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The Pain Of Pruning
5
Reasons God Prunes Us
by Paul
Tautges
“that [we] may bear more fruit” (John 15:2)
According to John 15:1-8 Open in Logos Bible Software if available), our interpretation of the sanctifying work that
God accomplishes in our lives — especially during times of trial — is directly
related to our understanding of pruning.
This in turn affects our response to personal suffering
and to others in their time of trial.
If we view pruning as punitive, rather than restorative,
we lose sight of God’s undying love toward us and we become like Job’s
anti-gospel counselors who immediately assume God is punishing our fellow
Christians and, therefore, we are now free to cast judgment and harsh treatment
upon them.
Jesus Was Already Punished in Our Place
Now, do you and I deserve punishment? Do we deserve
judgment from God?
No question about it! We deserve 10,000 lifetimes of
grief and pain and turmoil — plus eternal punishment in hell.
But that is not what we get if we truly trust in Jesus
Christ.
Why do we not receive eternal punishment? Because Christ
already endured the punishment for our sin on His bloody cross.
Why do we not receive punishment in our lives as Christians?
Because Christ already endured the punishment for our sin on His bloody cross.
If we forget this gospel truth then we become Pharisees
filled with an imaginary sense of our own self-righteousness and, as a result,
begin to conclude that the sins of others are far worse than our own, and are
worthy of condemnation.
Remembering the sufficiency of the Cross of Christ is
foundational to living for Him in a fallen world, while we dwell in fallen
bodies.
Training, Not Punishment
When God chastens believers, He trains us in
righteousness — and He does so motivated by love and familial commitment (Hebrews 12:6 Open in Logos Bible Software if
available).
Sometimes this includes suffering the painful
consequences for our sinful words and deeds; which He ultimately has wisdom to
discern.
However, He only does this for those who truly belong to
Him (false believers are not disciplined because they are illegitimate
children).
And, when doing so, He does not make us do penance, or
cast us away in anger.
We are no longer the enemies of God who receive
punishment, but His adopted and blood-bought children.
We are His branches and, as such, are tended by the
Gardener, which includes the intentional pain of pruning.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the
vinedresser.
2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he
takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear
more fruit.
3 Already you are clean because of the word that
I have spoken to you.
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot
bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you
abide in me.
5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever
abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me
you can do nothing.
6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown
away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the
fire, and burned.
7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you,
ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear
much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”
Like the tree that is oddly shaped, has suckers growing
out of the base of the trunk, or has dead branches here and there; we are in
need of pruning.
There are character deficiencies which God wants us to
become aware of; there are serious heart sins (the root behind all behavioral
sins), and sinful habits that need to be repented of.
In short, we need to be pruned. But what are God’s
purposes in pruning?
Why Does God Prune Us, His Branches?
Jesus gives five reasons God prunes His children.
God prunes us so that we will bear more fruit.
God does not prune us because He is angry at us, nor does
He prune us because Jesus’ sacrifice was not enough (perish the thought!).
God prunes us, His branches, so “that [we] may
bear more fruit” (John 15:2 Open in Logos Bible Software if available).
In other words, God looks at our Christian lives and concludes
that we are not bearing near as much fruit as we could be.
We are out of balance, have dead branches, and suckers
are draining away our spiritual vitality.
God prunes us so that we will become more dependent.
God does not prune us in order to discourage us; He
prunes us so that we will learn to abide in Christ — the true source of life.
To abide in Christ means to live in obedient dependence
upon His ongoing, minute-by-minute, supply of grace — grace which is Himself!
Too often we become proud and independent, functioning as
practical atheists. This will never lead to greater fruitfulness.
“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot
bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless
you abide in me” (verse 4).
Therefore, God loves us enough to prune us so that we
learn to abide, to rest in Christ.
Our Father, the vinedresser, trains us to learn —
in practice, not only precept — that we truly “can do nothing” apart
from Christ (verse 5).
God prunes us in order to assure us that we are truly
saved.
God does not prune unbelievers in order that they may
become more fruitful, for their fruits would simply consist of more dead
works (James 2:17 Open in Logos
Bible Software (if available); Hebrews 9:14 Open in Logos Bible Software if
available).
Instead, He eventually throws them “into
the fire, and they are burned” (John 15:6 Open in Logos Bible Software if available).
Painful pruning (and it is painful) does not undermine
the Spirit’s work of assurance; it strengthens it.
It is the true child of God who is chastened by the
heavenly Father, not the illegitimate child (Hebrews 12:7-8 Open in Logos Bible Software if
available).
By our fruitfulness we “prove to be” true
disciples of Christ (John 15:8b Open in Logos Bible Software if available).
God prunes us so that He is freed to answer more of our
prayers.
Divine pruning results in our learning to abide
in Christ, which in turn results in the freedom to ask God “whatever
you wish, and it shall be done for you” (verse 7).
The “obedience connection” in our prayer lives is
designed by God to continually motivate us in our walk of faith. It is one of
the if/then relationships in the Christian life.
God prunes us so that we will glorify Him. Jesus
is crystal clear: “By this is My father glorified, that you bear much
fruit” (verse 8a).
To glorify means to magnify, to enlarge, and to draw
attention.
As believers in Christ, we do not live to draw attention
to ourselves, but to our glorious God and Savior.
Our redemption brings God glory in order that the world
may know that the gospel is real (see, for example, 1 Thessalonians 1:2-8 Open in Logos
Bible Software if available).
So, is it punishment or pruning? Punishment is reserved
for the unbeliever, but God prunes those whom He loves–those who truly belong
to Him.
The heavenly vinedresser cuts here and there, wherever it
is needed, to shape us into the image of the true Vine, Jesus Christ.
And that only happens when we learn to abide in Him.
Remember the words of Jesus: “I am the
vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much
fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5 Open in Logos Bible Software if
available).
How much fruit do you want your Christian life to bear?
If your heart’s deepest longing is “much
more fruit” then be prepared for the pruning that will lead you there.
It will be painful, but it will be worth it in the end.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
By God’s grace, I’m a husband, father,
grandfather, and one of the pastors at Cornerstone Community Church east of
Cleveland, OH. I love Christ because He first loved me.
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