The passage
      v1. Israel was a fruitless vine, but Jesus, representing faithful Israel, takes to himself the role of a fruitful vine.
      v2. God the Father, functioning as the vine dresser, removes the fruitless branches and tip-prunes the fruiting ones so that they produce more. This pruning images the ministry of the gospel. Some hear and do not believe, others hear and believe and so bear fruit.
      v3. Jesus, alluding to the disciples, makes the point that they are the tip-pruned branches, the cleaned or purified ones, and this is because they heard the good news proclaimed by Jesus and believed it.
      v4. As the branch abides in the vine, drawing sustenance from it, so the believer must abide in Christ, be united to Christ through the cleansing power of the gospel. Commentators are divided as to what it means to "remain" or "abide" in Jesus. Some suggest it is obedience, but it is more likely faith. As a consequence of our abiding in Jesus, our believing in Jesus, fruit will follow. Again, commentators are divided on what this fruit consists of, but it is most likely the fruit of love. The compelling love of Christ will shape love in us.
      v5-6. Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. If our faith is firm in Jesus, that is, if we abide in him, then the fruit of love will flow. Of course, without the grace of forgiveness in Christ and without his indwelling compelling, we will be devoid of the fruit of love. We are then like a bundle of cuttings good for burning, but nothing else. To become like a "dry stick that men pick up and use for firewood" illustrates the wastefulness of a life lived apart from Christ.
      v7. A person who puts their faith in Jesus, who abides in Jesus, a person who has taken the gospel to themselves, who has allowed Christ's words to abide in them, that person can ask whatever they wish and it will be answered. Yes, there is a qualification; it is always ask whatever is according to the will of God. In the context the request is for a faith that moves spiritual mountains and a compassionate love that images Christ's love for us.
      v8. So then, when a person, on hearing and believing the gospel, lives as a disciple of Christ, that is, lives by faith in Christ, abides in Christ, and expresses that faith in the fruit of compassionate love, it is then, in that person's life, that God the Father is glorified.

Faith and love
      The image of Jesus as a vine and we the branches, is a very beautiful image, an image made more beautiful by the descriptive word, "abide". But, what does it mean to abide in Jesus?
      As we might expect, there are numerous interpretations. There is the sublime mystical idea of union with Christ, touching the divine, entering into his being. Techniques of prayer and meditation are the instruments by which we reach union. It's all a wonderful idea, but of course, few of us have ever experienced the mystical in our Christian journey. So, have we failed to abide in Christ?
      At the other extreme there are those who argue that abiding is obeying. If we fail to obey Jesus then we can expect to be cut off from the vine and cast out of the vineyard. Of course, the trouble is none of us are very good at obeying. We all fall short of our Lord's expectations; our righteousness is but filthy rags. So, have we again failed to abide in Christ?
      The image of our abiding in Christ is actually very simple, in fact, the whole of John's gospel is quite simple. Following the prologue, the main section of the gospel, the book of signs, is virtually a constant restatement of John 3:16. Each sign, with its related discourse, presents the good news of salvation in Christ. The next section, chapters 13-17, the upper room discourse, concerns living by faith, which faith, in the power of the indwelling compelling of Christ, prompts brotherly love.
      So then, in our passage for study, Jesus the true vine, what is meant by abiding in Christ? It simply means living by faith in Christ, trusting him, resting on him, relying on him, walking with him through life's narrow way. This is not a difficult concept. Consider how it works out in practice. We take on board the promises of scripture, for example, the gospel promise of eternal life, and we simply rest on it, rest on the promises. We take Jesus at his word; that's what abiding means.
      There is an interesting consequence that flows from abiding, it is the bearing of fruit. It's not quite clear, but it does seem that Jesus is speaking about the fruit of love: compassion, acceptance, forgiveness toward our fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord. We could easily miss the significance of Jesus' point here, namely, that abiding produces fruit. The person who abides in Jesus bears much fruit. Faith prompts love.
      Far too often love is seen as a doing thing, but in fact, it is a receiving thing. The more we rest on Jesus, the more Christ-like love takes root in our lives. Faith, not obedience, produces love. For example, we may encourage a brother to forgive, but often, the more we encourage the more resentful they become. On the other hand, we can remind a brother of their forgiveness in Christ; the more they think on that forgiveness, the more forgiving they become.
      So, let us abide in Christ; draw our life from him.

v1
      egw "I am" - Emphatic position.
      hJ alhqinh adj. "the true [vine]" - true, genuine. "Genuine", "the real thing", has much going for it.
      hJ ampeloV (oV) "vine" - vine, vineyard. As a symbol of Israel, Psalm 80:9-16, etc.
      oJ gewrgoV (oV) "gardener" - cultivator. Probably "vine dresser", Brown.

v2
      klhma (a) "branch" - "A cane or shoot of a vine", Morris.
      airei auto "cuts off" - takes up, take away, takes, it. Semitic use of the pronoun "it". This verb may be rendered "lifts up", rather than "removes". A.W. Pink argued that the image is of the branches being lifted up so that they can reach the sun, rather than being "cut off." Few accept this interpretation. "Removes", Barclay.
      kaqairei (kaqairw) "prunes" - cleanses. It is quite possible that the meaning is "cleanses", in fact, Dodd and others argue that "prunes" is an unsupported usage. "Prunes" carries the sense of chastisement, but the reference here is likely to be to the cleansing of the word, namely, the gospel, v3. None-the-less, in the Greek, "cuts off" and "prunes", sound alike (a paronomasia) and may well have been chosen, not for their horticultural accuracy, but on literary grounds. So, "prunes" remains a possibility, but more in the sense of "cleanses" than "chastises." "Any branch which bears fruit, he purifies, to make it bear more fruit", Barclay.

