F. The Pruning

Now we come to the pruning. In verse 2 the Lord said of the Father that “every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it, that it may bear more fruit.” Pruning is needed. The meaning of pruning is to purge away the waste. Waste comes mostly from something that is too old. When the branches become old, they cease to bear fruit. The way to cause these branches to bear fruit is to cut away the old part of the branches and let new sprouts come out. It is not the old branches that bear the fruit but the new sprouts. This is the reason why we have sufferings at times. The sufferings are the pruning which cuts off the old part that we may become new to bear fruit. Pruning takes place by cutting and breaking. This is for the bearing of much fruit.

G. The Casting Out

1. To Cut Off a Branch from the Enjoyment
of the Riches of the Life of the Vine

At this point we need to say a word about the casting out. In verse 6 the Lord said, “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is dried up; and they gather them and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.” In John 15 there is no thought of being saved or of perishing. We need to forget this concept when we come to John 15. The concept in this chapter is whether we shall enjoy the riches of the vine tree to bear fruit or miss the riches of the tree. To be cast out is not to lose our salvation; it is to be cut off from the enjoyment of the riches of the life of the vine tree. When a branch is cut off, it no longer participates in the riches of the life of the vine. Many Christians have lost the enjoyment of the riches of Christ as life. This means that they have been cut off.

2. To Cut Off a Branch from the Fellowship
of the Branches

To be cast out also means to be cut off from the fellowship of the branches. A branch that is cut off no longer has fellowship in life with the other branches. Many Christians are like this. They have no fellowship in life with other Christians.

3. To Cut Off a Branch from the Expression
of the Son with the Father

Furthermore, to be cast out means to be cut off, to be separated, from the expression of the Son with the Father. When a branch is cast out, there is no more expression of the vine. Many Christians today cannot have the expression of the Son with the Father because they are branches that have been cut off from the vine.

4. To Cut Off a Branch from the Divine Purpose

Finally, to be cast out is to be cut off from the divine purpose. The divine purpose of God the Father in cultivating the Son as the vine tree is to express the fullness of the Godhead. To be cast out as a branch from the vine tree is to be cut off from this divine purpose. Many Christians today are cut off from participation in the divine purpose. When a branch is cast out, it loses the enjoyment of the riches of Christ, misses the rich fellowship of its co-branches, is separated from the expression of God, and is cut off from the purpose of God. If you do not bear fruit, it means that you have been cut off from the enjoyment of the riches of Christ. This, however, does not mean that a person will be lost. Perhaps you are wondering what it means to be cast into the fire. It means to be dried up. Many Christians do have the sensation of being dried up. The matter of being eternally saved or lost is covered in chapter ten. Chapter fifteen is not concerned with the matter of salvation but with the matter of the enjoyment of the riches of Christ, the participation in the wonderful fellowship among the co-branches, the expression of the divine image, and the fulfillment of God’s purpose. This is the main concept of John 15.