Great Chapters of the Bible - John 15 - Abiding in the Vine

A Sermon by Dr. Neil Chadwick


When leafing through the Bible looking for the "Great Chapters," the Gospel of John offered several possible choices. Right away, chapter one could qualify, with it's exalted language and identification of Jesus as the "Light of the world," and the "Word made flesh." Then there's chapter three which contains the Evangelicals' all-time favorite verse, John 3:16. Other choices could be: chapter four, Jesus' conversation with the woman at the well; the Shepherd Chapter (10); or the Servant Chapter (13) where Jesus washes His disciples' feet.

However, all these have been passed by in favor of John 15. While the "You must be born again" message of Chapter 3 has great importance for people who need salvation, our Chapter 15 is a message for people who are already identified as Jesus' Disciples. It is assumed that this includes you and me, and everyone else who makes it a practice to attend church and listen to the preachers' sermons.

    It seems to me that there is a bit of confusion in the church concerning this activity we call preaching. On the one hand are those who believe that all preaching should focus on the Good News of salvation, and the conclusion of every service should be like a Billy Graham Crusade with large groups of people coming down the aisles to accept Christ. On the other hand are those who have come to feel that preaching the salvation message week after week, to the same people (except for one or two guests who are probably Christians visiting while on vacation or checking out a new church) is much like the proverbial "preaching to the choir." And in the meantime, disciples who need "correcting and training in righteousness" (II Timothy 3:16) receive little or no meat (I Corinthians 3:2). So that explains our choice of John 15 over John 3 - this is a message for Christians, a challenging message regarding our relationship and faithfulness to Jesus Christ.

Evangelist Bruce Wilkenson (author of "Prayer of Jabez") has popularized this chapter in his little book "Secrets of the Vine." In it he emphasizes the part about the fruit, and divides Christians according to whether they have no fruit, some fruit, more fruit or much fruit. However, for me, there's little reason to become focused on the product without first giving attention to the process. If we simply do what Jesus teaches us to do, the least of our problems will be the amount of fruit.

Early in the period of church history we now call "The Reformation," there developed a significant controversy between the "Calvinists" and "Arminianists," a controversy which has persisted to the present day. John Calvin is best known for his very well thought out and well written "Institutes of the Christian Religion" - a four volume set written in 1535, 18 years after Luther launched the Protestant Reformation by posting his 95 Thesis on the door of the Wittenberg Cathedral (interestingly, on All Saints Eve, October 31). Calvin was only 26 years old when he completed the first edition of this land-mark set, and this established him as a very highly respected Reformation leader, and a true forerunner of the modern Evangelical movement. Although his ideas were not original, Calvin put into words some of the important doctrines which are familiar to us today:

    God has revealed Himself through creation and through the Scriptures; God concerns Himself with every individual;
    Adam's sin plunged the entire human race into a kind of pollution from which he could not extricate himself apart from God's grace;
    Jesus was fully God and fully man, and His resurrection demonstrated His victory over death;
    Salvation comes through faith and repentance, and is evidenced by the doing of good works;
    Prayer is entering into communication with God.

However, the sticky point for some was, and still is, Calvin's belief in the Sovereignty of God as it applies to election. Because nothing can be outside of God's control, he asserted what came to be known as "double predestination" - God has chosen some people to be saved, and some to be lost. Calvin never tried to reconcile the apparent contradiction between God's love on one hand, and His choosing some for eternal damnation on the other; he simply left it as one of the mysteries not to be known by man. As the Reformation and the teachings of Calvin spread across Europe, and especially as it penetrated the Netherlands, a doctrinal controversy developed. Jacob Arminius, a professor at Leiden University, and his followers called the "Remonstrants," believed "that Christ died for all men, that salvation is by faith alone, that those who believe are saved, and those who reject God's grace are lost, and that God does not elect particular individuals for either outcome." (A History of Christianity by K. S. Latourette) The main point of departure from the Calvinists was the Arminianists' belief that:

    "Man has not lost the faculty of self-determination nor the ability to incline his will toward good ends;
    "Faith is a good work of man and a ground of acceptance with God; and,
    "As long as a man lives he may fall away from grace and lose his salvation altogether." (Baker's Dictionary of Theology, p. 65)

Unfortunately, like so many other disputes within the checkered past of Church History, a synod held in 1618+19 condemned the Arminian position and beheaded one of the leading Remonstrants and imprisoned another.

Now, you ask, what does this have to do with John 15?

First, it is only logical to assume that if Jesus speaks such a strong message about "remaining," repeated many times over, there must be indeed a real danger that His disciples might fall away and be lost. If it is true, as Calvin taught, that the final outcome of each individual's destiny is pre-determined, then the strong admonition of Jesus is unnecessary.

Furthermore, the cutting off and throwing into the fire the dead branches cannot simply refer to the pruning process that takes place within a Christian's life. This is not discipline. Jesus clearly identifies disciples as "branches," and if they die, they are thrown into the fire. This is nothing less than a serious warning. The message is clear, we have a responsibility to exercise our wills both to accept Christ as our atoning sacrifice, but also to decide to continue in our walk with Him.

Of course there are those who declare that, if when one becomes a Christian they are truly "born again," it must mean, as in the physical realm, that they cannot ever be "unborn." Pressing this analogy beyond where it was meant to go, they assert that when we become children of God, that status can never be changed - once sons always sons. However, it seems to me that to hold to that position would mean that making the decision to become a Christian would be a decision to end all decisions. "Once saved always saved" would result in giving up our free will.

