FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT
John Chapter 15
I have to admit, I was rather apprehensive approaching this chapter of John. I spent quite a bit of time in prayer even before I started researching because I knew it was important to get this right. A major split in doctrine is based by some on the first few verses and I wanted to search the scriptures with prayerful, spirit led attention to be sure I had accomplished what it says in 2 Timothy 2:15. "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."
The controversy is this: Some people believe that you can "lose your salvation", others believe that "once saved, you are always saved". The "lose your salvation" group point to John 15:1-8 as proof that salvation is not secure. In Jesus' own words, you can be "cut off" and "thrown in the fire" if you do not produce fruit. I happen to believe that so much of the Bible says just the opposite, like in Ephesians 2:8 "For by Grace are you saved" not by works (producing fruit). So now you see my dilemma. This passage seems to say that we have to produce fruit to remain saved. Because "fire" always means "Hell" doesn't it? This passage seems to say that even if we are saved, we are still in danger of spending eternity in Hell doesn't it? I wanted and needed to find out.
Jesus starts the chapter by stating a fact: "I am the Vine and My Father is the husbandman (or vine-dresser)" And I think here is where the problem starts. We are missing something that is really key to understanding this passage. The disciples listening to these words were very familiar with the work involved in growing grapes (the fruit of the vine), however most people who read these words today are not. In my research today, I tried to find out all I could about what we call today being a "vine dresser".
The first thing I found is that, except for the addition of modern materials and machines, the work of growing grapes has not changed much since Jesus spoke these words. You can ask a modern farmer who grows grapes: "Do you cut off the branches as they form because they do not produce grapes?" His answer would be "No, new branches never produce fruit...only after it is a year old will it produce fruit". If you asked "what do you do with these new branches?" He would tell you that he ties them up out of the way so they don't trail off in the dirt or hinder the branches that are producing. Now the word that the King James translates in verse 2 as "taketh away" (other translations say "cuts off" or "removes") is the Greek primary verb "airo" which means to lift. This sounds more like the nature of a Loving Father to me. He gently cares for those new branches that His Son the vine is producing by lifting them out of the dirt and supporting them. They wouldn't be cut off and discarded. And that was understood by the disciples but misunderstood by modern readers.
The vine dresser is also responsible for pruning the old branches which are already producing fruit, cutting them back to keep them from putting their energy into making too many leaves instead of fruit. The pruning is done carefully and thoughtfully however. Careful consideration is given by the vine dresser in what to cut and when. John 15:2 says that "every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may produce more fruit." When God "prunes" us, you can be sure He is doing it "carefully and thoughtfully" removing all that hinders our growth. Pruning is not easy on the branches but they are the better for it in the end, and so are we. The disciples understood what it meant to be "pruned".
Jesus uses the word "abide" many times in the verses that follow. He is explaining to His disciples that they must stay connected with Him if they are to grow and develop, just like a branch must stay with or "abide" with the vine in order to stay healthy. That was easily understood as well. Staying connected with Jesus gives us strength and vitality, because all that we are as christians comes from Him. Without Jesus, we are unable to accomplish anything.
Now here comes the verse I had so many questions about. Verse 6 says " If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned."(NIV) The word used for fire in the Greek was just the same word that is used the majority of the time in the New Testament, so I decided to look up the word "burned" in the concordance. Now it got interesting. The verb used here in verse 6 means to "kindle", or to "light". This is in contrast to the other time Jesus talked about something being "burned", which is in the parable of the Tares and the Wheat. The word He used there in Matthew 13:40, in connection with the wicked Tares being "burned", meant to "consume utterly". He followed it with "there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth" (v.42) which is an accepted reference to Hell. So then why did Jesus use a much softer verb in John 15 than He did in Matthew 13?
My research pointed me to a conclusion that is more in keeping with what I see in the Bible about salvation. Today "dead" and pruned wood is burned in huge piles, because it is seen as "trash". And this is how we see the picture as modern readers. However, In Jesus day it was different. His disciples would have known what happened to "cut off" branches and the word Jesus used here ("kaio" to kindle) would have reinforced His point. Back then wood was a precious commodity and the branches that were pruned in a vineyard were carefully collected, dried (withered) and used for "kindling" in someone's home for cooking and warmth. That doesn't sound like a metaphor for hell to me. It isn't a picture of everlasting torment, it's a picture of gentle warmth. To me, it says God finds a use for even those of us who stop producing any fruit. Those who have removed themselves from daily contact with His Son are still of some use to the Father. We aren't thrown out of the Kingdom into the pit of Hell (losing our salvation). That is reserved for the servants of the Evil one. There is no sound of wailing and gnashing of teeth here, just the gentle crackling of a fire on the hearth. As those whose sins are forgiven by the blood of Jesus, we are repurposed by a God who Loved us enough to send us His only begotten Son to die for us in the first place.
Now Jesus begins to show the disciples what fruit they are to display. Love. He reiterates His commandment again "Love one another as I have loved you" (v.12) In verse 16 Jesus says " I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain". We have been taught to see this fruit as "fruits of the harvest", as in "go out and make disciples". But I realized that that really doesn't fit here.
In the analogy of the vines and the branches, the branches are not producing other branches. They are being encouraged to bring forth fruit. Look at the picture above, don't those grapes look yummy? Fruit is something that shows the vitality of the vine, is pleasing to the eye and is edifying to others. Do we look at an apple tree that is full of apples and think, "Wow those are some really healthy branches!"? No we would instead think of how wonderful the tree itself is. That is what Jesus is emphasizing when He calls Himself the Vine. In Galatians 5:22-23, Paul tells us what the fruit of the Spirit is: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law." These kinds of fruit (beginning with Love which Jesus points out again and again to His followers) will do exactly what fruits are meant to do, call attention to the Life that is present in the Vine. With our "fruits" we point people toward the Life-giving Vine of Jesus Christ. It is He who saves and He alone: "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) We do no "converting" or "saving" ourselves, we only display the changes that Jesus has made in us and, if asked, gladly point out the way to find out who Jesus is.
I know that this was very long, and I congratulate you if you made it this far. I want to end by pointing out that I wrote this for myself mostly because I am concerned that I don't teach or exemplify the wrong things. I did not write it to prove others wrong. I asked that I be shown what I needed to see in these verses. I didn't ask for proof one way or another. As I read and researched and used the concordance, I felt God's guiding spirit with me. Hours of my afternoon have just flown by in this interesting search. I am now at peace with this question in my own heart. I no longer have a kind of fear of these verses, of the potential loss of my salvation since I have never led anyone personally to Christ. What I have now is a feeling of gratitude to the Holy Spirit for guiding me through this feeling of fear and giving me the ability to focus on the real message of Hope behind it. I see now that Jesus asks me to stay connected to Him so that He and the Father can cultivate in me the very traits that Jesus showed in His Life on this earth: Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. In doing so I pray earnestly that I might better point the way towards a Loving Savior. "Greater love hath no man than this..." (v. 13)