“I AM THE VINE-YE ARE THE BRANCHES.”
-MAY 7.-JOHN
15:1-11,15.-
THE Apostle gives
this as one of our Lord’s discourses following the Memorial Supper on the last
night of his earthly life. It was probably suggested by the drinking of the
“cup,” representing the blood of the New Covenant, and may have been uttered
after Judas had gone out, and before the Lord and the eleven went to
Gethsemane. Or it may have been suggested by the vineyards which they passed
on their way to Gethsemane. Or possibly it may have been suggested by the
great golden vine over the door of the golden gate of the temple (the
“Beautiful Gate”), which Josephus says was very large and “had clusters as long
as a man.” Another writer says, “Leaves and buds were wrought of gleaming
reddish gold, but its clusters of yellow gold, and its grape-stones of precious
stones.” The moon being at its full would display this vine to good effect.
The statement of Chap. 18:1, “When Jesus had spoken these words he went forth
with his disciples,” seems to favor the first supposition. This view would
imply a considerable tarrying in the upper room after the Supper was ended,
probably to near midnight-after our Lord said, “Arise, let us go hence.”-John
14:31.
“I am the true vine,” institutes a comparison, and suggests to the
mind a counterfeit or false vine; and this reminds us of the fact that our
Lord, through this same writer, subsequently explained that there would be two
harvests-a gathering of the fruit of the true Vine, and subsequently a
gathering of the clusters of the “vine of the earth.” (Rev. 14:18-20.) If, as
we shall see, the true Vine represents the true Church, then the vine of the
earth represents a false Church, an untrue, ungenuine one.
The heavenly Father is the husbandman who planted, who owns, who cares for
the true Vine, and to him it yields its fruit. The word “husbandman” here does
not signify merely caretaker, but rather the vineyard-owner. This is in
accordance with all the presentations of Scripture: God is therein set forth as
the author of man’s hope, his Savior, through whom alone comes the deliverance
from sin and death. The fact that God accomplishes this through an honored
agent and representative, his beloved Son, and the further fact that he
proposes to use an elect Church as a Royal Priesthood, under his Son, the
appointed Chief Priest, does not alter the fact that he himself is the fountain
from which proceeds every good and every perfect gift.-1 Cor. 8:6; Jas. 1:17.
“Every branch in me,” should not be understood to signify every nominal
Christian, every professor, nor even those who render a nominal assent to the
facts of Christianity, and who are in sympathy therewith. The “justified”
believer is just ready to become a branch in the Vine, but his faith,
and justification by that faith, do not make him a branch. The branches are
those only who have first taken the step of justification through faith, and
who subsequently have presented themselves to God as living sacrifices, and
thus by consecration have been “immersed into Christ: by being “immersed into
his death.”
This procedure, by which we are inducted into membership in Christ
(as branches of the Vine), is clearly expressed by the Apostle in Rom. 6:3-5.
Be it noted that we, no more than the Apostle, are here making an immersion in
water the condition of entry into the body of Christ (as our Baptist brethren
mistakenly do); but we are insisting, as the Apostle insists, that none enter
the body of Christ except by the immersion of their wills into the will of
Christ-their consecration to be dead with him-a self-surrender as justified
human beings to death and to be henceforth new creatures in Christ Jesus, under
and controlled by him, as their Head or Guide in all things.
Amongst those who thus, according to divine arrangement, now become
branches of the true Vine, there are two classes-fruit-bearing branches and
non-fruit-bearing branches known as “suckers.” But both of these conditions
are developments: every branch begins as a very small shoot; every branch
develops leaves; every branch has the same opportunities for nourishment, sap
from the main stem, Christ, and from the same root of divine purpose and
promise. All the branches of the Vine have a tendency to spend their
strength upon themselves-in branch-making rather than in fruit-producing, and
yet there is a difference. Vine-dressers tell us that they can very early
discern the fruit-buds on the proper branches, and that the suckers lack these
fruit-buds.
Just so it is with the Lord’s consecrated people; he does not expect of
them much and fine fruit immediately, but he does look for the buds or
evidences of effort in the direction of fruit-bearing; and these fruit-buds
will manifest themselves early in those who are proper branches of the true
Vine. And those who do not manifest a desire to bring forth fruitage to the
Lord’s glory, by serving him and his cause, but who on the contrary make use of
the knowledge and blessings derived through union with Christ simply to advance
themselves before men, and make a fair show in the flesh, are counted unworthy
of retention, and are cut off, taken away-cease to be recognized in any sense
of the word as branches. They may retain their freshness, green leaves, etc.,
for quite a little time after being rejected of the Lord, but it is only a
question of time until they lose every evidence of fidelity-they wither away.
Nor does the fact that they were branches avail anything after they cease to be
branches, for the wood of the vine is of no practical value. They are burned,
destroyed.
