The Three Relationships of Life – Part One – Our Relationship with Jesus. (John 15: 1-11)

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Study Notes:

Introduction: The Universality of Problems

• Everyone faces problems, often related to human relationships (friends, family, work).
• Problems with money, time, and relationships are common.
• Jesus' parting instructions to His disciples focused on relationships.

Context of John 15:1-11

• Part of the Upper Room Discourse, transitioning from the Upper Room to the walk through the Kidron Valley.
• Jesus talks about relationships, particularly our relationship with Him.

The Metaphor of the Vine and Branches

• John 15:1-3: Jesus as the true vine, God as the gardener.
  • God "prunes" fruitful branches to make them more fruitful.
  • The Greek term for "cuts off" can also mean "lifts up," implying support and care for unfruitful branches.

The Concept of Pruning

• John 15:2: Pruning involves removing distractions and non-essential parts of our lives to focus on spiritual growth.

Abiding in Christ

• John 15:4-9: Emphasis on the necessity of remaining in Christ to bear fruit.
  • Without Christ, we can do nothing significant. Abiding in Christ leads to much fruit, while not abiding results in spiritual barrenness.

Consequences of Not Abiding

• John 15:6: Unfruitful branches are thrown away and burned, symbolizing spiritual discipline and loss of impact.
• Interpretations vary: some see it as a metaphor for divine discipline rather than literal hellfire.

How to Abide in Christ

• John 15:10: Obedience to Jesus' commandments is key to remaining in His love.

Benefits of Abiding in Christ

• Fruit Bearing:
  • Becoming more like Christ and influencing others.
  • Fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5) and winning others to Christ.
• Answered Prayer:
  • Aligning prayers with God's will leads to fulfillment of those prayers.
• Fulfilled Purpose:
  • Glorifying God by living as true disciples and fulfilling our purpose.
• Feeling Loved:
  • Experiencing a deeper sense of God's love through obedience.
• Complete Joy:
  • Full and lasting joy comes from remaining in Christ's presence.

Practical Application

• Abiding in Christ starts with aligning our lives with His teachings and commands.
• Pruning may feel uncomfortable but leads to greater spiritual growth and fruitfulness.
• Remaining connected to Christ is essential for overcoming problems and challenges.

Conclusion

• Prioritize remaining in Christ: let His word guide, His love fill, and His joy strengthen you.
• Commit to staying connected to the vine, and witness God's transformative power in your life.

By focusing on abiding in Christ and understanding the significance of pru

Transcript

The Three Relationships of Life – Part One – Our Relationship with Jesus.  (John 15:1-11)

Full Transcript.


I wonder how many of you listening to this podcast today have some kind of problem. I wonder how many of you would say that in the last month you have encountered some type of personal problem. There’s a pressure, right? All of which is to say, we all have problems.

For some it’s money problems. Some don’t have enough to do what we want to do, and some don’t have enough to pay for what we’ve already done.

For many of us, the problem is time. We don’t have enough time to do what we want to do, or, for that matter, to do what we need to do. 

For some, the problem might be disagreement or even conflict in personal relationships with their spouse. 

Besides that, there can be disagreements at work, your boss might be putting unreasonable demands on you. It’s hard to please him.

Or perhaps it’s difficulty with your employees: someone who is always late or doesn’t get the job done.

Maybe it’s just a practical problem, like a problem with your car. Maybe the problem is in you family, problems with parents or problems with children.

Maybe it’s a falling out with a friend. You’re not exactly sure what happened, but there’s been a misunderstanding, and things just aren’t what they used to be.

I could go on talking about possible problems all day, but the point I wish to make is simply this: every one of us has problems all the time. If you were to sit and think about it we would probably discover that many of those problems have to do with human relationships.

It’s true we have problems with things—we have problems with money, our car, and time—but most of our conflicts, most of the time, have to do with people: our friends, our boss, our employees, our neighbours, and the like.

It seems significant to me that just before Jesus Christ left, He spoke to His disciples and gave them some parting instructions. Much of what He had to say deals with personal relationships. 

In todays episode we are going to begin to spend three days looking at relationships we are going to discuss relationships in general but we are also going to discuss three in particular and see what advise Jesus offers.

Welcome to the BPDP….

Over the last few days, we’ve been looking at the Upper Room Discourse. Technically, the Upper Room Discourse ends at the end of Chapter 14. At the end of Chapter 14, they evidently leave the room. It says in verse 31 that the Lord said, "Arise, let go hence." 

