Some biblical passages can be so difficult that they tend to gather a variety of interpretations of
interpretations that are both different and contradictory; however, only one view can be right. This verse
is one such example.
1. Study John 15:2. How do you interpret this
verse? What are its implications to Christians?
Jesus describes two kinds of branches in the vine, fruiting and non-fruiting. Along
with two kinds of branches are two actions taken by God the Father, the Vinedresser. The problem of
interpreting this passage is made apparent by the different and conflicting interpretations revolving
about the meaning of a key terms: airei and kathairei.
The first term airei can be translated as either "to lift up" or
"to take away." (1) The practice of most translators has been to translate
it as "take away" rather than "lift up." For example, the KJV uses "taketh
away." NKJV, RSV, NASB translate it as "takes away." NIV uses "cut off." NSRV
translates it as "removes."
The second term kathairei, which the KJV correctly translates as "He
purges" or "He cleanses" is in contrast to many translations that translate it "He
prunes."
Most commentators, accepting the "takes away" translation, see the farmer
removing unfruitful branches while cleaning up the fruiting branches in order to make them more fruitful.
(2) In interpreting the allegory to find the spiritual analogy, there are two views.
The Justification-Salvation view (3): The Vinedresser is
taking two actions on the branches in verse two. The fruitless branches are removed while the fruitful
ones are pruned. Symbolically the non-fruiting branches of verse two and removed branches of verse six
are nonbelievers within the visible church who appear to be believers but whose lives are spiritually
fruitless, immature or carnal Christians. (4) For example, one commentator says,
"the healthy, fruit bearing branches…represent genuine Christians.… We are not saved by works, but works
are the only proof that faith is genuine, vibrant, and alive
(James 2:17). Fruit is the only possible
validation that a branch is abiding in the True Vine." (5) Thus the absence of fruit
for him demonstrates the absence of life. And since abiding is necessary for fruitfulness, failure to
abide means failure to believe, to "be saved," to possess life. (6)
The Sanctification-Salvation view: the unfruitful branches symbolize superficial
Christians initially cared for by God and then eventually disciplined. (7) Chafer
is an early proponent of this view and sees abiding within this passage referring to communion with God
and not union because the passage's focus is on the believer's walk. Further, he does not see action
on the branches in verse six as an issue of union (justification-salvation), but communion
(sanctification-salvation). A believer's failure to abide, and thus bear fruit, leads to loss of fellowship
and discipline from God that may include weakness, sickness, and even physical death
(James 1:13-15; 5:20;
1 Cor 11:30-32). (8)
The unfruitful branch cannot be both a believer and an unbeliever. The branch that
fails to abide cannot be a believer who gets disciplined and a superficial Christian who was never
regenerate. The various meanings are not complementary and cannot be harmonized. Which view has the
greatest probability of being correct?
To fully examine the meaning of this passage, one needs to evaluate the cultural and
textual data in light of first century viticultural practices. Listen to James Boice, a reformed theologian
on the textural data.
"There are two things that the Father is said to do in His care of the vine.
First, He is said to "take away" every branch that does not bear fruit. Generally this has
been understood to be a purging away of dead branches in precisely the same sense that branches are
said to be "cast forth" and "burned" in verse 6, but I am convinced that most
translations have missed the true meaning of the term "take away" in this instance. Undoubtedly,
their translation has been made to conform to what they know or believe is coming in
verse 6, but the
translation is not the best or even the most general meaning of the Greek word airo which lies
behind it. The word airo has four basic meanings, which are, proceeding from the most fundamental to
the most figurative:
1) to lift up or pick up,
2) to lift up figuratively, as in lifting up one's eyes
or voice,
3) to lift up with the added thought of lifting up in order to carry away, and
4) to
remove.
In translating this word by the verb "take away" the majority of translators
have obviously chosen the fourth of these meanings, for the reason suggested above. But the verse makes
better sense and the sequence of verbs is better if the first and primary meaning of the word is taken.
In that case the sentence would read, "Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he lifteth up,"
that is, to keep it from trailing on the ground.
This translation makes better sense of the passage in every way, and in addition it
is much better theology." (9)
"It would be a strange vinedresser who immediately cuts off such a branch without
even giving it a chance to develop properly. But it would be wise and customary for him to stretch the
vine on an arbor or use some other means of raising it to the air and sun…to translate the word airo by
'lifteth up' gives a proper sequence to the Father's care of the vineyard, indicated by the verb which
follows. Thus, He first of all lifts the vines up. Then He prunes away the unproductive elements, carefully
cleansing the vine of insects, moss, or parasites which otherwise would hinder the growth of the plant."
