Abiding in the True Vine | Daniel Yutzy

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Key Words And Big Theme

SPEAKER_00 0:00

So those words abide, love, fruit, vine, branch, father, commandments, friend, and joy. I'm going to try to talk a little bit about each of those and hopefully tie them together. And uh we're going to take a look at that. So,

The True Vine And The Vinedresser

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verse one and two, I am the true vine, and my father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh away, and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. So this seems like a fitting analogy for him to start with, as he is, they've left, they've left the upper room, and they are most likely on their way to the garden at the time that he's saying this. This is kind of his final discourse, chapters 13 through 17. And it says that they left, they rose, they rose from supper, I believe, at the end of chapter 13. And so this is on the way. And so he's talking to them as he goes along, likely, and saying, This is this is how I am. I'm the true vine. And they're imagining the hillsides covered in vines. And he says that he is likening himself unto that. Now, I'm guessing that most of the disciples probably would have understood what a husbandman is, somebody who takes care of the vines. And they would have also understood that not all the vines are created equal. They would have seen this in real life. Like some vines are being piled up, they're being burned or disposed of. And they would have known that a good vine is not only connected, or sorry, they would have known that a good branch is not only connected to the vine, but it is one that has both uh quality of output and uh quantity. So it's so there's fruit and it's good fruit. And so that is that's the definition of a good branch that is connected to the vine. Now, as a branch, if we think about that, being branches, it is uh this is kind of maybe tying into a little bit of what Brevin was saying about testing. This is where I think there's some overlap. But as a branch, if you are selected for pruning, that is a good sign. That means there's there's something good going on. You're you're connected to the vine and you're on the right track. You're drawing from the right source if there's pruning going on. Doesn't always feel nice, but it's there, and it is a sign of being a good branch. So uh as uncomfortable as that might make us, that's the reality. Now, the bad sign is if there is no pruning taking place, then that means you are on limited time and that you're probably about to be thrown on the discard pile because there's nothing there to prune. There's no there's no reason for the husbandman to prune you. So he's setting that up, and then he goes on in verse 3.

Pruning As Cleansing Wordplay

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He says, Now you, now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. So I don't know if you were hearing this for the first time. I am the true vine, my father is the husbandman, every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away, and every branch that beareth fruit he purges it. They're like, maybe I don't know. You know, you've had a good dinner, you're walking along, kind of half-zoned out. He's talking about branches and vines, and then he says, Now you are clean through the word which I've spoken unto you. And you're like, What's the what's the connection here? Where are we going? Okay, so in English, there is not as much of a connection, but in Greek, uh there is a there's a word, there's a wordplay going on here. Actually, sorry, I don't know if this is Greek or not. It says just in the original text, there's uh a word play going on. So I'm assuming that would have been Aramaic. Don't test my knowledge too hard on that. Okay, but what he was saying was in verse 2 every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it. That word is kakwaedi. And then in verse three, uh you are clean. The word clean is aedi. So it's like a uh kakwa edi, kaedi. So the idea of uh there's almost an idea of cleansing in every branch that beareth fruit, he cleanseth it instead of he purges it. If you can kind of wrap your mind around that, so he's he's kind of playing with words there and uh tying that together into the transition in verse three. So and then he says that that the word, the word that he's spoken unto them is cleansing them, it's it's pruning them, and it's um it's it's making them ready to bear fruit. And if you think about these disciples at this time being with Jesus for three years, they're walking and talking with him, they're they're hearing his words, but they're also seeing his life, seeing his miracles, and seeing the way that he um coming up here abides in the Father and the things that he does to make that happen.

