Grace Journal 9.2 (1968) 3-22
Copyright © 1968 by Grace
Theological Seminary. Cited with permission.
THE UNFRUITFUL BRANCHES IN JOHN 15
CHARLES R. SMITH
Professor of
English Bible and Theology
INTRODUCTION
The text of John 15 has been one of
the historical battlegrounds of doctrinal
interpretation. Perhaps only the passage in Hebrews 6 has
been the scene of
more battles between the Calvinistic and Arminian schools of interpretation
concerning the matter of eternal security. Not only has this text provided the
field for many battles between these two schools of
theology, but there have also
been a great many
skirmishes ~~ the two camps upon this same battlefield.
Particularly
among Calvinists there has been disagreement as to the interpretation
of this passage.
Though there are other important
problems in the parable of John 15:1-8,
the most significant question concerns the
identification of the unfruitful branches
mentioned in the parable.
Arminians
have generally understood the unfruitful branches as representative
of true believers who, because they become
unfruitful, lose their salvation and
consequently are ultimately cast
into the fires of hell.
Calvinists have been divided as to
the identification of these branches.
Some
have taught that they represent true believers. Most have taught that they
represent unbelievers who profess to be believers.
Still others have taught that
two kinds of unfruitful
branches are discussed: professing Christians, and true
Christians who do not produce the fruits of
Christianity.
Though Arminian
views will be rebutted briefly, the primary purpose of
this study is to investigate the major
interpretations of the passage that have been
suggested by Calvinists and to determine, by a
careful study of the text and its
context, wherein these
interpretations have departed from the intent of the
Speaker. The identification of the unfruitful
branches will be the principal concern.
THE
OCCASION AND BACKGROUND FOR THE PARABLE
The parable of John 15: 1-8 is part
of a very lengthy series of instructions
given by our on the last evening before His
crucifixion. The scope and significance of the
revelations
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given by Christ on that evening have never been
exceeded. On no other single occasion
has much of God's revelation been given to man.
Christ knew that His crucifixion was
near and every moment was spent in imparting
important information to His disciples.
Since
the time was so short only vital matters were discussed. The fact that the parable
under discussion was given during the middle part of
that evening’s instruction is
indicative of its importance.
The evening had begun with the "Last
Supper" and the institution of the
Christian memorial of Christ's death--the ordinance
of the "Lord's Supper."
During
the supper He had washed the disciples' feet and had taught them that this
was a picture of the daily cleansing from sin that
is necessary after the original bath
of salvation if believers are to have fellowship
with Him ("part," In. 13:8). Then He
had told them that one of their number was actually
a pretender, it not "a real believer,
and would that night betray Him. He then proceeded
to teach Peter and the others that
they had no strength
of themselves to be faithful disciples, rather the strength and
comfort which they needed was to be supplied
only through their relationship with
Him. This relationship was soon to assume a new form
in that He was leaving, but the
Holy
Spirit would come as His Representative. With the arrival of the Holy Spirit there
was to begin a new and vital relationship (John
14). The parable of John 15:1-8 was
given at this point in His instruction, in order to
illustrate this new relationship.
After the parable the Lord explains that this relationship.
this union of the
disciples with their Lord, would mean that they
would be persecuted. Only the Holy
Spirit's
ministry could sustain them in this persecution and enable them to perform the
task set before them
(John 16). Just before His arrest, He
prays earnestly that the
unity of believers with Himself and with one, another
may be fully realized by His
disciples (John 17).
There have been numerous suggestions as to the
specific occasion for the
choice of the figure
here employed.
1. Meyer,
Trench, and others have suggested that the figure was prompted by the
wine that had been used in the Lord's Supper just
initiated. This does not seem likely.
however, since they were no longer in the upper
room (14:31).
2. Others
have suggested that there may have been a vine which hung over or
into the window of the upper room. This should be
rejected for the same reason as the
preceding view was rejected.
3. Jerome
thought that the great golden vine which was on the wall of the temple
was in view. Many have followed this
interpretation. This vine was one of the chief
ornaments of the temple. "Many a great man
had counted it an honour to give gold to
mould a new bunch of grapes, or even a new grape on
to that vine."l
But again, this
does not seem to be a likely explanation. During
Passover season the temple was kept
open at night but because of the huge crowds it
seems unlikely that such an intimate
discussion would be appropriate, or even possible,
in the busy temple area.
4. Some
have suggested that a real vine was encountered, either on the side of a
city street or more likely, on the walk down to Cedron. While this is, of course, possible, it
THE UNFRUITFUL BRANCHES IN JOHN 15 5
is not required by the context. This view may be
combined with one or both of the following
5. Lange and others have taught that this was
the time of year for pruning-fires,
and that it was very likely that the slopes of the Cedron valley were dotted with the fires
which indicated to Jesus and his disciples that the worthless
prunings were being burned.
The
same comments apply with this as with the preceding view.2
6. Others suppose that the figure was used by
Jesus because of the usage of the
figure of the vine and vineyard in the Old Testament.
A mental reflection would thus
furnish the occasion for the parable, rather
than any external stimulus. As has been
suggested, however, it is entirely possible that
Jesus had in mind the Old Testament
figure and also used some visible-object such as a vine
or a pruning-fire, as an object lesson.
A careful study of the passage clearly indicates
that Jesus did have in mind the
familiar Old Testament usage of the vine as a
symbol of
well-known to all Jews. Everyone knew of the
temple-vine already mentioned and
they no doubt had
been taught from childhood the significance of this symbol. The
vine was the recognized
emblem of the nation
emblem of the
stamped on the coins of the Jewish nation.3
The figure of the vine was suggested by numerous
Old Testament passages.
Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his
vineyard. My wellbeloved
hath a vineyard m a very fruitful hill: And he fenced it,
and gathered out the stones
thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and
built a tower in the midst of
it, and also made a winepress therein: and he
looked that it should bring
forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. And
now, 0 inhabitants of
me and my vineyard. What
could have been done more to my vineyard, that
I have not done in it? wherefore,
when I looked that it should bring forth
grapes, brought it forth wild
grapes? And now go to; I will tell you what I
will do to my vineyard: I
will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be
eaten up; and break down the
wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: And
I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come
up
briers and thorns: I will also
command the clouds that they rain no rain upon
it. For the vineyard of
the Lord of hosts is the house of
of
for righteousness, but
behold a cry (Isa. 5:1-7 AV).
Yet
I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou
turned Into the degenerate plant of a strange vine
unto me?
Thou
hast brought a vine out of
planted it. Thou preparedst
room before it, and didst cause it to take deep
root, and it filled the land. The hills were covered
with the shadow of it,
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and the boughs thereof were
like the goodly cedars. She sent out her boughs
unto the sea, and her
branches unto the river. Why hast thou then broken
down her hedges, so that all
they which pass by the way do pluck her? The
boar out of the wood doth
waste it, and the wild beast of the field doth devour
it. Return, we beseech
thee, 0 God of hosts: look down from heaven, and
behold, and visit this vine;
And the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted,
and the branch that thou madest strong for thyself. It is burned with fire, it
is cut down: they perish
at the rebuke of thy countenance (Ps. 80: 8 -16 A V).
And the word of the LORD
came unto me, saying, Son of man, What is
the vine tree more than any
tree, or than a branch which is among the trees
of the forest? Shall wood
be taken thereof to do any work? or will men take a
pin of it to hang any
vessel thereon? Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel;
the fire devoureth both the ends of it, and the midst of it is
burned. Is it meet
for any work? Behold, when
it was whole, it was meet for no work: how much
less shall it be meet yet
for any work, when the fire hath devoured it, and it
is burned? Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: As the vine tree among the
trees of the forest, which I
have given to the fire for fuel, so will I give the
inhabitants of
out from one fire, and
another fire shall devour them; and ye shall know that
I am the LORD, when I set my face against them.
And I will make the land
desolate, because they have
committed a trespass, saith the Lord GOD
(Ezk. 15 A V).
Israelis an empty rluxuriantwith
many leaves but little fruit] vine, hebringeth
forth fruit unto himself. . .
[but not unto God] (Hos. 10:1 AV).
Many other Old Testament passages use this
figure, but the major thoughts from
which Jesus drew and
which would have been aroused in the disciples' minds may be
found in the passages quoted above. For this reason
these passages should be examined
in detail, and for reason they have been quoted in
full.
It is clear from the way that Jesus introduced
the parable that He had in mind
this unproductive Jewish vine. He begins by saying,
"I am the vine, the genuine one,"—
the one that is all that a vine should be. He is
thus placing Himself in sharp contrast to
the unproductiveness of
that the symbol of the vine is never used in the Old
Testament apart from the idea of
degeneration.”4
In contrast to that vine, Christ is the true vine
that must produce fruit.
With this as background, preparation has been
made for an attempt: to identify
those who are represented by the unfruitful branches.
THE UNFRUITFUL BRANCHES IN JOHN 15 7
AN
INCORRECT INTERPRETATION:
THE UNFRUITFUL BRANCHES REPRESENT BELIEVERS
WHO LOSE THEIR SALVATION
Arminians have consistently
argued that those represented by the unfruitful
branches are those who were once true believers,
who had once been born again,
but who subsequently lost their salvation. Because
they are lost they are consequently
doomed to ~ell (15:6) as are all whose names are not written
In the Lamb's book of
life (Rev. 20:15). This means that the Arminians must teach that a true believer's
name may be blotted from the book of life--something
which the Scriptures clearly
state will never happen (Rev. 3:5). They must also
teach that the Holy Spirit is taken
from such a person
after a period of indwelling--something which is never intimated
in Scripture and is clearly denied by several
Scriptural concepts. When Christ promised
the Holy Spirit, He
said, "I will come to you" (in the person of the Spirit), He also
said, "I will never leave thee nor forsake
thee" an. 14: 18; Heb. 13:5).
Adam Clarke seems to have given one of the
clearest presentations of this
Arminian interpretation.
As the vinedresser will
remove every unfruitful branch from the vine,
so will my Father remove
every unfruitful member from my mystical body,
even those that have been in
me by true faith (for only such are branches).
But such as have given way to iniquity, and made
shipwreck of their faith and
of their good conscience,
he taketh away. . . . Our Lord, in the plainest
manner, indicates that a
person may as truly be united to him as the branch
is to the tree that
produces it, and yet be afterward cut off and cast into the
fire. A branch cannot be cut
off from a tree to which it was never united: It"
is .absurd, and contrary
to the letter and spirit of the metaphor, too talk of
being seemingly In Christ--because
this means nothing. If there is only a
seeming union, there could only
be a seeming excision; but that which is here
spoken of is terribly real.5
This Arminian view is
also strongly stated by Sadler.
It is impossible to avoid the inference from
this that a branch may abide for
a time in Christ, and
then be taken away. All attempts to get rid of this con-
clusion are dishonest and
futile. . . .6
It is admitted that this parable contains
difficulties, but it is not dishonest to
attempt to harmonize its teaching with clear
Scriptural statements elsewhere. It is
certainly as bad as dishonesty, however, to
interpret this passage as contradicting
Christ's
clear statement on security only a few chapters earlier.
And I give unto them eternal life; and they
shall never perish, neither shall
any man pluck them out of
my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is
greater than all; and no man is
able to pluck them out of my Father's hand
On. 10:28-29 A V).