v3
      este (eimi) "you are" - A possible improvement is gained by translating as passive, rather than active, so as to emphasize causation in the action of "the word"; "you have already been cleansed by the word", NRSV.
      hdh adv. "already" - Emphatic position.
      kaqaroi adj. "clean" - Interesting use of the same word meaning ritually clean or pure in 13:10. Here the cleansing comes through the word/gospel, there through the service of Jesus, ultimately his death and resurrection. So, "you are already clean" images the redeemed state of a believer in Christ.
      dia + acc. "because of" - because of, on account of. "Through", "by means of" is a possible the sense here, but unlikely.
      ton logon (oV) "the word" - Here possibly referring to Jesus' teachings in general, but more likely the gospel, the message concerning the salvation made possible through the death and resurrection of Christ.
      lelalhka (lalew) perf. "I have spoken" - "May be meant to indicate that the word remains with them", Morris, or better, "has already taken hold in the life of these followers", Carson.

v4
      meinate (menw) aor. imp. "remain" - remain, abide, continue. The aorist may be ingressive, "start abiding / believing", or gnomic, universal (Carson), or possibly dramatic, for emphasis. The word is used ten times in v4-10. The sense is "continue to be part of", "live in fellowship with", "remain in union with." Possibly having a technical background related to an association with the divine, "when ten sit together and occupy themselves with the Torah, the Shechinah abides among them", Sidebottom. As outlined above, "abiding" is probably a descriptive for "believing": trusting Jesus and his word, resting on him, walking with him, relying on him and his death and resurrection on our behalf.
      en "in" - Although this preposition commonly takes the spacial sense of "in", the sense here is more likely one of association, in which case it means "with." If the mystical sense of "abide", in the sense of "be united to", is intended, then "in" is best, but if "abide" is relational, in the sense of a faith act toward Christ, then "with" is best; "continue with me."
      kagw "and" - and, as. If "as", ie. a comparison, then the sense is "remain in me as I remain in you", Moffatt. If conditional, the clause may be translated as a condition, "if you remain in me, I will remain in you", although the imperative is best emphasized, "you must remain united to me, and I will remain united to you", Goodspeed. A mutual imperative is possible, but unlikely, "let there be mutual indwelling", Carson.
      ferein (ferw) inf. "[can] bear [fruit]" - [is able] to bear, carry, bring. Union with Christ results in the indwelling presence of the Spirit of Christ, whose compelling love prompts love in the believer. Although "the fruit" is not spelled out, "love" is most likely intended, v12-14. "You cannot produce fruit unless you stay joined to me", CEV.
      ean mh + subj. "-" unless [it remains in the vine it is unable to bear fruit by itself]. Expressing a condition.

v5
      oJ menwn (menw) part. "if a man remains [in me]" - the one remaining, abiding. The participle forms an indefinite relative clause, which, in the sentence, shapes a condition, as expressed in NIV. Of course, a condition can be expressed without the use of "if", "anyone who dwells in me .... bears much fruit", REB.
      ferei (ferw) pres. "will bear" - bears. The present tense, expressing continuous action, may be translated with a future tense to express that continuing action in English.
      cwriV + gen. "apart from [me]" - apart from, without. Emphatic. "Cut off from me you can do nothing", RJB.
      ou dunasqe poiein ouden "you can do nothing" - you are not able to accomplish anything. The double negative emphasizing the inability of bearing fruit without abiding / believing / (and its consequence "cleansing").

v6
      ean + subj. "if" - if [not someone remains in me]. Conditional clause 3rd class, where the stated condition has a probability of coming true.
      tiV "anyone" - a certain, someone. Can be rendered as a relative pronoun, "whoever does not remain in me", TEV.
      wJV "like" - as, like. The literal reading is "unless a person remains in me they are (he is) cast out like/as ...", cf. Moffatt etc. Some translators, as NIV, shape the sentence so the "thrown away" is part of the illustration rather than God's action toward those who do not abide. "A man who does not share my life is like a branch that is broken off and withers away. He becomes just like the dry stick that men pick up and use for firewood", Phillips.
      eblhqh (ballw) aor. pas. "is thrown [away]" - cast, thrown [out]. The action is possibly repetitive, or futuristic, or immediate, "he has forthwith been thrown out", Moule, but most likely constative, emphasizing the certainty of the action without reference to its beginning or end. Presumably, "thrown out of the vineyard" is intended.
      sunagousin (sunagw) pres. "are picked up" - they gather up. A general present tense expressing what people generally do (see Phillips above), therefore not indicating any time differential between the aorist, "thrown away", and the present "gather up." Possibly the third person plural is being used to form the passive voice, so NIV, etc.
      exhranqh (xhrainw) aor. pas. "withers" - drys up, withers.
      to pur (pur oV) "fire" - The presence of the article may indicate a particular fire, an allusion to the eternal fire of judgment, but is most likely an example of parabolic style. The same construction is used with "a branch", lit. "the branch."
      kaietai (kaiw) pres. "burned" - they are burned.

v7
      ean + subj. "if" - Again, a conditional clause, 3rd class, where the condition is a likely reality. Many abide in Christ, that is, believe in him, just as many have heard the gospel and taken it to heart, that is, have allowed the words of Christ to abide in them.
      meinhte (menw) aor. 2nd pl. "you remain" - The "you" prompts many to suggest that this verse begins the explanation of the parable.
      oJ ean + subj. "whatever" - "Ask anything you wish", Barclay.
      qelhte (qelw) subj. "you wish" - you want, will. The seemingly general nature of the promise is controlled by the context. The "words" define the will of God and as we know, a prayer of faith must be based on that will. If the word is the gospel, then the prayer is for salvation; if the word is the command to love, then the prayer is for the capacity to love, ie. to be merciful as our heavenly father is merciful. Probably both.