I am the Vine, You are the Branches

Jesus said, "I am the vine, you are the branches."

John 15:4-11 I Am The Vine, You Are The Branches

John 15:12-15 Love One Another

JOHN 15:4-5 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.

After calling Himself, "I am the true vine" in John 15:1, why does Jesus now say, "I am the vine, you are the branches" (John 15:5)?
"True vine," as opposed to false vine, established Jesus' identity. "I am the vine, you are the branches" establishes Jesus' relationship with His disciples - the "branches."

What do disciples of Jesus - i.e., branches of the vine - have to do to "bear fruit" (John 15:4) for God?
"Abide" (John 15:4) in Jesus, the Word of God.

What can the branches do without this abiding?
"Nothing" (John 15:5).

But don't some branches today grow even without abiding in the Word of God?
They are not on the "true vine" and their fruits are neither of nor for God.

JOHN 15:6 6 “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.

Is Jesus talking about His disciples in John 15:6?
No, He uses the second person pronoun "you" to address His disciples both up until and just after this verse, but He uses the third person pronouns "he" and "them" to address the people in John 15:6.

Who are they?
Non-Christians who claim to be Christian, even sincerely believe themselves to be Christian and attend church, sometimes for decades, but bear no fruit that serve and glorify God, and thereby expose themselves to be unsaved.

How are such people "cast out" (John 15:6) from the vine?
Some stop gathering with the true body of Christ, others chase after false prophets whose lies tickle their ears, still others die, etc.

What happens to all of them in the end?
They are thrown "into the fire, and they are burned" (John 15:6) along with all others who don't belong on the vine.

JOHN 15:7 7 “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.

Does "what you desire" that "shall be done for you" (John 15:7) include luxury houses, cars, etc.?
Such things will not be your heart's desire "if you abide in" Jesus and His "words abide in you" (John 15:7).

JOHN 15:8 8 “By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

How is the "Father... glorified" (John 15:8)?
By His "disciples" bearing "much fruit" (John 15:8).

Who gets the credit for the fruit?
The vinedresser (God the Father) and the true vine (Jesus). The branches are just tubes through which the fruit-forming nutrients (Holy Spirit) flows. All that the branch really has to do is to stay on the true vine.

JOHN 15:9-10 9 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

How do we abide in Jesus’ "love" (John 15:9)?
By keeping His "commandments" (John 15:10).

How important is it to keep His commandments?
If it wasn't imperative, Jesus wouldn't have kept repeating it while giving His final instructions to His disciples.

Why is it so important?
Without it, we can't stay on the vine.

JOHN 15:11 11 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.

If Jesus is happy with us, what level of joy do we have?
"Full" (John 15:11). If Jesus is happy with us, nothing else really matters. A joy that depends on earthly circumstances lurches up and down with those circumstances. But the joy rooted in Jesus, what He did for us on the cross, and what that assures for the rest of our eternity, is unshakable and "full."

What is the source of your joy?