The Vine is
Jesus, our Life
“I am the true vine,
and My Father is the Vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does
not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit
He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Abide
in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself,
unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in
Me.
“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and
I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 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.
"If you abide in Me, and My words abide
in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much
fruit; so you will be My disciples.
“As the Father loved Me, I also have loved
you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My
love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His
love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in
you, and that your joy may be full." John 15:1-11
We are the
branches
“I am the vine,
you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and
I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 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. " John 15:5-6
Branches that
bear no fruit are cast away
"Every branch
in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away.... 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. " John 15:2, 6
Branches that
bear fruit are pruned
"...every branch
that bears fruit
He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Abide
in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself,
unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in
Me." John 15:2-4
The fruit
of the Vine
“I am the vine, you are the branches.
He who
abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do
nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is
withered...." John 15:1-6
"Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the
flesh [human nature]. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the
Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another,
so that you do not do the things that you wish.
"Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery,
fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred,
contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions,
heresies, envy.... those who
practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
"But the
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the
Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit."
Galatians 5:16-25
"Assuredly, I say
to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that
day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
Mk 14:25
Judge
the vine by its fruit
"For a
good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good
fruit. For gevery tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not
gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble
bush. Luke 6:43-44
God's
Vineyard usurped by the world
"Then He began to
tell the people this parable: “A certain man planted a vineyard,
leased it to vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long
time. Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the
vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the
vineyard. But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away
empty-handed. Again he sent another servant; and they beat him
also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and cast him
out.
“Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I
will send my beloved son. Probably they will respect him when they
see him.’ But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned
among themselves, saying, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us
kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.’ So they cast
him out of the vineyard and killed him.
"Therefore what will the
owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy
those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others.”
And when they heard it they said, “Certainly not!”
Then He looked at them and said, “What then is this that is
written: ‘The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone’ ? Whoever falls on that stone will be
broken; but on
whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.”
Luke 20:9-18
"Does a spring
send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? Can a fig
tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no
spring yields both salt water and fresh." Jas 3:11-12
"And another angel
came out from the altar, who had power over fire, and he cried
with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Thrust
in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the
earth, for her grapes are fully ripe.” So the angel thrust his
sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw
it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the
winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the
winepress...."
Re 14:18-20
The
Blood of the New Covenant -- celebrated in Communion
"Then He took
the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from
it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is
shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say to you, I
will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day
when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.” Mt 26:27-29