Remove or Restore? - article by Joel Hempel
Perhaps your understanding of John chapter 15 has been the same as mine. I am talking about the verses right before our Gospel reading this past Sunday, verses 1 – 8. Specifically, I am referring to verses 1-2 where Jesus said, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 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.”
First, as Pastor Scott emphasized, it is not only good but necessary that we are in the Christian faith together. As the interconnected vine in God’s vineyard with Jesus being the vine and we being the branches, we rely on each other to lift up our spirits when we are down, hold on to us when we are weak, and pick us up when we have fallen. We become an extension of Jesus with each other.
Secondly, the Bible teacher Pastor referenced, Ray Vander Laan, stated in an article that the word in verse two that is traditionally understood to mean “takes away” or “cut off and removed” can also be translated “lifted up” and should be given the context of this passage. I checked him out in my Greek-English Lexicon, and he is right! The word can mean "lift up," "take up," or "pick up," as well as “take away” or “remove.” Why is this important?
It’s the difference between the Bible saying God the Father cuts us off because we are not serving Christ and doing the good works he has prepared for us to do v. being picked up by God when we have “fallen down on the job.” It is the difference between God removing us from his grace v. loving us back into service.
Look at verse 2 again where Jesus says, “Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he takes away…” Dr. Vander Laan points out that if we are "in Christ," we are protected by his grace. It’s the Gospel truth Dr. Eckrich reminded us of in Bible class last Sunday with the picture on the front of the book by Max Lucado:
