Can someone please explain John 15 to me?

[portlie]

For anyone who does not want to look it up, it is here:

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.² He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit,while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes^[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. ³ You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. ⁴ Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

⁵ “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ 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. ⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.⁸ This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

⁹ “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. ¹⁰ If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. ¹¹ I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. ¹² My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. ¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command. ¹⁵ I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. ¹⁶ You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. ¹⁷ This is my command: Love each other.

i am struggling with understanding if Jesus is talking about unbelievers or believers (when he speaks about the branches being burned). Any help would be greatly appreciated 

Edited April 4, 2023 by portlie

[Michael37]

2 hours ago, portlie said:

For anyone who does not want to look it up, it is here:

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.² He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit,while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes^[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. ³ You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. ⁴ Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

⁵ “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ 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. ⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.⁸ This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

⁹ “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. ¹⁰ If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. ¹¹ I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. ¹² My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. ¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command. ¹⁵ I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. ¹⁶ You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. ¹⁷ This is my command: Love each other.

i am struggling with understanding if Jesus is talking about unbelievers or believers (when he speaks about the branches being burned). Any help would be greatly appreciated 

Hi @portlie

A full report on every living person and their life is available to God in Eternity. This means God always has foreknowledge of everything and everyone, so He can choose beforehand what to do.

If a person does not continue in faith they are like a branch on a vine that stops being fed by the roots and the rest of the plant. When the gardener inspects the vine and notices the branch is no longer being sustained there is no point saving it anymore so off it comes to wither and be burnt.

So it is we are warned by Christ Himself not to be like the branch that gets burned.

Blessings from Michael37

[Deborah_]

4 hours ago, portlie said:

i am struggling with understanding if Jesus is talking about unbelievers or believers (when he speaks about the branches being burned). Any help would be greatly appreciated 

He's talking about people who are members of the church. Not all church members are true believers - but it's often hard for us to tell (until we observe the lack of fruitfulness).

[Tzephanyahu]

5 hours ago, portlie said:

i am struggling with understanding if Jesus is talking about unbelievers or believers (when he speaks about the branches being burned). Any help would be greatly appreciated

Hello @portlie

The Messiah seems to be speaking about believers in this passage as no unbeliever can be a branch in the vine (The Messiah).

Consider the words of Paul from Romans 11 in conjunction with the passage in John - where he explains that us "wild branches" have been grafted in whereas some of the natural branches have be cut off.

"If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches. If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either. Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off."

[Dennis1209]

I like this brief explanation:

I am the true vine is the last of Jesus’ seven “I am” sayings in John’s Gospel (see note at 6:35, 48). “True” contrasts Jesus with OT Israel (see note at 15:1–17). Joseph was called a “fruitful vine” in Gen 49:22. The reference to the Father as the vineyard keeper harks back to Isaiah’s first vineyard song, where God is depicted as tending His vineyard, only to be rewarded with sour grapes (Isa 5:1–7; cp. Ps 80:8–9).

To ensure maximal fruit production, the divine vineyard keeper removes dead branches and prunes all the others (Heb 6:7–8). In John’s Gospel, Judas the betrayer is an example of the former scenario (Jn 13:10–11). Peter, who denied Jesus three times, is an example of the latter (18:15–18, 25–27; 21:15–19).

Köstenberger, Andreas. “John.” Holman Illustrated Bible Commentary. Ed. E. Ray Clendenen and Jeremy Royal Howard. Broadman & Holman, 2015. 1154. Print.