THE HUSBANDMAN

And My Father is the Husbandman—John 15:1

A VINE must have a husbandman to plant and watch over it, to receive and rejoice in its fruit. Jesus says: "My Father is the husbandman." He was "the vine of God's planting." All He was and did, He owed to the Father; in all He only sought the Father's will and glory. He had become man to show us what a creature ought to be to its Creator. He took our place, and the spirit of His life before the Father was ever what He seeks to make ours: "Of him, and through him, and to him are all things." He became the true Vine, that we might be true branches. Both in regard to Christ and ourselves the words teach us the two lessons of absolute dependence and perfect confidence.

As Jesus only sought the Father's will and glory in everything, we should follow His example.  Jesus taught us many things by personal example. He taught His disciples how to pray.  He taught us how to handle conflict, how to treat those who slander us, mistreat us, or reject us.  He tells us to pray for them and to give them bread or water when they are hungry or thirsty. We are to repay evil with good and leave justice to God.  In this way we glorify God and His character is not defamed among the unsaved. We cannot do this in our own strength. We have been given the Holy Spirit as our Helper and Enabler. We must follow the example of Jesus. As Jesus (who is God in the flesh) chose to submit to the Father, we must also.  As Jesus chose to rely fully on the Father's direction and wisdom, we must also. As Jesus put His life and everything into the Father's hands for God's greatest good for all mankind, and for God's glory, so ought we.  The Father is the Husbandman, Jesus is the Vine and we as the branches must stay attached to the Vine for nourishment, and to the Husbandman for pruning and whatever else we need to grow and produce much fruit for His glory. This means spending time with the One we love and allowing Him to have His way in our life.

My Father is the Husbandman. Christ ever lived in the spirit of what He once said: "The Son can do nothing of himself." As dependent as a vine is on a husbandman for the place where it is to grow, for its fencing in and watering and pruning. Christ felt Himself entirely dependent on the Father every day for the wisdom and the strength to do the Father's will. As He said in the previous chapter (14:10): "The words that I say unto you, I speak not from Myself; but the Father abiding in Me doeth his works." This absolute dependence had as its blessed counterpart the most blessed confidence that He had nothing to fear: the Father could not disappoint Him. With such a Husbandman as His Father, He could enter death and the grave. He could trust God to raise Him up. All that Christ is and has, He has, not in Himself, but from the Father.             


God has proven His love and that He is trustworthy.  He knows the end from the beginning and every detail in between.  Who better to trust than the one who not only created, but keeps or holds up the universe. He has promised us that as He raised Christ from the dead, one day He will raise us up also.  We will be given new indestructible bodies that will last forever and not become diseased or injured.  That is something to look forward to.

My Father is the Husbandman. That is as blessedly true for us as for Christ. Christ is about to teach His disciples about their being branches. Before He ever uses the word, or speaks at all of abiding in Him or bearing fruit, He turns their eyes heavenward to the Father watching over them, and working all in them. At the very root of all Christian life lies the thought that God is to do all, that our work is to give and leave ourselves in His hands, in the confession of utter helplessness and dependence, in the assured confidence that He gives all we need. The great lack of the Christian life is that, even where we trust Christ, we leave God out of the count. Christ came to bring us to God. Christ lived the life of a man exactly as we have to live it. Christ the Vine points to God the Husbandman. As He trusted God, let us trust God, that everything we ought to be and have, as those who belong to the Vine, will be given us from above.


Just as Christ Jesus never did anything apart from His Father, we cannot do anything of value apart from Christ Jesus.  It is the Father who puts in the regenerated Christian the "will" to desire and do  God's will and way.  Apart from Him we cannot produce spiritual fruit.  If we do not stay attached to the Vine we will spiritually dry up and become useless dried up branches. Therefore, whatever good we do, the glory always belongs to God.

Isaiah said: "A vineyard of red wine; I the Lord do keep it, I will water it every moment; lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day." Ere we begin to think of fruit or branches, let us have our heart filled with the faith: as glorious as the Vine, is the Husbandman. As high and holy as is our calling, so mighty and loving is the God who will work it all. As surely as the Husbandman made the Vine what it was to be, will He make each branch what it is to be. Our Father is our Husbandman, the Surety for our growth and fruit.  For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. (Php.2:13) 

What God promises, He delivers in His own timing and in His own way.  As long as we belong to Him throught Christ Jesus, He will watch over us.  He will grow us spiritually by putting in us a new heart that desires after Him and His way.  This new heart will progressively desire to take on Christ-like attitudes and character and the Christ-like love will fill the soul. We still need to run the race and put off whatever hinders us in this race.  We must keep focused on Christ Jesus and the reason He went to the cross.

Blessed Father, we are Thy husbandry. Oh, that Thou mayest have honor of the work of Thy hands! O my Father, I desire to open my heart to the joy of this wondrous truth: My Father is the Husbandman. Teach me to know and trust Thee, and to see that the same deep interest with which
Thou cares for and delights in the Vine, extends to every branch, to me too.




Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
In all you ways, acknowledge Him,  and He shall direct your paths. 
(Proverbs 3:5-6)

Blue:  Andrew Murray
Yellow:  Annie