The Vine & The Branches

An Illustration of John 4:1-7

The parable of the vine is perhaps one the most illustrative representations of not only our relationship with Jesus Christ and our Father, but the operation of the Kingdom as well. We find in this parable a total 'oneness' of dependence, 'oneness' of operation, 'oneness' of life, being, and Spirit. Through this earthly picture, we can behold the expression of the most divine of heavenly principles and glorious realities.

Through the parable of the vine, we can clearly see the incarnation of Christ and His becoming a man. We also begin to view the aspect of our life and His, and His life and His Father's and how they are all inter-related with one another.

15:1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

The husbandman is the planter and the caretaker of the vine. Carefully the husband prepares the soil to receive the vine and then when the season has come and the timing is right, he plants the vine. Carefully he cares for the vine, giving it what it needs and watching over it to bring it to the time of harvest. When harvest comes, he gathers in from his labors and joyfully partakes of its fruits.

Within the vine is the sap which is a substance that flows to the branches to give them life and yet within itself it can do nothing. Within the sap lies the desire of the vine. Jesus said: "My Father is the husbandman" thereby revealing that He was "the vine of God's planting." All He was and did, He owed to the Father; in all He only sought the Father's will and glory. As dependent as the vine was on the husbandman for the purpose of its existence and the nurturing of that existence, so Jesus was upon the Father. As the vine, Jesus was totally dependent upon the Father (husbandman) for the coming to maturity to bring forth life (branches) from out of Himself.

Vs. 2 - 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.

A branch is simply an extension of the vine brought forth with the sole purpose of bearing the fruit the vine desires to bring forth for the husbandman. When we look at a natural vine, we think nothing of the base being the vine and then the branches being something else. As a matter of fact, most folk see the branches and the vine as being one with the same nature, the same life, the same purpose and the same spirit. Yes, the branches are in the perfect likeness of the vine with the only difference being that one is weak and the other is strong. One has the life source developing within itself and stores within itself the sap for the branches, while the other draws upon that which is imparted to it from the vine. And so the branch is continuously drawing from the vine to receive its strength and to maintain continual growth. And so the believer has but one reason for his being a branch--but one reason for his existence on earth --that the heavenly Vine may through him bring forth His fruit.

Even so the believer is, and is to be, the perfect likeness of Christ and an extension of Him. His life is in us, His nature is in us and He has placed His Spirit within us. In that oneness and likeness we can understand the words "Our life is hid with Christ in God". All that we are or ever hope to be lies within Jesus. As He brings us forth from within Himself through the new birth, we are but very small in the beginning, yet we are so one with Him that we continue to draw upon His life, thereby growing larger each day and more prepared for the day we are to bring forth His fruit for the Father. And we as a branch continue to grow as long as we stay dependent upon Him and are not separated from Him as our supply.

Carefully, the husbandman tends the Vine and skillfully removes the branches that are not producing fruit. The flow of the sap is only to go to those that are bringing forth their fruit. Also, he purges (cleanses) the fruit bearing branch so that it will bring forth more fruit for a little bit is not enough. The husbandman delights in the fruit and rejoices in the partaking of its substance. For the substance is the result of the unity of the Vine and the branches. Patiently the husband works until the time of harvest when he shall partake of the fruit of the vine. And just as the Vine will supply all that the branch needs to bring forth fruit, so the Husbandman will do all that is needed to insure the results. The Vine is the glory of the husbandman; the branch is the glory of the Vine; the fruit is the glory of the branch.

And so we see, that even in the process of bringing fruit to maturity, we are cleansed by the Father as Jesus continues to release His life in us. The searchlight of the living word of God comes and penetrates our hearts Through the cleansing process we are purged by His word thereby making the fruit all it should be. Sweet to the taste. Though He comes and asks us to produce, He at the same time gives us all we have need of for the process. As we look to Him, and set our hearts for Him to do His perfect work in us, we begin to see the budding of the blossom bringing fruit in our lives.

Verse 2 - Every Branch That Beareth Fruit, He Cleanseth It, That It May Bear More Fruit

The branches of the Vine must be continually pruned or they will soon become out of control and grow into wild wood or become entangles with other things which will hinder their production of fruit. The branches must be constantly watched and cared for. The cleansing here that Jesus is talking about is the pruning or the cutting back of the branches. The husbandman is not concerned with the weeds that grow around the Vine, but rather He is concerned with a cutting back in order to both protect and enable more fruit to come forth. Weeds have never been of concern to the Father. In the parable of the wheat and the tares, He said to let them grow side by side and at the appointed time He would send the Reaper to gather the tares. So we see clearly that He is interested in our growth and not in what is growing beside of us. If the branches were allowed to grow continually, they would soon consume too much sap that would only maintain its growth and not its production of fruit. The shorter the branches, the more fruit that comes forth. Even in the kingdom of God, if there is not pruning, our works can soon get so large and so heavy that they are no longer productive. We will become magnified in our own hearts and we will just be drawing on His life for the continuance of self without respect to the production of fruit.

