John chapter 15 verses 1-5 places a high priority on fruit-bearing which is possible when we abide in the Vine…

1“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”
John 15:1‭-‬5 NKJV

The importance of ‘Branches‘ being fruitful and productive is made clear by the involvement of both the Vine and the Vinedresser.

The True Vine, The Vine Dresser and the Branches

Jesus identifies Himself as the True Vine, the Father as the Vinedresser and His followers as the Branches. The Vine supplies nourishment to the Branches while the Branches have the responsibility of bearing fruit.

The Vinedresser is just like a gardener or farmer, His job is to dress the branches. He cuts off none-fruit bearing branches and trims/prunes the fruit-bearing ones so that they can bear more fruit. According to Jesus, this pruning process cleans and prepares the Branches to bear more fruit, the same effect the Teaching of the Word has on the Branches (verse 3). A branch that undergoes continuous pruning, inevitably bears fruit.

What kind of a Branch are you? A fruit-bearing or non fruit-bearing one?

Understanding John 15: 1-5 ‘fruit’…

Considering the context of John 15, “Fruit’ as used here can mean;

(a) the fruit of the spirit {Galatians 5:9, 22} or (b) souls of men {James 5:7}.

While the primary force that gets people saved is the Gospel of Christ (Romans 10:9), a good Christian character does contribute to soul winning.

So are you winning souls and/or exemplifying good Christian character?

The True and False Vine

It is interesting and worthy of note that Jesus clearly identified Himself as the True Vine. So obviously, there can be a False Vine which is what we see Him talk about in Matthew 7:15-20. False Vines can be likened to False Prophets whose source and Supply is the Devil. They only yield bad/corrupt fruits.

One way to identify false prophets is by their expressed character (how they live and relate with others), not necessarily by what they say, preach or teach……”by their fruit you shall know them“. A human spirit that has not been recreated by the new birth cannot yield the fruit of the spirit. An unbeliever cannot express true love (agape), joy, peace, goodness, temperance, faith, etc (Matthew 7:15‭-‬20). Hence the Bible describes the purposeful marriage between a believer and an unbeliever as “an unequal yoke- inconsistent with the Christian faith” (2 Corinthians 6:14).

“Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers [do not make mismated alliances with them or come under a different yoke with them, inconsistent with your faith]. For what partnership have right living and right standing with God with iniquity and lawlessness? Or how can light have fellowship with darkness?“
2 Corinthians 6:14 AMPC

Defining John 15:4- ‘Abide’ ….

‘To abide’ as used in John 15:4 means to remain, to stay, to live in union with, to dwell.

How to Abide in the True Vine

In John 15:4 Jesus speaks of a 2-way relationship;…… Abide in me and I in you.

4 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me”….. John 15:4.

How does Jesus abide in us? By His Spirit. The Holy Spirit indwells us. He stays and remains in us forever (except we denounce Christ).

“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever” John 14:16 NKJV

So we can say that Jesus is Always with us. Halleluyah! He never leaves. His part of ‘Abiding’ is assured. The Holy Spirit is in us, we just have to submit to His leading.

Now, how do we ‘Abide in Him?‘ In John 15:7, Jesus seems to elaborate further on John 15:4 by saying; if you let my Words Abide in You, whatever you desire will be granted.

” if you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.“
John 15:7 NKJV

So, we abide in Him when we spend time in His Word. And the way to spend time in the Word is by reading, studying, meditating, or listening to the Word of God.

Jesus Christ is the Word, staying in the Word is staying/remaining in Jesus.

Just as bread nourishes the human body, so does the Word nourish the spirit man (Matthew 4:4).

A fruit-bearing branch is the Believer who is yielded to the Spirit and habitually dwells on the Word. Implying that a combination of both the Word and the Spirit is necessary for fruit bearing.

Do you want to be productive and fruitful? The one thing you need to do- Abide in the Vine.

Difference Between Being In Christ and Abiding In Christ…..

Make no mistake about it, someone can be in Christ (born again), filled with the Holy Ghost and yet is not ‘abiding‘ in the Vine. Since we know that Jesus is always with us, then fruitlessness is only possible if a Branch is not doing its part.

Are you just In Christ or are you also Abiding In Christ? It is more beneficial for the one in Christ to also abide in Him.

Gains/Benefits of abiding in the True Vine

1. Guarantee of bearing fruit (John 15:4b)
2. Assurance of His Grace (John 15:5)
3. Your desires are granted (John 15:7c)
4. The Father is glorified (John 15:8)

Do not identify with the Believer Jesus talked about in verse 2a of John 15…

…”Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away” …

The ‘fruitless’ branch referred to in verse 2a is ‘In‘ Christ, yet not bearing fruit. Why? Because the branch did not choose to abide in the vine. This suggests that every branch has a choice to make; to abide in the vine or not.

A useless Branch is one who does not bear any fruit; and its end is undesirable….

” if anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.”
John 15:6 NKJV

Choose to Abide In The Vine. Stay deeply rooted/planted in the Vine.

“Those who are planted in the house of the Lord Shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing, To declare that the Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.”
Psalms 92:13‭-‬15 NKJV

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Blessings & Love Always!