Abide Means Home Not A Visit

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And then in verse 4, he says, 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. So we're using the word abide there three times in that verse. I am the vine, ye are the branches, he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same, bringeth forth much fruit. And then he adds this bit. Kind of, it almost seems like an aside, for without me ye can do nothing. And this concept of abiding here is really kind of central to what I'm what I'm going after here this morning. And it in the uh translation, I suppose part of that gets lost, but it also has connotations of of a place where you remain, a place where you reside. And I think for me, just tying it into the concept of of home is is useful. If you think about going to um overnight lodging like a motel or an Airbnb or a resort, uh, you can be there, it can be very comfy, some awesome things there, perhaps even, and you're excited to be there, but it's just not quite the same as being at home, is it? And so this concept of abiding in the Father, abide in me, and I in you, is the idea, I think, here that we're going after. And I this is maybe not a perfect analogy, but uh, if you think about a battery, batteries are very useful things. We've got lots of them. There's a bunch in the building as we speak. Uh, a battery can be very, very helpful, but a battery is a is different than a plant in that um you charge it fully and then it has a limited runtime, and it's it's all sort of downhill from there, like the the output weakens as you go along. Well, a a plant, a branch that's connected to a good vine is drawing from the soil, and it is something that as it goes along, it not decreases but increases, it strengthens, and is able to draw more and to be fruitful. Um, and with a with a physical, physical plant that is that is somewhat limited to its its life cycle or the capacity that it has to draw nutrients from the ground or water from the sky. But in the spiritual sense, I suppose that that cycle continues uh over and over. It becomes stronger and draws more and more. And then, as we'll look at later here, too, there's kind of a abiding in me and I abiding in you. There's there's it's kind of a two-way street there as well. So think of this a little bit more as um uh something on this trajectory rather than a battery that is slowly dying away. So that's an image perhaps that you can use.

Withering Branches And A Prayer Promise

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And then in verse six, he says, If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch and is withered. And men gather them, and they cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you. So there's a lot to um unpack there. This is you know, in a way, kind of a contrast or a restate as well, and then a promise in verse 7. So, what does not abiding look like? He says here that if he does not abide, then he is cast forth as a branch. She's withered, there's no life there. And I think this ties in well then with uh verse 8 where he talks about bearing fruit. If if you are not abiding, then there is no fruit. That's the sign that that the uh what's the vint, is it Vintner, the guy who takes care of the vines, the husbandman is looking for. If he sees the vine has been planted, it looks okay, but there's no fruit, eventually that that branch has to go because even though it's appears to be connected to the vine, it's not actually drawing any life, it's not producing any fruit from it. And so, and in this uh in this uh KJV, it says, men gather them and cast them into the fire, and they're burned. Uh, the original wording there is actually a bit more ambiguous or or sorry, not ambiguous, um, passive. It says, and such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire. It says they are gathered up and thrown into the fire. And um I don't know, I don't know that I can unpack what all that means, but it's probably a reference to sort of the the the end of time and sorting out you know the the right hand from the left and the branches. So the the point there is that it may not necessarily become readily uh immediately apparent which branches are in the true vine or which ones aren't, but eventually they're gathered up and then they are uh cast aside because they were not bearing fruit. And then in verse seven, he throws in a promise. He says, If you abide in me, my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you. So uh an illustration that I thought of of this is um I think there's there's an element of delight in that, and of uh easy communication and of a good relate, a strong relationship between us and God when that is happening. Ask what you will and shall be done unto you. And if you think about your relationships with your friends, or perhaps even your children, and if it's somebody who just always seems to be um in it for what they can get, you know, they kind of swoop in whenever they need something from you. Or uh if it's uh if it's a hopefully not an adult, but if it's a child who is just kind of always whiny, you know, I want this and I want that. Well, you don't really feel like being a part of that relationship. And uh I think sometimes I can get in the habit of treating God like the vending machine in the sky, you know, it's like I want this, you know, and that's the time when I go and uh be with him. I think we've all probably been guilty of doing that at some time or another. But here he says that if you abide in me, if you live with me, if you reside with me, my words are in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you. For finding ourselves uh wanting nothing more than to be in that spot of safety, of comfort, of reassurance of abiding in God's word. You can ask for what you want. And then in verse 8, he says, Herein is my father glorified, that ye

