1. John 15-16
January 5, 2014
First Baptist Church
Jackson, Mississippi
USA
John 12 – 13
• John 12: Jesus’ Last Public Sermon
– V. 50 “…So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to
say.”
• John 13 – 14: Upper Room Discourse
– Jesus washes His disciples’ feet
– Jesus predicts His betrayal
– Jesus predicts Peter’s denial
– Jesus comforts His disciples
– Jesus the way to the Father
– Jesus promises the Holy Spirit
Jesus & Disciples Go For A Walk
John 15-16
• Finished the Passover Meal (Last Supper)
• Leave Jerusalem and go down to the Kidron Valley and up the slope of
the Mount of Olives
• Heading to Garden of Gethsemane
• Pass through the vineyards that surround the city
Map of Jerusalem

2. Kidron Valley
John 15-16
• John 15:1-17 The Vine and the Branches
• John 15:18-16:4 The World Hates the Disciples
• John 16:5 – 16 The Work of the Holy Spirit
• John 16:17 – 33 The Disciples’ Grief Will Turn to Joy
Jesus’ “I AM” sayings in John
• “the bread of life” John 6:35
• “the light of the world” John 8:12; 9:5
• “the door of the sheep” John 10:7, 9
• “the good shepherd” John 10:11, 14
• “the resurrection and the life” John 11:25
• “the way, the truth, and the life” John 14:6
• “the true vine” John 15:1 (Today’s Lesson)
Illustration of Tending a Vineyard

3. Pruning a Vineyard
Reasons for Pruning Vines
• 1. All dead wood must be removed
– Harbors insects and disease and causes vine to rot
– Unproductive and unsightly
• 2. The live wood must be cut back drastically
– Trimmed back to allow growth to go into fruit
Unpruned Vineyard

4. Pruned Vineyard
Fruit of Vineyard
Scripture Focus
John 15:1-17
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 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. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have
spoken to you. 4 Remain (Abide) 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.
5 “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. 6 If you do not remain in me,

5. you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are
picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words
remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my
Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
9 “As
the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 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. 11 I have told you this so that my joy
may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love
each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down
one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I
no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s
business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my
Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you
and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit —fruit that will last—and
so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my
command: Love each other.
John 15:1-17
“I am the true vine…” John 15:1
• Old Testament imagery – the nation of Israel was God’s vine
• God planted and tended it (Israel the vine).
• God expected Israel (His vine) to bear fruit to all nations. Be an example.
• Jesus was saying, “I am the true Israel (vine) of God.”
Vine Border on Temple

6. Israel as God’s Vine
Isaiah 5:7
7
The vineyard of the Lord Almighty
is the nation of Israel,
and the people of Judah
are the vines he delighted in.
And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed;
for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.
Jeremiah 2:21
21
I had planted you like a choice vine
of sound and reliable stock.
How then did you turn against me
into a corrupt, wild vine?
Israel as God’s Transplanted Vine
Psalms 80:8 -11
8
You transplanted a vine from Egypt;
you drove out the nations and planted it.
9
You cleared the ground for it,
and it took root and filled the land.
10
The mountains were covered with its shade,
the mighty cedars with its branches.
11
Its branches reached as far as the Sea,
its shoots as far as the River.
Prophecy of Jesus as God’s Vine
Psalms 80: 14 -17
14
Return to us, God Almighty!
Look down from heaven and see!
Watch over this vine,
15
the root your right hand has planted,
the son you have raised up for yourself.
16
17
Your vine is cut down, it is burned with fire;
at your rebuke your people perish.
Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand,
the son of man you have raised up for yourself.