The title, ‘Forever Haven’ suggests some kind of resort or vacation site that fundamentally provides an unending, ever-enduring safety net for its inhabitants.

Sounds absolutely alluring, calming and peaceful, if you ask me, considering the present global security situation.

The ‘Global Village’ status of the world has never been given more credence than now! Many thanks to the faithfulness of media houses towards dutifully disseminating a sense of looming global danger with all urgency! From reports of painful untimely deaths, resulting from bombing and explosion of an oil well in Southern Nigeria, to the news of a bomb blast in Paris, or the murder of a law enforcement agent in Dallas…. More than ever before there is a heightened feeling of tension and uncertainty. So, a ‘Forever Haven’ totally sounds soothing and comforting.

But let me quickly ask, does any such attraction or resting place really exist? Can any President assure citizens of safety and protection from current or pending world dangers?

I took another look at my Bible, and found a Haven created by God Himself! Jerusalem was a haven; a place of safety and refuge. Good for retreat, harbor and security. The city was situated on Mount Zion and carefully surrounded by mountains.

Sounds to me, like a tedious, wearisome and laborious project! Who built Jerusalem on Mount Zion, amidst rocks and mountains?

Apart from my childhood knowledge about how God’s six (6) days of dedicated labor gave birth to the World and all we see in it, my little personal Bible Study reveals that Jerusalem was neither built nor named by the Hebrews.

Dating back to the early bronze age, there was a Canaanite town called Salem, first mentioned in Genesis 14:18, where Abraham met with Melchizedek and offered bread and wine. Melchizedek was King of Salem!

Jeru-Salem is first seen in the Bible in Joshua 10:1. Israel conquered its inhabitants but sadly abandoned it for the Jebusites.  Thus necessitating a fight from David and his army to conquer the Jebusites many years later before gaining ownership of the City that would become the capital of Israel.

The Hebrews may have retained the name Jerusalem because of its strikingly deep Hebrew meaning.

Jerusalem is actually a conjugation of two root words; Yara and Shalem and together translates Possession of Peace or Foundation of Peace. Salem or Shalem means complete, full, made ready, quiet, whole, peaceable, perfect. Yara means dual (Jerusalem sits on 2 hills). Yara also means; to cast, to point out, to teach, direct, instruct. So Jerusalem speaks of a ready-made place of peace, security and wholeness where one is pointed to, instructed or taught.

For many days the following scripture kept playing through my mind;

“As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so The Lord surrounds His people. From this time forth and forever” Psalm 125:2

 

When we backtrack a bit to verse 1 of same Bible portion, we get a broader picture;

“Those who trust in The Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever”.

 

And Joel 3:17 tells us;

“So you shall know that I am The Lord your God, dwelling in Zion My holy mountain. Then Jerusalem shall be holy, and no aliens shall ever pass through her again”.

 

Of course there are many other references to Jerusalem in the Bible that are absolutely exciting, but Wow! Wow!! Wow!!!, the above scriptures tells us that God situated Jerusalem on His Holy unmovable Mount Zion, surrounded by mountains.

Obviously Jerusalem exists as a place, a tangible landmark structure! Wouldn’t it be awesome if Jehovah sends forth Angel Michael to blow the trumpet to gather all His children to Jerusalem? Away from all the deafening and unpalatable ill news of misfortunes, mishaps and deaths?   I’ll personally like that 🙂

But as we see in Psalm 125:2, Jerusalem is correlated to ‘The Lord’s people’. As the mountains surround Jerusalem,….so The Lord surrounds His people!

I am yet to see any daughter or son of Zion moving around and surrounded by physical mountains though (Selah).

So, where exactly is this place of peace and instruction?

These are my thoughts (and I speak not by revelation knowledge)…

The only place of instruction and safety for the Body of Christ that I know of is in the Word of God (Selah).

Staying in the Word gives instruction and brings wisdom that guides from harm.

 

Proverbs 1:33 reads;

“For The Lord gives wisdom, from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He stores up stores up sound wisdom for the upright, He is a shield to those who walk uprightly. He guards the paths of justice and preserves the way of His saints”.

And Psalm 91:1-2 reassures that;

“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty”. I will say of The Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust”.

Every moment spent studying God’s word reinforces our trust in Him and boosts our faith and daily assures us of God’s ability and willingness to keep safe and secure whatever we entrust to His care.

Yes! The Lord surrounds us as the mountains surround Jerusalem when we make ourselves Jerusalem; a place of instruction and peace by staying in His word. And yes! We can enjoy this benefit of safety, security and peace forever, for as long as we stay in His word and are uncompromising in our dealings. We can then be assured of His Presence and His Power, always and Forever!

A Forever Haven is possible only in The Word, and can be enjoyed by all who has received Christ as Lord and personal Savior.

You can make that decision today. You may want to read a few of my blog posts on how to receive Christ; ‘Could it Have Been a Surrogate Birth? or ‘Dead Man Walking!’.

Love Always.

 

Except otherwise stated, all Bible quotations are from the New King James Version (NKJV).