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NASB | John 15:2 "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 15:2 "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that continues to bear fruit, He [repeatedly] prunes, so that it will bear more fruit [even richer and finer fruit]. |
Bible Question:
For the branches that bear fruit, I agree. But for those that does not bear fruit, the verse, by the translation "cuts away", seems to suggest the branch is removed completely. Are you suggesting that the fruitless branch is only being pruned, and not cut away altogether, in order to stimulate growth? |
Bible Answer: Greetings Parable! Your question has been on the "unanswered" list since Wednesday! Searcher56 did write a post that addresses this question; so I have taken the liberty to cut and paste it here on this thread following my observations about another illustration of barrenness. At one time I equated fruitfulness with soul winning! (Boy was I in trouble here!) but God has shown me that there is much more to this "fruit" that He expects to see IN our lives! In Romans 12:1-2, Paul exhorts believers to "...be transformed by the renewing of our mind..." and throughout Scripture God challenges, "Change the way you think and act!" How do we accomplish this? Jesus said "Apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5; and Paul asserted, "I can do all things THROUGH Christ . . ." Phil 4:13 I believe that the following parable reveals what FRUITFULNESS really is! "Then Jesus used this illustration: A man had a fig tree growing in His vineyard. He went to look for fruit on the tree but didn't find any. He said to the gardener, 'For the last three years I've come to look for figs on this fig tree but haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up good soil?' The gardener replied, 'Sir, let it stand for one more year. I'll dig around it and fertilize it. Maybe next year it'll have figs. But if not, then cut it down.'" Luke 13:6-9 Just as the gardener expected to find figs on a fig tree, so does our Heavenly Father expect to see the qualities of His Son growing in us- His children. When there is no fruit evident, He uses measures to encourage its growth. We must remember that it is the presence of Jesus that enables the "fruit" to grow; He uses different means to accomplish His purposes for us! Fertilizer adds necessary nutrients to stimulate production and the action of digging brings life-giving air to the soil as well as removing obstacles that hinder strong root formation. Yet, the ultimate expression of that fruit is dependent upon our cooperation, our yieldedness or obedience. (First to believe and then to grow by continued obedience to He who is IN us!) God is patient with us, but it is clear that barrenness has consequences! Blessings, Mommapbs From Searcher 56 Word Study: Prune (Kathairo) Take away (Airo) Prune is kathairo (Strong's 2508) and means "to cleanse, of filth impurity". It is translated purge by NASB in Heb 10:2. The root is katharos (Strong's 2513) "clean, pure". Airo (Strong's 142) gives us take away. The same word is used in Matt 16:24, when a disciple is to take up his cross. It is to move it from place to another. The fruitless branch is not pruned, only the one bearing fruit. If there was no pruning, eventually the fruitful branch would be fruitless. Hope this helps, Searcher |