Verse 3 - Now Ye Are Clean Because of the Word Which I Have Spoken Unto You

It is the Word of God that cleanses us and Hebrews clearly states that it is living, and sharper than any two-edged and it divides asunder soul and spirit and even penetrates to the very thoughts and intents of our hearts. And here He tells us that we are clean because of the Word that He has spoken to us. Through His Word, we come to the understanding that everything is of Him, by Him, and through Him and of our ownselves we can do nothing. We become emptied of our own works and will as we realize that we are one with His. As we are cleansed and refreshed we lose our self-confidence and become confident in Him.

Verse 4 - 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

The abiding principle is revealed through the word 'in'. To abide 'in' a place would mean to live there without an act of departure. As the Spirit of God comes as the revealer of all truth, we begin to comprehend the depth of the mystery of this statement. As Paul said, "Christ 'in' you, the hope of glory". 'Tis not a statement to be taken lightly for herein lies the mystery which was hid down through the generations and through the eons of time. In John 17 Jesus stated in His prayer that our oneness in Him and He in us was the same oneness of Him in the Father and the Father in Him. He was not talking about something here today and gone tomorrow, but rather He was declaring an eternal state of being.

To abide in Him is surrender ones will and give to Him your entire heart. Choosing to yield, obey, and receive all that He has for us. To be as little children, totally dependent upon Him for substance, protection, and guidance. This abiding does not produce immediate maturity nor does it produce immediate fruit. Rather it is the promise and assurity of becoming mature and bearing fruit ripe for the harvest.

Verse 5-7 - 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. 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 ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

Once again the Lord stresses the togetherness and oneness that we have in Him and the importance of abiding. For if the branch is removed it cannot bring forth fruit. It will only wither for the life supply will be withdrawn from it and it too, like the tares, will be gathered up and cast into the fire and burned. We become withered because our own life can supply nothing and so we have to be purged and those things in us that are not productive must be consumed. The Vine is to be perfect and productive. When we abide in Jesus, the life that is in us is Him. His life gently and beautifully makes us like Him and fills our being where nothing unclean can remain. There is nothing in us but the life He is releasing to us. And if we abide in Him, He promises that we will bring forth MUCH fruit. Not a little, but much! And the fruit that we will bear will be that which He desires to bring forth. We in ourselves do not have the ability to produce fruit, but we can be the instruments through which it comes forth.

Through our abiding in Him, and His Word having their abode in us, He promised that we could ask what we would, and it shall be done for us. Many take this promise for their own selfish purposes never committing themselves to the abiding lifestyle. But those who follow its instruction will have what they ask, for they are full of the Word of God and will ask in accordance to the Word that abides in them.

Verse 8 - Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples

The Vine and the branches in union together bringing forth fruit glorifies the Father in Heaven. He as the husbandman gathers forth, partakes of, displays and distributes the fruit which come forth from His vineyard. He declares to those around Him, " Come and eat, come and drink and be merry". Perhaps no other fruit contains as much life as the grape. For it is mostly liquid on the inside. When the grapes are squeezed the life of the Vine comes forth and makes a tasty wine that makes the heart glad. And so perhaps, one of life's greatest treasures (mysteries) lies therein. For the Vine is Christ Jesus, the branches are us, and the fruit that comes forth through our union with Him, contains the life (Spirit) of Him brought forth.

In that day sing ye unto her, A vineyard of red wine.

I the LORD do keep it; I will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day.

Fury is not in me: who would set the briers and thorns against me in battle? I would go through them, I would burn them together.

Or let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me; and he shall make peace with me.

He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit. Isa. 27:2-6

Here in Isaiah 27, we clearly see the heart of the Father and the promise that He speaks concerning His vineyard. It is He that keeps us. Moment by moment He watches over us. There is not a moment that goes by that His eye is not upon us. Night and day He has set Himself as a watchman over His vineyard to protect it from harm. It is He that causes us to take root and truly as we abide, we will blossom, bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.

Glory to His Name! 

Lucinda Evans