But as even the best branches in the vine, which
give evidence of fruit-bearing, require pruning, so even the most honest and
earnest of the Lord’s people require the Lord’s discipline and providential
care-otherwise they might soon run to woodmaking also, and fail to bring forth
much fruit. The husbandman’s skill recognizes how much of the branch
and sprout and leaf are necessary to the bringing forth and proper maturing of
the fruit which he seeks, and so our heavenly Father knows perfectly the
conditions, etc., most favorable to us that we may bring forth much good
fruit. He sees the sprouts of our ambitions in various directions, and knows,
as we do not, whereunto these might lead us; and by his providence nips in the
bud many of our propositions, deeming it better that the strength and energy
which we thus intend to put forth should be expended rather in other
directions-in bringing to maturity our good fruits already started and in
progress.
The true child of God whose will has been
entirely immersed into the will of the Lord is neither offended nor discouraged
by these prunings. He has learned something at least of his own unwisdom, and
has confidence in the wisdom of the great Husbandman; hence when divine providence
estops his efforts in some directions he takes the thwarting of his plans
joyfully, assured that the Lord’s will and the Lord’s way are the best, and
intended to work out a blessing.
As the Father’s representative, Jesus had been keeping the first
branches of the Vine. He had purged or pruned by his reproofs or counsels, so
that now, at the close of his three and a half years’ ministry, he could say,
“Now ye are clean through the word [teaching] which I have spoken unto you.”
As he again said, in his prayer to the Father, “Those that thou gavest me I
have kept [as branches, disciples, members], and none of them is lost save the
son of perdition.” But henceforth, as the same prayer expressed the matter, the
pruning and care of the branches would not be done by our Lord Jesus in the
same manner, but through the operation of the holy Spirit-the Spirit of the
Father and of the Son.
But it is not sufficient that we be first justified, and then sanctified
through a consecration to the Lord; nor is it sufficient that we get into the
body of Christ and become branches of the Vine. It is good to be a little
shoot, it is good to have buds of promise, it is good to grow as a branch and
put forth tendrils, but however large or small the branch may be, however old
or young, we must remember that the sap which produces the fruit can only be
obtained by continued union with the Vine and its root of promise. If
ever separated, all hopes must wither. Only as we are in Christ, and through
him heirs of God, have we part or lot in this matter; and only so can we bring
forth the fruits which the great Husbandman seeks. It would be folly for the
branch to say, I needed at first to be united with Christ the Vine, but now I
can stand alone. Whoever stands alone, whoever is separated from the Vine and
from the other branches, will speedily wither away; and whoever abides in the
Vine must surely continue to have fidelity to the Vine, must be at one
with all the other true branches of the same Vine. And here we see the
importance of being in the true Vine and at-one with the true
branches.
The wrong thought on this subject of the Vine and the branches is
frequently expressed by our friends of various denominations, who claim that
the branches of the Vine are the various denominations of Christians. This
inculcates a serious error, namely, that it is the duty of every individual
Christian to get into membership in one of these branches-as for instance, the
Presbyterian branch, or the Methodist branch, or the Lutheran branch, or the
Roman Catholic branch, or the Greek Catholic branch. The correct thought, on
the contrary, is that each individual Christian in consecrating himself to the
Lord becomes an individual branch in the true Vine: and his labors
thenceforth should be not to bring forth denominational and sectarian fruits,
but to bring forth the fruits or graces of the spirit of God in his own
character and life.
One writer, in pursuing this wrong thought respecting the branches, says,
“God does not desire to have fruitless churches large and prosperous; he lets
them wither away. The churches that keep nearest to Christ will grow the
fastest.” It should not be difficult for any to discern the fallacy of such
reasoning. If this were the correct view it would imply that the church
organizations which are the largest in numbers and most prosperous in wealth
and honor amongst men are those which have the most truth and which most
directly receive the sap of the holy Spirit from the Lord. But let us see:
amongst Christians this would constitute Roman Catholicism the holiest and best
and nearest to the Lord; Greek Catholicism would claim to be second; Methodism
third, and so on. Intelligent people scarcely need to have the fallacies of
such an interpretation pointed out.
But what is incongruous when applied to denominations as branches, is
thoroughly logical and in harmony with the facts when applied to the individual
Christian and his spiritual life. Those who abide in Christ in faith and trust
and consecration to his service-to the bringing forth of the fruits which are
pleasing in the sight of the great Husbandman-find themselves in a narrow way
indeed, often hedged up by providence, and their efforts in various directions
changed, or rather, their intentions thwarted; but they find, as a result of
all this experience, rightly received, that they are growing in grace-in the
knowledge and in the love of God, the fruits of the spirit.-Rom. 8:28.
The close union between the Vine and the branches is brought to our attention
by our Lord’s words, “He that abideth in me and I in him:” the Vine and its
branches have such a oneness that wherever we touch a branch we touch the Vine
itself. It is one Vine composed of branches, and so is the body of
Christ one body, composed of many members. Wherever a member or branch of the
body of Christ is found, all the various characteristics of Christ himself are
found-in spirit, in intention, as “new creatures.” This oneness in Christ is
the secret of the power and of the fruit-bearing and of the acceptableness of
the branches with the Father, the Husbandman.
