2017.03.05_God’s Grapevine

God’s  Vine

(John 15:1~15) 

The Gardener’s Beloved Vine

God is the gardener who cultivates the vine. Gardening is not the only thing that the gardener can do; he can do other businesses, but he devotes himself only to gardening. Likewise, God can do anything but referred to Himself as a gardener(John 15:1). That means He devotes Himself to His work, as the gardener.

The vine that God cares for is Jesus Christ, and the branches are those who believe in Him. God cultivates the vine in order to make the vine grow well. This includes the branches, the fruit and the stem. The gardener prunes the branches so that they can bear better fruit. God also prunes us to make us yield more fruit. (John 15:5)

The farmer loves and rejoices in his crops.  God also loves His vine and rejoices in it. When Jesus came out of the water when He was baptized, God said, “This is my beloved Son, and I am well pleased with Him,” declaring to the world His heart toward Jesus Christ. God the Father poured all of His love on His Son, and delights in the Son who obeyed Him even to the point of death. As the branches,  we must receive the love of God and also be pleasing unto Him.

The church is the body of Jesus Christ, God’s love and joy, and believers are members of the body. In other words, the church is the vine and believers the branches. In church, there are many people who have their various offices, such as pastor, elder, minister, teacher, deacon, etc; all of these are disciples of Jesus and branches who belong to Him. The branches must bear fruit. A branch that bears no fruit has no benefit for the vine, so the gardener has no choice but to prune it. When a branch becomes separated from the vine, it withers and dies. Thus, those who are born of Jesus must bear fruit. They must lead others to salvation.

Grapes are attached to the branches, and the branches are attached to the vine. In the church there are various kinds of people. They vary in the aspects of jobs, culture, life styles, backgrounds, etc. However, they are doing their duties in accordance with Jesus Christ’ will, going beyond the differences. Even though the vine, branches, and fruit are shaped differently, they become one by receiving life-giving nourishment from the tree.

How to hurt the vine

The Devil tries to scatter the unity of the church. Before we came to trust in Jesus, the Devil ruled and controlled the world. The Devil, who cannot bear that people would leave from following him and becoming committed followers of Jesus, tries to tempt even those whom God chooses. There is a nodule between the branches and the stem, and if the branches are detached, that nodule must be taken out. That means the branches of a vine are more strongly attached to the stem than even a tree branch. If we are the branches of Jesus, we must not fall away from Him in the face of the schemes and interference of the Devil.

We once were sinners who belonged to the Devil, but because we have repented, we are now in Jesus Christ. Up until this point God’s love, patience, and labor in order to save us is indescribable. In the same way that a farmer sow seeds, growing the seedlings, and harvests the fruit, so God has labored so much for us to become committed followers of Jesus. Therefore, a Christian should not regard their status and identity in Jesus lightly or take it for granted.

The Devil works hard to make us forget who we are in Jesus. That is how he separates us from God. If a Christian forgets his or her identity, then he or she might fall into temptation and even be separated from Jesus. We must not deny that we belong to Christ, but remember that the branches can never live apart from the vine.

The Devil continuously tries to accuse us, ignoring our identity in Christ. There is a way to overcome the Devil’s attack. Revelation 12:11 says, “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives even when faced with death.” So the testimony that we are believers saved by the blood of Christ defeats the Devil.

It does not mean that being a Christian brings physical change. Even after being a Christian, our sinful nature still gravitates toward the world. The world may laugh at us when we proclaim that we have been justified by God. Nevertheless, we must confess and testify with boldness and confidence that we belong to Christ. There are many good and well-mannered people in the world, but God does not recognize them as having been justified. We are justified by God by the precious blood of Jesus. Who then can rightfully accuse us? No one can deny our identity.

The confidence of the Christian lies in the fact that we have been forgiven. The people of the world have not been forgiven, no matter how good they are or how great their personality. But we have been forgiven and justified by God. The blood of Jesus Christ testifies to it. We acknowledge this when we partake of the sacrament of Communion. 1Corinthians 11:26-29 says, “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes…whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.” Christians must testify of the power of the precious blood of Jesus until Christ returns to the earth.

Many Christians when they are asked to give their testimonies, tell about getting a good job or that they have been blessed with prosperity in their businesses. That makes sense, but those testimonies are like the leaves of the branches. What the gardener wants from the branches is not leaves but fruit. We can bear fruit when we testify how we came to trust in Jesus. If we spare not our own lives but testify unashamedly of the blood of Christ, not only will we overcome the Devil, but we will bear fruit as well.

We must not condemn or accuse others within the church. Being forgiven by the grace of the blood does not automatically mean that our personalities are immediately transformed. After all, the Lord called sinners, not those who are righteous. The Law condemns sin in various ways. However, the purpose of the Law is to reveal that all men are sinners, not to reveal the source of sin. Jesus said, “…concerning sin because they do not believe in me.”(John 16:9) Jesus the righteous one ascended into heaven and there is no more righteousness to be found in the earth. (John 16:10) But we who have been purchased by His blood and belong to Him are now righteous.

The church is the place where those who have received grace gather. Therefore we must not look down on or condemn others in the church but rather embrace them. 1 Peter 4:8 says, “Love covers a multitude of sins.” No matter what we once were, those who have become a part of the church can be loved by the members of the church. Even if a person is condemned by the world, in church, we must treat him or her with love.

Let us Bear Fruit by Loving Each Other

When branches are healthy, they can bear fruit. The true branches refer to the disciples of Jesus. (John 15:7) Jesus said, ‘If my word remains in you, you will be my true disciples. If my word remains in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given to you.’ Those who remain in the Lord’s word are the true disciples, God’s branches. The way to make the Lord’s words remain us is to be loved by the Lord. In the same way that Jesus remained in His Father’s love by loving Him, those who keep the Lord’s commandment can remain in the Lord’s love and the Lord’s word in them.

For the true disciples, the most important commandment is ‘Love one another,’ that is, to save souls. Therefore, those who have come to trust in Jesus must testify to others how they became holy and how they came to receive the glory of being a Christian. It is the Lord’s disciple who makes others holy as they are and makes others turn to children of God. When they pray for the kingdom of God, their prayer is heard.

Jesus died horribly to make us children of God. He cried, “May this cup be taken from me!” Nevertheless, He obeyed His Father. By this, the love of the Son toward the Father was revealed, and God also listened to His Son’s reverent submission and answered His prayer.

Jesus’ heart was filled with the joy of being loved by His Father. Therefore it was possible for the Son to obey the Father to the point of death. Jesus also wants us to be filled with the same joy (John 15:11). Where does your joy lie? Money? Or your house? Those things that satisfy our flesh are only temporary. However, the joy that Jesus gives us last forever and can never be removed. We must have the same joy. The heart of the saints must be full of joy, not hatred or displeasure.

The Father was pleased that we were saved by the Son. When we love and save other souls by obeying the Lord’s commandment, the Father will be pleased. This is the joy of the Lord. Are you loving others? Are you joyful that Jesus’ work prospers? Or that the work of the church prospers?

The Church is the place that was bought by the blood of Christ, where the Holy Spirit reigns and works. God chose us who are weak and gave us the opportunity to help in His work. Jesus was able to endure and even rejoice in suffering because of the joy of the Father in saving men. Jesus wants us to have that joy. We must be filled with the joy of the Lord. Without a loving heart, we can never know the joy of the Lord. One can never possess that joy without loving the church.

Are you a branch that is attached to the vine? The vine is the body of Christ. God loves the church just as He loves His Son. We must love others with that love, letting that love remain in us. Let us keep the Lord’s commandment to “Love one another!”