Who is God? The I AM that I AM

I AM the True Vine

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener” (John 15:1).

               Farmers take great care tending to their farms. Anyone who has ever had a farm, or a garden, can attest to the fact that it takes great diligence to ensure its proper maintenance and upkeep. Farmers have to plant crops in the right season, ensure that the soil’s tillage is adequate, protect the crops from pests and possible weather damage, as well as keep weeds from choking out the crops –  especially, at their beginning growth stages. When I AM first created Adam, he was to be the keeper of the garden. However, after Adam’s fall, his work became more complicated in that it would take pain and sweat to do what was once an easy job. The Bible says, “To Adam, he said, ‘Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’ ‘Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil, you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow, you will eat your food until you return to the ground since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust, you will return’” (Genesis 3:17-19). Adam failed with regards to living up to I AM’s expectations, but where he failed, Jesus succeeded.

               Jesus lets us know that He is the True Vine and his Father is the Gardener. I AM does the pruning and discards any branch on the Vine that is not productive. The Bible says, “He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful” (John 15:2). A branch that is loose on the ground will not grow any fruit, but if it is attached to the vine, it will flourish. Jesus tells us that we are to stay attached to Him because He is the True Vine; therefore, all that we need to be productive spiritually is found in Him. The Bible says, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:4-5).

               As believers in Christ, we are supposed to be the fruit that is attached to the Vine. What characteristics are we to have as fruit attached to the True Vine? The Apostle Paul wrote, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23). If we lack in these areas, we must ask I AM to help us to be the fruit that we are supposed to be. Let’s break each one down so that we can have a full understanding into the characteristics of the fruit we should be as an extension of the Vine.

a.)    Love – For those who wish to be attached to the True Vine of I AM, love is a must. Without love, we cannot truly be in Christ because I AM is love. Therefore, we must exhibit this quality and understand that even if we do everything else right, without love, I AM will cut us off the branch. “If I speak in the tongues of men and have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).  The previous text lets us know that it doesn’t matter how well you flow in other spiritual gifts, if you cannot love, your gifts are useless, and your branches will be cut from the Kingdom of I AM. So, what exactly is love? The Bible says, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8, 13).

b.)    Joy – I AM desires for us to have joy regardless of whatever circumstance we may find ourselves in. In having joy, it is a sign to I AM that we have released to Him all of our worries and cares. “Nehemiah said, ‘Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength’” (Nehemiah 8:10).  There are situations in life that we will not have control over such things as death, illness, loss of employment, or some other unfortunate circumstance. Nevertheless, Jesus lets us know through His WORD not to worry and to cast all of our cares on Him. “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:4-7).

c.)    Peace – I AM wants all His children to be in a state of peace regardless of the circumstances around them. That peace is only found in His son Jesus Christ. The Bible lets us know that we are not to worry about anything, but to rely totally upon I AM. “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful” (Colossians 3:15). The worries of life can cause you to be in a state of anxiety, stress, panic, and with feelings of defeat. The bills have to be paid, the children need new clothes, the doctors have bad news, or the job may be about to issue you a pink slip, but in all situations know that I AM is in control and He will care for you. “Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air, they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” (Matthew 6:25-27). Jesus is the True Vine of peace. He is the I AM that gives peace to all who abides in Him. The world despite how many treaties they sign will never know peace until the Prince of Peace returns, but I AM’s children can always be in a mental state of spiritual Goshen.

d.)    Patience – We are to be patient in the Lord. This is a virtue that many people do not have, but as the fruit of the Vine, we are called to be patient with others, patient with ourselves, and patient with waiting on God to fulfill His promises. In so doing, we show the love and faith that we have in Christ. “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love” (Ephesians 4:2). We are all recipients of I AM’s patience. He could have judged us in our sins and condemned us to a devil’s hell. However, He has given us chance after chance to get right with Him and sent His Son to die for us instead of giving us the punishment that we deserved. “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). We in return are to display the same patience with others and with God. There are times when you may feel that God is being slow in keeping His promises. Nevertheless, I AM desires that we put our trust totally in Him and even if what we wait for is not done right away, I AM will keep His word. “For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it lingers, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay” (Habakkuk 2:3).

e.)    Kindness – Treating people kind is characteristic of the Vine’s fruit that represents Him. Rather that is helping someone in need, fixing a sick person a plate of food, or changing someone’s flat tire, I AM loves for His children to display acts for kindness. “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked” (Luke 6:35). There are many people in the world who are focused only on themselves. Nevertheless, when we show the world acts of kindness, we are also showing them, Jesus. For many people, the only I AM they will see is through YOU. Be kind to all you meet, including your enemies, for this is a fruit of the Spirit. “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience” (Colossians 3:12).

f.)     Goodness – I AM wants us to be good to all people because He is good to us. “How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you” (Psalm 31:19).  I AM provides for His children even when we are undeserving. Because we are His, I AM gives us a taste of His goodness daily and we are to be good to others in return as part of His Vine. We can never do enough to pay for the goodness of I AM nor should we boast about what we’ve done for others. But our debt has already paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ our Lord and our works are just a seed of appreciation for what He’s done for us. “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind, our sins sweep us away” (Isaiah 64:6).

g.)    Faithfulness – I AM is faithful to His children. He never turns away from us, but there are times when we have turned away from Him. I AM expects us to be faithful to Him as a wife is to be faithful to her husband. “But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you” (1 Samuel 12:24). We serve a faithful God who is unwavering. He stays consistent with us in His undying love even when we fail to do the same. I AM expects us to have the fruit of faithfulness so that we do not turn away from Him and are in good alignment with Him to receive all that He has in store for us. “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23).

h.)    Gentleness – Jesus told us to learn from Him for He was gentle. “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29). Jesus never raised a hand to do harm to anyone, but only to heal. Even when He turned the tables of the money changers, it was not to do them bodily harm but to bring respect to the House of I AM. “Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money-changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written, “ he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a ‘den of robbers’” (Matthew 21:12). Today’s society glorifies violence and brutality, but I AM wants His children to glorify Him. We are to live as such in our homes, at school, work and play. Being of a gentle and not quarrelsome Spirit is of the Lord. “Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men” (Titus 3:1-2).

i.)     Self-Control – Jesus exhibited self-control during His ministry here on earth. When the religious leaders called Him names, he never retaliated. “But some of them said, “By Beelzebub, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons. Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven” (Luke 11:15-16). When He was beaten and insulted, He never said one wrong word. “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth. When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly” (1 Peter 2:22-23). When He was mocked, spit on, and humiliated in the worse way, He never uttered one curse against those who wronged them. Instead, He asked the Father to forgive them. “Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots” (Luke 23:34). Jesus also used self-control when the devil tried to tempt Him prior to beginning His ministry. This is why we have the power in I AM to resist temptation because Jesus did it first. “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). We must use self-control in all areas of our lives so that I AM gets the glory in all that we do. If we allow anger, greed, lust, selfishness, and other manners of evil to make us lose focus, we will be cut from the True Vine because I AM will prune us off His Vine. No branch will remain on the Vine that is not producing fruit. Just as Jesus cursed the fig tree because it did not produce any figs, we too will be cursed into the eternal fire if we fail to stay connected to the True Vine. “The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again” (Mark 11:12-14).

       I AM is the True Vine. We must stay connected to Him in order to be in alignment with His will. Within the Vine, we receive all the nutrients that we need to sustain us spiritually. To fall away from the Vine means that we will no longer be spiritually sound in order to survive; consequently, our capability to produce fruit will diminish. Dried branches are only good for firewood, and those who remain disconnected will have a fiery end, but those who remain in the Vine will see eternal life.