16 February 2025
JESUS – THE TRUE VINE
(The Names Of God: TNOG 29)
Jesus said, “I AM the True Vine…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” (John 15:1, 5). This is the sixth “I AM” claim of Deity in John Gospel. Jesus is the Life Source of the branches. Without The Vine the branches have no life. Jesus is Lord and God, so without Him there is no spiritual and eternal life in us. As John says, “In Him is life and that life is the light of all mankind… Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life” (John 1:4; 1 John 5:12). To know Jesus is to have Eternal Life (John 17:3).
Jesus is the Vine, and we are the branches, so we are dependent on Him for everything. This speaks of a deep, life-giving connection. Just as branches cannot bear fruit by themselves, our efforts are fruitless without Jesus. We are branches connected to Him, drawing spiritual life from Him as branches draw the necessary nutrients to survive and flourish. The branch can bear fruit only because it is receiving life by being attached to the Vine.
To remain vibrant and strong spiritually, Jesus said that we must “remain” in Him: “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…If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing” (Jn 15:4-5). To “remain” or “abide” in Christ means to have continuous dependence on Him by having fellowship with Him daily. In other words, we need to spend time with Him in Worship and in His Word. Jesus said that “Mary had chosen the better part” because “she sat at Jesus feet listening to His Word” (Luke 10:39,42). We need to do that as a daily discipline if we want to grow strong spiritually and “in the Grace and Knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet.5:18).
To remain in Christ is also to remain in His Love: “As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Now remain in My Love. If you keep My Commands, you will remain in My Love, just as I have kept My Father’s commands and remain in His Love” (15:9-10). We must obey His commands to prove that we are abiding in His Love. That also means we are to love as Jesus loves. Hence, He said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know you are My disciples, if you love one another” (13:34-35). Everyone who loves knows God, for God is love (1 Jn 4:8).
To bear fruit in terms of Christlikeness brings Glory to the Father: “This to My Father’s Glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be My disciples” (15:8). The more we walk with Christ, the more we will grow into His Image – to be like Him. Hence John says, “If you live in Him, you must walk as Jesus walked” (1 Jn 2:6). To be a disciple is to be like Jesus, and this glorifies God: “Let your light shine before men so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven” (Matt.5:16). May we be fruitful always for Jesus.
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