John 15   Sermon Series

Wheelersburg Baptist Church 1/13/02 Brad Brandt

John 15:5-8 "How to Reach Our Potential in Christ"**

Henry Nowen tells about a man who brought to his home a large chunk of marble. A little boy watched as the hefty rock was taken into the man's shop. The youngster seemed little interested in the mass of stone. A few weeks later the boy returned. His eyes lit up when he entered the shop. His eyes fastened on the man standing beside his finished product--a beautiful marble lion. The boy was stunned with fasciniation. Then he blurted out in all honesty: "Sir, how did you know there was a lion in the marble?"

This morning, we are going to talk about potential, namely, how we can reach our potential in Christ. Here's the beauty of Christianity. Our God sees us not merely for what we are, but for what we can become in Jesus Christ.

Do you realize the potential that is ours in Jesus Christ? It matters not whether you are young or old, rich or poor, educated in the finest schools or not. Your potential is not linked to your past, whether noble or emabarrassing. Your potential has to do with what you have in Christ.

Someone will object, "Why then do some Christians prosper, and others flounder? Does Christianity not work for certain people? Are some just not cut out for it?"

We don't talk about that kind of question very often. At least not openly. Yet there are more than a few inside of church doors this morning wondering if the promise of abundant Christian living simply isn’t for them. Perhaps you are one.

How does a person reach his or her potential in Christ? We need not wonder. The Lord Jesus addresses that very issue in John 15. Our focus this morning will be John 15:5-8. It’s there that Jesus shares with us how we can reach our potential in Him. If we are going to enjoy a fruitful Christian life, we need to get a handle on two issues.

Review: Last week, we began a new series entitled The Fruitful Life, an exposition of John 15:1-17. Jesus was alone with His disciples the night before His crucifixion, possibly en route to the Garden of Gethsemene when He made this announcement, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener."

In our first study we pondered those first four verses. We learned that fruitfulness involves two activities. The first one is pruning. Vines don't just happen to produce a crop of fruit. Neither do Christians. It takes pruning. From Jesus’ instruction we discovered three truths about pruning.

1. Pruning is the responsibility of the Father (1). "My Father is the gardener."

2. Pruning involves radical surgery (2). "He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful." No, pruning isn’t pleasant, but it’s vital for fruit production.

3. Pruning requires a relationship with Jesus (3). "You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you." They—the disciples—were clean (literally "pruned") because of Jesus’ word.

Before breaking new ground, allow me give you some additional background on the vine. Vines were popular in Jesus' day, as they still are in Israel. A vine needs lots of attention if it's to be fruitful. It grows in drastic fashion. I read that a gardener would plant new starts 12' apart, because they spread so quickly. A new vine is not allowed to produce fruit for the first three years, and each year it’s cut back severely to conserve the plant's life and energy. A plant basically has two types of branches, one that bears fruit, and one that does not. A vine will not reach its potential unless the gardener gets rid of the non-productive branches. There's no fruit without pruning.

If you are a Christian, you can expect the Father to prune you—because He loves you and is interested in a harvest. His goal is to form a people just like His Son (Rom. 8:29). His goal for you is to shape you so you resemble His Son. To accomplish that He uses pruning. When He prunes us He eliminates things that will keep us from Christlikeness. Pruning is the Father’s work.

Now, if the Father takes care of the pruning, what's our responsibility in the fruit-bearing process? It’s the second activity Jesus highlighted. First, fruitfulness requires pruning. Second, fruitfulness requires abiding, the subject Jesus introduced in verse 4 and elaborates on in verses 5-8. "Remain in me," He said in verse 4. "No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine."

Which brings us to the issue of our potential in Christ. If we're going to reach our potential, we need to get a handle on 2 issues.

Verse 5 begins, I am the vine; you are the branches." Last week we observed that in the Old Testament, God called Israel His vine. But Israel failed as a vine. Israel did not bring forth good fruit. She never reached her potential.

In stark contrast, Jesus announced in verse 1, "I am the true vine." I am the fulfillment of what God intended for Israel. Jesus repeated this claim in verse 5. I am the vine.

Then He clarified something. Who are the branches? "You are," He said. You—My disciples—are the branches. He is the vine. He is the source of power and vitality. His followers are the branches. His aim is to reproduce His life in and through us.

Now watch Jesus' next black and white statement. When it comes to fruitfulness, there are two options. It all boils down to this.

A. Option #1: The person who abides in Christ is fruitful (5). Here’s what the Master said, "If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."

The person who abides in Christ is fruitful. Not he might bear fruit, but he will. Do you know why? Because simply put, fruitfulness is the result of Christ's life being reproduced in us. When a branch is connected to the vine, it’s tapped into the potential of the vine, in this case, Christ Himself. That’s why abiding is essential.

But just what does it mean to abide? You'll find the word "abide" (translated "remain" in the NIV) some eleven times in chapter 15, and forty times in the entire gospel. It can mean to "remain, dwell, continue, or be present." For instance in John 14:25 Jesus said, "All this I have spoken while still with you." That’s the word.

What does it mean to abide in Christ? Abiding covers two general areas.

1. Abiding in Christ involves accepting Jesus as personal Savior. It’s not enough merely to know about Jesus. To abide in Christ, a person must believe in Jesus and accept His atoning sacrifice. That’s what Jesus indicated when He said in John 6:56, "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him." The Christian life begins when we choose to abide in Christ, that is, when we enter into a personal relationship with Him.

2. Abiding in Christ involves continued fellowship with Christ. Again, the term carries the idea of "continuing," even "persevering." True believers persevere in believing, as Jesus indicated in John 8:31, "If you continue in My word, then you are my disciples indeed."

It's this second sense in which Jesus uses the word in 15:5. The verb is present tense, indicating abiding is not a one time act, but a pattern of life.

What happens to the individual who abides in Christ? Jesus says he bears much fruit.

God is not the God of the status quo. You won't hear Him look at one of His children and say, "Well, that's good enough for government work!" His aim is to see progress in our lives. Fruit leads to more fruit (2) which leads to much fruit (5).

There’s option #1. The person who abides in Christ is fruitful. The opposite is true...

B. Option #2: The person who does not abide in Christ is barren (6). "If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned."

If you sever a branch from the main stem, what soon happens? The branch wilts, shrivels up, and dies. And there's one thing you won't get from a disconnected branch. Heat, yes, in the fire. But fruit, no.

What happens to the person who does not abide in Christ? Listen to the verbs: thrown away ["cast forth" in the KJV], withers, picked up, thrown, burned. A pretty dismal picture.

Is Jesus talking about Christians here? Is He saying a Christian can be cast forth? Can a Christian lose his relationship with Christ?

Some say so. But when we compare Scripture with Scripture, it becomes clear you can’t use John 15:6 to support the notion of losing one’s salvation. Jesus already made the point in John 10:28 that His own are eternally secure. As He said, "No man can pluck them out of My hand." What does He mean then in 15:6? Who are cut off and "thrown away?"

Remember, in John 15 Jesus is using a metaphor. In the vine image, there are two types of branches. What are they? There are branches that bear fruit and branches that do not bear fruit. Who do these branches represent? Two types of people. Both have contact with Jesus. Both are exposed to the gospel. One responds with genuine faith, and produces fruit. But the other responds like Judas. What did Judas do? He left. For three years, he looked like a disciple, from the outside. Yet in the end, he left. Literally. Just two chapters earlier John recorded in John 13:30, "As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night."

Did Judas lose his salvation? No, he never had it in the first place.

You say, "I have a friend who 'got saved' years ago. He was really on fire. But he hasn't come to church for years, and he seems to have no interest in the Lord. Are you saying he isn’t saved?" Only God knows your friend’s heart. Yet John gave us an important test in 1 John 2.

Apparently, members of the early church were upset by a similar question. Some church members who had once been very active had left. What about them? 1 John 2:19 states, "They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained [from the Greek meno, "to abide or continue"] with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us."

A true Christian continues, perseveres, and abides. And bears lasting fruit.

In his commentary William Hendriksen explains, "In no sense whatever do such passages as 15:2 and 15:6 suggest that there is a falling away from grace, as if those who were once actually saved finally perish. This allegory plainly teaches that the branches which are taken away and burned represent people who never once bore fruit... Hence, they never were true believers."

