IBS John 15:5 (6-9-14)

Inductive Bible Study for John 15:5 (6-9-14)

"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing."

Earlier in this chapter, Jesus says that He is the TRUE vine. This shows that there are other "vines" that people seek fulfillment from. Jesus says that He is "the Way, the Truth and the Life". He not only knows exactly what we need, He IS exactly what we need. Also, He is not one of many things we need, He is the ONLY One we need. It's terrifying yet comforting at the same time to think that all I could ever long for is found in my Savior. But how often I try to replace Him with other people, things or desires. There can also be false "vines", or false teachers that people follow after. This is why God tells us to be wary and to test everything against what Scripture says. 

Something interesting I found is that Jesus did not say He was A vine, He said He was THE vine. He is not a way, a truth or a life - He is THE Way, THE Truth and THE Life. Jesus claims to be the only Way to the Father, and the Father agreed with this statement by blessing the works Jesus performed. There are usually two extreme views of the God of the Bible - that He is either the God of love or the God of judgement. You cannot be a good judge without loving justice and you cannot truly love without being fair and equal. God gives every person a choice - to let Him be The Lord of their lives or to continue to be their own lord of their lives. He's a Gentleman and He will not go where He is not welcomed. 

In relation to Jesus being the vine, He says that we are the branches. Branches on a tree die when they're cut off from their life source. We would have no life at all if it weren't for us being connected to Christ. We are all branches connected to Christ - we are all one in Him. We are individuals but united by our faith. I love how we are all so different - backgrounds, places we live and ways we relate - yet we function as one Body under Christ, Who is the Head. We are all important and have different roles - the eye cannot say to the hand "I don't need you". We are to assemble together like a toy you put together, not just gather together like throwing the parts of a toy in a pile. 

Abide. What does this mean? Abiding in God and God abiding in us. To abide is to exist with. Everyone's existence is only possible because of God, but that doesn't mean everyone abides in Him. Abiding in Jesus is a personal choice that each person gets to make. There's a world of difference between believing that Jesus is God and abiding in Him. Even the demons believe and tremble. God desires or us to accept what He says about us, die to ourselves and live - not only for, but also IN Him. He says that if we abide in Him we will bear much fruit. It's awesome to know that I'm not required to MAKE the fruit - that is God's job - I'm just asked to bear it. He prepared good works that we should walk in them. 

To finish this verse, Jesus says that without Him, we can do nothing. People don't sit around and do nothing all the time, so what is He talking about? I look at humanity as a mirror - broken into billions of pieces by sin. Everyone reflects God - some a little and some a lot. People can do good things but we're still broken without God. When we see that there's no hope for us to escape our sin and we ask Jesus to save us, we become whole again and can then truly do good things for God and others. So without Jesus, we can do nothing of eternal value. We can do selfish things to benefit us or even other people, but eventually it will fade away. Jesus says that the good works we do for Him will be as treasure stored up on heaven. 

Every day I have been reading in the Word and I've been discovering the magnitude of my need for God. Whenever I try to get through the day in my own strength, I end up depressed, angry, sad and/or empty. I will have a lot of weight on my shoulders if I don't give my burdens to Jesus. I get worried and anxious about my family, the future and everything else. God has been constantly reminding me that I am right where I need to be, that He is faithful and that He will take care of me. He is my comfort when I am terrified, He is my love when I have hate raging inside of me and He is my peace when I am confused and hurting. I am going to write "without Me, you can do nothing" on my hand to remind me throughout the day how much I need my Savior.