John 15-16:4, What’s It Look Like?, Dr. John B. Carpenter

John 15: The Vine, the Branches, and the Father’s Pruning

Be reading from John chapter 15 verse 1 to chapter 16 verse 4 hear the word of the Lord. I Am the true vine and my father is the vine dresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit He takes away and every branch that does bear fruit.

He prunes that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me and I in you as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine.

Neither can you unless you abide in me? I am the vine. You are the branches whoever abides in me and I and him he it is that bears much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing if anyone does not abide in me.

He is thrown away like a branch and withers and the branches are gathered thrown into the fire and burned. If you abide in me and my words abide in you. Ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you by this my father is glorified that you may bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples as The father has loved me.

So have I 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 be in you and that your joy may be full.

This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.

No longer do I call you servants for the servant does not know what his master is doing, but I have called you friends. For all that I have heard from my father. I have made known to you. You did not choose me but I chose you and Appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide.

So that whatever you ask the father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you so that you will love one another. If the world hates you know that it has hated me before it hated you.

If you were of the world the world would love you as its own. But because you are not of the world. But I chose you out of the world therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I've said to you a servant is not greater than his master if they persecuted me.

They will also persecute you if they kept my word. They will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name. Because they do not know him who sent me if I had not come and spoken to them They would not have been guilty of sin.

But now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my father also if I had not done among them the works that no one else did. They would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my father.

But the word that is written in their law must be fulfilled. They hated me without a cause. But when the helper comes Whom I will send to you from the father the spirit of truth who proceeds from the father.

He will bear witness about me and you also will bear witness because you have been with me from the beginning. I've said these things to you to keep you from falling away. They will put you out of the synagogues.

Indeed the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is doing service to God and they will do these things. Because they have not known the father nor me. But I have said these things to you that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you.

What the Christian Life Looks Like in a Broken World

May the Lord at his blessings the reading of his word. I Remember the first time I showed Mary email she had heard of it for a while. But she was amazed the first time she saw how easy it was, you know, just click send.

There's no return address, there's no stamp you want to take it in the put an envelope and take it out to the mailbox. No, that's it. She said when she first saw the first email sent. When you've only heard of something.

Never seen it before just heard of it. You might be surprised When you first see it, maybe surprised what it looks like. Many people have heard of a family. But the family they've grown up in is so broken.

They don't know what a real one is. No, a family is not where the father is always away even if he's around he hardly pays any attention and probably drunk and. The mother is out looking for another man or is always high and if she does speak to you.

It's to scream or pretend that the problems don't exist. Covering them up with sweet talk and flattery all the time. Discipline is either missing or abusive and likely both. People raised in families like that don't know what a real family is and want to flee the one they have flee to some Relationship.

The problem is they don't know what that is either and so they'll get involved in sexual immorality at a young age. Thinking that's what a relationship is and if there are a girl there'll be a prime target for an abuser and then they'll perpetuate the cycle of dysfunctional families.

Absentee fathers kids raising themselves in front of TVs and If you tell them what you need is a healthy family and a stable relationship. They don't have any idea what that is. Maybe I go. Yeah. But they don't know what one looks like.

I Think in this area. There's a lot of people who think they know what the church looks like. Without any real idea of what it's supposed to look like first. They think it's a building and it certainly doesn't look like this a gym then as for the people.

They probably won't even notice that most of them are segregated by race. It wouldn't occur to them that the church is not supposed to look like that. If they're traditional they have strong ideas of what it's supposed to look like men, especially the preacher.

They call him should be an always in a course in a suit and tie. I came dressed right today reading from a four hundred year old translation singing hymns. And everybody says I'm in and they do some small talk after the service and then they out the door.

If they're more contemporary, they think it looks like a show. It's like a theater with lights and a band and a speaker wearing jeans and an untucked shirt. Talking about how cool Jesus is. Both will talk a lot about how many decisions they've created and that's the one thing they agree on.

The church is supposed to look like a respectable.

Winning.

Machine. Whatever it looks like they both agree. It looks good.

