15 "“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine dresser. 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."
John 15:1-6
The work of the husbandman in tending and pruning the vine is with a view to fruitfulness. All God's dealings with us have this supreme concern, to make the vine fulfil its true function. In this connection, we should note the progression: fruit, more fruit (2), much fruit (8) this is the divine ideal for the life of the disciple. It has been pointed out that, horticulturally, the vine is a very unprepossessing looking plant; its wood is good for nothing, one cannot make furniture or implements with it, as with oak, beech, or teak; its sole justification for existence is that it bears fruit when it is purged. How does this pruning take place? By the Word. 'Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you' (3). The word translated 'clean' is the same as that translated 'purgeth' or 'pruneth'. The chief means, then, of making a believer's life fruitful is the ministry of the Word. Provided he is prepared to expose himself to the disciplines of the Word, be responsive, obedient, submissive to it, taking its challenge, its sharp cutting edge, he will not only grow in grace, he will become fruitful. It would be well for us to take our Lord's teaching here at its face value, and recognize that this is the divinely-appointed means of fruitfulness in spiritual life. We do not have to look far to find the real answer.