THE WAYS OF THE KINGDOM

----

IT is in this chapter, and this section on Jesus as the Vine, where each Christian is a branch of the vine, and which is meant by Jesus to be encouraging and strengthening for the believer, that I have always found this second verse of John 15 very threatening and the cause of much fear in the way that it is presented, both in the translation in the New International Version of the Bible, and in the Authorised Version of the Bible.

THE PROBLEM

The threat and fear is caused by the words "He cuts of" in the first part of the verse, and even the words "trims clean" in the second. This is the translation of the NIV. The Authorised Version makes things no better with "Taketh away" in the first part of the verse, and "purges" in the second.

The words "cuts off" suggest, even declare as inevitable, that if a Christian is failing to bring forth fruit in his life satisfactorily to the point where little if any fruit is seen, then God the Father will remove him from being a Christian altogether. The NIV "cuts off" suggests that the branch is removed from the vine - that is the Christian is severed from Christ and his salvation.

The words "trims clean" (NIV) or "purges" (AV), though not so threatening because there is no idea of losing salvation, are still words that gave me fear, because the idea of trimming and purging, with the idea of cutting parts of the branch away, speaks of a very painful and unpleasant process. Preachers often have made much of this in the experience which God brings upon the believer in trials and sufferings.

In the periods when I was going fairly well in my Christian life I was able to pass over this verse hurriedly without much pain. When I was conscious of failure, then the verse hit me hard in my spiritual solar plexus, and it was hard to see how I had any security of salvation whatsoever. The trouble is the meaning of "bearing no fruit". What did this mean before God? How much failure was allowed before God considered the believer fruitless and so to be given up? Being a person that is prone to look at my failure and not able to see any fruit, I was naturally devastated by this verse. The only way that it could be coped with was to pass over it quickly without consideration. This, of course, is not the way to treat the Word of God.

Of course I should have faced the problem, but at the time I could not because I saw no way out of my dilemma. Now I would like to share with you the way I believe the Holy Spirit has led me to see that this verse, far from terrifying, actually reveals our Heavenly Father's caring love.

The allegory, as this sort of passage is usually described, speaks of Jesus as the Vine, through whom the believer, who is joined to Jesus by faith and grace as the branch is joined to the Vine, is nourished and maintained in spiritual life. Jesus tells us that God the Father is the one who cares for the Vine.

Notice straight away that from verse 1 the role of the Father is one of caring love for Christ and his church. I believe also that Jesus only meant us to see this in the allegory and not to press the allegory into too much detail. I don't believe that we are to read into the passage our own earthly horticultural practices in caring for vines, but rather that the scripture itself, as set forth in the allegory, was designed to show us how the Father cares for his church. What has happened is that expositors and translators have thought in terms of dead branches being cut off and dying ones also, and that severe cutting back of the good branches is required to promote growth. Having started here, they introduced these ideas into the allegory, whereas in fact the way the Father cares for the branches is so different.

When I looked into my Greek Lexicon I found that the word translated "Cuts off" firstly means - to raise, to take up, to lift up, or to draw up. Then secondarily it can mean - to bear or to carry. Then thirdly it can mean - to bear or take away, to carry off, to remove. The question is this, is the third meaning the right one for this verse?

There is one very powerful reason why this third meaning surely cannot be the right one. This third meaning speaks of the branch as being removed from the Vine. The verse speaks of the "branch in me", that is a Christian who is truly in Christ. The verse, therefore, speaks of a real believing and saved Christian, and one who has a true saving faith in Christ. To suggest that such a person can be thrown out of the family of God by the Father, when that person's Christian life is not doing very well, is monstrous and quite contrary to the whole teaching of the Gospel. It confounds the fact that our security of salvation rests on the perfect work of Christ for us, and therefore is not dependent on our efforts or successes or failures in anyway whatsoever. If Jesus has borne the punishment of our sins completely, there can be no condemnation for us, and God would be unjust to visit damnation on us, when Christ had borne all the damnation for our sin and failure for us already. So the translation "Takes away" or "cuts off" must be the wrong one.

In fact the idea of the verse is of the Christian who is finding the Christian life hard and is not able to bear fruit. What that person needs is help and encouragement. I believe it is the first meaning of "to raise, to take up, to lift up or to draw up" is the right one. The idea is of the loving, caring Father coming alongside the Christian, who is finding things so hard and progress non-existent, and taking that Christian up and giving special care and attention to him or her until things have grown much better.

This idea in the verse of not bearing fruit and the way the Father treats the one not bearing much fruit is also effected by the way we understand what Jesus means by bearing fruit, which will be the subject of another sermon. The meaning of this sentence is also effected by how we understand abiding or remaining in Christ, which will also be the subject of a further sermon. A proper understanding of both these we shall surely see makes the word here to be translated, not as 'cuts of', but rather as 'raises or lifts up'.