To the world.

Then of course we have some people who drop out of church altogether. Cynically criticizing all the churches for being part of big religion. Organized religion is always bad believing to the bottom of their heart.

That is totally unnecessary for following in Jesus. That's what they're interested in. They say not all this mess and this politics and this uncomfortableness of other people and disappointments they get in the church.

You know, sometimes those overly long really boring sermons and then comes the rubbing of elbows with those other church people. It's just Jesus and me. Really all about me but living together. They think it's what the Christian life Looks like them by themselves at home.

What does the Christian life look like? That's why Jesus describes here in John chapter 15. It looks a lot different than many have thought and we see that here in four parts first what constitutes the Christian life?

Second what is its root. Third? What is its fruit. And finally its dispute? First what constitutes the Christian life? What's it? What's it made of in other words? Well first he says it's it's a garden.

It's constituted of life and growth and fruit. Now remember Jesus has apparently left the upper room of for at Gethsemane. Remember the upper room where the Lord's Supper was first instituted and now is on his way to Gethsemane as he said at the end of chapter 14 where we read last week he says rise let us go and all that we have here in chapter 15 is.

Apparently what that he said while they're on their way apparently while they're walking together. Probably the Gethsemane and if so, that's the case. They may have passed in front of the temple where there was a large carving there above the gate of a grapevine.

You're carved at a stone. Harkening back to the days when Moses sent a team remember that and to the promised land and they came back with his vine. With a bunch of grapes so large. It took at least two men to carry it with a pole between them, you know on their shoulders.

Since then Israel was often pictured and the Old Testament is God's is God's vine or our vineyard. And so it doesn't say that but perhaps they saw that carving as they walked together. You know, there's the carving and Jesus says to them.

I am the true vine and. So this now marks the seventh and the last of the seven I am statements Jesus gives in the Gospel of John.

The final one I.

Am the true vine in contrast to the false vines. The nation the natural people who did not bear the fruit they were supposed to. In contrast to that Jesus is he's the true vine bearing the good fruit bearing the fruit glorifying God.

Doing his works. Loving his people to the end. So he's the true one. What constitutes the Christian life? Well, here's a picture of it. It's a garden in Which Jesus himself is divine and he repeats that in verse 5.

I am the true vine and he adds to the picture. We are the fruit. Jesus is the vine. We're the fruit coming out of the vine where the branches we're produced by his life. And so we're no more capable of producing our own life our own fruit than a bunch of that.

Then a branch from a grapevine is capable of making grapes if you cut it off. What happens to a grapevine if you cut it off from the vine? What the branch it dies and that's us if we're cut off. And then to add to the picture that the father is the vine dresser.

He's the farmer in this vineyard. He does two things the vine dresser does two things in verse 2. He cuts away the lifeless and he cultivates the living. Now if a branch that appears to be a attached to him appears to be attached to him.

I was claims to be a Christian. Maybe the kind that goes to church. Or maybe claims he doesn't need to go to church. He thinks he knows better already. Full of his opinions doesn't think he needs to go like those other poor people do.

He's all right. It's just Jesus and him sitting home either way. Says he or she is attached to Christ calls himself a believer. Professor's been saved. But he or she bears no fruit. His or her life isn't any different from the people around him from the culture around him.

It just is materialistic, you know, just as much living for money or just as racist or Just as sexually messed up as the average person around him. He doesn't support the mission of Christ to make more people attached to the true vine in such a person.

It's cut out. He's not bearing fruit. He's cut out. Something happens in his life. Maybe some offense provokes him like the music is like the musics to contemporary or stupid traditional. It's for some perceived slight didn't recognize me like I was or they dress too Shabbily, or they meet in a gym or they just do nicely and makes me uncomfortable.

Whatever, maybe the gospel finally annoys him or her too much make some convicted of their sins. Maybe he's drawn away to chase dollars. Instead of worship or pursued sexual immorality rather than to keep up this fiction of being a Christian.

