In the Bible, a name often signifies a person's identity, purpose, and reputation. It's not just a way to distinguish one person from another; it's a profound statement about who they are. Throughout this study, we'll explore how the names given to Jesus—from Old Testament prophecies to New Testament revelations—build a complete picture of His role in God's redemptive plan.
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." - Isaiah 7:14
Matthew 1:23 NLT “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’”
In this session we will talk about the "I Am the True Vine" declaration of Jesus. The "I Am" statements of Jesus are a series of profound declarations found in the Gospel of John. They are significant because they connect Jesus directly to God's own name as revealed to Moses in the Old Testament, which was "I AM WHO I AM" (Exodus 3:14). By using these statements, Jesus was not only revealing aspects of his own nature and identity, but also claiming divine authority.
In the Bible, a name often signifies a person's identity, purpose, and reputation. It's not just a way to distinguish one person from another; it's a profound statement about who they are. Throughout this study, we'll explore how the names given to Jesus—from Old Testament prophecies to New Testament revelations—build a complete picture of His role in God's redemptive plan.
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." - Isaiah 7:14
Matthew 1:23 NLT “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’”
We’ve studied the names/titles Immanuel, Christ/Annointed One, Word, Savior and Shepherd.
We have been talking about the “I Am” statements of Jesus that are in the book of John. Each revealing a different aspect of His identity and purpose. These statements are a direct echo of God's self-revelation to Moses in the Old Testament.
Exodus 3:13-15 NIV [13] Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” [14] God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ” [15] God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ “This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation.
Several weeks ago we studied the declaration “I am the good Shepherd
John 10:11-15 (NIV): "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep."
Then I am the bread of life.
John 6:35 NIV Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
Then it was “I am the light of the world”
John 8:12 NIV When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Then it was I Am the Door (Gate)
John 10:7-10 NIV. [7] Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. [8] All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. [9] I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. [10] The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Last week I am the resurrection and the life.
John 11:25-26 NIV [25] Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; [26] and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
The significance of Jesus's declaration, "I am the resurrection and the life," found in John 11:25, is profound because it shifts the focus of hope from a distant event to His own present person and power.
Then I am the way the truth and the life
John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
This declaration by Jesus provides comfort, clarification, and direction to His disciples in a moment of distress.
The Meaning of the Declaration
I Am the Way
Jesus is the sole path to God the Father. He is the mediator between God and humanity, eliminating all other means of salvation.
I Am the Truth
Jesus embodies reality itself. He is not just a teacher of truth, but the source and substance of all divine revelation.
This means:
The Truth is a Person: Truth is not just an abstract philosophical concept or a set of moral laws, but is definitively and uniquely found in the person of Jesus Christ. He is the ultimate objectivity and reality of God revealed to humanity.
He is the Substance of Divine Revelation
Jesus is the substance of all divine revelation
John 1:1-5 NIV [1] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [2] He was with God in the beginning. [3] Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. [4] In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. [5] The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John identifies Jesus as the Logos (Word) of God, underscoring His role as the ultimate self-expression of the divine.
Then John says that the word became flesh
John 1:14 NIV The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Meaning that Jesus is the direct, tangible, and complete revelation of the invisible God.
I Am The Life
Life here refers to more than mere biological existence; it means eternal life and abundant life.
John 10:10 NIV The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Jesus is the source, sustainer, and goal of all true life, a life characterized by a vibrant relationship with God.
Now our final “I Am” declaration;
John 15:1-17 NIV [1] “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. [2] He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. [3] You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. [4] Remain in me, as I also 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. [5] “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. [6] If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. [7] If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. [8] This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. [9] “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. [10] If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. [11] I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. [12] My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. [13] Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. [14] You are my friends if you do what I command. [15] I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. [16] You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. [17] This is my command: Love each other.
This passage offers deep insight into the essential, life-giving relationship believers have with Jesus. The core message is that fruitfulness and spiritual life depend entirely on an unbroken connection with Christ.
It also reminds us that physical death is not the end; it’s just a change in the state of existence. The tomb is the entrance to life. Heaven is the earthly life of the believer, glorified and perfected. When believers die, they go into God’s presence. That is the ultimate hope.
Put your hope in God. He will never let you down.
I. The Context: The Night Before the Cross (v. 1-3)
Let’s set the scene;
The night before Passover Jesus and His disciples gather in an borrowed upper room to eat together. He chooses the bread to represent His body and the wine to represent His blood as He shares with His closest friends one more time the reality of His sacrifice. He makes the devastating pronouncement that one of them would betray Him and Peter would deny Him. He takes upon Himself the job of a servant as He washes the feet of His disciples. The end is coming.