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To build upon a parable, such as this one in
John 15, a doctrine that contradicts
clear Scriptures elsewhere is certainly a dangerous
procedure. It should be remembered
that a parable or
type is for the purpose of illustrating truth that is being taught. No
doctrine, not clearly
taught elsewhere, should be deduced from a parable.
A POSSIBLE
INTERPRETATION:
THE UNFRUITFUL BRANCHES
REPRESENT BELIEVERS
WHO ARE CHASTENED
A number of recent conservative and Calvinistic
Bible teachers have taught that the
unfruitful branches represent true believers who
are chastened because of their failure to
produce spiritual fruit. Some have varied this view
by teaching that the unfruitful branches
in verse 2; are true
believers, but the unfruitful branches in verse 6 are only professors.
A.
W. Pink is one who has suggested this interpretation. This view, however, runs
into grammatical difficulties in both verse 2 and
verse 6.
The interpretation of verse 2 in this manner is
built upon a special significance
of the word airo.
It cannot be a mere professor who is here in
view--taken away unto judgment.
Again a difficulty has been needlessly created here
by the English rendering:
of the Greek verb. Airo is
frequently translated in the A. V. "lifted up.".
For
example: "And they lifted
up their voices" (Luke
"And Jesus lifted up his eyes" (John
etc. In none of these
places could the verb be rendered "taken away." There-
fore, we are satisfied that
it would be more accurate and more in accord with
the "analogy of
faith" to translate, "Every branch in me that beareth
not fruit
he lifteth
up from trailing on the ground.
Since Pink's suggestion has been accepted by so
many, it should be helpful to
list the usages of airo. It is used 101 times in the
N. T. and in its various forms is translated
in the King James Version in the following eleven
ways:
TRANSLATION
NUMBER OF TIMES SO
TRANSLATED
"bear" 3
"bear up" 2
"carry" 1
"lift up" 4
"loose" 1
"put away" 1
"remove" 2
"take" 25
"take away" 25
"take up" 32
"away with" 5
THE UNFRUITFUL BRANCHES IN JOHN 15 9
This list should make it obvious that airo only
indicates a removal of some
kind and that the object, purpose, and direction of
that removal can be determined
only from the context--not just from the word
itself. This can be supported by
examining any good lexicon.8
Since the context must determine what kind of
removal is in view, it is certainly
not the best method of exegesis to interpret the
word in a manner that is contradictory
to the context. But that
is exactly what has been done by Pink and the others who
make airo mean "lift up" or “take up" in a good sense. In
the context, verse 6 describes
the taking away in no uncertain terms as a taking
away to judgment.
Dr. L. S. Chafer of Dallas Theological Seminary
was one who followed Pink's
interpretation. When
he wrote his book Salvation, he thus sharply distinguished
between the unfruitful branches in verses 2 and
6.
Every branch in me that beareth
not fruit he taketh away. The reference is
evidently to true branches, which
is not the case in verse six. From the fact
that the Greek word airo has the
meaning lifting up out of its place,' . . . it
would seem probable that the
reference is to the last form of chastisement
mentioned in I Cor. 11:30. Such branches are taken home to be with the
Lord. . . .9
As has been pointed out, this interpretation
makes the removal of verse 2 a
loving one involving believers, whereas the removal of
verse 6 is understood as referring
to the doom of believers.
But it should be noted that believers taken to heaven are not
removed from the “Vine."
Apparently because there is no contextual support for so
sharply "distinguishing between the two
kinds of removals and thus requiring two kinds
of unfruitful branches, Dr. Chafer in his later
work, Systematic Theology presented
the view that both verses refer to believers. His
understanding of verse 2 remained
as quoted above, but concerning verse 6 he wrote
as follows:
With the background of what has gone before,
approach may be made to
John 15:6, in which the truth is declared that
if a man abide not in Christ, he
will come under the
condemning judgment of men. The believer's testimony
to the world becomes as a
branch "cast forth" and "withered." The judgment
of the world upon the
believer is described in the severest of terms. . . . If
it be asked how in
practical experience men burn each other, it will be seen
that the language is highly
figurative, for men do not in any literal sense burn
each other; but they do
abhor and repel an inconsistent profession.10
Dr. Charles Ryrie, also of Dallas Theological
Seminary, agrees with Pink
and Chafer that the unfruitful branches in verse 2
refer to believers. He differs from
Chafer,
however, in that he does not understand airo to refer to the taking of a believer
to heaven, rather he understands
that the believer is encouraged or "lifted up" in this
life. 11 But again it may be objected that the
passage seems to indicate a removal from
association with the
Vine. This view allows no such removal. Concerning verse 6,
it is frequently taught that the being "cast
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forth and withered" refers to the believer's
loss of testimony, and that the judgment of fire
refers to the judgment of the believer's works as
described in II Corinthians 3. There is no
warrant, however, for interpreting ~ in a bad
sense in verse 6, while declaring that it
used in a good sense in verse 2. In fact, as it will be pointed out later,
verse 6 requires the
burning of the "branch" itself--not its
"fruit" (works) or its "leaves" (testimony).
From the above discussion it can be clearly seen
that there is no legitimate basis,
grammatical or otherwise, for interpreting verse 2
and verse 6 as referring to two different
kinds of unfruitful branches. To be consistent and
true to the context one must say that
both verses refer to
the same kind of branches.
Those who try to interpret both verses as
referring to non-producing believers,
however, run into serious difficulty with verse
6. To use Dr. Chafer's terminology, they
must interpret the verse in a "highly
figurative manner." In fact it would be hard to choose
words that would better picture the fate of
unbelieving professors than those used in
verse 6. More will be said about the interpretation
of this verse in a later section of this
study.
