The Vine LIfe

Order of Service

• Scripture Reading — John 15:1-11
• Sermon
• Prayer of Closing

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Sermon Title: The Vine Life

Scripture: John 15:1-17

I. The Diagnosis — Spiritual Death

• A. Apart from Christ, we can do nothing — the core problem is spiritual death (John 15:5)
• B. Paul confirms this condition in Ephesians 2:1: we were dead in trespasses and sins
• C. Jesus warns in John 6 that apart from him there is no life in us
• D. This spiritual death is the consequence of the Fall — God's word to Adam: "You will surely die"
• E. All humanity is born in Adam, inheriting his condition of spiritual death
  1. Like cut flowers, humanity may appear good outwardly but is already severed from its source of life
  2. Martyn Lloyd-Jones modeled preaching by first diagnosing the problem, then presenting the cure

II. The Cure — Christ, the True Vine

• A. Jesus offers himself as the remedy: "I am the true vine. Abide in me." (John 15:1, 4)
• B. Christ is perfectly righteous and sinless — in him was life (John 1:4)
  1. Scripture consistently testifies to Christ's perfection, never his sin
  2. He kept his Father's commandments fully and delighted to do his will
• C. Isaiah 11:1-5 prophesies the Branch from the stump of Jesse — righteous, Spirit-filled, perfectly faithful
• D. Israel was called God's vine in the Old Testament, but failed
  1. Psalm 80:8-11 pictures Israel as a flourishing vine God planted from Egypt
  2. Jeremiah 2:21 pronounces judgment: "How then have you turned degenerate and become a wild vine?"
  3. Hosea 10 similarly speaks of Israel as a vine that failed
• E. When Jesus declares "I am the true vine," he identifies with his people and succeeds where Israel — and all of us — fail
  1. He is sufficient as our vine, offering vital spiritual life to all who are joined to him
  2. He calls us to leave our union with Adam and find life in union with him

III. The Treatment Plan — Abiding in Christ

• A. Jesus repeats the command to abide multiple times throughout the passage (John 15:4-7)
• B. The Greek word for "abide" means to remain, to stay, to dwell — as a branch stays connected to the vine or a baby dwells in the womb
• C. We abide in Christ by faith, and faith comes through the Word
  1. Romans 10:17: faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God
  2. The Westminster Confession speaks of accepting, receiving, and resting in Christ
• D. The Word strengthens ongoing faith — the verb "abide" carries a continuous sense: keep on abiding
  1. The writer of Hebrews warns against giving up the gathering of God's people (Hebrews 10:25)
  2. Private reading, corporate worship, and preaching all serve to sustain and deepen our abiding

IV. The Goal — Bearing Fruit

• A. Jesus mentions bearing fruit five or six times in the passage — it is the intended result of abiding (John 15:2, 4-5, 8, 16)
• B. Christ himself bore fruit first — righteousness, obedience, and love for the Father
  1. Isaiah 11:1 points to Christ as the Branch that bears fruit
  2. His fruit is the standard and source of our fruit
• C. We are called to be conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29)
  1. 2 Corinthians 3:18: we are being transformed into the same image by the Spirit
  2. Ephesians 4:24: put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness
• D. The fruit of Christ looks like the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12), and love (1 Corinthians 13)
• E. Matthew Henry: "From a vine we look for grapes, and from a Christian we look for Christianity" — a Christian temper, life, devotion, and design
• F. This fruit is borne not in our own strength but only in Christ — apart from him we can do nothing (John 15:5)

V. The Result — Fullness of Joy

• A. Jesus speaks these things so that his joy may be in us and our joy may be full (John 15:11)
• B. Christ himself is joyful — "I delight to do your will" — and he is the source of our joy
• C. Joy in abiding is not worldly happiness but spiritual fullness — a foretaste of eternal joy with the Father
• D. Obedience and fruit-bearing are not cold or lifeless; they flow from love for God and love for one another (John 15:9-10)