Don and Wendy Francisco Articles

Vine and Branches
A wrong understanding of this passage of Scripture can leave us with a harsh impression of Christianity. John 15:1 - 6
Vs. 1 - 3 "I am the true vine and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He lifts up* The verb here is "airo", to take up, to lift up, to raise. While it can mean "to remove," if a branch is "in Him", it will not be removed if the other promises of the New Covenant are valid ("I will never leave you or forsake you."). In the context of the New Covenant as a whole, "lift up" is the only meaning of "airo" here that is consistent.

...and every branch that bears fruit He cleanses*, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean* because of the word which I have spoken to you. I am the vine and you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. " The NASV and NKJV both translate "kathairo" as "prunes", but in the NEXT verse the SAME word as an adjective is translated "clean". To be consistent, the more common meaning, "to cleanse" is better. There is no reason to mean a cutting off in verse 2 when a cleansing is meant in verse 3. Grapes are grown on trellises because the branches do not bear fruit if they fall to the ground and get dirty. That is why they must be lifted up and cleansed.

The work of God in our lives was essentially finished at the Cross. We need only to believe it... and as our belief and trust in Jesus grows, our lives begin to change and flourish. Since God has already removed our sins as far away as the East is from the West, and remembers them no more, no further "pruning" is needed.

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.*
This verse refers to people not yet in Christ. A branch separated from it's source of life will naturally wither. People who are separated from God will wither as they have no source of life. It is significant that Jesus does not say that it is the Vinedresser who burns the branches. Jesus didn't come to earth to judge it, but that through Him it might be saved. Jesus is the expression of God on earth... Jesus loved people who were on the streets and who were hurt and engulfed by sin. Jesus was angry at the religious leaders who made people believe that God rejected sinners. He said those leaders were standing in the door... neither entering or permitting others to enter.

Life is in the Vine. Without Him, we cannot communicate this to others. We can get into debates, and we can clobber people with "truths" that end up hardening them against God. But to bear fruit for His Kingdom, we need Him to guide and empower us to share His Good News with the same deep love that He has for this world. - D.F.