My Bible Study Journal
Nourishing my whole being by the living Word
My Bible Study Journal

Jesus, The True Vine (John 15)

  1. The way of the Lord : God uses small, little, insignificant things to confound the mighty
  2. Verse 1: “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 
    • Upper room discourse is for the Church which John 15 is part of. The sermon of the month is for the Kingdom of God
    • The night when Jesus had Passover meal before He was betrayed, He spoke upper room discourse
    • Gospel of John has 7 miracles which is called SIGNS. Those are for the nation of Israel.
    • The first sign was turning water into wine. Judaism is like water, Jesus’ grace turned it into wine. 6 pots of water is the number of man.
    • The Holy Spirit chose 7 miracles to be written. 30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.
    • Moses turned water into blood. Servant (Moses) does not abide forever in the house. John 5:35-36 35 And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.
    • Psalm 80:8 You have brought a vine out of Egypt; Israel is a type of vine to supply the knowledge and wisdom of God for nations roundabout, but they failed. Prophet Isaiah used typology vine to refer Israel
    • Jesus is the true vine to deliver the knowledge of God
  3.  Verse 5: I am the vine, you are the branches.
    • As believers we are connected to Jesus, the living vine
    • Part of tree that fruits grow on is the branches.
    • The vine and branches are one. It is not like a regular tree that has trunk and branches.
    • You are not the one responsible to supply life, zap, life and fatness. Your part is to bear and manifest the fruits.
  4.  Verse 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
    • All a branch to do is to ABIDE (Greek : MENO)
    • Abide : stay where you are, Abide is not a place you are trying to get at
    • The vine is responsible for fruit. The branch is to be restfulness and carefree attitude to bear abundant and lushes fruits
    • But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30, KJV) Of Him you are in Christ : it is of God’s doing , not your work. You are in Christ abiding forever
    • You restrict the flow by worrying.
    • If time to be fruitful, trust the vine to supply the bud, leaves and fruits. If there is no rain, trust the vine to bring moisture from the root
    • if face stressful situation, Lord supply Your peace. If you feel tired, Lord supply Your strength. If you face decision making, Lord Your wisdom. A restful Christian is a wonderful testimony
    • Let us labor to enter His rest. Outwardly working, inwardly resting. The more your rest, the more you abide, the more supply flows. The task of believers are to enter restfulness, more restfulness and deep restfulness.
    • It is not a lazy life, because you are connected to the vine. The vine has a zeal that is not fanatic but it is holy powerful zeal. You will have zealousness, you will be doing but not expiring. You are like burning bush, you are burning but not burning out. You can not connect to the Vine and becomes lazy.
    • The more you struggle to produce, you resist the flow of life.
    • New Covenant reality for believers. You live by grace by resting on the power of the Holy Spirit that works in you both willingness and performances of His good pleasure. He gives desires to do what He wants you to do and gives you the performance.
    • You work out your salvation, because it is God who works in you. You don’t work for Salvation
    • Gal 5:4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. Grace is higher than Laws. Long before sinning, a person falling from grace (boasting and trust in his own strength).
    • The zap and vine’s life can restore your life and give you a new start When you are seeking justification by laws, at that moment you are cut off from supply and cut off from all that Christ can be to you. Sinners can receive from Jesus. Jesus was effect for them. Only Pharisees, self righteous, can not receive from Jesus.
  5. Verse 5: He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
    • The world is full of people who does things without Christ, so what does it mean?
    • All accomplishment of greatest men without Christ , what does it avail at the end? it comes to nothing. Only things that is done for Christ will last forever
    • Heaven’s economy is not like ours
    • Jesus means nothing of value, substance, eternal quality and consequence, of eternal quality that result in this life and life after
  6. Verse 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. 
    • The vine dresses will blame the vine if there are no grapes. As long as I am abiding, the responsibility is the vine
    • God made us righteousness of God in Christ. Everything you do, all is righteous act because you do while you connect with the Vine. Sometime we still think if we pray, go to church and read bible are righteous act. Actually, when you drive, brush your teeth, kiss you children are righteous acts. Your whole life is righteous acts.
    • If the tree is good, all leaves and fruits are good. Same as bad tree.
    • You may not do significant at this moment. Everything in your life is now permeated with the life of Christ. You face can speak volume to others.
    • Jesus and me are separated. Pray ask for wisdom and He supplies from heaven. A more proper imagery you and Jesus are one. Pray that the same wisdom that flow in Jesus flow to you. Prayer is realization of what you already are.
    • You may not feel it but you are called to live in the realm of faith and not feelings. Feelings can deceive you. Illustration : after you aboard a boat, when you step on ground, you still feel the shakes and moving. The reality is the land is not moving, but your feelings.
    • Faith says I am connected to the vine , the same health, life, strength, fatness in the vine flows in the branches.
    • When you preach, if source from you, it will not benefit hearers.
    • When you abide and rest, supply always flows. Your restful attitude is greater testimony than your words. Whatever we expose to in your daily living, if you think you are the responsible party and act everything depend on us, you will be stressful. Illustration when you aboard the plane, you can not help the plane to fly. Rest and it will fly.
    • Abide is not working.
    • I am doing my best to believe your words vs when you listen to pilot and relax, that’s trust.
    • Jesus can not make mistakes, can not fail while pilot can. So why you trust pilot’s words but difficult to trust God’s words
    • If you know the person who speaks it. Jesus can not fail and can not do mistakes
    • God promised the land flowing with milk and honey, God never mentioned giants, wall and obstacles. The ten spies did not believe God’s words, and compared God’s promised to obstacles saying there were giants that we could not conquer. The two, Caleb and Joshua focused on God’s words.
