John 15:5 (DBY)

Passage

I am the vine, ye [are] the branches. He that abides in me and I in him, *he* bears much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing.

Nearby Context

John 15:3 Ye are already clean by reason of the word which I have spoken to you.

John 15:4 Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abide in the vine, thus neither [can] ye unless ye abide in me.

John 15:5 I am the vine, ye [are] the branches. He that abides in me and I in him, *he* bears much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing.

John 15:6 Unless any one abide in me he is cast out as the branch, and is dried up; and they gather them and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

John 15:7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will and it shall come to pass to you.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "vine", "branches", "abides", "bears", "much", "fruit", "without", and "nothing". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "vine" and "branches", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "Abide in me and I in you..." into verse 6's "Unless any one abide in me he...", so "vine" and "branches" belong inside that flow. In John context, the local focus is the identity of Jesus, new birth, eternal life, and belief and unbelief.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "vine" and "branches" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.