Fruit As Evidence Not A Flex

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bear much fruit. Now, this seems to be, as near as I could make it out, a single, uh a single thought, not two different thoughts. He says, That you bear much fruit, so shall you be my disciples. So he's saying, in essence, that that the fruit is an indicator of it's not, in other words, it's not a command to bear fruit, but it's a the fruit is an indicator of you being disciples. And the word glorified, herein is my father glorified, is um some translations would read that he's pleased or that he's honored that you are bearing fruit and that you are his disciples. And you know, that's something that I uh I kind of forget about it sometimes. It's like this that the relationship is a is a two-way street. Like it's not just all me uh taking from God, but God designed us, he created us to bring himself glory, to bring himself honor. He's pleased when we are abiding in him when we're bearing fruit. And uh, I think that's a that's a yeah, it can be a motivating thing for us to be in the will of God and recognize that God as our Father, He's actually pleased with us when we abide in Him and when we're bearing fruit. And I know that this idea of abiding and bearing fruit and things like that. I've sometimes gone about it backwards where I think, oh yeah, if we uh if I do this and this and this, that's that's good fruit, right? And we'll just really hammer down on that and make sure that we've got all the all the good fruit in our lives. And you're not really uh thinking about abiding or taking the time to abide. And in our world, that is pretty easy to do. We like to think that perhaps it's all out there in the world. You know, there's rush and bustle and um frantic pace of life, but let's be honest, it's it's right here in the building, it's it's in my life, and um you just have to really try hard to say no to a lot of things, whether those be sins or bad habits, like stopping at Taco Bell too often, or or whatever it is, or or they can even be good things, like you know, you you fill in the blank there. Whatever good thing that you have, it may not necessarily be the best thing. And if you got too many good things, you don't have enough time to abide. And so I think we are we're people of doing, we're we're comfortable with doing and we're comfortable with a lot of activity. And I want to challenge you a little bit to say, you know, that's definitely not all bad, but think about this concept of abiding. That has to come first, that has to be the first thing that you're abiding in God, and he is abiding with you, and then the fruit will follow. So don't try to don't try to force that fruit. And if you think about uh examples like one was mentioned this morning, Jesus in the wilderness.

Busyness, Wilderness, And Staying Still

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40 days. How many of us have taken off 40 days? You go out in the wilderness, you don't see anybody. 40 days. Well, guess what? That's that's just the start of it. If you think about Moses, 40 years. 40 years in the wilderness. That's that's something that you know, you just have to stop and think about that a little bit. That's something we almost cannot comprehend in our uh lifestyle. So you would take 40 years to, as we would say it, go do nothing. The most mundane of tasks, herding sheep out in the wilderness. And yet, at the end of 40 years, God was able to use him. And this is this is something that I need to work on. There's something in me that resists the idea of holding still, of drawing apart, of quote, doing nothing. And I think we could replace doing nothing with abiding, honestly, and uh being in the presence of God without our agenda and allowing Him uh to be the central part of our lives, not the bearing of fruit, not saying, look, what all I've done for you, God, just abiding. And if you kind of compare it in that context of even 40 days or 40 years, it kind of reframes your perspective on what we need to be what we need to be doing, what we need to be thinking, how we need to be thinking about our abiding, our life in Christ. So that's something that I want to work on. I want to grow in that. Uh here's a here's a quote I think that pairs nicely with this idea that we've been thinking about uh as well. So this is maybe just a bit of a flip side. I'm not saying we all completely abandon the fruit actively. If you don't have to try to abandon fruit, that's not what we're saying. Says uh Dallas Willard said that grace is not opposed to effort, it is opposed to earning. So if so there can be effort, but if the if the fruit is like, yeah, I'm earning this, um, that that is where the the grace and the abiding, I would add, is opposed to that.