We then see they stepped outdoors and started walking, perhaps down the Kidron Valley, which runs to the east side of Jerusalem, is uncertain.

Beginning in Chapter 15 and extending through Chapter 16, the Lord continues to talk to them. Now, while we popularly call Chapters 13 through 16 the Upper Room Discourse, technically, they’re outside of that Upper Room at this point. 

In Chapter 15, beginning at verse 1 and going down through Chapter 16, verse 6, the Lord is talking. This time, He’s uninterrupted by questions and He speaks to them about relationships. As I look at these verses, I see three major relationships of life. Let’s see what the Lord says about these relationships that so often cause us trouble.

In the first 11 verses of John 15, He talks about the relationship with Himself. In those first 11 verses, He is saying that a believer in Christ needs to abide in Christ. You cannot read those verses without seeing that this is what He spends most of His time talking about.

Now, let’s look at that. He first tells us in this section that the Father prunes believers. He says in verse 1…

1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you in me.

(John 15: 1-3)

The opening verses of this passage have been controversial in church history. What does Jesus mean by "cuts off"? The Greek word used here can mean "to lift up" or "to take away, and it was translated that way in the King James Version of the Bible." I suggest that translation is good it does actually means "to lift up."

This same Greek word is translated this way in John 5, where Jesus tells a man to "take up" his bed and walk, meaning he lifted it up. It is also used in John 8, where they "took up" stones to stone Jesus, meaning they picked up stones. So, I believe that here, in John 15, it means that every branch that does not bear fruit, will be lifted up.

In the first century, when a vine branch fell to the ground and didn’t get sunlight, it couldn’t bear fruit. The vine dresser would lift it up and pin it so it could get sunlight and produce fruit. Jesus is saying that the Father lifts up the fruitless branches so they might produce fruit. I also think there is a picture here of being pinned up in the sense of being raised up by being convicted of our sines and that by facing them, we begin the process of being enabled to be forgiven of them. (see Jesus’s reference to the serpant in the wilderness)

Then He says in verse 2, "Every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit." So, the fruitless branches He lifts up, and the fruitful branches He prunes. Her also says, "You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you." By the way, the word translated "clean" in verse 3 is the same word translated "prune" in verse 2. Clearly, Jesus is saying that when the Father finds a Christian beginning to bear fruit, He prunes that branch so it may bear more fruit.

I too believe that God pruned part of my life away so I could spend more time in ministry. I was producing fruit some fruit but I believe over the recent years my family circumstance although difficult have enabled me to produce more fruit, through my podcast ministry. 

In a similar fashion, God wants us to produce fruit, so He prunes us. Sometimes, the things He takes away are not necessarily sinful or wrong, but they just occupy too much of our time. He removes them so we might give more time to His service. And that is I believe is what Jesus says in this section when he says that the Father prunes us.

The next thing He says is that the believer must remain in Him. 

4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned”. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. 9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.

(John 15: 4-9)

In these verses, Jesus is emphasizing the importance of remaining/abiding in Him. The Father prunes us, but we must remain in Christ. Without Him, we can do nothing spiritually significant or fruitful, just as a sailboat cannot sail without wind, or a car cannot go without fuel, so we can do nothing without Him.

Jesus states this both negatively and positively. Negatively, He says, "Without me, you can do nothing." Positively, He says, "I am the vine; you are the branches. He who remains in me, and I in him, will bring forth much fruit." There is a progression here: some fruit, more fruit, and much fruit, all dependent on abiding in Christ.

This is serious. Jesus says if a man does not remain in Him, he is thrown out as the branch will wither, so it is gathered, and burned. 

I read a commentary on this passage that said that while walking from the upper room through the Kidron Valley, Jesus and His disciples would very likely have seen fires where people pruned olive trees and burned the cut branches. Jesus perhaps uses this real wolrd image to emphasize the importance of remaining in Him.

The question arises: What is the fire, he is talking about here? Some interpret this to mean hell fire and a loss of salvation, but Jesus is clearly speaking to believers here. He said in verse 2, "Every branch in me," and in verse 5, "I am the vine; you are the branches." Therefore, He is speaking to those already in Him.

The fire here is likely not literal hellfire but a metaphor. For me it more likely represents discipline and chastening for believers who do not produce fruit. 

Another possibility is the fire mentioned might be the same as that mentioned in 1 Corinthians 3, where it says our works will be tested by fire at the judgment seat of Christ. This figurative fire will reveal the true value of our works—whether they are like gold, silver, and precious stones, or like wood, hay, and stubble that will burn up.