7. John 15:1
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener”
• The Father owns the vineyard and is responsible for its care, its nurture and
ultimately its productivity.
• Other translations = husbandman, vinedresser
• Christ was the vine because He was the fulfillment of Israel.
• Jesus distinguishes between His role and the role of His Father.
Saved to Be Fruitful
John 15:2
2 “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.”
• The purpose of the vine is to bear fruit from the branches (us):
1. Fruit of The Spirit
2. Praise
3. Serving Others
4. Righteous Living
5. Converts
Fruit of The Spirit
Romans 7:4
4 So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ,
that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order
that we might bear fruit for God.
Galatians 5:22-23a
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, 22a gentleness and self-control.
Fruit of PRAISE
Hebrews 13:15-16
15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—
the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. 16 And do not forget to do good and
to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
Psalms 71:14
14 As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more.

8. Fruit of SERVING OTHERS
Galatians 5:13-14
13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your
freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the
entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as
yourself.
Colossians 3:23-24
23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for
human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the
Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
Fruit of RIGHTEOUS LIVING
Galatians 5:24-25
24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and
desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
1 John 2:5-6
5 But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This
is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus
did.
Fruit of CONVERTS
Matthew 28:18-20
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has
been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and
teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with
you always, to the very end of the age.”
God The Father Is The Gardener
John 15:2
2 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.
• Branches with no fruit – cut off
• Branches with fruit – pruned to produce more
• Why?

9. God Prunes Us
• Our Heavenly Father must cleanse (prune) us so we will bear more fruit.
• God will do whatever is necessary to produce His kind of fruit.
• With precision He cuts out the resentments, bitterness, anger, selfishness,
arrogance, etc.
• If it is not Christ-likeness, He will snip it out.
• This is the process of “Sanctification”.
How Does The Father Prune Us?
• Circumstances and situations in our lives
– Adversity
– Suffering
• Scriptures
• Holy Spirit
– Conviction
– Guidance
• Fellow Christians
Divine Discipline
Hebrews 12:5b-11
5b “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when
he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he
chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”
7 Endure
hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what
children are not disciplined by their father? 8 If you are not disciplined—and
everyone undergoes discipline —then you are not legitimate, not true sons and
daughters at all. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and
we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and
live! 10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for
our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at
the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and
peace for those who have been trained by it.
Hebrews 12:5b-11

10. The Issue Is Christ-likeness, Not Salvation
John 15:3-4
3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 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.
• The emphasis is on bearing fruit, not salvation.
• Jesus is speaking of our position in Him as a component of the vine –
branches bearing fruit
REMAIN (ABIDE) IN ME
John 15:5
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain (abide) in me and I in you,
you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
• Abide = ‘to remain in union, maintaining a living communion, to maintain
unbroken fellowship with another.’
• John uses ‘abide’(remain) 11 times in John 15
How Do We Abide (Remain) in Jesus?
• Worship
• Prayer
• Scripture
• Sacrifice – time and money
• Service
• Loving others
• Obedience
Importance of Scripture in ‘Abiding’
John 15:7
7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it
will be done for you.
• Memorization of scripture
– Jesus speaks to us through scripture
– The Word is at home in you
– Satan will tempt and you can rebuff
• Satan tempted Jesus by quoting scripture

11. Why Is Scripture So Effective?
1. The words of Jesus are the words of God.
John 3:34
34 For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the
Spirit without limit.
Why Is Scripture So Effective?
2. The words of Jesus are life-giving.
John 6:63
63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to
you—they are full of the Spirit and life.
Why Is Scripture So Effective?
3. It Conquerors the Devil
Psalms 119:9-11
9 How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your
word. 10 I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. 11
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
Scripture Memorization
• 100 BIBLE VERSES EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW by Robert J. Morgan
• Don’t get hung up on the translation.
• Take your time to meditate on the verse.
• Write it down.
• It will be the verse you needed for that day!
• It gets easier every time you start the book over.
• You will forget, but it is stored.
Reading Through The Bible Yearly
• THE DAILY BIBLE in Chronological Order, 365 Daily Readings by F. LaGard
Smith
• Harvest House Publishers, 1984
• Devotional and interpretive insights for the daily reading
• NIV Translation
• Chronological

12. Richness of Life by Abiding in Christ
John 15
• Bear fruit that will last
• Your joy may be complete
• You are my friend
• Willing to sacrifice for others
• Answered prayer
• You will love others