No doubt the disciples are sitting there perplexed and dumbfounded as they listen to the words of Jesus. No doubt their hopes for an earthly kingdom are being dashed on the rocks. No doubt they become dejected and saddened as they realize that the time for them to be with Jesus is short.
Jesus speaks these words to His disciples immediately after the Last Supper.
John 14:28-31 NIV [28] “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. [29] I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. [30] I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me, [31] but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me. “Come now; let us leave.
Then Jesus says, “Arise, let us go from here.” And they begin making their way from that upper room to the garden of Gethsemane. They pass through the hustling and bustling streets. They pass through the city gates and they make their way through the ancient vineyards that stand in the shadow of the city of Jerusalem. And Jesus calls his loved ones to come in a little bit closer. He has something that He wants to share with them. And having a supreme ability for taking the common and making it supernatural, He holds a branch full of plump ripened grapes and begins to speak…
Jesus uses this vivid agricultural metaphor to prepare them for His departure and encourage them.
He said I am the true vine. He is the source of life, sustenance, and fruitfulness.
The title "True Vine" is significant because Israel was often described as God's vine in the Old Testament but they failed to produce good fruit.
Isaiah 5:1-7 NIV [1] I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. [2] He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit. [3] “Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. [4] What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad? [5] Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be destroyed; I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled. [6] I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and briers and thorns will grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it.” [7] The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the nation of Israel, and the people of Judah are the vines he delighted in. And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.
Jesus is saying that He is the fulfillment and the true, genuine source of spiritual life.
When Jesus walked the earth in Palestine, where He lived, grapes were a big agricultural product and gardener was a prominent occupation. Some gardeners were specialists in tending grapes; they were called vinedressers. Vinedressers are agricultural specialists who oversee the propagation, planting, pruning and tending of grape vines in a vineyard. Their goal is to optimize the quality and abundance of grapes used in wine and food products.
Although most people were not vinedressers back then, they were familiar with that line of work. It was in this environment Jesus made his last great “I am” statement.
John 15:1 NIV “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.
Vines were grown on terraces and required a lot of attention. A young vine was not allowed to bear fruit within the first three years. It was pruned drastically to develop a strong root system. Even after the vine began to bear grapes, it was still pruned, because some branches would produce fruit while others only sapped the vine of its strength and productivity.
It is in this setting Jesus gave a dramatic lesson about Himself and about those who claimed to be followers of God.
Jesus said that He is the only true vine, his Father is the gardener; and we are the branches. Let us look at each of these statements and see what truth they reveal for us.
Jesus is the only true vine.
The vine is the means of life for the branches.
The roots gather water and nutrients from the earth, and these flow through the vine and give life to the branches. Apart from the vine, the branches will wither and die. No fruit will be produced on any branch that detaches itself or is broken off from the vine.
Some people claim to be Christian but try to get their Christian growth from a variety of sources.
It is not that they cut themselves off completely from Christ. They want to be nurtured by Jesus, but they also want to receive sustenance from other sources, like self help books, or philosophies from other religions. They try to have an attachment with more than one vine, so to speak. They want eternal life from Jesus, success from their business or jobs, happiness from a bottle of booze or drugs, love from immoral sexual relations, security from the government, and fortune tellers. They have divided loyalties and splintered commitments.
But Jesus said, “I am the only true vine.”
Jesus offers not only eternal life but true success, true happiness, true love, genuine security, and healing for body and soul. When your relationship is in line with your faith in Jesus, you have a more secure chance of real success. Jesus is the guideline for ethical behavior. He is the foundation of good government. Jesus is the true vine—he is the true fountain of all that is good and wholesome about life.
The Father is the the gardener, the vinedresser so to speak.
Without sounding overly simplistic, gardeners just know more than branches. Sometimes we forget who God is and who we are. Like Adam and Eve, we want to believe that we either know as much as God or that we should have the right to know as much as God.
Genesis 3:6-7 NIV When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
Why doesn’t the gardener allow the branches to bear fruit for the first three years? Why all this pruning? If the vine is put here to bear grapes, then why does the gardener hinder it or hold it back?
On the surface none of this pruning makes sense. But all this pruning makes the branch better able to produce a greater harvest of good grapes. The purpose of pruning is to obtain maximum yields of high quality grapes and to allow adequate vegetative growth for the following season
In the overall plan of God, pruning is necessary for us for our role as bearers of fruit.
"Bearing fruit" is a phrase used to describe the outward actions that result from the inward condition of a person's heart.
Galatians 5:22-23 NIV But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
As Christians, we want to bear fruit in keeping with our relationship with God. We seek to do things outwardly that demonstrate that we have been made new in Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
Remember pruning makes the branch better able to produce a greater harvest of good grapes. The purpose of pruning is to obtain maximum yields of high quality grapes and to allow adequate vegetative growth for the following season. Remember also what I said earlier that a young vine was not allowed to bear fruit within the first three years. It was pruned drastically to develop a strong root system.