The key point is that there are dire consequences for not abiding in Christ. We may lose our intimate fellowship with Him, or our spiritual vitality, and our lasting impact on other people, even those we love. 

The shift from singular to plural in verse 6, from "he is cast forth" to "they are burned," suggests that the individual's unfruitful works are what's burned.

If we remain in Christ, we will produce fruit (verse 5). If we do not remain in Him, there will be fire (verse 6). The command is to remain in Christ.

This leads us to the next question: How do we remain in Him? The answer thankfully is explained in verse 10.

10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

(John 15: 10-11)

Jesus tells us, "If you keep my commandments, you shall remain in my love." To remain is essentially to be obedient to the Lord. The Bible teaches that obedience is the key to abiding and remaining in Christ.

The point is that we must remain in order to produce fruit. To define remaining: it is simply about remaining in obedience. 

Now, In verses 7 through 11, it has actually listed five benifits of remaining, illustrating what the fruit of remaining looks like.

1.     Fruit Bearing: Jesus says in verse 5, "If you remain in me, you shall bear fruit," and in verse 8, “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples”. One consequence of remaining is the bearing of much fruit. There are two main types of this fruit: The fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5, love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and self-control. But also the fruit of winning others to Christ: Both are involved, but primarily, the fruit is Christlikeness.

2.     Answered Prayer: In verse 7, Jesus says, "If you remain in me, and my words remains in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done for you." Remaining in Christ will result in answered prayer. The key is that His word must remain in us, guiding us in what to ask for, therby guaranteeing answers to those prayers.

3.     Fulfilled Purpose: Listen to verse 8 again. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples The purpose of bearing fruit and getting answers to prayer is to glorify God. As we obey Him, we fulfil our purpose, becoming true disciples that glorify the Father.

4.     Feeling Loved: In verse 9, Jesus says, " “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love." Obeying Jesus results in experiencing His love more deeply. While God loves all His children, obedience allows us to feel and sense His love and blessing in our lives.

5.     Complete Joy: Verse 11 says, "These things I have spoken to you about abiding, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be complete." Remaining in Christ leads to a complete and fulfilling joy. T

Therefore, obedience results in fruit like answered prayer, a fulfilled purpose, a feeling of love, and full joy.

God desires fruit like these in our lives. We as branches are meant to produce fruit, were not meant to be like Christmas trees decorated superficially and to ensure we produce these fruits of the Spirit, God prunes us and commands us to abide in Christ.

As I said at the beginning every one of us faces problems, pressures, and challenges, and often these are rooted in our relationships. But Jesus, in His final teachings to His disciples, gives us the key to navigating these difficulties: and it starts by abiding in Him.

When we abide in Christ, we connect to the true source of life and strength. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit by itself but must remain in the vine, so we must remain in Jesus to bear spiritual fruit. This abiding is not passive; it is active obedience to His commands. 

The promise here is as we live this way, we will find ourselves bearing fruit, experiencing answered prayers, fulfilling our God-given purposes, feeling His love, and living with complete joy.

So, what does it mean for us, here and now? It means that no matter what problem your dealing with today, the solution begins with remaining connected to Christ. If your challenge is financial, relational, or even spiritual, start by aligning your life with Jesus' teachings. Let His words dwell in you richly, guiding your actions and decisions.

Remember, God will prune us for greater fruitfulness. This pruning might feel uncomfortable as He removes distractions and hindrances, but it is always for our good. Just as a gardener prunes a vine to produce a abundant harvest, God prunes our lives so we can be more fruitful in His kingdom.

Jesus assures us that abiding in Him brings about profound results:

1.     Fruit-bearing: Becoming more like Christ and influencing others for Him.

2.     Answered Prayer: Aligning our requests with His will and seeing them fulfilled.

3.     Fulfilled Purpose: Living out our true calling and glorifying God.

4.     Feeling Loved: Experiencing the depth of His love as we obey.

5.     Full Joy: Finding complete and lasting joy in His presence.

As you go about your day today, I encourage you to make remaining in Him your top priority. Let His word guide you, let His love fill you, and let His joy be your strength. We are not merely decorative branches; we are designed to bear fruit that will last.

Commit to staying connected to the vine and watch how God will transform your life and the lives of those around you. Let's go out today, abiding in Christ, and living out the fullness of life He promises.

So that is our number 1 relationship, our relationship with God Himself in Jesus. The first in our three-day analysis of our three relationships in life. Tomorrow we will look at verse 12 to verse 17, where Jesus transitions to discussing our relationship with one another.