second contrast.
There’s a second contrast that is set forth. Not only is Jesus
Christ true as opposed to all other symbolic vines, Perhaps
immediately this elicited memories in the apostles’ minds, memories
of that coin, memories of the temple gate, memories of even
the reference to Israel. And they realized that Jesus
Christ is the true vine. But they had to pause and seize
hold of that basic image. Not only is he the true vine,
he is a vine. He uses this image of himself,
I am a vine. That isn’t how we would describe
ourselves to anyone. But the image that Jesus Christ
seizes hold of and presents to the apostles is one not only
with which they would have been familiar, but he points to a
greater truth here which he will develop in the verses below,
the ultimate purpose of a vine is fruit and fruit bearing. Jesus Christ is in relationship
with these apostles, indeed with all believers for one primary
purpose, and that is bearing fruit. Perhaps some of you are familiar
with this stuff. It’s called Virginia creeper.
I remember years ago securing some seed from some
Virginia creeper plant that was growing nearby. And I learned
how to propagate this seed. And soon, Virginia creeper was
growing all over my yard. And if you’re snickering, you
know what Virginia creeper does. Virginia creeper grows prolifically. It grows. like crazy and soon
it takes over not only one level of the fence, soon it is covering
an entire fence. And then when it dies off it
leaves these really tough twigs. And those twigs are not actually
dead, they’re still coursing with life waiting for next spring
to come when they will grow even more. It took me years to rid
our own fence of this creeper They’ve called it, in alternate
terminology, they call it woodbine in the South. Well, Jesus says,
look, I’m not like Virginia creeper. I’m not just some common vine. Because as I look at Virginia
creeper, it does have some redeeming value. In the fall, it turns
red and is somewhat ornate and then it’s done. You get to look
at sticks on your fence for the entire next six months. It does
produce berries, berries which contain seeds, berries which
the birds eat and deposit seeds everywhere they go for more woodbine. Jesus says, I’m not like that
worthless vine. I’m not like that purposeless
vine. I came to produce fruit. I came
to produce fruit in every branch that is attached to me. In other words, as the eternal
creator, even of grapevines, He does not illustrate them,
they illustrate Him. Grapevines illustrate Christ,
not the other way around. And Jesus Christ goes far beyond
what many vines ever do. And so He stands in contrast,
as we’ve already seen, not only as the true vine, but as a vine
itself. Jesus Christ is in this, is the
essential fruit-bearing plant. He is, that is, Jesus Christ
is the primary stock. He is the plant itself. And even
if you were to strip away all other branches, He is yet the
vine. He is the one that puts down
the root into the rich soil. He is the one that draws in and
communicates the nutrients out to the extremities. It is He
that sustains the entire plant, the shoot, every twig and branch,
every bit of foliage, every bit of fruit ultimately is owed to
Him and to Him alone. As one pastor said, the point
of the comparison or the meaning of the figure is this, a vine
yields proper juice and nourishment to all the branches, whether
these are large or small, all the nourishment of each branch
and tendril passes through the main stalk, the vine, that springs
from the earth. And so Jesus tells His disciples
that He is the source. of any real strength and any
kind of grace. He is not only their leader and
teacher, He is the very source of life, the source of grace
that they need in order to be the fruit-bearing, fruit-producing
Christians that they’re called to be. And in verse 5, He’ll
say it again, I am the vine. That much we already know. He
tells us right out in verse 1, I am the true vine. But he is
the vine in contrast with the branches. Look, if you would,
at verse 2. Because in the following verses,
he will begin to speak of the branches. Those branches that
actually bear the fruit. but they can’t do it without
the vine. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, He
takes away. And every branch that bears fruit,
He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean
because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in me and
I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it
abides in the vine, so 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, he bears much fruit. For apart from Me, you can do
nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me,
he is thrown away as a branch and dries up. And they gather
them and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.” The image that Christ gives here
in verse 1 is one of the most important truths we’ll ever learn
as believers. And that is, it is that our Lord
Jesus Christ, in our natural state before salvation, we are
absolutely dependent upon Him for life. We would have no life
without Him. In Him, it says, all things hold
together, as Paul says it in Colossians. But beyond that,
our salvation is entirely dependent upon Him. His finished work on
the cross, His Spirit bringing to us repentance, His Word setting
forth our guidance and our instruction. Saints, please consider. that
Jesus Christ as the true vine is our atonement. He is our payment
for sin. He is the Lamb of God, the one
that was sacrificed for you and I. He is our High Priest going
in before the Holy of Holies, God Himself. He is our Christ. He is our Christ, our Messiah. The very provision of God for
sinners. He is our Savior. He is our King. He is our Sovereign. He is our God. He is our Rescuer. He is our Redeemer from sin and
from the clutches of Satan himself. He is our Righteousness. The
very thing that the Reformers fought to restore. He is our Righteousness. He is
our Great Physician. healing not merely our physical
wounds, but the greatest wound of all, that of sin. He is our
sufficiency in Christ. We have everything that we could
possibly ever need. He is our comfort and our comforter. He comes and when He is with
us, He is our comfort. He’s all that we need, but He
also comes alongside for the purpose of comforting. He is
to us the image of God. He is our glory. There is nothing
in which the believer places a higher value on than Jesus
Christ, their Lord. He is a way of access. He is
our way of access to the Father. He is our security in the love
of God. He is our peace. In Him, we have
peace with God. In Him is our life, not only
our means of life, but our means of eternal life, hope of life,
our hope of eternity, our hope of glory, our hope of heaven.
In Him is our spiritual foundation. In Jesus Christ is our perpetual
means of divine assistance. He is our friend. He is our example. He is our guide. He is our head.
He is our encouragement. He is our means of grace. He
is our mediator. He is our advocate with the Father. He is our intercessor. When Jesus
said, I am the true vine, He said to the believers, I am everything
to you. And outside of me there is nothing. If you haven’t placed your faith
in Jesus Christ alone, and if you are not drawing upon that
faith, and feeding upon that grace, and as Jesus says, abiding
in Christ, then you are either dead already or you are dying.
And good for producing nothing productive, no fruit. But if you placed your faith
in Christ, if He is everything to you, if you are learning more
and more day by day that He is everything to the believer, then
you have fruit to look forward to bearing for the sake of God’s
glory. We’ll take it up there next Lord’s
Day. Let’s examine our hearts. Our merciful King, we humble
ourselves before you, before this rich imagery. Imagery which we knew of but
we found to be far more plentiful than we ever realized. This image
of a fruitful vine growing and flourishing and producing. And
Jesus informs us that in the most real way possible, He is
that vine. From eternity past, He is the
real and substantial vine on which every branch grows. Which any branch that would ever
produce fruit grows and flourishes. Lord God, we humble ourselves
before you and we thank you for such a Savior. We thank you for
such a Savior that from eternity fast past envisioned this image
to project to us the image of a vine. Lord, we thank you and
praise you. For Christ, who is all. And Lord,
if there is even one in this room who does not believe that. who has not come to realize that
Jesus Christ is everything. Lord, move upon them. With great
spiritual power, move upon them and bring them to repentance
for their sin and to faith in Jesus Christ and in Him alone
for their salvation. Lord, you long to produce fruit
in them. You long to use them for God’s
glory alone. Lord, in us, we pray. Examine
our hearts in preparation for the remainder of these verses.
Ready us to be more fruitful still. It’s in Jesus’ name that
we plead. Amen.