Love, Commandments, And Full Joy

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Verse 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Continue you in my love. If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love, even as I've kept my father's commandments and abide in his love. So here, um bringing in the concept of love and also um as love and abiding uh interact. He says, Become like me, follow my example. And that, you know, really is sometimes the best way to learn. Like you can uh you can read about it, somebody can describe it to you. But here he says that as the father has loved me, so have I loved you. You've seen that. Continue you in my love, or do that same thing. If you keep my commandments, then you're going to abide in my love. You're gonna be at home, you're gonna reside in my love. As I've kept my father's commandments, you've seen this, and so I abide in his love. And they they had that beautiful and perfect example of Jesus doing that in front of them. The idea of commandments as it relates to love. Sometimes we think about these two ideas being a bit at odds. Um, we think, oh, love isn't about commandments, but he says, if you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love. And I think that they're not at odds. In fact, I would say in some situations at least, the lack of commandments could be could indicate a lack of love. So if if if you think about that, what what is love? Well, I mean, it's uh it's obviously a feeling, but the idea of of loving someone, you have their best interests in mind. And if in uh certain situations, like God as a father or me as a father, if there's a lack of commandments, there may be a lack of love. That is not in their not in the best interest sometimes. Um but he indicates here that keeping the commandments is essential to love and to abiding in his love. So I'm sure that can be unpacked more. I'm not sure I'm qualified to do it, but just want to get your brain spinning there. Says, these things, chat uh verse 11, these things have I spoken unto you that my joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full. And this here, um, I I love that this verse is in here. I'm so glad it's in there. And uh, it's just kind of a uh a why of some of these things. Uh, here, here's what's happening. This is why we're doing it. And he says that your joy might be full, it might be filled and complete. And if you think about abiding in Christ, abiding in his love, keeping his commandments. He says, This is it, this is where you're gonna find it. Um, you can try all sorts of other things. And one famous example from history is Alexander the Great, uh, 300s BC, conquered most, a name that I'm sure probably all of us have heard, and one of the most famous figures in history, he conquered most of the known world, and then supposedly, allegedly, he broke down and cried, and he was very sad because there was no more world left to conquer. So instead of being satisfied with this achievement that probably had never been achieved before, and that you know, something that he pursued fanatically with his whole being for years. At the end, it was just an empty shell. He says, This is this is not satisfying. And in Christ, when we're abiding in him, when we're keeping his commandments, abiding in his love, then he says that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is a place on earth where you're going to be satisfied, where you're going to feel at home. And there's, you know, there's a a sense in which that we never fully arrive at that complete satisfaction until we arrive at home at the end of our lives here. But yet there's a sense of, oh yeah, this is the true satisfaction. We're on the right track. And you know how good that feels when you when you've been uh you know driving or walking in the woods. I don't know if this happens to most of us these days, but you're uh you're not sure where you're at, and you're not sure if you're if you're following the right thing, and then you see something familiar, you're just like, oh yes, I'm on the right track. We're headed the right way. And it just feels so good, even though you're not there yet. And uh you you have confidence that you're on the right track then. My joy. Remains in you and your joy is full.

Love Others Like Friends Not Slaves

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Verse 12 This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. So just tying back in here to the idea of commandment and the idea of love. And here he is extending that to say, you have to you want to express that same thing to those around you, and that kind of love that you've seen between me and you, between my father and I, then you want to extend that on out to those around you. And it's more than just a string of disconnected good deeds, but it's the idea that we have each other's interests in mind, that we want to look out for the other person and what is best for them. And it's not done, obviously, grudgingly or with a poor attitude, um, because that would not be loving others. And then he unpacks that a little bit in verse 13 greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. And that really would be, I suppose, the ultimate expression of love, laying down your life for your friend. And most of us in our lifetimes, we're not asked to do that. Uh physically, at least, we're not asked to lay down our lives for our friends. But I suppose most of us would say that there are people for whom we would do that. We would lay down our physical lives for our friends. And uh, but until that moment of testing, you know, there could be some doubt there. But uh if you lay down your life, there's other ways in which that happens. I think in the daily small things, um, the selfishness and the perhaps laziness that I feel in my own heart as I think about those I love and those that I do my life with. It's just easier sometimes to say yes to what I want than it is to say yes to them. But that is a way to lay down your life for your friends as well. Smaller ways, but sometimes very challenging. And then in verse 14, he says, You are my friends if you do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth, from now on, I call you not servants. And the better word here uh translating is actually slaves. Henceforth I call you not slaves, for the slave knows not what his Lord doeth, but I've called you friends. For all the things I have heard of my father I have made known unto you. And Jesus is um, I suppose that when he when he says this to them, I don't know if this is a new idea or a new concept to them, that they are his friends. I mean, I suppose they know that they're not his uh servants or s or slaves anymore. They've they probably picked up on that, but I'm imagining that it probably is special. You know, this great rabbi, this teacher, this leader that they've been following, he says, You're my friends, and uh and here's and here's why. Um, because I've made known all of the things that I've heard from my father, and you have been following me, and I have um drawn you into that embrace of friendship. And I'm thinking that was special for them. And I think that's something you know that I've experienced with various uh individuals here as well, and it's it's very special to me. And um, there's I guess individual ones that I can name, but we better not start that practice because we might not get done. But yeah, I've just appreciated the the the true friends that I've had here who have had input into my life. And um he says, You're my friends. You if I if you do whatever I command you, and I don't call you servants or slaves anymore, uh there, you know, there's a lot of things in our world that can make us uh feel a bit like uh a bit like slaves or servants sometimes. And some of those might be um earning a living, or maybe it's your phone that you can't stop picking up, or maybe it's maintaining a certain image or um persona when you're with a certain group of people, whether that's you know, family or work or wherever it is, and that contrast of a slave, something that you have to do versus a friend, something that you get to do that you enjoy, and that you enjoy being with that. You just get to um experience that as something joyful, something that you look forward to versus being a slave. My mother used to say, I hated this, so I don't recommend saying it to your children, but she I it was usually about washing dishes. I had one sister and six brothers. So guess what? We got to wash a lot of dishes. And then uh we would moan and groan, much as my children do now, and then then she would very cheerily say, You don't have to if you want to. And you know, uh, as much as I hated it then, there's probably some there's some truth in that, and and thinking about um friendship and friendship with Jesus, but also keeping his commandments. We want to keep those commandments because we're doing it out of friendship. It's an invitation into something bigger, something that will fulfill our joy as well. And he showed them the big picture as well. So it's not just like this, you know, do this specific task and don't ask why. We we see the big picture of God at work in the world.

