Commentary on the Gospel of John

                                   Chapter Fifteen

                                                                                                                                              Verses 1-5 continued

When Jesus spoke about every branch in Him, He meant every human He had ever created because the grapevine symbolizes His creation of the entire human race. When Jesus spoke about the branches that bear fruit that He will purge so that they bring forth more fruit, He symbolized all living humans whom He will save by His grace. When Jesus used the word "purge," He meant that He will both sanctify and discipline His believers saved by grace to make them more like Himself so that they can produce even more fruit. The branches that do not bear fruit symbolizes all humans who do not become saved by grace. These humans can and will do good works that God gave them to do, but their good works do not have the quality of God's creations because they only produce temporary, earthly effects. Only believers saved by grace can do good works that have an everlasting effect like those of God's. In other words, believers saved by grace can do the same kinds of good works that Jesus Himself did. John 14:12. God will take away all humans not saved by grace because their good works cannot produce an everlasting effect. Nevertheless, God will cause them all to repent and believe in the Lamb of their own free will, recreate them, reward them for their good works, and give them an eternal life on His new, recreated earth. Revelation 5:11-14; Revelation 20:5; Revelation 21:1-5; Revelation 22:11-12.

When Jesus told His disciples that He had cleansed them with His spoken Word, He meant the eternal Word of God. God speaks His Word in many ways. God has spoken His Word in His creations. Psalm 19:1-4. Jesus happens to be the Living Word of God. Hebrews 10:19-20. God also has His written Word. II Timothy 3:16-17. The spoken and written Word of God carries the shed blood and water of Christ to believers who become saved by grace. The Holy Spirit inhabits eternity. This means the Holy Spirit can extend Christ's shed blood and water into humanity's past and future to cleanse and forgive all humans who become saved by grace. Matthew 24:35.

Only God holds the Almighty Power to save living humans from sin and evil. God never saves the dead natures of humans because that happens to be spiritual death injected into them by the Devil that never repents. Matthew 12:31-32. But Christ will utterly destroy the Devil and all of his evil works. John 12:31-32; I John 3:8.

The branches that symbolize humans not saved by grace cannot bear everlasting fruit. These are the branches of the grapevine that have no fruit on them. Only the branches that symbolize humans saved by grace can deliver the sap, that symbolizes the Holy Spirit, to produce everlasting fruit which symbolizes others who become saved by grace. But humans saved by grace can only deliver the message of the gospel. Only the Holy Spirit has the power to flow through the branches like sap to deliver the shed blood and water of Christ to the believers who become saved by God's grace.

But only believers saved by grace who are true and faithful to Christ can be used by the Holy Spirit to produce everlasting fruit. Unfaithful backsliders cannot produce any everlasting fruit, and they will receive few rewards in Heaven.