The Vine: John 15:1-8

Verse 1 — “I am the true vine.” ‘I am’ is the present active indicative of e)imi. The word ‘true’ is an adjective, a)lhqinoj which means true, trustworthy, dependable. He is called here a vine. The Greek noun is a)npeloj. The Lord Jesus Christ uses this analogy for a number of reasons. First of all, the vine is the source of wine. Wine is used not only literally as it often is but sometimes it is used as an analogy to happiness. When the Lord Jesus Christ says, ‘I am the dependable vine’ it means He is dependable for perfect happiness. No believer has ever reached spiritual maturity and remained there very long without experiencing something of the great happiness which God provides for anyone who will reach that point.

“and my Father” — again, perfect linear aktionsart — keeps on being the husbandman.” The word ‘husbandman’ is georgoj, and it means farmer, cultivator of the soil, the one who does the planning and the planting and the cultivating and the harvesting.

Verse 2 — “Every branch” refers to the believer. Jesus Christ is the vine. God the Father is the husbandman. The word ‘branch’ is klhma, it refers to the believer in the Church Age. The branch connotes a number of things. a) Relationship with the vine. When we believe in Jesus Christ we have relationship with Him, we are in union with Him, just as the branch is in union with the vine. b) The branch indicates productivity. The productivity for the Church Age must come from the believer who is on the earth. The vine is in heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ. The believers are the conductors of productivity. Every branch is in the vine and this is our basic relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. However, the branches in the vine are of several types. We are all in union with Christ but we fall into different categories spiritually.

“that beareth not fruit” — ‘beareth not’ is a present active participle plus the negative mh. This is used to represent the reversionistic believer; he is a non-producer. A producer is one who applies the doctrine of scripture to daily experience. The greatest productivity in life comes from thinking, not doing. Production is in the soul. The word for ‘fruit’ is karpoj. The one not bearing fruit refers to a reversionistic believer. What keeps a Christian from thinking? No born again believer ever thinks with anything but Bible doctrine and the reversionistic believer is negative toward doctrine, therefore he lacks food for thought. The reversionist never uses his soul, he never has food for thought and therefore he is full of human viewpoint, full of divine discipline, full of misery. In other words, he never amounts to anything.

“he taketh away” — the branch which has not produced fruit, He cuts it out. That is a reference to the sin unto death. The reversionistic believer winds up under the sin unto death. By production is meant thinking doctrine, not hustling around. When you stop thinking God eventually pulls you out because you are a spiritual zombie, a dead branch. He doesn’t pull you out right away, you have three areas: a) The knocking type discipline, this is warning; b) The intense discipline; c) The dying discipline.

The doctrine of the sin unto death

1. The sin unto death is for believers only. It does not mean loss of salvation, it is maximum punitive discipline for the reversionistic believer — Psalm 118:17,18; 1 John 5:16.

2. However, the sin unto death does not mean loss of salvation — 2 Timothy 2:12,13.

3. Reversionism is the cause for the sin unto death — Jeremiah 9:16; 44:12; Philippians 3:18,19; Revelation 3:16.

4. There are four causes of the death of any believer. a) Our work on earth is finished — 2 Timothy 4:7; b) To glorify God in an unusual way — Philippians 1:20,21; c) Maximum discipline for reversionism or the sin unto death — 1 Chronicles 10:13; 1 John 5:16; d) Suicide — the reversionist superimposing his own will over divine will.

5. Case histories of the sin unto death. a) Annanias and Saphira — Acts 5:1-10; b) Phallic reversionism — 1 Corinthians 5:1-5; c) Ritual reversionism — 1 Corinthians 11:30,31; d) Mental attitude reversionism — 1 Chronicles 10:13,14; 1 Samuel 13:9-14. This is rejection of Bible doctrine; e) Foreign policy reversionism or antiestablishment reversionism — Isaiah 30:1-3; 31:1-3 cf. Isaiah 38; f) Verbal reversionism — 1 Timothy 1:19,20.

6. Reversion recovery eliminates the discipline and removes all sins — 2 Corinthians 2:5-10; James 5:15,20.

7. The cancellation of the sin unto death. The first category can be recovered from by rebound, but the second ad third categories demand repentance, a change of mental attitude.

The branch which is broken off and taken away is the reversionist, and the taking away is the sin unto death.

“and every branch that beareth fruit” — the mature believer. Again, this is thinking doctrine. Doctrine on the launching pad.