What Jesus says in John 15 can be all wrapped up in this simple, two syllable word, "meno" in the Greek, "remain" in English. What does it mean? Simply, to: "stay," ("stay there" - Mark 6:19); "remain," ("remain in the ship" - Acts 27:31; "live", ("Where do you live?" - John 1:38); "continue", ("Continue in what you have learned" - II Timothy 3:14).

Notice that 11 times this word is repeated in verses 7-10:

    Remain in me - I will remain in you - the branch must remain in the vine - you cannot bear fruit unless you remain in me - If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit - If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away - If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you - remain in my love - if you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love.

For the Gospel of John, "meno" is a favorite word - appearing at least 34 times. According to the Gingrich/Bauer Lexicon, in John, the word is used "to denote inward, enduring personal communion."

In the KJV, the word "meno" is translated in many ways: abide, remain, tarry, dwell, continue, endure, present.

When John the Baptist described what happened when Jesus was baptized, he said, "the Spirit . . . abode upon him." (1:32,33)

The disciples used this word when they wanted to know where Jesus lived. (1:38,39)

The people of a Samaritan village used this word when they wanted Jesus to stay with them longer. (4:40)

Jesus used it when he chided the leaders of the Jews, saying, "God's word does not dwell in you." (5:38) Later on He told the same crowd, "your sin remaineth." (9:41)

Some disciples turned away from following Jesus because he said, "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him." (6:56)

When Jesus did not immediately respond when the sisters of Lazarus called for him, it says, "he abode two days." (11:6)

Drawing a parallel between His death and a seed, Jesus said, "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die it abideth alone." (12:24)

Here are other statements by Jesus where He used this word:

"Labour . . . for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life." (6:27)
"If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed." (8:31)
"The servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever." (8:35)
"Whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness." (12:46)
"The Father . . . dwelleth in me." (14:10)
"The Father . . .shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever." (14:16)
"The Spirit of truth . . . dwelleth with you." (14:17)
"These things have I spoken . . . being yet present with you." (14:25)

When Jesus was crucified, it was decided that "the bodies should not remain upon the cross." (19:31)

After Peter learned of his own fate he wanted to know about John's. Jesus’ response was, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?" (21:22,23)

Returning to John 15, notice the relationship between this idea "remain" and several very important words and ideas:

    1) Jesus said, "you are clean through the word" (v.3) but later clarifies that this requires that His words remain in them. (v.7). When we compare this with John 6, we understand that these were not only words spoken by Christ, but words believed by the disciples. The connection with chapter 6 is that there too, Jesus was concerned about the Disciples leaving Him. After some had departed, Jesus asked the Twelve, "You do not want to leave too, do you?" (6:67)

    2) Fruitfulness is another important concept for the Christian Disciple. But here again there is a connection with remaining - "you cannot bear fruit unless you remain in me." (v.4) No "meno" no fruit. In fact their very identity as Disciples is wrapped up in this idea of remaining - if there's no remaining, there's no fruit, if there's no fruit, there's no discipleship. (v.8)

    3) Remaining is also connected with obedience - keeping Christ's commands results in remaining in His love. (v.10) Some will quickly complain that this sounds too much like conditional love. Certainly Paul was correct when he proclaimed that nothing is "able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:39) However, while His love for us can never be diminished, whether or not we receive the benefits of that love depends on our remaining in Him, remaining in His love, which in turn depends on our keeping His commands. We understand this in the human realm. I know that Lyle Chadwick, who is my father, loves me as much now as he ever has, and yet when I left home at age 17, I removed myself from the full benefits of my father's love. Of course the difference with our Heavenly Father is that we need never move out of His house - and as long as we "remain" we will continue to receive all the benefits of His love, provision, and eternal protection.

    4) In addition, we may infer that remaining in Christ also results in joy (v.11), friendship (v.15), revelation (v.15), and the likelihood of being hated. (v.18)

But now we come to the part where Jesus says, "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last." (v.16) This takes us back to our earlier discussion concerning election, and at first sounds like we have nothing at all to do with our own salvation, it's a matter already decided on. However, we believe at this point Jesus is speaking to His Disciples concerning the commission He is giving, much like His later statement, "As the Father has sent me, even so send I you." If we were to view this as being chosen for salvation, we would have to throw out Paul's teaching when he says, "Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Romans 19:13) Whenever we interpret the parables of Jesus we must be careful not to press the analogies too far. In the case of the vine, we may be like branches in that fruitlessness will lead to death. But we are very different from branches in that we are saved in part because we chose to respond to the Gospel, and we have subsequent choices to remain in Christ. Branches have no such choices, their destiny is totally determined by factors and forces outside their control.

The bottom line is this, John 15 is a strong exhortation from Jesus Himself for His followers to "stay" with Him, to "remain" in Him, to "continue" walking with Him. As Luke reports, Jesus reiterated this concern when He said, "when the Son of man cometh shall he find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8)

When listening to sermons, most of us more easily remember the illustrations than the didactic points that are given. Even though it was 45 years ago, I still remember a story told by my Pastor, a story about a wealthy man who was interviewing drivers for his limousine. Each of three applicants was asked the same question. "If you were driving my car over the mountain road, with a rock cliff on the left and a sheer drop off on the right, how close could you come to the edge without our being in danger of falling off?" The first driver boasted of his skill saying he could easily stay within 18 inches of the edge without being in any danger at all. The second was a bit more modest and estimated that 3 feet would be a good distance. But the man who was hired was the one who said, "Sir, I would keep as far away from the edge as I possibly could."

This is the challenge for us today. Rather than trying to find out just how close to the world and sin we can get without putting ourselves in danger, let's make every effort to draw as close to the "rock cliff" as we can. Let's draw closer to Christ who is the "Rock of our Salvation." Let's make sure we are clinging to the vine, abiding in the vine, remaining in the vine, living in the vine.

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