"BRANCHES, DISCIPLES, FRIENDS"
JOHN 15:1-27
SCRIPTURE READING: JOHN 15:1-11
INTRO: Jesus said in Revelation 3:20—“Behold, I stand at the door, and
knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to
him, and will sup with him, and he with me." The promise of Jesus
was that if anyone would open their heart's door to Him, he would
come in, and fellowship with them! That fellowship with God is the
sweetest fellowship of all! Greater than any earthly relationship, for
man can, through the grace of God, have fellowship with very God
Himself! The Apostle John wrote in 1 John 1:3-4—“That which we
have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have
fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and
with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that
your joy may be full."
In John 15, Jesus spoke a Parable to His disciples on the way to the
Garden of Gethsemane. He compared our trust and union with Him
to a vineyard. He said in v1, that He is the True Vine. He was not
comparing Himself to something false, but rather He was the perfect
vine! All other vines before Him were only shadows or types. In the
Old Testament, Israel is referred as a vine. But Christ, the True Vine,
did not fail in His life or purpose, whereas Israel failed miserably.
Up until Christ came, Israel had been the vine, and all who
worshipped God could only worship Him as they were grafted into the
vine, the Nation Israel. All others were strangers to the covenants,
aliens to the commonwealth of Israel, and without hope! But when
Christ came, Jew and Gentile alike must be saved by grace, connected
to the Vine, Jesus Christ through the miracle of the new birth by the
agency of the Holy Spirit of God!
In this parable, Christ showed His disciples and all believers that we
are totally dependent on Him; He is the true source of the branches,
He is the source of spiritual food, and because He lives, we can live!
He is our everything! This parable also teaches us the necessity of
intimacy between God and His people. I want us to notice 3 Degrees
of intimacy and the fellowship we share with God. Note…
(1) AS BRANCHES, WE RECEIVE
JOHN 15:5—“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."
A. OUR RELATIONSHIP. We cannot begin receiving the fullness that is in
Christ until we have been broken off from the old fruitless nature of Adam,
and are grafted into the second Adam, Christ, the True Vine! (Acts 1:8).
The vine and branches connected to the vine, express oneness, unity with
Christ! (Oliver B. Greene. The Gospel According to John. Volume 3. p. 13).
Paul tells us in Colossians 1:27—“...Christ in you, the hope of glory". In
Galatians 2:20 Paul declared—“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I
live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh
I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
And in Philippians 1:21 Paul testified—“For to me to live is Christ, and to die
is gain.” Friends, it must be that way! For as Jesus said in the latter part of
v5—“...For without me ye can do NOTHING!" Friends, our relationship with
the Lord must be the top priority in our lives!
B. OUR RESPONSIBILITY. Just as the branches of a grapevine cannot bear
fruit except it draws sap and life from the vine. No more can we except we
abide in Jesus! Our Lord tells us in John 15:4—“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.” What does it mean to abide in Jesus? To
abide in Him means:
· WE CONFESS OUR SINS TO HIM (1 JOHN 1:9).
· WE SHARE OUR INTERESTS WITH HIM (PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7).
· WE TAKE ALL OUR BURDENS TO HIM (1 PETER 5:7).
· WE DRAW ALL OUR WISDOM FROM HIM (JAMES 1:5).
· WE DRAW ALL OUR STRENGTH FROM HIM (COLOSSIANS 1:9-11).
To abide in Him is to obey Him! (Matthew 11:28-30). That precious sap of
the True Vine, the Holy Spirit sustains us and strengthens us that we may
bear fruit! (John 14:16-19). The fruit we shall bear shall be the fruit of the
Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). The fruit of the Spirit should flow from a
believer’s life! (Matthew 5:16).
The life of the branch is a life of continual appropriation, all power,
strength, sustenance, hope, comfort, and joy from the True Vine! The true
test of our abiding in the Vine is: answered prayer (v7), discovery of God's
will through obedience (v10), and joy (v11)! The specific purpose of the
branch is to bear fruit, but the fruit does not originate outside the branch.
It is a product of the life-giving quality which proceeds from the Vine
through the branch. (Oliver B. Greene. The Gospel According to John. p. 44).
AS BRANCHES, WE RECEIVE and…
(2) AS DISCIPLES, WE FOLLOW
JOHN 15:8—“Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so
shall ye be my disciples."
A. FOLLOWING HIS LEADERSHIP. We, as believers, should do our utmost to
always be worthy disciples of Jesus Christ. (Luke 9:23; John 10:27). The
true test of our discipleship is how closely we follow Jesus! We must be
willing to give up all to follow Him! (Luke 14:26-27, 33). A disciple must
follow! (Romans 8:14)! It is not what I want, where I desire to go, but "Lord,
what wilt Thou have me to do?"
Jesus said in John 12:26—“If any man serve me, let him follow me; and
where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my
Father honor.” I want you to notice the word honor. It is translated from a
Greek word that means "to prize, to value". What is this verse speaking of?