    • Don’t compare God with problems, trials. With God ALL things are possible.
    • The devil wants you to be afraid by what you hear and watch.
    • Live the life of the branches.
  7. Verse 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. 
    • Take away does not mean take home to Heaven.
    • Take away is the word “AIRO” means to lift up. Vine is supposed to cling on pillar or around tree and curl and not on the ground. Branches on the ground can not bear fruit.
    • The reason many Christians can not bear fruit is because they are wallowing on the dust of depression, self pity.
    • Philistine means wallowing in the dust. The serpent’s food is dust.
    • No one is caring for branch on the ground
    • Branch twist around each others. It is nature of a church, we are interdependent.
    • Jesus always lifting up. He went about doing good, always restoring and healing.
    • Luke 17:13 And they lifted up (AIRO) their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.
      Lift up their voice = the word is AIRO
    • Acts 4:24 When they heard this, they raised their voices (AIRO) together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.
    • John 11:41  Then Jesus looked up (AIRO) and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me
    • Verse 2 says bear fruits, more fruits. Verse 5 much fruits. Much : you can count no more.
    • Be patient to yourself. You wont get result at the same year if you start a ministry or a business.
    • The root system is going down deep, the branches is going out wide and strong so when the grapes come, they are in the position to hold the grapes and to supply the nourishment and the water.
    • Make sure God lead you when you open a ministry or a business. If it is from God, it will bear fruits. A grape start bloom after 3 years. If after 10 years, nothing fruitful, stop it. You waste your time.
    • Even after 3 years, it is not the best grape. Still need another 5 years to have quality grapes to produce wine. And 10 years to produce good wine. The longer it is, the better it is
    • Jesus compressed time when He turned water into wine. Jesus is the Lord of time
    • Jesus healed from distance. He is the Lord of space. You dont need to ask Jesus come down from heaven.
    • The way of the Lord is opposite from the way of human. God’s way rest first and you will work well. Human’s way work first then you can rest.
    • The life of the Vine flows consistently
    • In the story of Leper, Jesus commanded the leper to show the priest. Luke 17:14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.
    • From the story, leper did not heal first then go. As they went, they were healed. They acted to show the responsibility was Jesus.
    • Medicine keeps the symptom down, but really God heals. Panadol remove the headache and pain but does not remove the root cause. Use medicine, depend on God
    • Start confessing “As He is, so am I in this world” at whatever level your health is and your situation is. As He is healthy, so I am in this world.
    • As He is so I am in this world is another word to say Jesus is the vine, I am His branch. The same health and resurrection life that flow in the vine flow in the branch, your body: creating health, removing obstacles, growth, hindrance creating new cells, new parts, new organ, readjusting DNA, programing for health , wholeness and longevity.
    • I don’t have the faith to believe, say Lord your faith. I dont have strength, Lord your strength. Even faith He supplies, let anyone not boast.
    • There is no sickness in heaven. God wants us to raise to His standards.
  8. Verse 2 and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 
    • Prunes gives idea of cutting as gardener cutting plants. It gives picture of discipline, chastisement, affliction, painful.
    • “Prunes” at the time of Jesus, what farmers do to the grapes in ancient Israel. They did not cut but watering. The Greek word for prune is KATHAIRO – cleanses with water. They pour water of branches to cleanse and wash the deposit of pests, insects, most.
  9. Verse 3: You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you
    • Next, Jesus used the word clean (KATHAROS) – adjectice
    • How did Jesus cleanse us from depression, self pity, envy, bitterness, resentment, irritability by the preaching and the washing of the water
    • The more you sit under anointed teaching , the more you will bear fruits
    • John 13:10 Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath (LUO) need only to wash (NIPTO) their feet; Bath refers to born again experience, bath by the HS.
    • Somewhere in your day, you need to have words to wash your feet.
    • Faith comes by hearing.
    • You can not think yourself out of fear, but you can heart out of fear.
  10. Isaiah 40 : 28
    Do you not know?
        Have you not heard?
    The Lord is the everlasting God,
        the Creator of the ends of the earth.
    He will not grow tired or weary,
        and his understanding no one can fathom.
    29 He gives strength to the weary
        and increases the power of the weak.
  11. The word “health” only appears few times in the bible, which actually also means medicine, but the word “strength” appears all OT and NT. Sickness, weakness, growing old is the absence of strength. You become infirm
  12. Verse 30 those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles;
        they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
    • mount up first – spend time in the living vine, stay in touch with Jesus, then you will soar, and then run then walk. Start with God in the heavenliest. The world have it opposite, and they never soar
    • A man who forgotten to grow old was Caleb. He saw difficulties as food.
    • There is no situation God does not have answer or supply for. If you don’t have answer yet, rest in Him, knowing that He will take care of it and you don’t need to worry about it. The devil will ask what are you going to do about it? Answer it is Jesus responsibility. The more you let go, God holds. His hand is more powerful and loving.
    • Expect abundant fruit of health flow from the vine.
    • World is part of thousand that fall. You are in the world but not of the world.
    • Fit vs health/strength. You can run and be fit and not healthy. Health and strength come from God
    • Joshua 14:10 Caleb experienced literal renewal. He was 80 as strong as when he was 40.
    • Count God as faithful, not yourself, because when you don’t have faith, He remains faithful. It is not you hold on to Him but the other way around. If you dont have faith, rest in the One who is faithful. When we are faithless, He remains faithful.
    • you are connected with the living vine
  13. Verse 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. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you[b] 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.