(10)
Dillow correctly interprets airei as "lifts up" in this verse. He
notes that, in at least eight out of its twenty-four uses in John, this same term is used with the
sense of lifting, and not in a judgmental way. (11) He notes that Harrison reported
how fallen vines in Palestine "were lifted 'with meticulous care' and allowed to heal."
(12) Further, in a footnote he remarks that Harrison states that airei
has airō (to lift) as its root rather than aireō (to catch, take away). (13)
He concludes from this that if "lift up" is the meaning, "then a fruitless branch is lifted
up to put it into a position of fruit-bearing."
This is not only better theology, but would be in agreement with the Psalmist David
(Psalm 3:1-3). We express this vividly in the words
of the song, "Love lifted me! Love lifted me! When nothing else could help, love lifted me!" And if
one carefully considers the immediate context, this lifting is precisely what Jesus is doing with
Peter and the other disciples (all of whom would fail that night) in
chapter 14. This is the "word" that Jesus is
referring to in John 15:3 that caused them to be
"clean".
A major problem this view faces is Jesus' description of both branches being "in
Me." (14) This is complicated by the need to determine the significance of
Jesus' use of "in Me" in light of Paul's frequent use of the concept ("in Christ")
and the meaning he gives it. In the Gospel of John, Jesus uses the phrase sixteen times, six times in
the analogy of the vine and the branches. (15) Only once outside of the upper room
does Jesus use the phrase to describe a person's union or spiritual position with Him. In
John 6:56 He is clearly describing what they must
do to become born again. But, even so, this use of "in Me" still reflects the aspect of relationship
as well as a believer's position.
The remainder of His uses of the phrase communicates a relational concept more than
referring to a spiritual position (a positional truth such as we find in Paul's use of "in Christ").
For example, in John 10:38;
14:10, 11; 17:21 and 23
it is the Father who is "in" Christ and Christ "in" Him. This certainly has nothing to do with
"salvation," but speaks of their communion. Granted, their spiritual union is still contained in
the phrase. But, spiritual position is not the point of Jesus' statements. His is talking about
their unity of purpose and mind, not essence but function, in these verses. That it does not
describe their metaphysical union is evident in that Jesus uses the same phrase in the same way in
John 14:20 to describe His relationship with the
disciples.
In contrast to John, Paul uses "in Christ" ("in Him") with a broad
range of meanings, including both the positional truth of spiritual union with Christ and the conditional
truth of communion with Him. (16) His most common use of the phrase, though, has to
do with the positional truth of a believer's being placed into the body of Christ based on the Spirit's
baptism (cf. Rom 12:5;
1 Cor 12:13), and thereby being "in Christ."
Thus Paul can say things like, "Reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God
in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom 6:11). He again
says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, behold,
all things have become new" (2 Cor 5:17). And,
"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins"
(Eph 1:7). It is this sense of "in Me"
that Jesus uses here in verse two. Many other places in Paul the phrase "in Christ" or "in
Him" is used with the sense of "in the sphere of Christ" or "in His service."
These are still basically positional statements because they speak more to the believer's position in
Christ than to any communion between the believer and Christ. But, in His analogy of the vine, Jesus
begins with a positional statement and then continues His discussion with the relational sense.