A PREFERABLE
INTERPRETATION:
THE UNFRUITFUL BRANCHES REPRESENT UNSAVED
PROFESSORS
That the unfruitful branches represent unsaved
professors, has been the standard
interpretation of the great majority
of Calvinistic commentators. But neither is this view
without its difficulties. The major difficulty
with this view is the phrase "in me" in verse 2.
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.
It should be recalled that the baptism of the
Holy Spirit whereby a believer is
place the body of Christ was not explained until Paul
wrote about it in I Corinthians 12:13.
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 Pentecost. When these Words
were spoken, to be "in Christ" was
no 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.
It is true that the word “kingdom" is
sometimes used in a more restricted sense of
believers only. But there is a “kingdom"
during this age which contains unbelievers, and
even the millennial kingdom after the first few
years, will contain unbelievers. It is also
true that those who merely profess to be in right
relationship to God will be excluded
from entering the millennial kingdom. “But the children
of the kingdom shall be cast
into outer darkness
there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Mt.
THE UNFRUITFUL BRANCHES IN JOHN 15 11
Some have suggested that there is a mystical
sense in which all humanity may
be said be "in Christ." In the very
first chapter of this book, John says that every man
receives life, and therefore light, from Christ
an. 1:3-9). As life-giver and Creator there
is a sense in which all are in Him and share in
His Life. 12 But this is obviously not
what Jesus had in mind in John 15. He is not
referring to all of humanity but only to
those who profess a certain relationship but do not
evidence that relationship by
their lives. Also, by
designating Himself as the "genuine vine," He has implied the
existence of a non-genuine vine (or vines). The
"in me" of verse 2, then, is not a
designation for all of humanity.
Concerning the phrase "in me," John
Gill has commented as follows:
There are two sorts of branches in Christ the
vine; the one sort are such who
have only an historical faith
in him, . . . they are such who only profess to
believe in him, as Simon Magus
did; are in him by profession only; they sub-
mit to outward ordinances,
become church members, and so are reckoned to
be in Christ, being in a church-state,
as the churches of
lonica, and others., are said,
in general, to be in Christ; though it is not to
be thought that every
person in these churches was truly and savingly in
him)3
Alexander MacClaren
has presented in masterful fashion the view that the
unfruitful branches represent unsaved professors.
It seems to me that the very language of the
metaphor before us requires us
to interpret the fruitless
branches as meaning all those who have a mere super-
ficia1, external adherence
to the True Vine.
For according to the whole
teaching of the parable, if
there be any real union there will be some life,
and if there be any life, where
will be some fruit, and,. therefore, the branch
that has no fruit has no life,
because It has no real union. And so the appli-
cation, as I take it, is
necessarily to those professing Christians, nominal
adherents to Christiainity
or to Christ's church, people that come to church
and chapel, and if you ask
them to put down in the census paper what they
are, they will say Christians.
. . . but who .have no real hold upon Jesus Christ,
and no real reception of
anything from Him.14
As Dr. MacClaren has
stated, verses 4 and 5, taken alone, would most
naturally lead one to conclude that the unfruitful
branches represent professing
unbelievers. Likewise, it should be conceded by all
that the judgment of verse 6
can most naturally be
understood as the judgment that lies ahead for professing
unbelievers.
But not only do verses 4, 5, and 6 support this
identification- -verse 3
also supports it. In fact, it can hardly be denied
that Jesus' choice of the word
"clean" in verse 3 was intended to remind the disciples
of His discussion with
them only a little earlier that evening. In His conversation
with Peter concerning
the washing of his feet, Jesus remarked that the
disciples were all "clean" except
for one, the son of perdition, who was about to
betray him (cf. Jn. 13:10, 21;
6:70-71;
and 17:12). With this usage in mind, the disciples would have understood
that Jesus, in John 15:3, was telling them again
that he knew them to be true
believers and not just
12 GRACE
JOURNAL
professors as was Judas. His terminology clearly
implies that there are (and will be)
others, who, like Judas, are mere pretenders. These
eleven, however, are true
believers. As such, He
wishes them to realize that their only source of
strength was in Him, not in themselves.
Verse 1 also supports the identification of the
unfruitful branches as
false professors. By introducing Himself as the vine,
"the genuine one," Jesus is
clearly contrasting
Himself to the well-known unproductive vine--
is saying in effect, "I am God's true vine, the
One through whom all of
promises will be fulfilled, and the One in and
through, whom
of redeemed humani,ry,
will at last produce fruit for God." Just as there were
those in
is, who were not true believers, there were also
some who, outwardly at least,
appeared to be
"of Christ," but who were not inwardly united with Christ.
These
were in the "Jesus movement" just as the Sadducees were in the
"Jewish
movement."
Hengstenberg believed that Jesus had
in mind, throughout this whole parable,
the unbelieving Jews who were to be severed from
the "True Vine" because of their
unbelief. Concerning, the phrase, "Every
branch in me that beareth not fruit," he
makes the following remarks:
. . . the Jewish branch
is primarily meant; as by the contrasted fruit-bearing
branch we are to understand
primarily the Apostles, the Christian church ,
having its germ in them. That
even the Jews were a branch in Christ the True
Vine, is as certain as that, according to
chapter
Jews, He came to His own property. ..But the
evidence that Jesus had prima-
rily in view the Jews, when
He spoke of the branches not bearing fruit, is found
in the fact that the same
thought recurs in verse six, where the reference to
Ezekiel 15 places the allusion to the Jews
beyond doubt.15
The validity of these statements is obvious and
will be supported by an exegesis
of the passage, but application should not be
limited only to the Jews. Any who merely
profess to be in union with God face the
consequences stated by Jesus in verses 2 and 6.
The
Jews, of course, would have been particularly in view at the time when Jesus
spoke
these words.
The famous Greek exegete, Godet,
suggested that the phrase "in me" may refer
to the "branch" or to the participle
"bearing." In the latter case the verse would read,
"every branch which is not bearing fruit in me He takes away.”16
The text, however,
while it allows this construction, favors the common
reading.