It is the overflowing, outflowing power of the Holy Spirit which turns service
to joy and effort into an enduring success. This reward attends those who
walk with Christ in the fulfillment of the divine will. (Ivor Powell. John's
Wonderful Gospel. Copyright:© 1962 by Ivor Powell. Published in 1983 by
Kregel Publications by special arrangements with the copyright owner.
Electronic Edition STEP Files Copyright © 1997, Parsons Technology, Inc).
F.B. Meyer said we must, "Give all to God, take all from God, and use all for
God." (Albert M. Wells, Jr. Inspiring Quotations-Contemporary & Classical. p.
33). So by an adherence to the mind and will of our Lord, and by the
bringing forth of much fruit, we are declaring ourselves .to be walking in His
footsteps! (James Smith. Handfuls on Purpose. Series 3. Volume 7. p. 203).
B. FOCUSING ON HIS LEARNING. Our discipleship implies we are willing to
sit at His feet and learn, willing to believe all He says, and to love all we
meet!
ILLUS: John MacNeil, a Scottish evangelist, was once talking about the
excuses people make for not completely following Christ. Referring to
the man who wished first to go and bury his father, he exclaimed with
disgust, "Why this poor fellow wanted a grave digger’s shovel, when
our LORD was trying to give him a resurrection trumpet!" God's
choices for us may be difficult, but we may be sure that they are best.
Are we willing to "leave all" and go on to the "more abundant life" of
discipleship? (Stephen F. Olford. Committed To Christ and His Church.
p. 37).
Jesus said, "No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is
fit for the kingdom of God." (Luke 9:62). We must totally surrender
ourselves to Him and let Him use us as He sees fit! Daily we should learn
more about Him and seek His perfect will for our lives. We must be as
Paul, putting out past behind us, following Jesus and keeping our eyes on
Him! (Philippians 3:7-8, 13-14).
AS BRANCHES, WE RECEIVE, AS DISCIPLES, WE FOLLOW and...
(3) AS FRIENDS, WE FELLOWSHIP
JOHN 15:14-15—"Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you."
A. THE BLESSINGS OF FRIENDSHIP WITH GOD. It is a wonderful and
humbling privilege to be a friend of Jesus! The Relationship of a friend
comes closer to the heart than that of the servant! The Christian is a friend
of Christ as well as a Child of God! There are times when we feel that we
don't have a friend-BUT WE DO! Jesus, a friend in Heaven, a friend who
never changes, a friend who "sticketh closer than a brother!" (Oliver B.
Greene. The Gospel According To John. Volume 3. p. 58).
It is noteworthy that in all Old Testament SCRIPTURE, only one man is
named whom God called "friend." James, writing for New Testament
believers, referred to this remarkable friendship in James 2:23, "Abraham
believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: And He was
called the Friend of God" (Oliver B. Greene. The Gospel According To John.
Volume 3. p. 58).
We are saved by His grace, but our spiritual life is a progressive one, we
should daily grow in grace and fellowship with God! What are some of the
blessings of friendship with God? :
· WE HAVE A FAITHFUL FRIEND. He will never let you down! He will never prove untrue. He will keep your secrets!
· WE HAVE A FORGIVING FRIEND. He will forgive your sins. He won’t hold a grudge.
· WE HAVE A FOCUSED FRIEND. He is concerned about you and I. Nothing happens in our life in which He does not care about.
· WE HAVE A FOREVER FRIEND. He will never leave us. He will always be our friend!
B. THE BENEFITS OF FRIENDSHIP WITH GOD. As His friends, living in
fellowship with Him, we become:
· SHARERS OF HIS SECRETS. Psalm 25:14 tells us—“The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will show them his covenant.” It was of Abraham, the Friend of God, that God said, "Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?" The deep things of God are revealed to His friends by His Spirit! The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 2:7-12—“But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.”
· SHARERS OF HIS SYMPATHIES. As a devoted wife becomes a partaker of her husband's likes and dislikes, so does the friend of God! We, as His friends, should love all He loves and hate all He hates. Psalm 97:10 says—“Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.” We are to hate evil, but at the same time, we must strive to love all men, as He loved them and seek their salvation! (Matthew 9:36).
· SHARERS OF HIS SUFFERINGS. We read in our text John 15:18-19—“If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you". Christ suffered because of His unlikeness to the world. If we are His friends, we shall suffer also because of our unlikeness to the world. (1 Peter 4:12-14, 16; John 16:33). We are not greater than our Lord. They persecuted Him, So if we live for Him, they will persecute us also (v20) (2 Timothy 3:12). And the more we become like Him the more opposition we will face!
· SHARERS OF HIS CONSOLATIONS. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 1:5—“For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.” Because we are partakers of His sufferings, we are also heir to His consolation. The more we suffer for Him, the more the Spirit comforts us! Isaiah 59:19b tells us—“When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.” David wrote in Psalm 37:23-24—“The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.” And If we suffer with Him, "We shall also reign with Him," that is great consolation!