In John chapter 15, where Jesus speaks about the grapevine and its branches.
He says:
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. You are the branches.”
In these verses, Jesus outlines two major outcomes:
1. Separation for Fruitlessness
Jesus says that any branch that does not bear fruit is cut off by the Father.
This is separation from the flow of life and power from the son — a sobering truth.
2. Pruning for Fruitfulness
But for those who do bear fruit—whether it’s the fruit of the Spirit, the fruit of righteousness (Heb 12:11), holiness or the good works God created us to do (Eph 2:10), – God prunes/purges.
“Every branch that bears fruit, He prunes…”
”…so that it will bear even more fruit.”
Pruning is God’s way of removing the dead weight:
• Our fleshly tendencies
• Unproductive habits
• Emotional & thought hindrances
He doesn’t prune us with sickness, calamity, or punishment.
Instead, He purifies us with something far more powerful and precise:
He Purifies Us with His Word
John 15:3 : “You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.”
The Word is His scalpel—cutting off dead weight, washing us clean, renewing our minds.
And in 1 Peter 1:22, we see this echoed:
“Now that you have purified your souls by obeying the truth…”
So what’s our part?
Obey His Word.
The words God has spoken to us—those personal instructions, and instructed consecrations —are the very tools He’s using to purify our souls and prepare us to produce pure and more abundant fruit.
Hold them close.
Question: Can we create systems that help us obey the truth God has given us?