For the sanctification interpretation of the passage in which the imagery used by
Jesus in the vine-branch analogy describes fellowship with God rather than spiritual position with Him,
Zane Hodges argues well, "With John, the kind of relationship pictured in the vine-branch imagery
describes an experience that can be ruptured (John 15:6)
with a resultant loss of fellowship and fruitfulness," and so describes "the believer's fellowship
with God." (17) And he notes further, "Unlike the salvation relationship, the
relationship of a disciple to his Teacher can be lost." (18)
The idea that unfruitful branches cannot be either regenerated or abiding should
be rejected. Ask yourself: Does any plant in God's kingdom have fruit instantaneously with life? How
does this relate to Jesus' prediction in John 13:38
(note Jesus' words in Luke 12:8-9) that Peter would
deny Him? Would the disciples, especially Peter, be considered fruit-bearers that night? Dillow responds
to such an idea by asking,
"If the fruitless branches are only professing Christians, then what
bearing did the passage have on the disciples?" He answers this by noting, "the passage
gives every indication that it was addressed in its entirety to the disciples to tell them how they
could bear fruit in their lives. Jesus said to them, 'If you [the disciples, not those to whom they
would one day minister] abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall
be done for you.'" (19)
Cook is in agreement with him when he notes,
"Abiding in Christ is to be distinguished from being in Christ, although ideally
there should be no practical difference between the two. We may observe the distinction by noting
John 15:1-11, where the "in Me" branch of verse 2
is seen to be different from the "abide in Me" branch of verse 4. To be in Christ is to be born again,
to be regenerated, to have had forgiveness of sins through Christ. Thus the disciples are in Christ
(v. 2) because they have been cleansed of their sins (v. 3). To abide in Christ, however, is to be
an obedient follower in fellowship with Christ the Savior and Lord (vv. 4-5,9-11). An examination of
1 John 3:24 will reveal that obedience
is the condition for abiding. Moreover, in John 15:10
our obeying Christ and thus abiding in Him is compared to the Son's obeying the Father and thus abiding
in Him; the Son was already in the Father by virtue of His sonship, but the Son abided in the Father
by obeying Him. We see, then, that just as Christ's abiding in the Father was the maintenance of
personal fellowship with the Father, so our abiding in Christ is the maintenance of personal fellowship
with Christ." (20)
And, central to this abiding relationship is believing in Christ. In
John 6:29 Jesus identified this as the "work" that
God required of all who wished to enjoy eternal life. "This is the work of God, that you believe in
Him whom He sent." In Jesus' thinking abiding, obeying, believing, and loving are all interrelated
to one another. Thus the abiding relationship is one characterized by faith which, when developed
(cf. 2 Pet 1:5), leads to keeping His commandments,
particularly the commandment to love one another.
Understanding what Jesus intended to say in this passage is made easier by understanding
the viticultural practices to which He referred. Kathairei was a legitimate viticultural term
describing the process of removing suckers from a fruiting branch. Kathairō has at least
one viticultural use given by Bauer, and when used in a literal sense does carry the idea of cleansing.
(21) It has a figurative sense of spiritual cleanness and, building from its
viticultural meaning, Jesus uses the term again in verse three. As an attested viticultural term,
Jesus' use of it in this analogy must be consistent with its normal use and meaning. His use of parables
to teach spiritual truths is based on analogies built from accurate portrayals of the natural world.
Through analogies with the familiar world the listeners are then able to recognize the spiritual truths
being taught.
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1. When you lift something up you take it "away" from its location.
Thus, the term reflects the range of meanings involved in that action.
2. In contrast there have been many who have seen this positively
rather than negatively. They will be named and their views given below.
3. Salvation has three aspects to it in a believer's life that are
reflected in the three tenses. Justification is salvation past, something accomplished once
by God when He delivered us from the condemnation and penalty of sin, which begins our possession
of eternal life. Sanctification salvation is present, what God is doing in our lives today
as He delivers us from the power of sin. It involves our present enjoyment of eternal life. Glorification
salvation is future, what we will enjoy after God has delivered us from the presence of
sin.
4. Laney, "Abiding is Believing: The Analogy of the Vine in John
15:1-6," 55; Robert A. Peterson, "The Perseverance of the Saints: A Theological Exegesis of Four
Key New Testament Passages," Presbyterion, 17:2 (1991): 108; James E. Rosscup, Abiding in
Christ (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1973), 42. Laney (John, 270) says that Jesus
in this context "is referring to disciples, broadly defined as interested listeners. Some disciples
bear fruit, and others, like the 'disciples' who turned away from Jesus' hard teaching (6:60, 66), bear
none." Gruenler (The Trinity in the Gospel of John, 106) follows this same approach and says,
"Abiding in him brings life and fruitfulness to the believer; not abiding in him means death and
destruction for the unbeliever."
5. MacArthur, The Gospel According to Jesus, 168.
6. Robert Law, The Tests of Life: A study of the First Epistle of
St. John. (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1909. Reprint, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1969); Rosscup,
Abiding in Christ, 42; J. C. Ryle, Ryle's Expositor Thoughts on the Gospels, John 10:10 to
End (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, n.d.,), 328; Smith, "The Unfruitful Branches in John
15," 13-14.
7. Proponents of this view include James M. Boice, Lewis S. Chafer,
W. Robert Cook, Joseph Dillow, Zane Hodges, John G. Mitchell, A. W. Pink, and Charles C. Ryrie to name
a few. As we have stated, salvation is a very broad term that includes physical and spiritual
deliverance.