With these considerations in mind it is evident
that it is not impossible to
harmonize the "in me" with the
identification of the unfruitful branches as merely
professors. The later exegetical sections of this
study will further support this
identification.
Do All Christians
Produce Fruit?
Another problem that has sometimes been urged
against this interpretation is that
requires that all true believers will produce
fruit. It is objected that the Scriptures clearly
THE UNFRUITFUL BRANCHES IN JOHN 15 13
teach that it is possible for Christians to be
carnal, out of fellowship, and walking in darkness.
That
such a condition is possible is admitted by all, but this is not the same as
saying that
such Christian does not, never has, or never will
produce fruit. In fact, it must be insisted,
on the basis of Scripture that all who are truly
saved do produce fruit.
But what is this fruit? A popular conception, frequently heard in
testimonies, is
that a Christian sole purpose is to win souls and that
soul-winning is therefore the fruit
bearing for which a Christian is responsible. But
of the sixty-six times the word fruit is
used in the New Testament, only one verse uses it
for soul-winning (Jn. 4:36).17 The
other non-literal usages of the word all refer to
spiritual fruit; the fruit of the Spirit, or
the fruits of righteousness which are the general
result of the Holy Spirit's work in and
through the believer. These "fruits"
are primarily attitudes produced in the believer.
These
attitudes are of course, manifested in the believer's actions.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, gentleness, good-
ness, faith [fulness], meekness, temperance r self-control]: against
such
there is no law (Gal.
Can a believer conceive of a Christian who has
never experienced the love, joy, or
peace, that the Holy Spirit produces? If such fruit
has never been produced, then it may
be affirmed that the
Holy Spirit is not resident in such a person.
This present generation of Christians has
emphasized the doctrine of carnality
while de-emphasizing the doctrine that a true faith
must produce fruit. Earlier
generations of
Christians were more insistent upon this latter point as well as
the first. Only a generation ago Dr. Ironside spoke emphatically upon this point.
. . . when you are born
again, you love to follow Jesus, and if you do not, you
are not a Christian. Take
that home. Examine your own foundations a bit. . . .
It makes a tremendous difference what you do. If
you do not behave yourself,
it shows that you are not
a real Christian. I know that a real Christian may
fail, but the difference can
be seen in Peter and Judas. Peter failed, and failed
terribly, but he was genuine,
and one look from Jesus sent him out weeping
bitterly; his heart was broken
to think that he had so dishonored his Lord.
But Judas companied with the Lord almost
three-and-a-half years, and was a
devil all the time; he was a
thief, and was seeking his own interest. He was
even made the treasurer of
the company, and he held the bag, but we read,
"He bare away what was put therein" (John
12:6), as this has been literally
translated. At last remorse
overtook him, not genuine repentance, and what
was the result? He went and
hanged himself. He was never a child of God.
There is a great difference, you see, between a
Christian and a false profes-
sor.18
The only proof that a person is a real Christian
is the "fruit" produced in his life.
"By their fruits ye shall know them"
(Mt.
the parable under consideration. The following
comments are appropriate.
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. . . no one can be a
branch in Christ, and a living member of His body, who
does not bear fruit. Vital
union with Christ not evidenced by life is an impos-
sibility and a blasphemous idea.19
Can anyone who is ingrafted
into Christ be without fruit? I answer, many are
supposed to be in the vine,
according to the opinion of men, who actually have
no root in the vine. . . .
By these words He declares that all who have a liv-
ing root in him are
fruit-bearing branches.20
So, one should not consider himself to be a
branch of the Vine just because he
is a Jew. Rather, is the
test a matter of bearing "fruit" (15:2).
Indeed many
professed to believe in Jesus who
really did not (see
fruit-bearing 'branches' the
Cultivator would remove.21
. . . by their
fruitfulness or unfruitfulness they declare themselves to be true
or counterfeit branches,
and to be really, or in show only, engrafted in
Christ. . . The true touchstone whereby to
discern one sort of branches from
another is, not their leaves or
profession, but their fruit. . . . 22
Can one be in Christ yet remain
fruitless? ...This at least is certain, that
as the fruitless branch
can have no living Connection with the vine, no more
can the fruitless
professing Christian with Christ. Something is as it should
not be; though man's eye
may not detect the cause, the union is not the same
kind of union as that of the
fruitful branch or Christian.23
. . . so will God take
away from his church all professed Christians who give
no evidence by their lives
that they are truly united to the Lord Jesus. . .
'Every branch that beareth
fruit,' that is, all true Christians; for all such
bear fruit.24
These quotations represent the consensus of
conservative commentators on this
subject. They agree
that true Life is evidenced by fruit. Where there is no fruit, there
is no Life. This is
what Jesus said in Matthew
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in
sheep's clothing, but inwardly
they are ravening wolves. Ye
shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather
grapes of thorns, or figs of
thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth
good fruit; but a corrupt
tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot
bring forth evil fruit,
neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every
tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into
the fire.
Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Fruit will be produced if the union with Christ
is real. Paul tells believers that they
were saved "unto good works" (Eph.
the Bema,
"then shall every man have his
praise of God" (I Cor. 4:5).
THE UNFRUITFUL BRANCHES IN JOHN 15 15
The
objections, then, do not prohibit the identification of the unfruitful branches
as
merely professors.
In view of his recognition as a godly defender
of the faith, Dr. Ironside's
endorsement
of this view is noteworthy.
There are a great many believers who bear very
little fruit for God, but all
bear some fruit for Him.