It is very helpful when we see how this word is used in other parts of the New Testament. It is used in the verse where we are told people "took up" stones to throw at Jesus. The important thing here is the idea of taking up into the hand. The stones had no strength or purpose, but were given them by the hand that took them up. The stones were used for an evil purpose because the hands which took them up were evil and had evil intent. But when the Father takes the fruitless Christian into his hand to give strength and purpose, it is not for an evil purpose, but for one of bringing forth heavenly fruitfulness.

This interpretation is confirmed by the other use of the word I would direct you to. The word translated in John 15:2 as "cut off" is used in the incident of Jesus' temptations, and in the one concerning Jesus being tempted to throw himself off the temple. The devil quotes Scripture to increase his chances of deceiving Jesus. He quotes "He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone". The "lifting up" in this quote is this word used in our text from John 15. How beautiful now is what Jesus is saying. If we as a Christian are finding it difficult to bear any fruit at all in our Christian lives, and we are weighed down by sin and failure, and have no fruit of the joy and assurance of the Gospel, what does the Father do? He reaches down to bear us up in out weakness and trouble, so that we may be delivered.

Then looking at the word in the second half of the verse translated "trims clean" or "purges". It is interesting to notice that this is exactly the same word that is translated in verse three as "clean" - "you are already clean ..." Jesus is plainly thinking of the previous verse when he speaks the words of verse 3. The meaning is not purging and cutting - both very painful processes, but the gentle care of the Father making the believer cleaner and so more effective in fruitfulness. Notice how the cleaning is done. Verse 3 tells us it is done by the word of Jesus made real and effective and nourishing to the mind and heart, by the operation of the Holy Spirit. The cleaning process is like Jesus did to the disciples on the way to Emmaus after his resurrection. They were spiritually clean in faith and love for the Saviour, but now by the word preached and explained to them, they were brought into the glorious and joyous deeper cleanness of dwelling in the certainty of his resurrection and all that that meant to them.

What sort of picture do we have of God as our heavenly Father in Christ? Is it a Scriptural one?

The verse before us, in its meaning as I understood it from the translation given both in the AV and the NIV was rather of the severe Victorian father. A man of absolute unmovable rectitude, who looked for perfection in his son. A father who showed little understanding or compassion, and who usually thought the worst. A father who felt his pride slighted by any failure in his son, and thus let down and denigrated by him in his failure, so that such failure had to be censored strongly. A father who felt that the way for improvement was through fear and pain, who did not care much about the feelings of his child, but only concerned that his child should be as he wanted him to be. Although this view of the God as Father was not given such specific description, it was how I felt it, and how I found God portrayed in sermons and books, and still portrayed so, in the laudable desire of preachers and expositors to uphold the holiness of God. Is this the view of our heavenly Father found in the Scriptures?

Again, isn't such a view contrary to the Gospel? Does it not deny that the holiness of God has been upheld by God himself in and through his dear and precious Son, and thus he has no need to defend his character in his adopted children. God has been just and holy already when he has forgiven and accepted the believer, because his justice and holiness has been fully upheld by the acts of Jesus in life and death and resurrection. Why did he uphold his justice at so costly a way? Was it not because he loved the sinner and wanted the sinner for himself. Is not his purpose to change us into the image of his Son. How can this be achieved if he is ready at any time to punish failure by throwing us out from his family, or frightening us with his threatening and teaching us to fear him with a slavish fear. Is not this contrary to the words of Romans 8:15, where we read "For you did not receive a Spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father".

We are so bugged by the fear that leniency and kindness, love and acceptance will lead to laxity of living that we are afraid to speak of God as the Scriptures portray him. In fact it is the love of God in his kindness and grace that moves the heart to please him, and want to conform to his wishes, and causes the loving soul to grieve and mourn for the so many sins that we know hurt and grieve such a Father of love. In fact the severity we apply to promote holiness, is the factor that limits holiness, whereas the love and kindness we fear will not promote holiness, is the one power that does.

God has already by regeneration put into our hearts new life created to be like God in holiness and true righteousness (Ephesians 4:24). The new self can never be indifferent to sin, and must always react in horror of it. It is also that within us that reacts so positively to the love of God in Christ.

What then is this allegory of the Father caring for the branches of the vine telling us, and telling us specially in this verse. Surely of a Father of infinite love and care, who bends down to us with special love to raise us to the fruitfulness he purposes for us. Of a Father who is constantly watching over each branch and watching in love so that he is never behind in any attention to bear us up in our need.

The Father portrayed here is one of caring love, bending constantly to watch over his needy people who are his through the purchase of the precious blood of his Son, the Lord Jesus.

The whole passage is speaking of our utter dependence on the Son and the Father. We have life only through our union with the Son and the protecting care of the Father who keeps us in the Son. As verse 9 tells us, we dwell in the love of the Father and the Son by our union with Jesus, and we are filled with the joy that such love brings. In this way we see that our whole life is bound up with Jesus and our union with him, and that it is by remaining in his love that we remain in his life. The passage is one which is designed to tell us all that we have in Christ, and cause us to cling more by faith to him. It is not meant to promote fear, but assurance and adoration.