For the believer, it has past, present, and future aspects. In the past we were justified, and thereby
delivered from the condemnation of sin. We were made alive to God without cost by the regenerating
work of the Holy Spirit in us after God the Father declared us righteous by imputing our sin to Christ
and His righteousness to us. Justification is a judicial declaration by God.
In the present we are also experiencing salvation. We are being delivered from the
power of sin here and now. At the same time God is at work in our lives, conforming us to the image
of Christ through a process we call "sanctification," the believer is at work obeying the commands
of Jesus that bring His love and manifestation in our lives (John 14:15-24). Sanctification is the phase
of salvation a believer experiences in this life as God prepares him for the life to come; it a process
that the believer goes through. In sanctification the believer experiences all the benefits of his
justification and "works" (Eph 2:10) to bring his life (experience) into conformity with his
position in Christ. The Holy Spirit is at work conforming us to Christ as He prepares us to spend eternity
with God in heaven.
The final phase of salvation is our coming glorification, when God's work in us will
finally be completed and we will be like Christ. We will then be delivered from the second death and
enjoy our eternal life that includes both relationship with and rewards from God forever.
Thus it is legitimate for a believer to say, "I have been saved, am being saved, and will be
saved." When we discuss various aspects of our salvation, we often need to use other terms than
"saved" or "salvation" to describe what aspect of the multifaceted experience to
which we refer. Thus is this book we have identified the justification-salvation view and the
sanctification-salvation view in order to make clear what aspect of our salvation the two views
focus on in their discussion of this passage. For further explanation see Radmacher, Salvation
(Nashville: Word Publishers, 2000).
8. Chafer, "The Eternal Security of the Believer," Bibliotheca Sacra
106 (October-December 1949): 402-3.
9. James M. Boice, The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing
House, 1978), 4:227-28.
10. Ibid., 228.
11. Dillow, "Abiding is Remaining in Fellowship: Another Look at John 15:1-6,"
50. He lists John 5:8-12; 8:59; 10:18, 24 as examples.
12. Ibid., 50-51. See footnote #1 for Harrison's discussion on
αί'ρω
13. Ibid., 51, footnote #6.
14. Smith reflects the justification salvation approach to the passage and rejects the
sanctification interpretation of "in Me" in verse two. He argues ("The Unfruitful Branches
in John 15, 10"),
"Those who hold that the unfruitful branches represent Christians base their interpretation
largely upon this phrase and allow it to determine their view of the rest of the passage. Most commentators,
however, have felt that the rest of the passage is so clear that this one phrase should be carefully weighed
in the light of the whole context.... The familiar technical usage of the phrase "in Christ," as
it is found in Paul's prison epistles, was not until many years later. At the time when Jesus spoke these
words no one was "in Christ" in this technical sense because the baptism of the Holy Spirit did
not begin until Pentacost. When these words were spoken, to be "in Christ" was not different from
being "in the kingdom." Jesus parables about the kingdom being composed of wheat and tares, good
and bad, fruitful and unfruitful, are very familiar."
Laney ("Abiding is Believing: The Analogy of the Vine in John 15:1-6," 63),
though also taking a justification approach to this passage, invalidates Smith's argument by noting that
the phrase clearly refers to salvation (justification) elsewhere in the Gospel of John. Even so, he (63-64)
attempts to refute the argument that "in Me" in verse two indicates that the unfruitful branches
are believers by making it an adverbial phrase modifying the verb "bearing" rather than as an
adjectival phrase modifying "branch." The difference in translations is such that, instead of
saying, "Every branch in Me not bearing fruit" (adjectival, "in Me" modifies
"branch"), Jesus would be saying, "Every branch not bearing fruit in Me" (adverbial,
"in Me" modifies "bearing"). Thus for Laney bearing fruit occurs "in the sphere"
of Christ and emphasizes the "process of fruit-bearing" rather than the "place."
