Branch: May 28, 2013

TODAY’S WORD FOR TUESDAY MAY 28, 2013.

BRANCH

DEFINITION:

Member; bough; limb; offshoot; descendent.

SCRIPTURE:

I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener. 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. John 15:1-2.

I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. John 15:5

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Jesus uses the illustration in John 15 of the grape vine and the branches to depict the believer’s relationship with Christ. Jesus is the vine and the branches are all those who claim to be believers in Jesus. God is the cultivator who cares for the branches to enable them to be fruitful.

In verse two, Jesus speaks of two kinds of branches. There are those that bear fruit and those that do not. The branches that do not bear fruit are useless. Jesus compares the believer that does not bear fruit to the unfruitful branches of the grape vine that are dead. The gardener gets rid of the dead wood so that the living fruit bearing branches will bear fruit.

The dead branches are Christians that are not living a Christ filled life, because they never really genuinely believed in Jesus. They will be cut off and face their reward on judgment day.

Just as the gardener prunes a branch to make it more productive, Jesus prunes a believer, He removes all the things in the believer’s life that will hinder the fruit bearing of the believer. He cuts away sin and hindrances that would drain the spiritual strength of the believer.

The stronger a branch is attached to the vine the more nourishment a branch is able to draw from the vine and the more fruit it bears.

This is a picture of the close relationship every believer should have with their Lord. The fruit that results from that close relationship is not limited to winning others to Christ. In Galatians 5:22 the apostle Paul lists for us the fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. These all are fruit produced in the life of those who are true believers. 

In John 15:15 Jesus puts emphasis on abiding in Him. Abiding in Him means to remain or stay around. The “remaining” is evidence that salvation has already taken place. The fruit or evidence of salvation is continuance in service to Him and His teaching. The abiding believer is the only legitimate believer.

The believer who abides in Jesus recognizes that apart from Jesus, he or she can do nothing. It is only by abiding in Jesus that a believer can be fruitful.

Abiding and believing actually are addressing the same issue in this verse, of genuine salvation. This is the basis of Christian living today. We urge you to allow Jesus to prune your branches daily so that you can live a life that is fruitful and honors Him.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Psalm 119:165:

Great peace have they which love Thy law: and nothing shall offend them.

PRAYER:

As a branch attached to You as a child of God, help me to be willing to be continually pruned by You. May the pruning You do in my life make me a fruit-bearing child that honors and glorifies Your name each day.