How to grow a fruitful church - John 15:1-8
James Muldoon -
The Lord Jesus Christ is speaking to His disciples on the night before the crucifixion. He has been preparing them for His departure and teaching them. In John 15, He gives them instruction about their relationship with Him, with each other, and with outsiders. Today's verses are about their relationship with Him. He teaches them how to grow a fruitful church, though in reality, it is God who must do everything.
i.
Plant the best quality stock
In v1, the Lord likens Himself to a vine, to the true vine. His Father is the gardener, the vinedresser.
There
is some important Old Testament background here.
But Jesus is the true vine. He produces the good fruit desired by God the Father. Look at His life to see His perfect deeds and characteristics.
- No fruit is ever better than the tree it grows on. Joined to Christ, we can produce good fruit. God the Father has planted the best quality "stock". He has given us the perfect vine to grow on!
This means that each Christian has tremendous potential. There is no limit to the good you can be and the good you can do when you are joined to Him. That is also true of the church as a whole. What a privilege to be in connection with Him!
ii.
Pick off dead wood
In v2 and v6, we find verses which are often quoted in Arminian circles to show that a real Christian can lose his/her salvation. On the face of it, the verses may seem to teach that. However, they don't. This would bring them into conflict with passages such as John 10:28-30 which teach that nobody will and nobody can snatch us from the hands of our God.
The verses are speaking about people such as Judas Iscariot. They've had a degree of connection with Christ. They've associated themselves with Him. They've been regarded as His people. But actually, the fruit which is a mark of every Christian is not there. Such people are counterfeit Christians, counterfeit “branches". And their fate is terrible. They are picked off, cut off, cast aside.
The challenge is to make sure that you are a real Christian. Are you trusting in Christ? Can you see good
fruit in your life, even if only on a small scale? Can you see good characteristics developing? Are you doing good deeds in obedience to your Lord? If not, come to Christ, because He receives all who turn to Him, repenting of their sin and trusting in Him.
iii.
Prune fruitful branches
This is found in v2 again. Christians undergo a pruning process at the loving hands of their heavenly Father, just as a vine is pruned in spring. In both cases, it is to ensure maximum fruit bearing.
Christians are pruned when they suffer and look to the Lord.
The way in which Christians are pruned here, though, appears to be through Christ's words. In v3, the Lord says that the disciples are clean (ie justified) because of His words. v2 shows that the disciples still need to be pruned (i.e. sanctified); but the verb used by John there (the one translated "pruned") actually means "cleaned". Putting the two verses together suggests that it is Christ's words, really the words of the entire Bible, which the Father uses to make us holier and more fruitful.
That being the case, you need to take the Bible very seriously indeed. You will not be a fruitful Christian without It. So read it. Think about It. Memorise it. Listen to it. That's the way to be pruned and made more fruitful.
iv.
Pass on nourishment
Every branch which bears fruit is connected to the vine. That's what we see in v4-5. In the same way, Christians are fruitful when they are in the closest connection to Christ. John frequently uses the phrase "remain in Me". It urges us to maintain an inward, enduring, personal communion with the Saviour.
That is the only way to bear fruit. Every good thing you do, every good word you speak, every good thought you think, every good motive which passes through your heart, everything good about you, comes because Christ is passing on nourishment to you. You are receiving a constant supply of grace and help and strength from Him which means that you bear fruit. But, as He says, "Apart from Me, you can do nothing".
We find the same sort of lesson in v7. It's when we remain in the closest contact with Christ that we can be assured of our prayers being answered.
John Owen once wrote (more or less): "A minister may fill his pews ... and the mouths of the public, but what that minister is on his knees in secret before God Almighty, that he is, and no more." His words have a wider application than just to ministers, though. In any sphere of life, we can really only do anything of any significance when we are in close contact with our Lord.
Are you sticking close to Christ? If you are, you'll be a very fruitful believer.
v.
Parade the gardener's skill
What is the point of a vine? To produce grapes, and not much else!
What is the point of a Christian, of a church? To bring glory to God. That's what v8 teaches us to do. And we can do that by bearing fruit. When people see a truly fruitful Christian, they get a glimpse of the invisible God through them. And that glorifies Him.
Are you a fruitful Christian? Negatively, if you're not, you're robbing Him of glory which could be His. Positively, if you are, you're fulfilling the greatest purpose of your life by bringing Him glory.
May God give us grace to be fruitful Christians. May He give us grace to be a fruitful church.