There are many people in the Vine (and the Vine
speaks of profession here on
earth) who bear no fruit for Him, and will even-
tually be cut off altogether
when Jesus comes. There will be no place with
Him because there is no union with Him.25
Contextual Support for
this View
It has already been mentioned that verse 6
provides perhaps the strongest
support for this
view. "If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is
withered; and men gather them, and cast them into
the fire, and they are burned."
It should be noted that the preceding verse used
personal pronouns and was
addressed directly to the Apostles. It is not
insignificant, then, that the Holy Spirit
here changes to the indefinite pronoun
"anyone" (t is). Jesus knew that the disciples,
who were true believers ("clean," v. 3),
would not come into the judgment here described.
But what is meant by "abiding" in Him?
According to I John 4:15, the one who
confesses that Jesus is the Son of God
"abides" in God. Also according to I John
"he that keepeth his commandments
(the chief of which is named in the preceding verse
as believing on him) 'abides' in him."
Thus to "abide in Christ:' is equivalent to
"believe in Christ." The relation-
ship of abiding is initiated
by saving faith and is continued by walking in
faith.26
Marcus Dodds
translates this phrase, "If anyone shall not have abided in
me. . . .“27 This
would be the equivalent of saying, "If anyone does not produce
fruit because h.e is not vitally united to the vine and consequently is
removed
(as verse 2 describes)
then that one has nothing to look forward to but the,
same type of judgment that awaits literal branches that have
been cut off."
John Owen's comment on
this phrase is appropriate.
The expression 'if a man abide not in me,' does
not imply the termination of
a living connection, but
that true union and fellowship with Christ was never
enjoyed by this worthless
branch.28
The
"withering" described may well be taken as a graphic picture of what
happens to the
unbeliever's body during the period
between his death and the resurrection of his body
in order that it may be cast into hell.
16
GRACE
JOURNAL
The phrase in the King James text, "men
gather them," is incorrect and should be
simply, "they gather them." The statement
was undoubtedly made without a noun or
pronoun as subject so as to include men in the
case of the literal branches and angels
in the case of the unbelievers represented.
The phrase, "they are burned, " is again an incorrect translation. The Greek text
uses a present passive singular verb which should be
translated simply "it burns," or “it
is burning.” The present tense is for vividness
and allows for a continual burning in hell.
The
singular verb is in agreement with the singular noun "branch." It is
thus the unfruitful
branch itself that burns. The view that this branch is a believer and
that only his
testimony is destroyed
during this life does not satisfy the grammar of this verse.
Neither
is the view that the burning refers to the judgment of the believer's works
satisfactory. The change from the
plural to the singular specifically rejects both
views. The judgment described is the same as that
described by Jesus in Matthew
13:49,
50 (A V).
So shall it be at the end of the world: the
angels shall come forth, and sever
the wicked from among the
just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire:
there shall be wailing and
gnashing of teeth.
It is interesting to note that in the same
chapter Jesus had just described a
sowing which had
produced two kinds of plants that for a time looked like the real
thing, but never produced any fruit and consequently
withered and died (Mt.
He
also describes a sowing which produced tares as well as real wheat. The tares
could
not outwardly be distinguished from the wheat until
the absence of 'fruit' could be
noticed at harvest-time. At that time the tares
were to be consigned to the fire.
A proper exegesis of verse 6 not only supports
the identifying of the unfruitful
branches as unsaved professors, but eliminates
any view which would make them represent
believers. It is admitted that the verse is figurative
but to make it apply to believers it
must be taken as "highly figurative," as
before noted. The following comment by
Powell
is an example of the treatment which must be given to this verse by those
who make it refer to believers: "There is no
doctrinal significance in the burning of
the branch; this was the natural procedure, with
dead wood."29
But if verse 6 is determinative, the other
verses in the parable also support
the same conclusion.
In verse 1, the usage of the adjective
"genuine" has already been mentioned as support.
In verse 2, the expression "he taketh away" offers strong support for this view.
As before noted, the basic idea of airo involves a
removal.
If this refers to the removal
of unbelievers, then the removal is from any
supposed connection with Christ.
Unbelievers
may be removed from the sphere of profession (as was Judas), by
discipline, by persecution, by tribulations, by
temptations, or by death.30 Any and
all of these removals will result in the judgment
of verse 6.
THE UNFRUITFUL BRANCHES IN JOHN 15 17
But if these branches be taken as Christians,
what can the removal signify? The
taking heaven of sinning believers, as suggested by
Chafer, does not remove them from
Christ
or from profession in Christ. If Jesus wanted to teach the truth that sinning
believers may be removed
to heaven it does not seem likely that He would have
chosen this figure. What happens to dead and removed
branches is not good.
Nor is it satisfactory to say that airo refers to a
"lifting up" or encouragement
during this life, as Pink, Powell, and others have stated.
Again this is no removal
from Christ—the true vine, or from profession in
him, and therefore, does not fit
the common usage of airo or the remainder
of the context. Powell's comment
indicates the force of these considerations.
This verse as it stands suggests severance from
the main vine, the result of
cutting or pruning by a
husbandman who had lost patience with an unproductive
branch. But this is not true.31
The meaning of the word, however, and the
context, support the contention
that a removal is described.
Concerning the "purging" mentioned in
verse 2, Barnes has given a helpful comment.
'He purgeth it,' or
rather he prunes it, or cleanseth it by pruning.
There is
a use of words here --a paranomasia in the original- -which cannot be retained
in the translation. It may
be imperfectly seen by retaining the Greek words.
