THE TRUE VINE

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THE TRUE VINE
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We shall explore the following
A) WHAT ARE THE CONTENTIOUS THEOLOGICAL ISSUES?
 

• We shall discuss two important questions

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1. Is John 15 talking about the possibility of
believers losing their salvation?
Apparently verse 6 gives this impression to us.
We should not squeeze too much spiritual truths
out of an analogy
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2. Does spiritual fruit-bearing constitute a
powerful evidence of a saved person?
We should be aware that Jesus was speaking to his
disciples or believers here.
Some commentators maintain that this is the case.
- Fruit-bearing may not be so evident
immediately - But sooner or later, the fruit of
the Spirit will appear (Galatians 522-23)
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B) HOW DOES SPIRITUAL GROWTH TAKE PLACE? We
shall examine several questions here
  1. What is the role of God the Father as the
vinedresser? Denoting his tender and loving
care towards his spiritual children
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2. Why does Jesus describe himself as the true
vine (verse 1)?

• Implying that Israel failed to play this role

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3. What does the pruning process involve (verse
2)?

• Viticulture is slightly different from
  horticulture
• Lifting up the grape vines from the ground for
  better quality grapes

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4. What is the meaning of the Greek word meno
(verse 4)?

• Translated into English as either abide or
  remain
• Occurs 11 times in John 15

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Several important truths

• The branch may remain connected to the vine,
  but it may not be abiding in the vine
• This implies that spiritual growth does not
  happen automatically
• While God engenders the growth, we have to
  discipline ourselves to grow.
• See 1 Timothy 47-8

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Application What personal efforts have you and I
made to ensure a continuous spiritual growth?
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5. How do we actually abide in Jesus each day
(verse 5)?

• By abiding in his words and spending time in
  prayer (v 7)

• By abiding in Jesus love (v 10).

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CONCLUSION

• What does a spiritually fruitful believer look
  like?