Latest / Reformed Thinking / Jesus as The True Vine

Transcript

Jesus as The True Vine · Reformed Thinking

• 0:00
  Welcome to the deep dive from reformed thinking.
• 0:02
  It's good to be here. For this deep dive, we're
• 0:04
  looking closely at a stack of material all centered on, well,
• 0:08
  a single really vivid picture found throughout the Bible.
• 0:12
  The Vineyard. That's right.
• 0:13
  Specifically, we're zeroing in on Jesus's statement.
• 0:16
  I am the True Vine from John chapter 15.
• 0:19
  Yeah, and not just that statement in isolation, but how
• 0:22
  it fits into the much bigger story this image tells, you
• 0:25
  know, across the whole Bible. Exactly.
• 0:27
  Our aim here is to sort of pull out the key insights from these
• 0:31
  sources we've looked at. Helping you see what this
• 0:33
  biblical image reveals about Jesus, about God the Father,
• 0:37
  about believers, and, well, God's overall plan.
• 0:40
  We'll trace how this picture starts way back, carries all the
• 0:43
  way through. We'll look at our connection to
• 0:45
  Christ. Why bearing fruit matters so
• 0:47
  much and what that fruit actually tells us.
• 0:50
  What the Father is actively doing as the Vine dresser, how
• 0:53
  believers stay connected, all of that.
• 0:55
  And where this whole picture is heading in the future.
• 0:57
  So OK, let's start at the beginning.
• 0:59
  Let's trace this vineyard storyline.
• 1:02
  It's pretty fascinating how this idea of cultivation starts right
• 1:07
  there in Eden. It does.
• 1:08
  Our sources trace it back to Eden.
• 1:10
  Conceived as this cultivated garden, it hints at humanity's
• 1:14
  original calling, you know, to cultivate holiness under God's
• 1:17
  eye. And even the rivers flowing out
• 1:19
  suggest God providing for that growth.
• 1:22
  Yeah, divine provision. And then after the flood, think
• 1:25
  about Noah. One of the first things he does
• 1:28
  plants a vineyard. Like a sign of grace after
• 1:30
  judgement. A new beginning.
• 1:32
  A new beginning, yes, and then you see it woven into the
• 1:34
  promises God gives to the patriarchs, Abraham and others.
• 1:38
  A. Land with vines and fig trees.
• 1:40
  Right agricultural abundance tied directly to covenant
• 1:43
  faithfulness. Staying in right relationship
• 1:45
  with God. OK, so then we get to the nation
• 1:47
  of Israel. God brings them out of Egypt,
• 1:48
  plants them in Canaan. He pictures them as a vine he
• 1:51
  cultivated. Psalm 80 talks about this,
• 1:53
  right? It does.
• 1:54
  A vine brought out of Egypt meant to display His Holiness to
• 1:57
  the world. That was the intention.
• 1:59
  But, well, the story takes a downturn.
• 2:01
  The sad turn. Yeah, prophets like Isaiah,
• 2:04
  Hosea, they speak for God, lamenting Israel's failure.
• 2:08
  They didn't produce the good fruit expected.
• 2:11
  Isaiah 5 has that really moving parable, doesn't it?
• 2:13
  The vineyard owner does everything right, prepares the
• 2:15
  soil, clear stones, choice vine. And gets what does he call them?
• 2:19
  Sour clusters or stink berries? Not the sweet grapes he worked
• 2:22
  for. And Ezekiel 15 paints A harsh
• 2:25
  picture too. Israel as useless vine would
• 2:28
  only good for burning because it bore no fruit.
• 2:31
  And Moses way back in Deuteronomy 32 even says their
• 2:34
  vine is from the vine of Sodom. It points to something deeply
• 2:38
  wrong internally, not just outward actions.
• 2:41
  So these Old Testament failures, they actually serve a purpose in
• 2:44
  the narrative. Oh, definitely.
• 2:45
  They expose the weakness, the frailty of a fallen vine, you
• 2:48
  could say. Yeah, they show that something
• 2:50
  more is needed, something faithful.
• 2:52
  Something. True.
• 2:53
  Yes, and this is where the prophets start looking ahead.
• 2:55
  Isaiah 11, Jeremiah 23, Zechariah 3.
• 2:58
  They speak of a faithful branch. Coming from what looked like a
• 3:00
  dead stump. The stump of Jesse.
• 3:02
  A singular, obedient figure who will deal with this whole
• 3:06
  problem of sin and fruitlessness.