Every branch in me that beareth
not fruit, he taketh away (airei); every branch
that beareth
fruit, he purgeth it (kathairei) now ye are clean(katharoi). . . .32
The "purging," or "pruning,"
or "cleansing" is something quite different from the
"taking away" of the unfruitful branches. As has been
noted, all Christians bear some
fruit, so when He
said "every branch that beareth fruit he purgeth it, that it may bring
forth more
fruit," He was referring to a work done with all believers. This is the
same
truth as that stated in Hebrews 13:8. "But if ye
be without chastisement, whereof all
are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. "
Dr. Tenney has
properly noted the distinction between the two actions involved in
verse 2. "In
pruning a vine, two principles are generally observed: first, all dead wood
must be ruthlessly
removed; and second, the live wood must be cut back drastically.”33
The use of the word "clean" in verse 3
has already been cited as evidence to
support the view being presented. Hutcheson's
comment on this verse is adequate at this point.
In this verse is contained a declaration what
sort of branches they were --
namely, not fruitless; but
"clean" ones, that is, who, by being purged and
cleansed from their
superfluities, (as is promised, ver. 2), are assured
that
they are fruitful branches,
really and internally engrafted in Christ; and so
were they regenerated,
justified, and sanctified in part.34
18
GRACE
JOURNAL
Verse 4 harmonizes with all that has been said.
Using John's definition of "abiding"
(I In.
in me; your belief ensures the vital union with me
that is absolutely necessary if fruit
is to be borne." The fact that an imperative
is used may indicate that a choice is involved,
but this does not mean
that one who was a true believer may stop "abiding." If one
should stop "abiding," then that would
indicate that he was not. truly a believer in the
first place.
To continue in the vine is for a branch the
condition of life, and consequently
its only law.35
They went out from us, but they were not of us;
for if they had been of us, they
would have continued with us:
but they went out, that they might be made mani-
fest that they were not all
together' of us (I In.
To "abide," then, is to maintain a
vital connection to Him by virtue of believing
in Him. This
relationship is initiated and continued by faith. "As ye have therefore
received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him
(Col. 2:6).
Verse 5 repeats the theme that union with Him is
necessary for fruitfulness.
The
phrase translated "without me," is literally, "apart from
me"--meaning "not simply
without my help, but separated from me.”36
In other words, a branch that is not united
to the vine cannot produce fruit. This again
supports the view that the unfruitful
branches represent
unsaved people because believers are not separated from him
even when they have sin in their lives.
For true believers the variable factor in verse
7 is not whether they abide, but
whether they allow His Word to abide in them.
"If you abide in me (that is, if you
are a true believer), and (if you allow) my Words
(to) abide in you, whatever you
wish you shall ask and it shall come to pass for
you."
The remainder of the passage is of interest to
all believers but has little bearing
on the question of identifying the unfruitful
branches and so will not be discussed.
CONCLUSION
The conclusion drawn from this study is that our
Lord, in His remarks
about the unfruitful branches and what happens to
them, is referring to unbelievers.
Many reasons for this conclusion have been
discussed, the major reasons
found in the passage itself may be summarized as
follows.
1. Verse
6 seems to demand this conclusion and the rest of the contextal
so favors it.
2. The word airo, in verse 2, best harmonizes
with this view since it usually signi-
fies a removal.
THE UNFRUITFUL BRANCHES IN JOHN 15 19
3. Verses 4 and 5 seem to teach that a branch
truly united to the Vine must produce
fruit. Any branch, therefore, which does not produce fruit is a dead branch not vitally
united with Him, and will eventually be removed.
4. Verse 3, and also the whole passage, seems to
indicate that the example of
Judas
was in mind. Judas was certainly an unsaved pretender.
5. By the statement, "I am the vine, the
genuine one," Jesus was most certainly
drawing the disciples' attention to the familiar
Old Testament figure of the vine. Gill and
others have remarked that not only was the nation
but the Targums also
refer to Messiah himself as a vine.37
Since the disciples would have thought of the
Old Testament imagery it is
interesting that several Old Testament passages
describe the burning of unfruitful
branches (see particularly Ps. 80:15-16). There
can be no question but that in these
passages the fire refers to the judgment of
unbelievers.
There is much merit to Hengstenberg's
"dispensational" interpretation of the passage.
. . . Jesus, in the whole verse [v. 6], has
primarily in view the unbelieving
people of God: the Jews had
originally stood in relation to Christ--He was
their divinely-appointed
Shepherd, and they His flock; but they did not abide
in Him, they violently
sundered themselves from Him. A comparison with
Ezekiel 15 makes this allusion to the Jews indubitable.
There the Jews appear
under the image of a
degenerate and wild vine, which was fit for nothing in
the world but to be burnt .
. . 38
It appears certain that Jesus had in mind those
unbelieving Jews who
pretended to be in right relationship to God (like
the Pharisees--even like the high
priest), but who were actually not united to the true Vine.
The figure is wide enough
to insist that He also had in mind those who
"believed in his name" (superficially)
but in whom He did not believe (Greek text, Jn.
like Judas,and like much
of "Christendom" today.
In Romans 11, Paul gives a similar analogy which
describes the removal of
branches because of unbelief.
And if some of the branches be broken off, and
thou, being a wild olive
[branch], wert grafted
in among them, and with them partakest of the root
and
fatness of the olive tree;
Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast,
thou bearest
not the root, but the root thee. Thou wilt say then, The
branches
were 'broken off, that I
might be grafted in. Well; because of unbelief they
were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded,
but fear: For
if God spared not the
natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.
Behold therefore the goodness. and severity of God: on them which fell, severity;
but toward thee, goodness,
If thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou
20
GRACE
JOURNAL
also shalt
be cut off. And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall
be grafted in: for God is
able to graft them in again. For if thou wert cut out
of the olive tree which is
wild by nature, and wert grafted contrary to nature
into a good olive tree: how
much more shall these, which be the natural
branches, be grafted into their
own olive tree? (
6. The word "branch" (klema) used in
John 15 is not used elsewhere in the
New Testament. It means a
"cutting" or a “slip."39 Our Lord may have chosen
this
word as a designation for branches that are grafted
into the vine. Based upon this
possibility, Dr. Ironside’s comment is very
interesting.
