¹ “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 bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. ³ You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. ⁴ Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. ⁵ “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. ⁶ If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. ⁷ If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. ⁸ By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”

I am the True Vine is the last of the 7 “I am” statements in the book of John. The key word in the text is ‘Abide’ which means to stay in a given state, place, relation or expectancy.

Benefits of abiding

Pruning (vs 2)

We can’t prune ourselves. We need the vinedresser to prune us (remove the dead weight). He prunes us so that we can bear more fruit.

Purity (vs 3)

The Word cleanses us. The cleansing is to get us ready for the next thing in our lives.

Power (vs 4)

The branches don’t have the power or ability. We can’t bear fruit without Christ (Gal 5: 16-18 – the fruit of the Spirit). We can’t produce the character of Jesus if we do not abide in Him.

Productivity (vs 5)

We will bear much fruit when we abide in the True Vine.

Prayers answered (vs 7)

If we abide in the True Vine, our prayers will be answered. The Father is Glorified (vs 8) when our prayers are answered.

Remember, God (the Vinedresser) is the one who prunes, cleanses, purifies, makes us powerful and productive, and answers our prayers.