So he drops out. Maybe doesn't even claim to be a Christian anymore. Now that's sad. Just like it's sad to have a branch of a vine that doesn't bear fruit. It has to be cut out. But it's better to cut it off then pretend that it's still part of the vine pretend that it's.

People might say today. Well, it's a it's a carnal branch. That's why it's not bearing any fruit it's a carnal branch and maybe one day it will decide to make the vine Lord and Then start to bear fruit and until then we should just let it stay attached.

No.

Unfaithful branches are cut off. If a branch has no fruit father lops it off and Then it's taken away. The branch is taken away and thrown in the fire in verse 6. So anyone who doesn't abide means to remain in Christ.

Does it stay attached to him. Gaining life from him is He says thrown away and burned hints of help.

Now.

The idea that everyone who professed to be a Christian. This is a common idea among people around us today anyone who professes to be a Christian That is one just because they say they are that idea and because they're because they say they're a Christian.

They don't they don't deny the essential Doctrines of the gospel there they are one and so they will be spared judgment no matter what kind of life they've lived. Because that's so-called grace that idea.

Here is Exposed as wrong in John chapter 15 if you are really saved by grace, then you are attached to Jesus the vine. Who gives you life? To produce good fruit. So we'll know that you're attached if you produce good fruit.

What does the Christian life look like. It's fruitful and If you do bear good fruit that is in some ways your life now is more like Christ becoming more. So over time you're more loving and you're more patient and kind.

You're not perfect. But you're getting better. You have a passion for Christ. You're learning self-control. You aren't swept away into immorality. You're seeking first the kingdom of God not dollars.

You want to be used to see God's kingdom spread on earth. However, you can whatever gift you have you want it to be used for the kingdom of God to bear fruit and you're doing that not because You have such good moral judgment you're being disciplined and you're gonna make yourself produce that fruit.

No, Jesus is a verse 5 apart from me. You can do nothing. Your fruitfulness is only because you are part of him. Your fruitfulness comes from him. And so if you do these things you're bearing good fruit.

That's a sign. You are a part of him. The fruit doesn't make you Part of him. The fruit comes from being a part of him. So if you do that You're bearing fruit. You're attached good great. But you will be pruned.

You won't be cut off. But you will be cut. That's what good gardeners do to their vines. Other rose bushes or their crepe myrtles or whatever. They need to be pruned so they'll flourish even more in the future.

Now one difference this analogy. With plants plants are pruned so they'll be more fruitful in the future. Plants don't have a central nervous system. So pruning doesn't hurt them. They don't really care if you prune them we do and So we are we are hurt.

Pruning often is painful. Indeed, sometimes it is the pain itself that causes the new fruitfulness. That causes us to grow. Hardly ever did we become more fruitful. Because of the good times of the easy successes the money's flowing in and that makes me more Christlike.

Probably not. The popularity grows. The pleasures you get that's probably not going to help. Your fruitfulness most often is because something is cut off from us. Something we were too attached to. A Relationship we were depending on the wealth we wanted too much.

The success that puffed up our ego. So the father pruned us. Cut a little off here and there. After we got a little too wild. Little too attached to that thing, whatever it was. He pruned us before the winter.

So the come next spring. Then we'll bear more fruit. That's what the Christian life looks like. Sometimes it looks like losing something dear to you something you wanted so much and You it's cut off from you and that hurts and now you'll have to recover for a while through a long hard.

Cold.

Winter. But come spring You'll bear good fruit. Apart from him we can do nothing with him. If we are a part of him. We can bear fruit. How do we get a Part of him. How do we get life from Jesus? Well, he tells us in verse 3 already.

The words of you will be pruned already speaking of these disciples. You are cleaned the word they're cleaned or pruned. It's a variation of the same word is pruned in verse 2. So he's in English. It doesn't appear to be the same but in the original Greek it's variation of the same word already.

You are pruned. Father's the vine dresser. He's pruning the branches and already you have been pruned. He's telling them they are clean or pruned because of the word that I have spoken to you. The Word of God disciplines us and corrects us it prunes us.