• 3:08
  And our sources stress that this Old Covenant failure isn't a
• 3:11
  dead end, but part of God's single unfolding plan of grace.
• 3:15
  The Westminster Confession points to one covenant of grace
• 3:18
  unfolding through different administrations, right?
• 3:21
  Even the old system, the sacrifices, the wine used in
• 3:24
  worship, it all hinted at, pointed towards this coming
• 3:28
  solution, this true vine. Which perfectly sets the stage
• 3:31
  for Jesus in John 15. He steps into this long story,
• 3:35
  this whole Vineyard drama. And declares I am the true vine.
• 3:39
  It's such a pivotal moment. He's gathering all that previous
• 3:42
  revelation into himself. He's saying the life Adam lost,
• 3:45
  the life Israel failed to cultivate, it now flows only
• 3:48
  from him. He is the authentic, the
• 3:51
  ultimate reality that all those earlier symbolic vines were just
• 3:54
  pointing towards. And the story concludes, really,
• 3:56
  in Revelation 22, the New Jerusalem, the river of life,
• 3:59
  the tree of life, bearing fruit constantly.
• 4:02
  An everlasting harvest. The curse finally lifted.
• 4:05
  Perpetual fruitfulness. So you can really see how this
• 4:08
  Vineyard picture frames the whole biblical story from Eden
• 4:11
  right through to the new creation.
• 4:13
  It's quite something. It really is.
• 4:15
  OK, let's zoom in on Jesus statement itself.
• 4:17
  John 15 I am the true Vine, and my father is the Vine dresser.
• 4:23
  That word true a lothinae in the Greek is significant.
• 4:27
  It's not just saying he's real versus fake.
• 4:29
  It means he's the genuine article, the ultimate substance
• 4:33
  that the previous symbols anticipated.
• 4:34
  He's the reality, not just a picture.
• 4:36
  Precisely. And when he says I am, well,
• 4:39
  that immediately connects back to God's name revealed to Moses
• 4:42
  at the burning Bush. It's a claim to his divine
• 4:44
  identity. No mistaking that.
• 4:45
  No. So he replaces Israel's failed
• 4:48
  prototype, real spiritual life. That connection, empowered by
• 4:51
  the Spirit, It flows from Him alone.
• 4:54
  And the branches connected to him share his life.
• 4:56
  The sources use the image of SAP.
• 4:58
  Yes, his SAP, which signifies the Holy Spirit, the life
• 5:02
  flowing from the vine to the branches.
• 5:03
  It's a vital union. So Jesus isn't just like a vine,
• 5:07
  He is the unique divine source of life, making God's purposes
• 5:11
  finally achievable for his people.
• 5:12
  That's the core of it. And right alongside him, the
• 5:15
  Father, he's the vine dresser. Jesus makes that explicit.
• 5:19
  Yes, my father is the vine dresser.
• 5:21
  This frames God's work within his broader providential
• 5:24
  governance, His sovereign care over everything.
• 5:27
  He's the expert gardener. And his work involves several
• 5:30
  things, according to our sources.
• 5:32
  Yes, it's multifaceted. First, he initiates.
• 5:35
  He plans situating his chosen people in union with Christ.
• 5:38
  Then he graphs individuals in. Through effectual calling, yes,
• 5:42
  the spirits work, inserting sinners into Christ, bringing
• 5:46
  them into that life flow. Romans 11 talks about grafting.
• 5:49
  And he doesn't just plant and graft, he cultivates.
• 5:51
  With careful watchfulness, yes, using means like watering by the
• 5:56
  word, aerating by the sacraments, bathing the roots in
• 5:58
  prayer. The sources call these the
• 6:00
  divinely appointed trellises. Supports for growth.
• 6:03
  Necessary supports. And then there's the pruning.
• 6:05
  This is crucial. John 15.2 says he acts on
• 6:08
  fruitful branches, genuine believer so they bear more
• 6:11
  fruit. And this pruning is linked to
• 6:13
  trials and discipline like in Hebrews 12.
• 6:16
  Correct. It's not punishment in the sense
• 6:18
  of wrath, but corrective refining discipline.
• 6:22
  It cuts away hindrances, pride, worldliness, unbelief,
• 6:27
  redirecting spiritual energy towards greater fruitfulness,
• 6:30
  towards righteousness. It can feel harsh, but it's
• 6:31
  purposeful. Very purposeful.
• 6:33
  But then there's the other side. He removes barren branches.
• 6:35
  Those who look like they're connected but have no real life
• 6:38
  from the vine. Right.