Dillow notes Smith's argument that "in Me" is only a general reference to
people being in the Kingdom rather than to the Pauline concept of being in Christ since both the present
Kingdom and future millennial Kingdom contain a mixture of true and false believers (Smith, "The
Unfruitful Branches in John 15," 10). He responds ("Abiding is Remaining in Fellowship: Another
Look at John 15:1-6," 45) by pointing out that professing Christians are not in Christ. He says
that "it is unlikely that 'in Me' can refer to an 'Israel within Israel' (i.e., the truly saved
within the professing company) in view of the consistent usage of 'in Me' in John's writings to refer
to a true saving relationship." He asserts that the phrase "in Me" always refers to
fellowship with Christ in its sixteen uses in the Gospel (The phrase, "in Me," occurs in John
6:56; 8:38; 14:10 (twice), 11, 20, 30; 15:2, 4 (twice), 5, 6, 7; 16:33; 17:21 and 23.). Dillow concludes,
"It is inconsistent then to say the phrase in 15:2 refers to a person who merely professes to be
saved but is not." Further, "The preposition άν is used to designate a close personal relation.' It refers to a sphere
within which some action occurs. So to abide 'in' Christ means to remain in close relationship to Him"
(cf. John 13:8, Jesus' use of μέρος). Jesus' use of the phrase refers to "a
life of fellowship, a unity of purpose, rather than organic connection" which is distinct from the
Pauline concept of "in Christ". (22)
He argues well from the use of the term to describe the relationship of Christ and the Father
and His non-relationship with Satan (John 14:30) that it does not speak of "organic connection
or commonality of essence, but of commonality of purpose and commitment." Its use in John 17:21
indicates a unity of purpose rather than organic connection. "If this 'in Me' relationship
referred to organic connection, Jesus would not have prayed for an organic connection between
Him and believers because it already existed". (23)
He concludes from this, "To be 'in Me' us to be in fellowship with Christ, living obediently."
Therefore it is possible for a Christian not to be "in Me" in the Johannine sense. This seems
evident from the command to "abide in Christ." Believers are to remain in fellowship with the
Lord. If all Christians already remain "in Me," then why command them to remain in that
relationship? It must be possible for them not to remain".
(23-24) Wescott (The
Gospel According to St. John, 217), though not a proponent of the sanctification view,
concurs in part when he notes, "Even the unfruitful branches are true branches. They also are
"in Christ," though they draw their life from Him only to bear leaves.
15. John 6:56, "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me,
and I in him." 10:38, "...believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father
is in Me, and I in the Father." 14:10, "Do you not believe that I am in the Father,
and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but
the Father abiding in Me does His works." 14:11, "Believe Me that I am in the Father
and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves." 14:20, "In
that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you." 14:30, "I
will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me;"
15:2, "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that
bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit." 15:4, "Abide in Me, and I
in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you
unless you abide in Me." 15:5, "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides
in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing." 15:6,
"If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown way as a branch and dries up; and they gather
them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned." 15:7, "If you abide in Me, and
My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." 16:33, "These
things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation,
but take courage; I have overcome the world." 17:21, "that they may all be one; even as You,
Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that
You sent Me." 17:23, "I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity,
so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me."
16. He uses "in Christ" in Rom 3:24; 6:11, 23; 8:1, 2,
39; 9:1; 12:5; 15:17; 16:3, 7, 9, 10; 1 Cor 1:2, 4, 30; 3:1; 4:10, 15, 17; 15:18, 19, 31; 16:24; 2 Cor
2:17; 3:14; 5:17, 19; Gal 1:22; 2:4, 17; 3:14, 26, 28; Eph 1:1, 3; 2:6, 7, 10, 13; 3:11; 4:32; Phil 1:1,
13, 26; 2:1, 5; 3:3, 14; 4:7, 19, 21; Col 1:2, 4, 28; 1 Thes 2:14; 4:16; 5:18; 1 Tim 1:14; 2:7; 2 Tim
1:1, 9, 13; 2:1, 10; 3:12, 15. He uses "in Him" in 2 Cor 1:19, 20; 5:21; 13:4;
Eph 1:4, 9, 11; 2:15; Phil 3:9; Col 1:17, 19; 2:6, 7, 9, 10; and 2 Thes 1:12.
17. Hodges, "1 John," in The Bible Knowledge Commentary,
New Testament (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1983), 888-89. Others who take the "lifts up" view
include James Boice in The Gospel of John, 5 vols. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1978)
4:228; A. W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, 3 vols. (Ohio: Cleveland Bible Truth Depot,
1929), 3:337; and John Mitchell, An Everlasting Love, 286-87. George Vanderlip (Christianity
According to John [Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1975], 31) notes that in the Gospel of John
"life" occurs thirty-two times from chapters one through twelve and then only three times
from chapters thirteen to twenty because Jesus was then with His disciples who had "come to possess
life and therefore the subject matter of the book advances to other themes."
18. Hodges, The Epistles of John: Walking in the Light of God's
Love (Irving, Tx.: Grace Evangelical Society, 1999), 81.
19. Dillow, "Abiding is Remaining in Fellowship: Another Look
at John 15:1-6," 51-52.
20. Cook, The Theology of John, 133-34.
21. BAGD, 386.
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