The Branch and the Fruit
(Jn15:1-19)
God is love (1Jn4:8).
Love comes from Him, and
He loves those who remain in His love.
Faith is the state of remaining in His love, and
The life of this faith is being supported by Him and bearing fruit, until one arrives in the kingdom for
the Son He loves (Col1:13).
An important characteristic of love is the desire to be close.
Though for men being close has a limit due to the flesh,
For God it is possible to "remain in me, I in you, and
This is like the relationship between a tree and its branches (Jn15:5):
When a branch is attached to its tree,
The gardener feels attached and takes care of the branch (Jn15:4, 6),
But if it is dried up or has no fruit, then he will cut it off and burn it up.
While Adam was blessed by God to live in the Garden of Eden (Ge2:15),
He was deceived by the devil and sinned, because of which
He was banished from there and a flaming sword was put around the Garden (Ge3:6, 24),
Indicating his broken relationship with God.
The Bible records a genealogy of men in whom God had shown interest,
Such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, and David (Mt1:1-16),
While the rest of the men faded away from God's interest.
The sanctuary where the name of the Lord God was
Reminded the Israelites of the Lord's love for their people.
When it was time, the Son of God, Jesus came as a descendant of David, and
He said, "Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days (Jn2:19), because
Through the death and the resurrection of the temple of His body,
He would reveal the Father's love for all men (Jn3:16).
When He began His public life, Jesus was supported by the Father as
He said, "This is my Son, whom I love (Mt3:17).
As such, Jesus willingly laid down His life as a ransom for
He obeyed the Father's command (Mt20:28; Jn10:17-18) and
Knew that He was loved by the Father (Jn15:9).
As He died, Jesus said, "It is finished (Jn19:30), declaring that He:
1) Laid down His life and praised the Father's love that gave His one and only Son (Jn17:23; 1Jn4:10);
2) Condemned the devil who separated man from God (Ge3:5; 1Jn3:8); and
3) Loved the souls of men and redeemed them, becoming a tree to which they can be grafted on to (Is38:17; Jn15:5; Rm11:23).
His resurrection was the confirmation of the Father's love, and
The kingdom of heaven is the kingdom He rules with His love (Col1:13).
The Christian knows that
He is a branch of the tree of the blood of Jesus (Jn15:5), and
Keeps the command of Christ and remands in His love (Jn15:10) for:
1) He must absolutely hold on to the tree;
2) He has no appearance or glory of his own ” only depends on the fruit;
3) He is only interested in the work that bears fruit ” like the tree and the gardener;
4) He passes down the sap as-is ” not adding or taking away any;
5) He walks and lives with the tree ” receiving suffering and glory with Christ.
Therefore, the Holy Spirit helps him by:
1) Cleansing him ” through repentance, sanctification, surrender (Jn15:2);
2) Continually supplying him ” with answers to prayers, spiritual inspiration, life, the word (Jn15:16); and
3) Holding on to him until the end, until he is lifted up to the air (1Th4:17).
O Lord,
We cannot live without You, Jesus!
Let us never fade away from Your memory.
Rather, let us become the branches You love!
Amen.
