Branches in the Vine

  “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. (John 15:1-2).

There has been a lot of thoughts and commentaries written on these two verses. But the big question for me has always been the fact that the verses say that every branch in me, he either takes away or prunes. Notice the ones that are taken away are in him. Jesus is the vine, and those branches are in him. It seems to me that if a branch is in Christ he is saved and therefore can never be lost. Jesus says a whole lot about that elsewhere. I understand completely the idea that if I am bearing fruit, he will prune me so that I will bear more fruit. That's the whole idea of discipline, correction, and growth in Christ.

But if I am in Christ and I do not bear fruit that is an oxymoron. How can I be in Christ and not bear fruit? So, I did some research on this once and found this:

E. W. Bullinger proposes as he examines the Greek word for “take away.” The Greek word, airo, which is also used to mean “lift up” explains that the branch is lifted up from the ground so that it can bear fruit. He went on to comment about how a vine dresser will pick up vines that have dropped down into the dirt. That way they can bear fruit. (E. W. Bullinger, “John 15:6,” in Figures of Speech Used in the Bible)

However, that doesn't help when it comes to the following verses where Jesus says the branches that don’t abide in Jesus are thrown in the fire (verse 6).

Application: I don't really have to worry about what would happen if I don't bear fruit. The fruit is the fruit of the Spirit, not leading people to Christ, as some people mistakenly think is the fruit in these verses. I don't have to worry about what would happen if I do not abide in Jesus. The Bible tells me that I am in Christ, if I obey Jesus, if I obey his commands, if I love him, all the things that have preceded and are also included in these passages. Now if I'm not obeying, if I don't have any love for Jesus or the Father, I'm in big trouble. I will be thrown away.