LIBERTY UNIVERSITY

THE REVELATION OF THE DEITY OF JESUS CHRIST THROUGH HIS STATEMENT, I AM THE TRUE VINE

A PAPER SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF SCIENCE

SCHOOL OF RELIGION

BY JOSHUA LUMPKIN

LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA JULY 2011

Throughout the ministry of Jesus Christ, there were moments, whether during a public sermon or private conversation, where he referred to himself as I AM. These statements were always followed by a predicatea descriptive, truth-revealing predicate, with but one exception. However, when Jesus used it, in addition to communicating his oneness with the Father, it emphasized the monotheistic model within the Trinity. The concept of the I AM claims dates far back into the Old Testament, even before the Israelites were led out of bondage from the Pharaoh. When God revealed himself to Moses in the burning bush, he told Moses to go to the king of Egypt, and tell him to release Gods people from slavery. Moses asks God about how he should approach the Israelites with this revelation, saying, Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they say to me, What is His name? what shall I say to them? And God said to Moses, I AM WHO I AM. And He said, Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, I AM has sent me to you. 1 While this title may seem peculiar, it is characteristic of Gods omnipresence in addition to his perpetual existence outside of timethe uncreated Creator. 2 Near the end of Jesus public ministry, as the time of his death drew closer, the Lord spent a great deal of time with his disciples. When the time of the Passover came, Jesus had a room prepared so that he and his disciples could eat the Passover feast together. It was during this time that Jesus made the statement, I am the true vine, then including, and my Father is the vinedresser. 3 It is important to note that this discourse between
1 2 3

Exodus 3:13-14 Wikipedia, I Am that I Am, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_that_I_Am, (accessed July 6, 2011). John 15:1

Jesus and his disciples came after three years of public ministrythree years of sign miracles, disciple-making, and, unfortunately, assassination attempts. Because of this, the disciples at the table had witnessed Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead, turn water into wine, and preach countless sermons. At this feast, however, Jesus, who had made himself equal to God, opened the Passover meal by washing his disciples feet. 4 It would be easy to imagine that by the time Jesus commenced his talk about the True Vine, he had his disciples full attention. Not only is this passage one of the richest passages in the Scriptures, its imagery is some of the easiest to understand. Fortunately, for the disciples, it was not the first time they had been introduced to vine imagery. Leon Morris explains, We should bear in mind that there are passages in the Old Testament that speak of Israel using vine imagery (e.g., Ps. 80:8-16; Jer. 2:21; Ezek. 15). Each time, however, it seems that God is pointing out Israels sin. Thus we should understand the thought that Christ is the true vine as marking the contrast with faithless Israel. 5 Isaiah 5:1-7, in light of John 15, is an ideal example of how the relationship between the nation of Israel and the followers of Jesus are connected. This passage speaks of how God planted a vineyard in the form of the house of Israel. Isaiah speaks for the LORD, He dug it up and cleared out its stonesand also made a winepress in it; So He expected it to bring forth good grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes. 6 Because it bore bitter fruit, God planned to burn it down. Isaiah continues, I will lay it waste; it shall not be pruned or dug, but there shall come up briers and thorns. 7 While this passage was clearly not
4 5

John 13:3-17 Leon Morris, Jesus Is The Christ: Studies in the Theology of John (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1989), 120. 6 Isaiah 5:2 7 Isaiah 5:5-6

the first mention of fruitful vitality, or a lack thereof, it underscores the will of God for those in Christthat because he is the true vine, we can and should bear much fruit if we are in Christ. Dr. Elmer Towns states that, The foundation of the Christian life is the believers union and communion with Christ, which is the central truth of the metaphor of the vine and the branches. 8 Although the vine imagery had been used in the past, the purpose for Jesus illustration was slightly different. Gary M. Burge explains this difference by stating, that a relationship with God requires attachment to [Jesus]. 9 Jesus makes this distinction by personifying the vine and the branches as Christ and his disciples, respectively, and the vinedresser as the Father. Beginning with a disclaimer of sorts, Jesus clarifies, Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 10 The Lord goes on to say that his disciples, with the exception of Judas Iscariot, are clean. 11 This word in the Greek is katharos, meaning cleansed, pruned, and guiltless, among other similar variations. It is the belief of some that in this verse, Jesus is referring to the disciples salvation, and that from that point on, Christ focuses on bearing fruit. 12 Abide in Me, Jesus says, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 13 Because we know that Jesus dealt with salvation earlier in the
8 9

Elmer Towns, John: Believe and Live (Chattanooga, TN: AMG, 2002), 149. Gary M. Burge, contributor, New Living Translation Study Bible, 2nd Ed. (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 2008), 1803. 10 John 15:2 11 John 15:3 12 Elmer Towns, Ibid., 151. 13 John 15:4-5

passage, we can assume that neither abiding nor bearing fruit is the means by which we are saved. Therefore, because we know that we are not saved by good works, but, rather, for good works, we must conclude that Christ is simply teaching that salvation is more of a tool used by God than a reward from God. Unfortunately, many people today, Christians included, are deluded by this false doctrine, or perhaps they are deceived by their own proclivity to revert back to a form of works-righteousness. Simply put, we cannot abide unless we are first saved by grace through faith in Christ.14 We must first be in Christ to remain or abide in Christ. Second, in order to bear fruit we must abide. Third, if we do not abide, we will not bear fruit, and therefore, we will be cast out, become withered, and thrown into the fire. 15 However, in bearing fruit we are not producing salvation, but rather we are demonstrating our salvation. While many people think that salvation was designed to terminate on itself, this passage takes us in a different direction. We can see that because salvation was not given as a reward (we cannot deserve it), it must, therefore, be the will of God as the vehicle by which he pours good works into the earth. Jesus is teaching his disciples that salvation is not about them. Evidence supporting this is found within the same passage.
16

Jonah, just before being vomited back onto dry

land, said, Salvation is of the Lord. 17 This correct perspective of salvation found in Jesus teaching of the True Vine took the focus off the disciples and put it onto others, which is the will of God. Jesus deity is revealed by his humility in reflecting his light onto the Father and onto others, just as he would have us do.

14 15 16 17

Eph. 2:8 John 15:6 John 15:12-13, 16-17 Jonah 2:9

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Burge, Gary M., contributor. New Living Translation Study Bible, 2nd Ed. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 2008. Morris, Leon. Jesus Is The Christ: Studies in the Theology of John. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1989. Towns, Elmer. John: Believe and Live. Chattanooga, TN: AMG, 2002. Wikipedia. I Am that I Am. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_that_I_Am, (accessed July 6, 2011).