John 15:1 - Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible

The true vine] i.e. the ideally perfect vine. 'The vine was the symbol of Israel, not in their national but in their church capacity' (Edersheim): cp. Psalms 80:8; Isaiah 5:1; Jeremiah 2:21; Hosea 10:1. It was also a symbol of the Messiah (Delitzsch). Accordingly Christ here affirms, (1) that He is the true Messiah; (2) that His Church is the true Israel of God, and His followers the true Israelites (cp. 1 Corinthians 10:18; Galatians 6:16; 1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 2:9; Revelation 3:9, etc.); but, above all, (3) that He is the one fountain of spiritual life, supplying all needful grace to believers. The figure of the vine and the branches corresponds to that of the body and the members, used first by Christ at the institution of the Holy Supper (Matthew 26:26) and often afterwards by St. Paul, to express the mysterious, but real and vital union which subsists between Christ and individual believers, and between Christ and His Church (Romans 12:5; 1 Corinthians 10:17; 1 Corinthians 12:12-31; Ephesians 1:3; Ephesians 3:6; Ephesians 4:4; Ephesians 5:30; Colossians 1:18-24; Colossians 2:19; Colossians 3:15). As the vine sends sap into every branch, causing the grapes to grow and ripen, so Christ communicates spiritual life and grace to every soul that is effectively 'in Him,' causing it to bring forth 'the fruits of the Spirit' (Galatians 5:22), to be 'fruitful in every good work' (Colossians 1:10), and—greatest gift of all—to be 'partaker of the divine nature' (2 Peter 1:4). Union with Christ is normally begun in Baptism (1 Corinthians 12:13; Galatians 3:27; Romans 6:3, etc.), and maintained by constant faith (Ephesians 3:17), obedience (John 14:23; Revelation 3:20), love (1 John 4:12), Holy Communion (John 6:56; 1 Corinthians 10:16). The husbandman] cp. Mark 12:1; Luke 13:6.