The Church as a Grapevine

In John 15.5 Jesus says, “I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit, apart from me you can do nothing.” With this statement, Jesus portrays the church as a grapevine with each branch, each Christian, intimately dependent on Him.

The goal of any vineyard owner is to produce as much quality fruit as possible. In order to produce any fruit, the branches must not be severed from the vine. And in order to produce a bountiful harvest, each branch needs to be carefully pruned.

Jesus used this image of the grapevine to teach us how important it is for us to stay in close fellowship with Him. As Christians, we far too easily drift away from Christ in our day to day routines. We rush off to school or work without taking time to read from God’s Word. We hurry through our prayers or, even worse, fail to pray altogether. We rarely take time to reflect on Jesus and our relationship with Him. But without these connecting points in our lives, we’ll never be able to produce quality spiritual fruit. Jesus put it this way in John 15.4. “Abide in me, and I will abide in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself, it must abide in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in me.” Abiding in Jesus means that we need to have unhurried, lingering fellowship with Him. We need to meditate on His Word and pray for His direction. We need to acknowledge day by day and moment by moment our dependence on Jesus.

But Jesus isn’t simply interested in our fellowship with Him. He wants us to bear fruit, not some fruit, but much fruit. For this reason Jesus allows us to go through times of pruning. God the Father, as the vinedresser, lovingly cuts away those things in our lives that prohibit spiritual fruit. In John 15.2 Jesus says, “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.” God wants His people, His church, to be spiritually productive in this world. At times we go through trials, the pruning work of God in our lives, so that we can become even more fruitful.

As the vine, Jesus Christ is the source of our life, our nourishment, and our support. When we put our faith in Him,  He lifts us up, feeds our hearts, and helps us to have a truly fruitful life. How close are you to Jesus Christ? One way to measure the fruit in your life is to reflect on Galatians 5.22-23. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.” Jesus wants to produce this kind of fruit in your life and in the church. So, keep connected to the vine. Keep abiding in Christ.