Q.
John,
Does the branch in John 15:6 represent a CARNAL CHRISTIAN BELIEVER attached to The Vine whose works are burned…OR does it just represent the fruitless WORKS of the Believer?
Malcolm
A.
Dear Brother Malcolm,
Thanks for your inquiry. As you know this an interesting verse. Some think this verse is referring to unbelievers due to the reference of fire. The assumption is that since fire is mentioned, it must be referring to Hell.
But the Judgment Seat of Christ also speaks of fire. Also, the flow of thought in John 15 refers to believers. Jesus urges those “in me” (15:2) to “Abide in me” in order to “bear fruit” (15:4-5). So what gets burned in verse six?
The verse says, “If a man [singular] abide not [present tense, lit. “is not abiding”] in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them [neuter], and cast them into the fire, and they [singular, lit. “it”] are burned.”
The purpose of a branch in the vine is to bear fruit. This occurs as the branch abides in the vine. Jesus is the true vine. He said, “without me ye can do nothing.” This implies with Him you can do anything you ought to do, because He is the source of life. Therefore the words of Jesus here define the word “abide” as depending on Jesus.
So if one who is in Christ (15:2) does not abide in Christ (15:4-5), he will not bear fruit. His purpose “as a branch” is unfulfilled. So the useless wood with no fruit, because of a lack of abiding, is cast out and burned. The “them” in verse six is neuter, and “it” is cast out, not “they” the people. This fits in perfectly with the teaching that the wood, hay and stubble represents the self-dependent aspects of one’s life which will be incinerated at the Judgment Seat (1 Cor. 3).
John
Ok. This makes good sense for verse 6. But what then is verse 2 talking about when He says, “every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away…?” “Taketh away” literally means to “lift up” or to remove from it’s place. Could this be referring to God’s removing us from the earth because of our uselessness (unwillingness to allow the Holy Spirit to work His fruit in our lives)?
It’s seems to me the action the Vinedresser takes is so the branch will start bearing fruit. If this is the case the lifting up is corrective to get us into a place where fruit is borne.
Yes! Thanks so much, brother. I was wondering that myself as many varieties of grapes do require some sort of vertical and horizantal support system in order to produce grapes. This also seems to fit in with the context of believers and their purpose to bear fruit! Thanks so much for your response! God bless!