The True Vine, Part 8
"Apart from me you can do nothing"
John 15v4b-5
15th November 2014
In His teaching on the True Vine, Jesus said:
John 15v4-5
Remain in me, and I will 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.
I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart
from me you can do nothing.
The seventh question we addressed to ourselves, based on John chapter 15 is "Do I really believe that apart from Christ, I can no nothing? We can think about this in two ways.
Firstly, there's a sense in which no-one would be able to do anything if it were not for Christ. The Bible teaches that:
Acts 17v28a
For in him [God] we live and move and have our being.
Colossians 1v16-17
For by him [Jesus Christ] all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible,
whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.
He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Hebrews 1v3a
The Son [Jesus Christ] is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining
all things by his powerful word.
Without Jesus, through whom the universe was created, we wouldn't exist. Without Jesus, by whom the universe is sustained, we wouldn't continue to exist. We could do nothing. Because of His great mercy, we are able to live and move and have our being. We're able to eat and drink and walk and talk and think and pray and love and regret and hope and do all the other things He alone enables us to do. This is true of Christians and non-Christians, of those who revere God and those who hate the very idea of God. His mercy is greater than we can comprehend.
But I think Jesus meant something else here.
Those who are in Christ, those who are joined to the True Vine, live differently from those who don't. We have the Holy Spirit of God dwelling within us. We've been enlightened about the kingdom of God, about morality, forgiveness, truth and eternal life, about the nature of Man and of God. We have the power of God within us. And because our sins are forgiven, we have direct access to God in prayer. Each and every Christian can make a spiritual difference. We can influence the family, the town, the country and the world we live in, for the better.
I think Jesus is referring particularly to this ability to do good. Jesus says that, apart from Him, we can't make any difference to the spiritual condition of any individual or society - at least, not any good difference. Apart from Jesus, we can't inspire others to seek God. Apart from Jesus, we can't lead others to repentance and faith in Him. Apart from Jesus, we can't pray effectively for those in need.
We can feed the poor, just as non-Christians do. We can tend the sick, just as non-Christians do. We can help our neighbour when he needs a lift, or some shopping, or gardening, or something. But we can't help him to be saved from his sins, we can't help him be reconciled to God, we can't help him inherit eternal life, unless we are in Christ. But in Christ we can! And then our neighbour will be empowered to make the same difference for someone else. And the world will be redeemed.
I have a deep desire to make a difference - a lasting difference, an eternal difference. And I hope you do too. If we love our neighbours, then we must want our neighbours to be saved into the kingdom of God. For our neighbours' sake, as well as our own, we must want to remain in Christ. If we remain in Christ, God will enable us to make an eternal difference.