Paul calls it the washing of water with the word it cleanses us and that's part of why we're here for to do for you to hear the word me to hear the word to and us to Be pruned to be cleansed to be washed by it.

That's why we need to give it directly to you if it addresses your sins. Some people think the preacher should never mention things the people in the congregation might be doing. They may not be sinning or might be struggling with.

No, that's the exact opposite. You need to hear that word. So you're pruned. So you're trimmed so you're washed. That washing of water here. Jesus says that these disciples are clean or pruned. Because his words have pruned them.

He's been speaking to them. So here's a picture of the Christian life. Jesus is divine. We're the branches. The father is a careful gardener.

With his shears.

We get our life our ability to bear fruit from Jesus.

But how.

You know the word Jesus uses over and over again. There probably notice it was abide.

Or remain.

You remain attached to Christ. Now something that's is entirely passive. We just kind of sit back, you know throw up our hands tell God and I'm abiding. Don't strive. Just abide. Some people's advice.

But that's not the case here. Notice the verse 7 how we abide. Implication. If you abide in me. Jesus speaking. If you abide you remain. You stay in me. And my words Abide they remain in you. So there's a Connection there.

It's a reflection. One is just like the other. How we remain or dwell in him is how his words should remain in us which is continually. It's not something we just kind of occasionally expose ourselves to.

You know, I based it. Your turkey and butter just brush on. How often do you do it. Every hour or half hour or something like that. It brush a little butter on so before it gets too.

Dry.

We read a verse or chapter every day listen to a sermon maybe once a week before we get too dry. I know it's more like boiling or deep-frying. We stay absorbed in the word reminding ourselves of it. Saturating ourselves in it.

You meditate on it. Memorize it. Sing it. Singing is a great way to keep yourself in in the word. This could be pleasant to do listen to it like you're doing right now. We live constantly in the word like a fish abides in water.

Fish fishes abide in water. So we need to abide in his word. Then notice also in verse 7 we ask God that is we pray. We immerse ourselves in the word and we pray. That's how we abide. Remember Paul in Thessalonians pray continually you're just breathing out prayer all day long.

And if we do that we add we can then ask for whatever we wish. Does that mean now finally we can ask for that Cadillac I've always wanted. Yeah that wealth. That newest gadget that apples come out with that stuff that we've always wanted.

Hmm now do you think. After you saturated yourself you've abided in his word. And his word tells you to seek first the kingdom of God. To beware of all kinds of greed to set your affection on things above.

You've abided in all that you've saturated in all that then after that you'll still want first and foremost that Cadillac the big bucks the newest gadget from Apple. No, of course not. If you have the word abide in you.

What you want is Transformed ask for whatever you want. Now what you want is different because you've been abiding in him you want God's glory. You want his kingdom to come in your life. So we wish above all to abide in Jesus.

And so. That's what you pray for. For more of Jesus in your life, and that's what you'll get. Now sometimes it may take some time. But it will be done for you. So, what is the Christian life look like second its root.

Where's this life come from? In other words, what anchors it? What's is it duty? Is that it? You've got to be religious people. We got to keep our keep our obligations do our duty. We're God's slaves and so we have to do what he says.

So it's about obligations and and rule keeping and grimly making ourselves do. Some things we really don't want to do like go to that boring church in the gym. Is that what is the root? Well, it has three the Christian life.

Our life has three interwoven. Intermingled inseparable roots from verses 8 to 11. They are glory love and joy. Those are the roots. By this in verse 8 is my father glorified a root of our Christian lives is that we yearn to glorify.

God.

That is we want to show him to be valuable to be the weightiest thing in life. Original Hebrew Now Old Testament written in Greek. But the Hebrew the Old Testament written in Hebrew the word in the Old Testament for glory was Kabbalah means literally means heavy.

The angels were saying when Isaiah saw the Lord in the temple, holy holy holy the whole earth is full of his glory his heaviness. So to glorify is to show something is weighty. It's heavy. It's the heaviest the weightiest the most important thing in your life in the universe.