Chosen To Bear Fruit That Remains

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Verse 16 You have not chosen me, but I've chosen you and ordained you that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it to you. So there's several interesting uh things here in these uh in verse 16, and I'm not sure I can unpack them all, but um there's a bit of mystery around the topic of God's choosing and of our choosing. And he says, You've not chosen me, but I've chosen you. And sometimes people like to ask if you're uh a Calvinist or an Armenian, and I might say yes, or depending on the day, but um, I think there's a bit of mystery there in that God calls us, and um but we also pursue him, we follow him. But here I think I think if I'm reading this correctly, he's saying, I've I've chosen you first. Like I went out, I pursued you. And I think that's always um true of God. That like he he pursues us first, and he perhaps is the is the first or primary mover in that relationship. So he comes to us and he keeps um pursuing us, and he has chosen or appointed us to demonstrate to others as well the abiding and um reciprocal or love that goes back and forth that is between us and him, and then he says you should go that you should go and bring forth fruit. So here in context, he's saying, Um, you know, you're here with me, but as you go out, you're gonna bear fruit that is going to affect others, and then that fruit should remain. I understand that um if I read the the uh text and commentaries correctly, I believe that is saying that that there's going to be an enduring legacy, it's gonna, it's gonna leave a mark in the world, that your fruit is gonna leave a mark in the world. And we certainly see that with the disciples as they went out and you know changed the face of humanity with with the with the good news with the word of Christ. And then in that in the last phrase there or last, yeah, whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it to you. And we've and that's a uh we've seen that kind of language here before in this text. But he's just essentially saying, if you're in the will of God, if you're abiding in me, you're gonna know what is what I'm after, and you're gonna ask for that. And there may be certain situations where you're gonna ask for very specific things, but you're gonna know that that is a good thing to ask for if you're abiding in me, that he may give it to you. And then these things I command you that you love one another is just a recap of this sec section from 12 to 17, where uh he introduces this idea of keep my commandments, abiding in my love, loving each other, and spreading the love of God as it comes uh back and forth between us and God, out then to those around us, and back and forth between us and our fellow men. All

Reflection Questions And Group Discussion

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right. Well, I hope that you're able to to uh get some ideas for life and for perhaps your next week and um thinking about what it means to abide. And feel free to, I would encourage you to come back to this text and just read over it several times. It's it's hard to get everything out of it in one or two or three readings. And I'd like for you now to to uh don't feel like you have to be profound or very specific, even, but um, discuss if you can with a neighbor here just briefly. Um, what am I doing that feels like it's helping me to abide in Christ? Or perhaps you could go, what is something that I need to be doing? What's something I need to change that would allow me to abide in Christ? And um, we'll just maybe take a couple minutes and do that, and then I invite you to yeah, take those questions too, then of course, and and reflect on them. So hopefully that can be um an encouragement to each other. All right, find a neighbor, say hi. How am I abiding well? Or what can I do? What can I change that would help me to abide better?