Let’s approach the question from a slightly different slant. Why is it that abiding in Christ isn’t optional for the disciple? Look back at a phrase in verse 5, "Apart from Me, you can do nothing." Our Lord actually used a double negative, "Without Me, you are NOT able to do NOTHING!"

We get into serious trouble when we forget that. "Oh, I can handle this," we convince ourselves. "It's only a small problem." That's what Joshua thought about Ai, and he got whipped in battle with 36 men losing their lives. Friends, let Jesus' words sink in, "Without Me, you're NOT able to do NOTHING." Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Someone might object, "Wait a minute. I know people who aren't trusting Christ, yet they seem to be doing pretty well in life." That's what bothered Asaph, too, if you’ll recall Remember Psalm 73?

Verse 3 "For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked."

Verse 12 "This is what the wicked are like—always carefree, they increase in wealth." They don’t abide in Christ, yet they seem to do pretty well.

Verse 13 "Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence." It doesn’t seem like it’s worth it to live a godly life.

Verse 16 "When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me." Seeing people ignore the Lord and prosper was really getting to Asaph. Until a pivotal point in his life. What was it?

Verse 17 "Till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny."

Know this…

1. You cannot ignore Christ and bear fruit.

Without Me, you can do nothing, not one thing of eternal significance. Oh, you can ignore Christ, and apparently get by for awhile. You may even prosper in the world's eyes. But in the end, what will your lot be? Please friend, Jesus' words ring true forever, "Apart from Me, you can do NOTHING."

If we're going to reach our potential, first we need to get a handle on the options.

Notice the change in pronouns in verse 7. In verses 5-6, Jesus states the principle: If a person remains in me he will bear fruit; if he doesn’t remain, he won’t. Yet in verses 7-8, Jesus states in practical terms what this principle should mean for His disciples: "If you remain in me." Jesus makes it personal. We have some obligations.

If we are to reach our potential in Christ, it takes three things...

A. It takes contact (7a). "If you remain in Me." Stop there. Here's that word again, "remain," or "abide." How do we abide in Jesus? In a word, it takes contact. We need to be in constant contact with Christ. When it comes to evangelism, there is no impact without contact. When it comes to potential, there is no fruit without contact.

I want you to notice something.

2. He tells us to abide, to abide in Him. Why is that? Because if we abide in Him, we can't help but bear fruit.

Are you frustrated with a lack of fruit in your life? You say, "Yes, and I want to be fruitful, but I don't how. What should I do?" The answer is simple, yet profound: Make it your #1 priority in life to abide in Christ. Contact.

Do you know what really breaks my heart? My heart breaks when I see shrivled up Christians. My heart aches when I counsel fruitless Christians. They wonder what went wrong, why their lives are miserable. And here's why my heart breaks. The reason they're wasting their potential is because they've made contact with Christ a low priority in their lives.

Contact with Jesus does not just happen, as we’ll see next. Secondly, if we are to reach our potential in Christ…

B. It takes communication (7b). "If you remain in me and my words remain in you." People who reach their potential in Christ are those who admit their need for Christ. There's a vital link between abiding in Christ and communicating with Christ. If we don't communicate, we don't abide. No communication, no intimacy. No communication, no fruit.

How do we communicate with Christ? As in any relationship, good communication involves a two-way dialogue. In our communication with Christ, first of all…

1. This involves the Word. Christ speaks to us through His Word. "If my words remain in you," He said.

The Bible is the starting point for reaching our potential in Christ. If we're going to have Christ's words abiding in us, we need to saturate our minds with the Scriptures. Listening to sermons is good. And Christian radio is certainly helpful. But friends, there's no substitute for having a personal, consistent intake of the Word of God.

Do you know how to feed yourself the Scriptures, or are you dependent upon someone else to feed you? If you’re dependent on others for your scriptural intake, it’s time to change. My challenge for you is this. Make the Word of God a priority in your schedule.

Here’s a couple of practical suggestions. The first simply is this. Read God’s Word every morning. Pick a book and read a chapter a day until you finish the book. The second is Scripture memory. You say, "I can’t memorize." That’s not true. Do you know your phone number? You probably know several. Why? Repetition. You kept going over it until you got it. Jesus said, "If my words remain in you." The psalmist said, "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you (Ps 119:11)."

