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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 in me. 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. ~ John 15:4-8
John 15 is about the fruitfulness of the believer. This is not about justification, it is about sanctification. Realizing fruitfulness for the believer in Christ is not automatic. In v.4 the Lord Jesus gives us teaching about how the believer can be Christlike. In v.4, we read, "Remain in me" which is written in the active voice, meaning "be walking with me." This is something we are expected to be doing. To be remaining in Him is to be "following and relating to Him."
The word remain comes from the Greek word meno, which means “to follow, live, stay, dwell.” Essentially, our walking with Christ receives its inertia by believing in Him. We experience eternal life by continuing to walk with Him. In John 10:10, the Lord Jesus says that He came so that we might have life abundantly.
In addition, in v.4, the Lord Jesus says, "I also will remain in you." This phrase is written in the passive voice, meaning someone outside of us is doing the action. This is not something we can produce. However, it is something that we can expect to happen to us. It takes both for the believer to be a fruitful. This does not mean that the Lord Jesus leaves us; it means He will express Himself to and through us. The trigger to this is us choosing to relate to Him.
In v.5, we read, "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." This verse means without dependence on the Lord Jesus the believer will not experience the expression of His life through our lives. Believers cannot produce fruit on our own effort. Only the vine can produce fruit. Only the Lord Jesus can produce fruit in our lives.
In v.6, we read, "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." God's desire is to produce fruit in and through His followers. But, if we refuse to abide, if we refuse to stay in fellowship with Him, then there will be no expression of God in and through our lives. Instead, we will wither up spiritually. If we ever feel withered up in our Christian life, we must make fellowship with God our top priority. Such things are like water to a dry and thirsty land.
In v.7-11, we learn of four characteristics of fruitfulness. We will only consider today the first two of these.
The first characteristic of our fruitfulness is seen in v.7 where we read, "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." The first evidence of a fruitful life is the impact of answered prayer. We become effective in our prayer life. The work we are seeking to do accomplishes something. We ask whatever we will need for that work, and it is granted. Notice the Lord Jesus links this closely to "His words," not the word "logos," which means the whole of the Bible, but the word "rhema," which means the specific promises of the Bible.
Prayer and promises are linked together. Prayer is not a way of getting God to do what we want Him to do. Rather, it is asking Him to do what He has promised to do. We pray according to His promises. So if we want our prayers to be effective, we must read and pray the promises of God. When we do, we will pray according to the mind and will of God. And, as the Lord Jesus has said, whatever you ask will be done.
The second characteristic of our fruitfulness is seen in v.8 where we read, "This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." This is actually His fruitfulness through our yielded lives.
The Apostle John is describing a believer who is being used by the Lord Jesus to point others to the Him. This is a major part of the believers sanctification. Many believe our sanctification is about our improvement; it is not. Our sanctification is about being involved in others coming to know the Lord Jesus for themselves. God is training us to die to our flesh, that is the selfish and evil desires that we know to be in us. As we die to ourselves and allow Him the freedom to reveal Himself to us and through us, we are realizing His sanctification in and through our lives.
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