The True Vine, Part 3
Part of the Vine
John 15v1, 5
11th October 2014
in John Chapter 15, Jesus said this:
John 15v1
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener."
Later in the same discourse, he said:
John 15v5
I am the vine; you are the branches.
Last week, we considered the question, "Do I really believe that God tends only one True Vine - Jesus?" and concluded that, yes, Jesus is the only True Vine, that God's covenant people are the only branches, and that God's covenant people include the ancient Israelite believers, the New Testament Jewish church and the Gentile church.
Our second question is: "Do I really believe that I am in Christ - a branch of the True Vine?" If we are in Christ, then there are several ways that we can know we are:
- We know we're in Christ because we believe God's promises in the Bible, including Romans 10v9:"if
you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you
will be saved.". No matter how we feel on any particular day, that promise holds true.
- We know we're in Christ because we love God. Romans 5v5 says "God has poured His love into our
hearts by the Holy Spirit". Romans 8v15 says "your received the spirit of sonship. And by him we cry
'Abba, father'". We hate it when God is mocked. And we love the name of Jesus and hate to hear His beautiful
name being abused.
- We know we're in Christ because the Holy Spirit tells us so. As Romans 8v16 says, "the Spirit
himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children". When we pray, we feel a sense of God's
Fatherly love for us.
- We know we're in Christ because we love the church. Colossians 1v4 speak of "Your faith in Christ
Jesus and... the love you have for all the saints". The reason we love the children of God is because we love
God their Father.
- We know we're in Christ because we get involved in the work of the church in fulfilling God's
mission. 1 Timothy 3v13 says "Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in
their faith in Christ Jesus".
- We know we're in Christ because we're growing in holiness. 2 Timothy 1v8-9 speaks of "the power of God, who has saved us and called us to a holy life". We all still sin, but we're improving. We're works in progress. And we can co-operate with God in this work of sanctification. 2 Peter 1v5-10 says "make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is short-sighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure." We are assured that God has chosen us because we're growing in goodness, becoming more Christ-like day-by-day. We may not feel like we're being sanctified but if we remember who we were when we first believed, we see that we are indeed, holier now than we were then, although there may well be considerable room for further improvement.
We know we're in Christ because we can see that God has changed what we think, what we love, how we feel and how we live.