without me, you can do nothing

The vital relationship between the branch and the vine.

"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples."

a. Abide in Me, and I in You: Fruit bearing is impossible without abiding; but it is inevitable with abiding. The quality and quantity of the fruit may differ, but the fruit will be inevitable.

i. The purpose of the branch is to bear fruit. People don’t raise grape vines to look at the pretty leaves. They take the trouble to cultivate, plant, water and tend the vines so that fruit can be enjoyed. In this sense, we can say that fruit represents Christian character (such as the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5).

ii. Fruit also implies inherent reproduction. Virtually every piece of fruit has seeds within it, seeds that are meant to reproduce more fruit.

b. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered: What was Jesus saying here? There are basically three views regarding what this passage says about the believer’s position in Jesus.

i. The first view believes cast out branches are ones who, though once true believers, end up in Hell for a lack of fruit. They were once saved, but are now cast out.

ii. The second view is that the cast out branches are pseudo Christians who never really abided in Jesus, and therefore go to Hell (like Judas).

iii. The third view sees the branches cast out as fruitless Christians who live wasted - burnt up - lives

c. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit: There is an easy way to avoid being one of the cast out branches. They are the ones who do not abide in Me, said Jesus. If we abide in Jesus, we have full confidence and assurance.

i. Real fruitfulness is only determined over an extended period of time. "Genuine conversion is not measured by the hasty decision but by long-range fruitfulness." (Erdman) This principle is displayed in the Parable of the Soils (Matthew 13).

d. You will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you: Answered prayer is a privilege of close abiding; we find our prayers in tune with Jesus’ will.

e. By this My Father is glorified: The purpose of fruit-bearing is to bring glory to God, not man. If people look at our lives and praise us for the glorious fruit, something is wrong. The whole purpose is the glorify God.

i. Just the same way, a fruitful tree is identified by its fruitfulness, so also Jesus Christ is known and identified as being in us when we live our lives to the glory of God; He is identified in us.


Samuel Yerokun