Good communication with Christ involves the Word. But there's another side of communcation. There's listening, and there's talking...

2. This involves prayer. What did Jesus say happens when we abide in Him and His words abide in us? Verse 7 concludes, "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you."

This is staggering. The word rendered "ask" is one of the strongest Greek words regarding prayer. Commentator G. Campbell Morgan says it means "demand your due."

Have you ever felt, "I don't know what to pray"? Think about what Jesus is saying. If I'm abiding in Him, and His Word is abiding in me, whatever I pray will please Him. And He will grant it to me. Friends, prayer is natural when we're abiding in Christ.

I don't think we really grasp what Jesus is saying here. Listen to the LB paraphrase, "But if you stay in Me and obey My commands, you may ask any request you like, and it will be granted!" What an awesome offer!

Verses 5-6 offer a great picture of what Jesus intends for us, His disciples. We're to abide in Him. We're to allow His Words to abide in us. We're to pray. We're to see answered prayer.

Now answer this. Does that picture represent your life? Be honest. If not, what changes need to occur? If we are to reach our potential in Christ, it takes contact—are you connected to the Savior? It takes communication—are you carving out time for His Word and prayer? There’s a third obligation.

C. It takes commitment (8). "This is to my Father’s glory [more literally, "In this is my Father glorified"], that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples."

The word "glorify" is a marvelous word. It comes from the Hebrew word "kabhod" which means "weight, heavy." To glorify God means to make God's reputation weighty, to give credibility to Him. The Greek word for glory is "doxas" from which we get our word "doxology." Glory and reputation go hand in hand.

When we raise God's reputation in the eyes of others, we glorify God. When we distract from, or discredit God's reputation, we do not glorify God.

Herein lies what should be our highest ambition in life. This ought to be our greatest commitment—to glorify God. The Westminster Shorter Catechism asks the question, "What is the chief end of man?" And the answer, "The chief end of man is to glorify God, and enjoy Him forever."

We have been created to glorify God. We have been redeemed to glorify God (Eph 1:6). That means two simple things…

Here's how Paul summed it up in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, "You are not your own; ²⁰ you were bought at a price. Therefore honor ["glorify," from doxazo] God with your body."

You say, "Okay, I want to glorify God, but how practically do I do it?"

Notice Jesus' answer in verse 8, "This is to my Father’s glory." What is? "That you bear much fruit." What is fruit? Remember, fruit is the product of the plant. Fruit is the evidence that Christ is living in and through me. And don't miss this. Jesus’ words here indicate that He expected every disciple to reproduce.

Do you see the fruit of Christ in your life? Are you exhibiting the evidence of Christ in your life? Quite honestly, we’ve got a problem. Evangelical, fundamental churches all across America are packed with people who take in the things of God all their lives, but don't give them out. They want to be edified, but they don't want to evangelize. They’re like branches with a lot of leaves, but very little fruit.

Is your life bringing forth fruit to the glory of God? I’m not asking if you’re a "nice guy." Nor am I asking if you’re living a life that you’re satisfied with. I’m asking if your life is causing the name of God to be glorified. Is God’s reputation enhanced because of the way you are living? Do you look at you and conclude, "God sure is great! I see Him in your life. I see the fruit of His Son."

That must be our commitment, to produce fruit to the glory of God. Granted, not every branch bears a bumper crop. But where's there's life, there's always fruit.

If we're going to reach our potential in Christ, if we're going to be fruitful, here's what we have to do. First, we must get a handle on the options. Simply put, abiding leads to fruitfulness, and not abiding leads to barrenness.

Next we must get a handle on the obligations. If we are to bear fruit, it takes contact, communication, and the right commitment. To help us apply what we’ve learned I’d like you to ponder two personal questions…

The answers to those questions are key. Our abiding in Christ depends on them. Tonight we’re going to address those questions more carefully. In preparation, I’d like to give you some homework. Between now and then, get alone with God and write down your answers to those two questions. Be prepared to discuss them tonight. And begin to take action as needed.

John 15   Sermon Series