The Parable of the Vine - How not to get cut off!

John 15:1 - 2 -The passage where Jesus says the branch that does not bear fruit gets taken away by our heavenly Father.

NKJV 15 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

In the past, I would read this passage and all I would see were my inadequacies and how one day, when my period of Grace was over, God would cut me off because I wasn't 'bearing fruit.' 

Many Christians are in the same boat right now, equating the doing of good works with bearing fruit and not doing good works with not bearing fruit. Even as a believer in Jesus, enjoying the impact of His finished work, this passage seemed to me to be a contradiction of God's Grace. How wrong I was! It is a confirmation of God's grace and how much He loves us! How NOT to bear fruit comes right after verse 2!

 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 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. 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.

The only way not to bear fruit is not to abide in Jesus or to not believe in Him. As a true believer in Jesus Christ with full acceptance of God’s Grace through Jesus' finished work, YOU WILL AUTOMATICALLY BEAR MUCH FRUIT, not by your efforts, but by God's grace. Jesus clearly states in verse 4 that “the branch cannot bear fruit of itself.”  You cannot bear fruit by yourself. For the branch not to bear fruit, it has to reject and leave Jesus first. Without Him we can do nothing. ONLY WHEN THE BRANCH STARTS TO LOOK FOR NOURISHMENT FROM ITSELF OR FROM OTHER SOURCES DOES IT STOP TO BEAR FRUIT. Only when you reject Jesus will you be cut off. 

How awesome is our God! We have even more confidence when we read Philippians 2:13

-  for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

Have you ever thought about how grapes grow on a vine? The vine, which is connected to the ground via its roots, does all the tapping of nutrients and supplies the branches with all that is required for it to bear fruit. The branch cannot grow or bear fruit without the vine. 

As long as you are in Christ -,  not just in name alone but believing that your past, present and future sins are forgiven, that your sins have been punished in Him and that you are no longer under condemnation, that there is no generational curse in your life, and God did not spare His Son but delivered Him up for us and through Him, He gives us everything freely - God will supply your needs according to His riches in glory, including your need to bear fruit. Endless supply! 

God, THE MAKER OF ALL THINGS, is the vinedresser. Apart from providing you with the best trellising, (training, support and display), pruning, etc, He also controls all the elements – and everything else that is required for you to grow and bear fruit! All you need to do to grow and bear fruit is stick with (believe in) the vine, Jesus! 

When you sin i.e. fall off the trellis (vine support system) for whatever reason, as long as you still believe in Christ, this wonderful vinedresser picks you up and gives you more support so that you can succeed and bear fruit. This is not to say that we continue in sin because of God's grace as some people say. The ability to live a sinless life also comes from Him. 2 Corinthians 3:18 says 

"And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit."

The Holy Spirit in you transforms you into His image from glory to glory!

Jesus goes on to say:

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

It is God’s desire that we remain in Christ so that we can bear fruit. This is the only way to bear fruit. 

The work we need to do as believers in Christ is in John 6: 28 – 29-

²⁸ Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” ²⁹ Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

God bless you as you bear much fruit in Jesus' name!