So let’s look at some examples of pruning in order to be made ready to bear good fruit.
Abraham began his work for God late in life.
Genesis 12:4 NIV So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran.
Still later—when he was one hundred—Abraham’s son Isaac was born.
Genesis 21:5 NIV Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
Moses was eighty and Aaron eighty-three when God had them go tell Pharaoh to let His people go. when God met him at the burning bush.
Exodus 7:7 NIV Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.
David was thirty when he became king; Jesus was about thirty when he began his ministry;
2 Samuel 5:4-5 NIV David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years. In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.
Luke 3:21-23 NIV When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph, the son of Heli,
Now consider Paul. We know that he was already out of rabbinical training when he met Christ on the road to Damascus.
Galatians 1:13-17 NIV For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being. I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went into Arabia. Later I returned to Damascus.
It was years later before he was accepted by the early church.
What’s my point? Some of us Christians want to begin sharing the good news of Christ before God’s Spirit has properly trained us. The flip side of this is that we use this as an excuse for never serving as an active witness for Christ.
We need to recognize the wisdom and plan of God if we want to be fruitful branches.
That period of preparation is to be where God can mold us, teach us, and train us in his Word. No branch, or follower of Christ, will ever be an effective branch until he or she comes under the discipline and instruction of God. The gardener cultivates the vine so that good fruit will grow on the branch. His sole objective is to care for the vine and the branches. We must trust him to lead us.
Jesus is the vine God the Father is the gardener and we are the branches.
Branches are the fruit-bearing part of the grapevine.
Apart from the vine, they cannot bear fruit and thus are withering sticks suitable only for burning. As we see some branches that do not bear fruit are cut off from the vine.
John 15:6 NIV If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.
But what about the branches that remain?
John 15:5 NIV “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
A bunch of activity doesn’t necessarily result in a lot of fruit.
Activity does not equal spiritual growth. Sometimes churches are so busy in the new gymnasium that they have no time to be in the neighborhood. It is not that recreation is not important, but it hardly stands on a par with the conversion of the lost or the teaching of God’s Word.
II. The Main thing that we the branches must do it to Abide (v. 4-8)
[4] Remain in me, as I also 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. [5] “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. [6] If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. [7] If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. [8] This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
The Greek word for "abide" menoˉ (pronounced men'-o) is a key command in this passage, repeated ten times. It means to Okay , i'm gonna readremain, dwell, stay connected, or live in permanent union.
III. The Fruit of Abiding: Joy and Love (v. 9-17)
Jesus explains that abiding is expressed in two primary ways that lead to two promised results.
John 15:10 NIV [10] If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.
If you abide by keeping His commandments, the promised result is
John 15:11 NIV I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
Jesus isn't promising a generic, fleeting happiness based on circumstances. He is offering His own, personal, divine joy.
Christ's Joy was not the absence of trouble (He was speaking this on the night before His crucifixion) but the joy of perfect obedience and unbroken fellowship with the Father.
When Jesus says, "that My joy may be in you," He is offering a supernatural, resilient, and steady gladness that comes from sharing in His own relationship with God.
Joy is a byproduct of abiding. It is the fruit that flows from the branch (the believer) only when it remains connected to the Vine (Christ).
Obedience is the path to joy, not a joyless duty. When we align our priorities with God's will (as you mentioned in your saved instructions), we are living in the space where Jesus' joy naturally flows, because we are reflecting His own perfectly obedient life.
The Result: is "Your joy may be complete (or full)."
The Greek word for "complete" or "full" (πληρoˊω, plēroō) means to be filled to the brim, with nothing lacking.
Complete Joy is a joy that is whole, satisfying, and not dependent on earthly events. It is a deep, eternal contentment that remains steadfast in sorrow, trial, and success alike.
By grounding our faith and prioritising our abiding relationship with Christ, we receive a joy that not only exists in us but completely fills us. It is the full measure of the new life He came to give.
We are chosen, appointed, and empowered to produce lasting, spiritual fruit for God's glory.
[16] You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. [17] This is my command: Love each other.
Abiding in Jesus is the foundation and the necessary first step for all spiritual growth and fruitfulness.
So, we come to the end of the great “I Am” sayings of Jesus. Jesus is the true Vine, God the Father is the Gardener, and we are the branches. I know how well the true Vine functions. I also know how well the Gardener does his work. But the question that is still to be answered is, how well do the branches bear fruit? Are you a fruit-bearing branch? Do you abide in Christ and receive your strength from him? If you do not, perhaps now is the time to set matters right and become the kind of branch you were saved to be.
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