As our God, Jesus is the True Vine
Jesus uses the metaphor of the vine to describe Himself as the source of our good works. At the same time, He claimed deity as He used the sacred name of God, I AM, when He said, “I AM the true vine”.
Our good works are very important to God. Just as a branch is dependent upon the vine for it’s life source, we are dependent on our relationship with Jesus to produce good works. Jesus is the source of our good works. He told his disciples, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes.
Unfortunately, many Christians are confused about the role of works in the life of a believer. We are saved by grace through faith, not by works (Ephesians 2:8-9). Works cannot save anyone, but no one is saved if their faith doesn’t produce good works. As James would say, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead (James 2:17). And Paul writes, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).
What did Jesus mean by the ”true” vine?
The Old Testament refers to the House of Israel as the vine, which God planted in His vineyard. “You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it” (Psalm 80:8). “He dug it up, cleared it of its stones, and planted the choicest of vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it only produced bad fruit” (Isaiah 5:2).
So, God asks, “What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad? Now I will tell you what I’m going to do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be destroyed; I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled. I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and briers and thorns will grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it” (Isaiah 5:4-6).
However, the vine of the house of Israel foreshadowed the “true vine” that would come through Jesus Christ. Matthew confirmed this when he wrote about Joseph taking the child Jesus and his mother Mary to Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. “And so was fulfilled what the Lord said through the prophet: ‘Out of Egypt I called my son’ ” (Matthew 2:15).
Therefore, Jesus is the full embodiment of Israel. In this sense, true Israel represents the children of promise, those whose circumcision is of the heart, not every descendent of Jacob.
The Gardener’s true vine makes the fruit of the branches possible
In Jesus’ metaphor, professing Christians are the branches that are expected to bear much fruit. However, in any gathering of Christians there is bound to be some who will produce many good works, some who produce less, and some who will produce none at all.
Any professing Christians who bear no good works are not real Christians. The Holy Spirit hasn’t done His supernatural work of regeneration in their hearts. God, who is the “Gardener”, will cut those branches off the vine (John 15:2,6).
The spiritual productivity of the real Christian “branches” will vary based on how well each branch remains connected to Jesus Christ, who is the vine (John 15:4-5). We can remain close to Him by regularly practicing our spiritual disciplines, such as Bible-reading, prayer, worship, and fellowship with His people.
Jesus promised that as you remain in Him, you may ask for whatever you wish, and it will be given to you (John 15:7). God will then be glorified as His people bear much fruit, showing themselves to be His disciples (John 15:8). Jesus tells us this so that His joy may be in us and that our joy may be complete (John 15:11).
How to become a fruitful branch abiding in Christ, the vine
Almost everyone wants to do good sometimes. But, what we deem to be good and what God deems to be good can be entirely different. It depends on your motivation. If you do good to feel better about yourself, for example, do you think God would consider that to be an act of loving Him or loving your neighbor as yourself? God may find your works useless If they’re not motivated by your love for God and serving to please Him. Abide in Him, for Jesus is the source of our good works.
Without a personal relationship with God, you can do nothing that God would consider good. What is your relationship with God like? If your not sure, ask yourself two very important questions. First, are you sure that you’ll go to heaven when you die? Secondly, are you certain why God should let you into heaven? If you don’t know for sure, you can settle that matter today. Visit my post, How to Begin Your Life Over Again and you’ll know where and how you’ll spend eternity.
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