And people show that by the time the attention the money they give to something. What is weighty? What's really important? What's life about and we glorify God by showing that he is that one? So we have come to church so we can be seen as The big man is the weighty one.

Throw our weight around. But so that Jesus would be We want his word his kingdom to triumph. We want other people to want God more than they want cash or Relationships or thrills we want them to show that God is the weightiest thing in their life by wanting that.

We glorify God we show him to be weighty. It's a root of the Christian life. The root of the Christian life is is love. We're all kind of being intermingled here. The true Christian loves God. That's why he or she wants to glorify God he or she loves God because God has loved him or her first.

We love God because he's loved us first. Here in verse 9 Jesus says that he loved us as that is in the same way The father has loved me. Think of that statement in verse 9 I've loved you as in the same way.

The father has loved me. That's astounding. It means that the same love is that amazing love we sang about the same love that the father eternally had.

For the Son.

From before the universe was created The Son who was perfect who had nothing about him not to love who was God himself. It was perfectly fit for love. The same love. That the father had for the Son. That same love He had for us.

The Son has for us Jesus has for us.

For us.

We who are not eternal who were created at a certain time we who are not perfect we have a lot about us not to love who are unfit for love yet still. The Son has that same eternal love the father had for him for us.

He graciously decided to love us anyway and loved us in the same way that the father loved him. Then there's another abide. Versus abide in him abide in his word and then here Jesus says abide that is remain in my love.

That is bask in it. You like you may lay out of the Sun on a warm spring day sing about it like we've already done. Let it immerse you saturate your life. That the Sun has loved you in the same way that the father loved the son from eternity past notice verse 10.

But and we do that we showed that we Enjoy his love by keeping his commandments. And again, this strikes us is just weird today when we're told that love and commands are incompatible. You know, if you love you don't give commands and if you're really loving you don't have to follow laws and commands.

Well, they're not that's not true. If you love God because he first loved you you will Keep his commands and by doing that You stay in the father's love by keeping his commands you abide in his love. Love is a root of the Christian life.

So is joy. It's not driven. The Christian life is not driven by grim duties. You just got to make yourself do because you fear the consequences. If you don't you're threatened with hell or whatever. You do it for the joy you have in it because you enjoy it.

Notice verse 11. This is the night Jesus was betrayed. Remember the context of all this. This is the night Jesus was betrayed. He's already sent Judas on his way. What you do go and do quickly. He knows the wheels of the conspiracy against him are already in motion.

That this these soldiers are already getting together about to go and capture him and that will lead to his crucifixion. He knows he's facing betrayal and a horrendous experience of beatings and crucifixion.

Yet.

Still he says all this now he's troubled by it all. Remember he said he said my soul is deeply troubled. While he tells us don't let our hearts be troubled. He's about to sweat so much it flows like blood.

As he prays father if it be your will because this is so horrendous. But he's about to go through if it be your will let this cup pass from me. Hebrew says he despised The shame the shame of the cross.

He despised it. But he went through it in Hebrews chapter 12 for the joy Set before him The joy at the end of this and it overcomes the shame he despised. Here that joy came from giving us.

Joy.

Notice verse 11. These things I've spoken to you all that we heard so far. But glorifying the father showing he's the weightiest thing in your life. Abiding in love by keeping his commandments. He says he said these things that that is the purpose by saying these things.

The purpose is it my joy? Joy, so great it overcomes the despising of the shame of the crucifixion. That joy may be in you. He is even right now as he's saying this walking to the place of his betrayal.

And what does he want? What is he talking about? What is he after?

For us.

To share his joy.

Our joy.

Was on his mind that night. He wants us to have his joy and May our joy he says at the end of verse 11 may it be full. You look at your life and Sure, you were you were pruned from time to time. You were cut you weren't cut off, but you were cut.

But you're overwhelmed that you had so much good. What joy. Those are the roots of the Christian life Glory love and joy.

The Fruit of Love, Friendship, and Mission

The third.

