I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already made clean by the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. John 15:1-4 (RSV)

Jesus says He is the genuine (true) vine which implies there are fake (false) vines. Since the vine represents everlasting, ever satisfying, reality based life, the other vines of career, self, family, religion, self made spirituality are temporal giving limited satisfaction or fulfillment - they give an imaginary or virtual life. Or, even worse, they take the life out of you and leave you an empty shell of a person.

The Greek word interpreted “cuts off” can also mean, “takes up,””picks up, or “cleanses” which gives a different image of what Father God does for those branches that do not bear fruit. The Passion New Testament uses this other definition for the Greek word used here. Instead of removing the branches from the vine as the English word “cuts off” would imply, He removes them from the ground, propping them up so they too can bear fruit. God does not abandon us even if we are fruitless, but He lovingly takes us off the ground and places us where we can bear fruit, as long as we are connected to the vine, Jesus Christ.

Whether we are needing to be cleansed, propped, or cut off, does not matter in the long run. We are not experiencing the fulness of His loving kindness and gift-giving Spirit. If we live in this poor spiritual state, we do not understand spiritual life, we only have a religious understanding of Scripture, we look at things with the mind only, not the heart & mind. It is like talking to someone who has eyes but they cannot see, or has ears but they cannot hear. They are dry, brittle, and/or lifeless, just like a twig or a weak, limp branch, and just existing, just like a sucker.

Whereas, those who bear fruit are pruned or cleansed (the Greek word here can mean either - “pruned” or “clean”) so they will bear more fruit. God does not want His People to sit comfortably in their present condition, to constantly be relaxed & enjoying a cup of coffee. Nor does He want them to live with a “victim mentality” or in a state of constant fear. He is constantly perfecting us. Our spirit is content in His love & His peace, surrounded by His presence, but He is constantly speaking to us to perfect our attitudes, behaviour, obedience, & manner of thinking. His speaking to us is direct, personal, and specific. That is the meaning of the word “rhema” used in this passage. Without this direct connection with God, we cannot hear these direct instructions, hence we cannot bear fruit that lasts. If we take the written Word and use it in our own strength, what we do (our fruit) will not last. Over my life, I can see examples of where I started something on my own with the result being not what I had intended, or used for harm once I left. And I can see examples where I was daily lead by His Spirit on the next steps to follow resulting in much fruit. We all have this choice. Preach and live the Word in our own strength, separate from the Vine or buried in the ground, just hanging on to the Vine, or abide in the True Vine, hear His Voice, obey what He tells you to do, and see the everlasting fruit He produces through us. His ways are not our ways, nor are His plans our plans, but that does not mean He does not want us to think like Him or to see His plans. Out of love, He wants to share them with us, so we can have the satisfaction of accomplishing something that is eternal & fulfilling for Him, not for us. The result is like completing a challenging project to the best of your ability. There is pride & joy.

But pruning can be painful. Especially if our selfish desires or our natural patterns of seeing & doing things is challenged with the pruning. It brings suffering which is induced by our limited perception of life, our worldview of life, our inertia or fear of digging into things we have denied or suppressed, our fear of losing control when we examine our heart. The ego has to be challenged which is a painful thing.

Other painful pruning is when the consequences of others’ sin has shaped our lives. There, the web of sin has to be dealt with so freedom & fruit can grow. It is like being attached to two different vines & we alternately listen to both or we interpret God’s pruning through the root of our past experiences & interpretation of life. This pruning is not only painful but prolonged as the character traits are engrained. It is not just a simple snip of the branch in one spot but more like propping the branch up from the interwoven branches of a bramble berry grove.

All this pruning is not done in a moment of temporal time, but is done step by step over the whole life of the branch. A gardener sees the potential of a one year old apple tree but does not expect much fruit for the first three years. He shapes it a little at a time because if he was too severe, he would weaken the tree so it could not establish strong roots. He does not force early fruit as it too would weaken the root system of the apple tree. By the four or fifth year, the gardener starts to see the shape of the tree & can see where some branches will not hold, where some branches will not produce fruit but only sap the nutrients from the tree, so he prunes those branches which look inward (to self), those branches which grow too rapidly upward without turning outward (worshipping God to the exclusion of helping others), those branches which travel too distant from the main branch (too far from the Vine means we will burn out and snap, losing the fruit). Why? Because they only produce leaves, can weaken the tree by consuming nutrients or break off from the forces of weather or self weight hence weakening the tree. The gardener’s goal is to make the tree fruitful and healthy. So it is with our God. Out of His great love, He prunes us.