There are no natural branches in the living
vine. We are grafted in by faith.
I do not know much about grafting, but I do know
that it is one thing to put a
graft in, and it is another
thing for a graft to strike. It is one thing for a per-
son to be outwardly linked
with Him, and quite another for that person to have
life in Christ. What is the
test that proves whether he is really in the vine?
If he bears fruit. All who have life bear
some fruit for God.. If there is no
fruit, you can be sure there is
no life, no real union with Christ.40
Such a grafting, then, would be to make a
profession of faith in Him--to
profess a relationship with God. With this agree
the words of Jesus, "every
planting which my heavenly Father hath not
planted, shall be rooted up" (Mt.
The words of another
famous Bible teacher of the past generation, Dr.
Gaebelein, are an appropriate conclusion.
The branches which bear no fruit, which are
taken away and finally perish do
not represent true believers
at all. Whenever a person takes upon himself
the profession of a
Christian, he claims by that outward profession to take the
place, the position, the
privileges and responsibilities of a believer in Christ,
a separated one and also
a branch in the vine. But while his profession in
church membership indicates
all this, in reality this person is only nominally
a follower of Christ. He
has not the reality of it, he does not possess what he
has taken upon himself in
profession, for he was never born again. As a re-
suit there is no fruit,
because there is no life. . . . That there are thousands
upon thousands of such
branches, dead and unfruitful in the professing church,
does not need any
demonstration. . . . It is only too evident.41
DOCUMENTATION
1.
William Barclay, The Gospel of John (
1956), II, 201
2.
John Peter Lange, Commentary on
the Holy Scriptures, The Gospel According to
John, translated
and edited by Philip Schaff (
House: 1960), p. 461. Dr, Lange and
Dr. Schaff have given here a useful
summary of
these various views.
THE UNFRUITFUL BRANCHES IN JOHN 15 21
3.
Barclay, p. 201.
4.
Ibid.
5.
Adam Clarke, The New Testament with Commentary and Critical Notes (New
6. M.
F. Sadler, The Gospel According to
1890), pp. 369-70.
7.
A. W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John (
Depot, 1929), III, 337.
8.
See William F. Arndt and F. Wilbur
Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the
Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (
Press, 1964) 23-4
9.
Lewis Sperry Chafer, Salvation (
1917), p. 110.
10.
Lewis Sperry Chafer, Systematic Theology (
Press, 1962), III,
300. These volumes were originally published m 1948. In this
writer's
opinion these volumes offer the most Scriptural presentation available of
the whole system
of Christian theology.
11.
Charles C. Ryrie, Unpublished class
lectures on Soteriology
(Dallas Theological
Seminary, Dec. 1957). Dr. Ryrie's
skill as a theologian is highly respected and
consequently
it is with a certain amount of reluctance that the writer prefers
another
interpretation.
12.
George Reith, The Gospel According to
II, 103.
13.
John Gill, An Exposition of the New Testament (
Collingridge, 1960), I, 740.
14.
Alexander MacClaren,
Expositions of Holy Scripture (
Eerdmans Publishing Company), Publishing
Company, 1952), VII, 5.
15.
E. W. Hengstenberg,
Commentary on the Gospel of John (Ediriburg: T & T Clark,
1865), p. 245.
16.
See Frederick Louis Godet, Commentary on
the Gospel of John (
Zondervan PublIshmg
House, n. d.), II, 294.
17.
It is even possible that this verse
may be interpreted so that soul-winning is not
the fruit
designated.
18.
H. A. Ironside,
The Eternal Security of the Believer (
Brothers, 1934), p. 18.
19.
J. C. Ryle,
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels (
Publishing House, n.d.), John
20.
John Calvin, Commentary on the Gospel According to John, trans. by William
Pringle (
21.
V. Wayne Barton, The Gospel of John, Shield Bible Series (
Book House, 1965), p. 73.
22.
George Hutcheson, An Exposition of the Gospel According to John, Puritan
Classic Series (Evansville, Indiana:
The Sovereign Grace Book Club, 1959),
p. 314.
23.
Reith p. 102.
24.
Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the New Testament
(
25.
Ironside,
p.47.
22
GRACE
JOURNAL
26.
Homer A. Kent, Jr., "The Gospel
of John," (unpublished class syllabus, Grace
Theological Seminary, n.d.), p. 81.
27.
Marcus Dodds,
"The Gospel of
edited by W.
Robertson Nicoll (
Company: 1956),
28.
John J. Owen, A Commentary on the Gospel of John (
and 1869),
p. 363.
29.
Ivor
Powell, John's Wonderful Gospel (
Houose,
1962), p. 320.
30.
Barnes, p. 352.
31.
Powell, p. 316.
32. Barnes, p. 352-3.
33.
Merril C. Tenney, John: The
Gospel of Belief (
Publishing Co., 1953), p. 227.
34.
Hutcheson, p. 315.
35.
Godet, II,
295.
36.
B. F. Westcott, The Gospel According to
Eerdmans Publishing
Company, 1964), p. 218.
37.
Gill, p. 739.
38.
Hengstenberg,
pp. 250-1. Hengstenberg, however, failed to
distinguish between
the
individual Jewish "branches" and the nation. The individual
unbelievers are
eternally
condemned. The nation will be revived and its future members will
again be in
the place of blessing.
39.
Robert Young, Analytical Concordance
to the Bible (
Eerdmans
Publishing Company, n.d.), p. 109.
40.
Ironside,
p. 48.
41.
A. C. Gaebelein,
The Gospel of John (
1925), pp. 296-7.
This material
is cited with gracious permission from:
Grace
Theological Seminary
www.grace.edu
Please
report any errors to Ted Hildebrandt at:
thildebrandt@gordon.edu