This is a story of growing good grapes
in a vineyard and producing good wine. Sun light is the
most important catalyst for fruit bearing vines and vineyards become a fruitful
one. Very often shades limit the ability of vine to bud and it is possible for
flowering buds to fall on the ground. This is a huge concern for the vineyard
keeper or the owner in general so the choice of location where there is plenty
of sunlight is very important for the vines to bear fruit. Location has an
important influence for the success of wine grape growing.
If we have huge trees with
wide spread roots these can bring in a host of problems like shade and can
invite birds, raccoons, rabbits, rodents, deer and mice around them and trees
could rob the moisture form the soil. The vineyard has to be fertile and the
soil that drains thoroughly helps in producing fine grapes. Degree of sunlight, surrounding flora and
fauna, the types of soil, choosing the right variety of grapes and the varying
climate play a huge role in growing vine grapes. In general we can say that
technology does not necessarily produce good grapes and wines, but the vineyard
and how it is tended! Now we can understand why Jesus brought the relationship
between growing grapes and spiritual fruit.
1I am the true vine,
and my Father is the husbandman. 2 Every branch in me that
beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he
purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. 3 Now
ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 4 Abide
in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide
in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5 I
am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same
bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 6 If
a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men
gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If
ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it
shall be done unto you. 8 Herein is my Father
glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
What
is pruning?
The Greek word translated 'bear' in 'bears no
fruit' is the word phero, and the Greek word translated 'fruit' is karpos.
Both are used in the Parable of the Sower. 'It came up, grew and produced a
crop [karpos: fruit, crop, harvest] multiplying [phero: bearing]
thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times.' (Mar 4:8).1
[Pruning is
performed in the early spring while the vine is still dormant. This is done in
February, March, or early April depending upon when the grapevines generally
come out of dormancy and bud out. Pruning the grapevine and training the vine
go hand-in-hand. You must decide the way you want to train the vine in order to
prune it correctly. Vines that "droop" should be trained to a top
wire of about 6 feet. Canes are then pruned and trained outward from the middle
on each side of the trunk. As the new shoots grow, they droop on each side of
this high pruned wire, naturally, taking in account of their habit of growth. Concord
Sin in its entire format has its origin
in the heart of man. As I have explained in my previous article on ‘Heart and
mind connection’ what we sow in our minds can descend into our hearts and the heart
begins to yield its crop bountifully. 20 And he said, That which
cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. 21 For from within, out of
the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness,
deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: 23 All these evil things come from within,
and defile the man. Mk: 7:20-23. When we
sing and cry out to God “purify my heart” that means a lot to a believer.
Because God the Father starts to work in the heart of an individual by pruning
and cleansing.
9 As the Father hath loved me,
so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. 10 If
ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my
Father's commandments, and abide in his love. 11 These
things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your
joy might be full. 12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as
I have loved you. 13 Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay
down his life for his friends. 14 Ye are my friends, if ye
do whatsoever I command you. 15 Henceforth I call you not
servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called
you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known
unto you. 16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and
ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit
should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may
give it you. 17 These things I command you, that ye love one
another; Jn: 15:1-17.
Are we chosen to bear fruit? Has God
given us His Spirit so that one day we may have eternal life? 16 Ye
have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go
and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye
shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you; Jn:15:16. The Greek
word translated appoints means to place some one in that position and here the
position is as a believer in Christ. That position was given to us so that we
bear fruit to God the Father.
What is
a true vine? I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman; Jn 15:1. The Greek translation for true means real, genuine and not
a counterfeit. When we look around we find there are many counterfeit teachings
and many follow those teachers who give counterfeit teachings. They seem to be
very attractive and many follow that broad path. When we read this passage we
understand Jesus is genuine truth and He is the true vine and the Father is the
gardener. 6 Jesus saith
unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father,
but by me; Jn: 14:6.
What happens to fruitless branches? 2 Every branch in me that beareth
not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it,
that it may bring forth more fruit; Jn: 15:2. Cut
off means to take away or remove. From the above verse it is very obvious that
God the Father will remove or take away from the person any branch that does
not yield its fruit in the season. When we say abide in Christ means ‘born again believers;’ 1There
is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk
not after the flesh, but after the Spirit; Rom: 8:1.
17 Therefore if any man be in
Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things
are become new; 2 Cori: 5:17. The following verse
confirms many believers who were in Christ and who bear fruit for God the
Father; 7 Salute
Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellow-prisoners, who are of note
among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me; Rom: 16:7.
How do we remain in Jesus? 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As
the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more
can ye, except ye abide in me. 5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in
him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing; Jn 15:4-5. These verses definitely imply that if we do not abide or
remain in Jesus he will not abide in us ad we will not bear fruit. Remain means
to abide or dwell; 9 But ye are
not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in
you; Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his; Rom: 8:9. The consequences of not abiding in Jesus are huge; and
that is we can not bear fruit; and we can never glorify the Father if we do not
abide in Jesus.
What will happen
to the vine branches which do not abide in Jesus? 6 If
a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men
gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If
ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it
shall be done unto you. 8 Herein is my Father
glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples; Jn: 15:6-8.
This is serious and Jesus is comparing us to the vine branches because He wants
us to bear fruit to God the Father and also Jesus knows we can never bear fruit
on our own.
Jerusalem, a Useless Vine 1The word of the LORD came to me: 2"Son of man, how is the wood
of a vine
better than that of a branch on any of the trees in the forest? 3Is wood ever taken from it to
make anything useful? Do they make pegs from it to hang things on? 4And after it is thrown on the
fire as fuel and the fire burns both ends and chars the middle, is it then
useful for anything? 5If it was not useful for anything
when it was whole, how much less can it be made into something useful when the
fire has burned it and it is charred? 6
"Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: As I have given the wood
of the vine among the trees of the forest as fuel for the fire, so will I treat
the people living in Jerusalem; Ez:15:1-6.
In general a barren tree is a waste of
space and it is better it is cut down and another tree with a possibility of
bearing fruit is worth planting. 6 He
spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard;
and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. 7 Then said he unto the dresser of his
vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and
find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? 8 And he answering said unto him, Lord, let
it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: 9 And if it bear fruit, well: and if not,
then after that thou shalt cut it down; Lk:13:6-9.
It is important that we bear fruit by not only hearing God’s word but
practicing it daily in our lives.
How do we remain in His love and glorify
God? 9 As
the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. 10 If
ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my
Father's commandments, and abide in his love. 11 These
things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your
joy might be full; Jn 15:9-11. If we remain in the unconditional love of
Christ we will allow Him to cleanse us and refine us, and if our hearts does
not condemn us we have the confidence before God in our prayer life. Obedience
to God and His commandments adds more power in our prayer life. 7 If
ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it
shall be done unto you. 8 Herein is my Father
glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples; Jn 15:9-8.
In other words glorifying the Father means to reveal some one as being great,
important, magnificent, awesome and excellent in our lives.
What is a true fruit? In
general when we talk about fruit people tend to believe the number of people
they bring to Christ and His love. When
we read Galatians chapter 5, we get a different view of the fruit we are
talking about. 19 Now the works of the
flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness,
lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry,
witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness,
revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told
you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom
of God.
22 But
the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness,
goodness, faith, 23 Meekness,
temperance: against such there is no law;
Gal 5:19-23. When one try to be in God, and God dwells in that person, then the
fruit what the Galatians is talking about becomes very evident in their lives.
The spiritual fruit is produced in our lives by the indwelling Spirit of Christ
working in and through the person transforming that person in the image and
likeness of Christ.
What is real Christian maturity? The Greek word translates maturity as bringing to
perfection or ripeness. Perfection does not mean how many people one brings to
Christ, or how many people one preaches the Gospel. It definitely has to do
with the quality of fruit we bear for God the Father and the image we bear as believers.
The quality of fruit we produce is directly proportional to how much of us we
yield to God. Are we allowing God to transform us into His image? Such fruit
takes time to grow and to ripen in our lives. 22 But the fruit of the
Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness,
temperance: against such there is no law;
Gal: 5:22-23. This is the fruit that will last and remain as we continue to abide
in Christ and His love because they were produced by God. That means we are
allowing Jesus to live in us, and being part of us in our decision making
process in our lives and we are glorifying the Father in heaven and showing the
world that we are the true disciples of Jesus Christ.
Please visit the following website to
understand the effort it takes to bring forth fruit in a vineyard. It has
different seasons like bud break, flowering, fruit set, veraison and what the
farmer does after harvest. This is very much related to our spiritual lives
what the Lord calls us to abide in Him to bear much fruit. This is a process,
and also our spiritual lives have different seasons and the garden has to be
watered, tilled, weeded, and must be taken care off.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annual_growth_cycle_of_grapevines
The vines
begins to divert some of its energy production into its reserves in preparation
for its next growth cycle. After harvest . See also: Harvest (wine)
End notes:
The vine
and the branches 'I am the true vine, ... while every branch
that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful
2Prune Your Grapes - Pruning the Backyard Grapevine
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2Prune Your Grapes - Pruning the Backyard Grapevine
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Website and
References:
1. List of Greek words with English derivatives - Wikipedia ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Greek_words_with_English_derivatives
This is an
incomplete list of Greek words with
derivatives in English. There are many English words of Greek
origin, with a variety of histories: vernacular borrowing ...
2. Images of vineyard and grape clusters
bing.com/images
3. How To Grow A Vineyard - YouTube
Learn tips
from a Napa Valley
4.Starting a grape vineyard?, about grape vines and ...
winerackshop.com/vineyard.htm
Sign up to receive
deals, discounts, and ... Starting A Grape Vineyard ... Grape vines will certainly grow in shaded areas but sunlight is the
catalyst for fruit ...
For further reading:
1. Millard
J. Erickson. Christian Theology.
Grand Rapids
2. R.T.
Kendall. Understanding Theology,
Developing a Healthy Church in the 21st Century. 1996.
3. Jay E.
Adams. A Theology of Christian
Counseling, More than Redemption. Grand Rapids
4. Louis
Berkhof. Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids
5. Robert
P Lightner. Handbook of Evangelical
Theology, Historical, Biblical, and Contemporary Survey and Review. Grand Rapids , MI
6. Charles
Ryrie. Basic Theology. Chicago
7. A. H.
Strong. Systematic Theology. New Jersey
8. Wayne
Grudem. Systematic Theology, An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. Grand Rapids
9. Steven
W. Waterhouse. Not By Bread Alone,
An Outlined Guide To Bible Doctrine. Amarillo
10. John
Theodore Muller, Th.D. Christian
Dogmatics, A handbook of Doctrinal Theology for Pastors, Teachers, and
Laymen. St. Louis ,
Mo
11. Prayers To Move Your
Mountains. Nashville
12. John White. Parables, the
Greatest Stories ever Told. Illinois
13. ESV Study Bible. English
Standard Version. Crossway Bibles, Wheaton ,
Illinois
14. The Matthew Henry Study Bible. King
James Version. Iowa
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