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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:
The idea of comparing John's usage here to the gospel as a whole seems reasonable. Given that you prefer "take away" to "lift up", what is the meaning for us? Do you endorse the interpretation that if we don't bear fruit, we will be discarded? If so, please explain how this fits with the rest of John's theology. |
Bible Answer: Hello Parable I'll do my best. The theme of this gospel in 20:31 is belief unto life. With that in mind, the proper view is not comparing a fruitful branch to an unfruitful. Rather it's comparing a dead branch (fruitless) to a living one (abiding in the vine and evidenced by fruit). So one may ask how the dead branch can be "in Me." There were many attached to Jesus throughout His earthly ministry who had no life. This is demonstrated in John 6 where thousands are following Him at the beginning of the chapter, but by the end there are only the twelve. And one of those did not have life either. In relation to today, I see the dead branches as false professions which only appear to be attached to the vine but are not abiding in Him. Steve |