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John 15:1
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.”
Key truths about the person and work of Jesus are revealed in His titles and the metaphors used for Him in Scripture. In particular, the “I am” sayings as recorded in John’s gospel constitute an important body of revelation about our Savior. Today we are studying the last “I am” saying found in John’s gospel. Jesus spoke to His disciples, telling them, “I am the true vine” (John 15:1).
We can discern at least two main truths in this saying. First, we note that the Old Testament metaphorically describes the people of Israel as God’s vine or vineyard (Isa. 5:7; Hos. 10:1). Our Creator “planted”—established—His people Israel so that they would bear good spiritual fruit and be a light to the nations to show the ways of the Lord (Deut. 4:1–8). We know, however, that old covenant Israel as a whole failed in this task, though there were many faithful individuals. Thus, God brought judgment, sending the people into exile (e.g., see Ezek. 15). Happily, in His grace, the Lord did not abandon His purposes for Israel, but He pledged to redeem them from exile and establish them as a true light to the world (Isa. 60). John 15:1 helps us understand that God fulfilled this promise by sending Jesus as the embodiment of Israel. Our Lord calls Himself the Vine because He is the true Israel of God, and the true Israelite is anyone who is united to Jesus by faith alone (Gal. 6:16). Dr. R.C. Sproul writes in his commentary on John that “Christ was the vine because He was the fulfillment of Israel.”
As Jesus expands on His status as the Vine throughout John 15:2–11, we discover the second main truth of the metaphor. Jesus, we read in verses 2–5, is a Vine with branches, and the branches are those who abide in Him and bear much fruit. Our Savior, in other words, is the source of life for His people, just as branches draw their sustenance from the vine and its root. We can do nothing good in the eyes of God if we are not united to Him, and while we are decisively united to Him in conversion, remaining united to Him entails continuing in faith and repentance (Heb. 3:7–4:13). Those who have been truly united to Him will never fall away from grace fully and finally, though some false branches are joined to Jesus merely in an external sense. They are part of His visible church because they profess faith in Him and have been baptized, but they do not possess actual saving faith. These false branches do not bear fruit and will be cast into the fire of judgment (John 15:6–11).
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
John Calvin comments, “We are, by nature, barren and dry, except in so far as we have been engrafted into Christ, and draw from him a power which is new, and which does not proceed from ourselves.” We have no spiritual life in ourselves but rely wholly and completely on Christ for it at every moment of our lives. Let us confess our need of Jesus to strengthen us and seek to live according to His way, not our own.
For further study
- Ezekiel 19
- John 20:30–31
- Romans 6:5
- Colossians 3:1–4
The bible in a year
- Psalms 73–74
- Romans 5