John 15:3–7 (WEL) “Through the word that I have spoken to you, you are now clean. 4 “Remain attached to me, and I in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it remains on the vine, so you can’t either unless you remain attached to me. 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains attached to me and I to him will bear much fruit, for without me you can do nothing. 6 “If someone does not remain attached to me, he is thrown out just like a branch and dries up; then men gather them and throw them into the fire, where they are burned. 7 “If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, you will ask what you want, and it will be done for you.
V3 “Through the word that I have spoken to you, you are now clean.
Jesus has the authority. Clean and unclean are understood by the Old Testament writings. Clean is approved by God; unclean is disapproved by God. Compare Leviticus 10:10, Leviticus 20:25–26, and Ezekiel 44:23.
For something unclean to be declared clean needs an atoning sacrifice. Jesus is the Passover Lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7). Before the Cross, people were considered to have a clean heart by trusting, believing, and asking for it (Psalm 51:10).
Principle: What we do means little. Keeping Mosaic Law means little. Believing completely in God means everything.
V4 “Remain attached to me, and I in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it remains on the vine, so you can’t either unless you remain attached to me.
Jesus is the root and main stem in this illustration.
To abide is to have an emotional and spiritual bond with God (fellowship) by spending time together. So, we pray, we read and study the Bible, and strive (with God’s help) to live a consistent Christian life.
If we do, then we bear fruit (Galatians 5:22–23).
V5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains attached to me and I to him will bear much fruit, for without me you can do nothing.
When bonded with God in this manner (attachment), we will bear fruit to glorify God. We cannot bear fruit unless God blesses us. We go and do, but God gives the strength and blessing. God never requires our success but our obedience.
Principle: God wants us to bear fruit every day. Compare Galatians 5:22–23.
V6 “If someone does not remain attached to me, he is thrown out just like a branch and dries up. Then men gather them and throw them into the fire, where they are burned.
The main views of this passage are:
Adam Clark:
“If a man abide not in me— Our Lord in the plainest manner intimates that a person may as truly be united to him as the branch is to the tree that produces it, and yet be afterwards cut off and cast into the fire; because he has not brought forth fruit to the glory of his God. No man can cut off a branch from a tree to which that branch was never united: it is absurd, and contrary to the letter and spirit of the metaphor, to talk of being seemingly in Christ— because this means nothing. If there was only a seeming union, there could be only a seeming excision: so the matter is just where it began; nothing is done on either side, and nothing said to any purpose.
“He is cast forth— Observe, that person who abides not in Christ, in a believing, loving, obedient spirit, is—
- Cut off from Jesus, having no longer any right or title to him or to his salvation.
- He is withered— deprived of all the influences of God’s grace and Spirit; loses all his heavenly unction; becomes indifferent, cold, and dead to every holy and spiritual word and work.
- He is gathered— becomes (through the judgment of God) again united with backsliders like himself and other workers of iniquity; and, being abandoned to his own heart and Satan, he is,
- Cast into the fire— separated from God’s people, from God himself, and from the glory of his power. And,
- He is burned— is eternally tormented with the devil and his angels, and with all those who have lived and died in their iniquity. Reader! Pray God that this may never be thy portion.
Constable:
“It is not proper to conclude that non-abiding disciples are all unbelievers. Many interpreters who believe that all genuine believers will inevitably persevere in the faith and good works tend to do this. They tend to impose their doctrine on this verse and make the verse fit their theology rather than interpreting the verse in its context. This is an example of allowing theology to determine exegesis rather than allowing exegesis to determine theology. Jesus was speaking in this context of abiding and non-abiding disciple believers and gave no hint that He was speaking about unbelievers.”
“What happens to these branches? Jesus said the vinedresser disposes of them. This has led some interpreters to conclude that they lose their salvation and go to hell, especially since He mentioned burning in fire. Others believe He implied that believers who do not abide in Christ will suffer the loss of reward at the judgment seat of Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:15 where fire appears in connection with the judgment of believers). Fire is a common figure that occurs throughout Scripture to describe the judgment of believers as well as unbelievers (cf. Genesis 19:24–26; Numbers 11:1; Isaiah 9:19; Ezekiel 15:1–8; et al.). Still others think the mention of fire is only incidental since vinedressers burned the branches they cut off in the fall pruning. They believe Jesus’ point was that some Christians are as useless to God as these branches were to vine-growers. The point is their uselessness, not their judgment. Pruning may involve premature death or some other form of divine discipline but certainly not loss of salvation and perhaps not even loss of reward.”
V7 “If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, you will ask what you want, and it will be done for you.
This blessing is for faithfulness in service. We go and do, and God takes care of the results. When a person is commissioned to serve God (and all believers are commissioned), God supplies everything needed as it will be done for you. God is the supplier, the giver, the helper, the encourager, etc.
We learn:
- How to abide in Jesus Christ the vine.
- Branches that have no fruit are cut off, thrown out, and burned. Compare 1 Corinthians 3:13–15.
Questions:
- What are you doing that shows you are abiding in Christ?
- Are you bearing fruit? Compare Galatians 5:22–23.