‘he purgeth it” — he prunes it. Present active indicative of kaqairw which means to keep it clean by pruning it so that it will produce more fruit. The pruning is the mature believer getting occasional adversity, suffering, trial, etc. in order that he might be blessed even more. The ,mature believer has capacity for suffering and he has capacity for blessing in suffering. Therefore, pruning only makes the branch stronger and more productive.

“that it might bring forth more fruit” — adversity is designed by God to intensify the blessing and happiness of the mature believer.

Verse 3 — “Now ye are clean” — incorrect. The Greek adverb h)dh which means ‘already.’ Jesus is talking to saved disciples and that already the pruning is beginning for them. You are kaqaroj, not clean but pruned.

“through the Word” is dia plus the accusative of logoj — literally, “because of doctrine.” So they are prepared for pruning because of doctrine.

“I have communicated” — present active indicative of lalew which means to communicate.

Verse 4 — “Abide in me” — aorist active imperative of menw. This is not positional truth. You are never commanded to positional truth, you have it as of the moment of salvation. This is a command to move to maturity. The aorist tense here is an ingressive aorist — “begin to abide in me.”

“I in you” — the ECS. Christ indwells the believer but this passage isn’t teaching the indwelling of Christ, this passage is teaching the indwelling of the ECS.

“As the branch cannot bear fruit itself, except it abide in the vine” — the branch is the believer and it cannot bear fruit from the source of itself — dunamia o)uk. It is not able to bear. No believer in the Christian life can produce on the basis of his own ability. That is why it has to start in the soul and it has to be thinking divine viewpoint.

“except it abide in the vine” — this refers to the supergrace life. Present active subjunctive. “In the vine” refers to supergrace living.

“no more can ye except ye abide in me” — present active subjunctive of menw, and again, “in me” refers to the supergrace life.

Verse 5 — Jesus repeats what He said in verse 1; “you the branches.” No verb here. From this somes the supergrace concept:

“He that abideth in me, and I in him” — the supergrace life and the ECS.

“the same” — the believer in supergrace — “brings forth much fruit.

“without me” is an adverb which means ‘apart from me’ — xorij; “ye can do nothing.” This is the principle of grace. Apart from what God has provided in Bible doctrine you can do nothing. The reversionistic believer can do nothing, he does not produce in any possible way.

Verse 6 — “If a man abide not in me he is cast forth as a branch.” The words ‘cast forth’ is the aorist passive indicative of ballw, and it is literally, “he is cast outside,” and this again is a reference to the sin unto death.

“and is withered” — this means to dry up, zerainw; “and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.” This is a reference not to eternal judgement but it is the fact that when branches dried up in a vineyard they collected them all and threw them in a fire. In other words, they are removed. This is the analogy side, not what happens to the individual. Believers are not burned, branches are burned. When you burn the branches they are no longer in the vineyard. When a believer is removed by the sin unto death he is no longer on planet earth. It’s that simple.

Verse 7 — if you can think straight you can pray right. “If ye abide in me” — again, a third class condition. Maybe you are a supergrace believer and maybe you are not. All effective prayer in the supergrace realm because the believer has capacity. He has everything necessary to be a great prayer warrior. “Abide in me” is the supergrace life.

“my words [Bible doctrine] abide in you” — aorist active subjunctive of menw. The aorist tense is constative which means GAPing it daily.

“ye shall ask” is incorrect. It is the aorist middle imperative of a)itew and it should be translated “ask.” It means when you enter into supergrace “begin to ask.” This is an ingressive aorist. The middle voice: you are benefited by asking.

“what ye will” should be “if you will” — ‘if you desire to ask.’

“it shall be done” should be “it shall come to pass” — ginomai. The future tense is a gnomic future, an absolute. Middle voice: you are benefited. The indicative mood: reality.

Verse 8 — “Herein” is literally, “In this” — e)n plus the locative of o(outoj; “my Father is glorified” — in the function of the supergrace believer whether he is thinking or doing. Prayer is a perfect illustration because in prayer you both think and do. The issue in prayer in thinking. The Father is glorified because it is His plan. Grace is the plan of the Father. He is glorified — the aorist passive indicative of docazw. This is a gnomic aorist, it is an absolute principle. The passive voice: the Father receives the glory from His own plan. The indicative mood is the reality of the fact that God the Father is glorified by the thinking of the supergrace believer.

“that” — purpose clause; “ye bear much fruit” — the bearing of much fruit is the function of the supergrace life.

“therefore shall you be” — future middle indicative of ginomai is “therefore you shall become.” Gnomic future.

“my disciples” — maqhthj, learners of doctrine.