• 6:39
  No SAP flowing. John 15.6 talks about these
• 6:42
  being taken away and burned. It echoes those Old Testament
• 6:45
  judgments on fruitless Israel. Like Judas, perhaps close
• 6:50
  physically, but no genuine fruit.
• 6:52
  He's often seen as an example. It shows a lack of inward saving
• 6:55
  life and points toward the final separation.
• 6:58
  And the father knows the difference.
• 6:59
  He sees the true state of each branch.
• 7:02
  His knowledge is perfect and his work isn't just individual.
• 7:07
  He's orchestrating salvation, history, grafting and Gentiles,
• 7:10
  the future restoration of Israel mentioned in Romans 11.
• 7:13
  And the ultimate aim of all this Vine dressing?
• 7:15
  God's own glory, the vine exists for the vine dressers acclaim
• 7:18
  John 15.8 says Bearing much fruit glorifies the Father.
• 7:22
  It displays His goodness and skill.
• 7:24
  Understanding the father this way, it really does bring
• 7:27
  practical implications, doesn't it?
• 7:29
  It does comfort and trials, seeing the cuts as intentional,
• 7:33
  loving discipline, but also a call for serious self
• 7:37
  examination if there's little sign of fruit.
• 7:40
  A holy caution against complacency.
• 7:42
  OK, so this whole picture hinges on our connection, our union
• 7:46
  with Christ. Our sources call this the living
• 7:48
  nerve of the gospel. It is, it's central.
• 7:51
  All saving benefits flow from this union.
• 7:53
  The Vine branch image captures this vital mystery so well.
• 7:56
  Life flows from Christ, the God Man, to his people united with
• 8:00
  him. How does this union happen?
• 8:02
  Fundamentally, it's the Spirit's work, regeneration, being born
• 8:06
  again. The Spirit joins us to Jesus,
• 8:08
  enabling us to share his risen life, Paul says in Romans 8.
• 8:11
  Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong
• 8:14
  to him. So the spirit is the agent who
• 8:16
  grafts us in. So how to speak?
• 8:18
  He is. It's a real participation in
• 8:19
  Christ's life, though we always remain creatures distinct from
• 8:22
  the Creator. And instrumentally, how do we
• 8:25
  receive this? Through faith alone.
• 8:28
  And faith itself is a gift. Faith is like the empty hand
• 8:32
  reaching out, receiving the life flowing from the vine.
• 8:35
  It fits perfectly with solophyte.
• 8:36
  The branch gives nothing to the SAP.
• 8:38
  Nothing at all. All the life comes from the
• 8:41
  vine. Faith is simply the means of
• 8:43
  receiving that life. And this union also brings
• 8:47
  believers into the church community.
• 8:49
  Yes, the visible community. Yeah, and the ordinary practices
• 8:52
  of the church, hearing the Word preach baptism, the Lord's
• 8:55
  Supper, these nurture and confirm the union.
• 8:58
  Baptism shows that initial joining into Christ, death and
• 9:01
  resurrection, entry into the community.
• 9:04
  Right received once and the Lord Supper received regularly
• 9:07
  provides ongoing spiritual nourishment.
• 9:10
  Christ spiritually feeds us through the elements by the
• 9:12
  Spirit. Strengthening our connection to
• 9:14
  him and our love for fellow. Branches.
• 9:16
  It reinforces the union. It's a means of grace where
• 9:18
  faith feeds on Christ. It's a privilege but also
• 9:22
  requires self examination, as Paul warns.
• 9:24
  And every supper looks ahead to the final feast in.
• 9:26
  Prayer. How does that fit in?
• 9:28
  Prayer is described as the Spirit wrought breathing,
• 9:31
  keeping the connection active, a primary conduit for the SAP, the
• 9:35
  life of Christ. Prayer enabled by the Spirit,
• 9:38
  shaped by Christ's words, abiding in us.
• 9:40
  Both corporate prayer together with others and private prayer.
• 9:44
  And these means, word, sacraments, prayer are described
• 9:48
  as ordinary. Ordinary, not spectacular.
• 9:51
  These are the steady, reliable channels God has appointed and
• 9:54
  promised to use. Consistent, not flashy.
• 9:57
  Fellowship is also mentioned. As an auxiliary conduit?
• 10:00
  Yes. Encouraging one another and
• 10:03
  Spirit empowered obedience fits here too.
• 10:05
  Not earning favor, but gratefully living out the
• 10:08
  Father's will because we're connected to the Son who
• 10:10
  delighted in it. So union with Christ isn't just
• 10:13
  an individual thing, it creates the church.