The third way the thing thing that it looks like what constitutes the Christian life is its fruit. We had a bear much fruit in verse 8 To prove we are disciples. Now, what is it? What what fruit is it starting verse 12?

Love. Love for God is a root. Love for each other. Each other is a fruit and he gives us again the command to to love each other. Love one another. To do it as I was in the same way. I have loved you sacrificially.

Willing to lay our down our lives for our friends. There's no great example greater example of love than to give your life for someone. It's the soldier who falls in a grenade. So his friends can live.

But more commonly. It's the wife and the mother who gives up her career to raise children. It's the father who sacrifices some advancement to be with a family more. Who gives up making a little more money.

So he can be involved in church. It's the friend who gives sacrificing expensive vacations. So his or her friends in church can have what they need.

That's.

Love.

Here Jesus is now laying down his life for his friends. He calls us friends in verse 15. If we do what he commands Words friends. We don't. Well, then we're not. We're not just slaves. You do what we're told.

We're his friends. We're working with him to bear much fruit. He's we know about his mission. He's given it to us. He's described it for us or his partners in it. Now. We're minor partners, but we're his partners again.

The root is his prior love for us. We love because he first loved us here. We did not choose him at least not first. Anyway, our choice for him did choose him but our choice for him is not the cause of his choice for us.

It's the other way around. If we think that we're now his friends because we made the right decision. You know, we were kind of estranged and then we made the right decision. We made this decision to be reconciled and so we were it all depended on us.

Now that we don't realize that his decision came first he decided this one's gonna be my friend and He befriended us and then we change we keep his commands. We bear fruit because of his decision. His decision causes ours.

He first chose to befriend and to call us when we heard that call.

Then.

Our chains fell off. Our heart was free. We rose went forth and followed thee. Now he did that he chose us first to appoint us to to go and bear fruit here one fruit is to go. Go and bear fruit go find other people to abide in Christ go on a mission.

Go to Yanceyville or North Hills apartments go to friends go to your own children. Maybe get your children to hear the gospel call other people to love him to keep his commandments to bear fruit too and this fruit this fruit that these people that we go to Should abide.

As they remain believers, not just some confession they made and then they don't come they don't abide in it. They don't stay anymore. They don't come to church anymore. They went down the aisle once they said a prayer.

And then you don't see them anymore again. He made a confession. They got baptized maybe. And then they disappear. No, that's not that's not the kind of fruit they Abide they remain and they bear fruit and you bear this fruit in order that that's the purpose of verse 16.

The reason of going and bearing fruit that lasts whatever you ask the Father in my name. That's for his sake for his glory because we love him to fulfill his mission. He will give it to us. Jesus wants us asking the Father in getting what we ask.

To do that We first have to bear much fruit. We bear much fruit. We go make disciples and we pray for that disciples and we any we ask for more disciples we ask for more fruit and We get it. He told us that already in the beginning.

He repeats it again in verse 17. We bear the fruit of loving one another. Now does the one who drops out of church because they're they say whatever excuse there are too many hypocrites. Because of church politics or they got their feelings hurt.

They get the ego is bruised because they didn't get the recognition. They thought they deserved or or they just want to make a little more money. And so they work on Sunday mornings instead of worship does he or she love?

One another is such a person. Keeping the command to love one another. Is he or she loving other believers by refusing to spend time with him giving to them taking their fair share of the ministry. No, of course not.

Christian life doesn't look like. Sitting at home on the couch watching your favorite preacher on the Internet detached. From the church. The only kind of people who are detached are those who aren't abiding who have been cut off.

The World’s Hatred and the Spirit’s Witness

What's the Christian life look like. Just one more piece of the picture. To see what the Christian life really looks like and it's not all sweetness and harmony, you know the church in the wildwood. Nestled peacefully with nature by gently flowing streams a happy home for everyone.

Kind of at peace with the world.

No.

There's a dispute the Christian life is at war with the world. Now recently Jesus is being sold on TV including at the Super Bowl as he gets us. You know, he's accepting. Jesus is accepting like us and of course that ad is hoping to get people to like.