• 10:15
  Absolutely one interconnected Organism, as Paul describes in
• 10:19
  Romans 12A. Single body.
• 10:20
  And the internal life of the church, building each other up,
• 10:23
  using gifts, maintaining order, even discipline.
• 10:26
  Discipline seen as covenantal surgery, keeping the whole vine
• 10:29
  healthy. This internal vitality naturally
• 10:31
  leads outward. To Mission Overflow.
• 10:33
  Yes, the Church's life equips believers for witness.
• 10:38
  The Great Commission flows from this reality.
• 10:41
  Preaching the supper prayer, they equipped us for that task.
• 10:45
  And acts of mercy, sharing the gospel.
• 10:48
  These flow naturally from being rooted in grace.
• 10:50
  It's the fruit extending beyond the garden wall, you might say.
• 10:53
  And the goal is again God's glory.
• 10:55
  Bringing glory to the Father as people from all nations are
• 10:58
  grafted into this one true vine, including that future hope for
• 11:02
  ethnic Israel as Romans 11 discusses.
• 11:04
  OK. Finally, the end game.
• 11:06
  This whole Vineyard story moves towards a culmination, right?
• 11:10
  A final harvest. A final harvest?
• 11:11
  Yes, history is heading towards this double harvest, pictured in
• 11:14
  Revelation 14. First, the grain harvest.
• 11:17
  Representing the elect God's people gathered safely into the
• 11:21
  celestial granaries, it fulfills Christ's promise that no genuine
• 11:24
  branch is lost. And then the other harvest.
• 11:27
  The vine of the earth, representing the ungodly, cast
• 11:29
  into the winepress of God's wrath.
• 11:32
  It's a sobering image echoing prophetic judgments.
• 11:35
  And the removal of the barren branches back in John 15 points
• 11:38
  to this final judgment. It serves as a preview, yes, but
• 11:42
  for believers, union with Christ guarantees participation in the
• 11:46
  resurrection harvest. Because I live, you also will
• 11:50
  live. The ultimate picture is a feast,
• 11:53
  a celebration. A lavish banquet.
• 11:55
  Isaiah pictured it. Jesus himself spoke of drinking
• 11:58
  the food of the vine anew in his Father's Kingdom.
• 12:00
  So every Lord's Supper now is like a little foretaste A.
• 12:03
  Preview SIP, as one source puts it, pointing to the great
• 12:06
  wedding supper of the Lamb in Revelation 19.
• 12:08
  And that final scene in Revelation 22?
• 12:11
  The river, the tree of life. Signals an everlasting harvest,
• 12:15
  the end of the curse, Unending fruitfulness in the new
• 12:17
  creation. And this future vindicates the
• 12:19
  Father's work, now even the pruning.
• 12:22
  Absolutely. The cuts that seem hard now will
• 12:24
  be seen clearly then as wise and necessary steps towards that
• 12:28
  perfect final fruit. And knowing this future gives
• 12:30
  strength for today. It invigorates present
• 12:33
  perseverance, patience, and ministry, seeing current
• 12:36
  struggles as temporary cultivation leading to eternal
• 12:39
  glory. OK, so we've traced this Vine
• 12:41
  picture all the way from Eden to the eternal state.
• 12:44
  It's. Quite a story arc.
• 12:45
  We've seen Jesus as the true, the authentic source of life,
• 12:49
  the Father as the wise, active vine dresser, the Spirit as the
• 12:53
  living SAP, the connection. And fruit as the evidence of
• 12:56
  that genuine connection cultivated through those
• 12:59
  ordinary means, Word, sacraments, prayer.
• 13:01
  And we followed the storyline to that final glorious harvest
• 13:05
  where the Father's work finds its completion.
• 13:07
  A harvest that brings him ultimate acclaim.
• 13:09
  So for you listening, maybe consider this thought from our
• 13:12
  sources. Seeing the Father as the wise
• 13:15
  vine dresser can bring real comfort when life gets
• 13:17
  difficult. Seeing those trials as His
• 13:20
  purposeful pruning for your growth.
• 13:22
  But it also brings a note of caution, doesn't it?
• 13:24
  A warning against complacency, making you think carefully about
• 13:27
  the reality of fruitless branches being removed.
• 13:30
  It really helps balance that assurance we have in Christ with
• 13:33
  the need for ongoing honest self examination in our walk with
• 13:36
  Him. Something to reflect on.