“Without me ye can do nothing,” is a statement well worthy of being deeply
engraved in the heart of every truly consecrated member of the body of Christ.
But to abide in Christ means to be subject to all the will of the great
Husbandman, and gladly and meekly submit to all the prunings which his wisdom
sees best to permit. Respecting this necessity for pruning and discipline,
Trench, the celebrated theologian, has well said:
“It fares exactly so with God and some of his elect servants. Men seeing
their graces, which so far exceed the graces of common men, wonder sometimes
why they should suffer still, why they seem to be ever falling from one trial
to another. But he sees in them-what no other eye can see-the grace which is
capable of becoming more gracious still; and in his far-looking love for his
own, who shall praise him, not for a day, but for an eternity, he will not
suffer them to stop short of the best whereof they are capable. They are
fruitbearing branches, and just because they are such, he prunes them that they
may bring forth more fruit.”
Remarking upon the fact that sometimes a vine or tree may attempt more
fruit than it is capable of bringing to perfection, and likening this to
Christian experience and efforts, another writer (H. L. Hastings) suggests:-
“The best way is to shake the tree, and free it of extra fruit.
Prune, clip, cut, pluck, and reduce the fruit, until it becomes manageable, and
until the tree can support its burden, and then let every branch be loaded with
fruit that comes to perfection, but not overloaded with fruit which
never will reach its full development.”
This is a very correct thought, as relates to the fruitage of efforts put
forth in the Lord’s service on behalf of others; for many waste their efforts
because they do not concentrate them sufficiently.
The talented Apostle Paul gives his testimony as to the wisdom of shaking
off some of our plans and arrangements and efforts for which we have little
talent, and concentrating our efforts upon those which we can best bring to
perfection, ripeness, saying, “This one thing I do.” (Phil. 3:13.) The
Apostle’s one business in life was to be, so far as he was able, acceptable to
the Lord personally, and to do with his might what he could to assist others
into the same condition. But the fruitbearing of works for others we do not
understand to be the principal thought in this lesson. The first thought is
that we should have the fruits of the Lord’s spirit in our own hearts, the
graces of the spirit well developed. This, however, implies activity and
self-sacrifice in the Lord’s service, for only so by the Lord’s arrangement can
our personal fruits and graces be brought to maturity.
Our Lord gives us an intimation that the growing of much fruit is not
wholly dependent upon ourselves, and that even while we abide in him as
fruit-bearing branches the quality and quantity of the fruit is to be improved
by our having proper ideals before our minds, and earnestly seeking their
realization. Thus he says, “If ye abide in me and my words abide in you, ye
shall ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you.” The intimation is that
the desire and the asking of the Father at the throne of the heavenly grace is
a means by which we may more and more receive of the sap of the Vine, the holy
Spirit, and be enabled to develop the fruits of the Spirit. It will be noticed
that nothing here implies the seeking or finding of earthly good things. These
are to be left wholly to the Lord’s wisdom and providence, and his people, the
true branches of the Vine, are to desire and to seek for the holy spirit, which
the Father is more willing to give to them than earthly parents are to give
good gifts to their children. -Luke 11:13.
Incidentally the Lord here points out the value of the Scriptures to his
true branches or disciples, when he says, “If my words abide in you.” It is
not only necessary and proper that we seek divine grace, but it is equally
proper that we avail ourselves of the divine revelation respecting what is the
good and acceptable and perfect will of God our Father, the Husbandman of the
true Vine. Hence it will be found that those who bear much fruit and good
fruit not only have been justified through faith, and sanctified through
consecration, and thus accepted into membership in the true Vine, but that
additionally they are seeking to be fruit-bearers,-seeking to abide in the
Vine, and to have all the characteristics of the Vine, seeking grace to help in
every time of need, and availing themselves not only of the sap which flows
through the roots, but also of the light of truth and grace which shines upon
them through the Word of the Lord. And only by following these conditions can
we be fruit-bearers, and only by being bearers of fruit can we be the Lord’s
disciples-to the end; for we are to remember that the Church of the present
time is merely the probationary Church, a company of those who have professed
loyalty, love and obedience. The Lord will bring testing to prove the
sincerity of their professions, and only those who thus prove the sincerity of
their professions will be accepted as members of the Church glorified,
symbolized by the golden vine of the Beautiful Gate of the Temple.
Our Lord would have all the true branches realize his love, his interest,
his care for them, his desire that they might make their calling and their
election sure by compliance with the conditions of membership in the Vine:
hence he assures them of his love in the strongest possible language. He tells
them that his love for them is of the same kind as the Father’s love for him.
Even with all the various evidences of the truthfulness of this statement,
corroborated by the “exceeding great and precious promises” of the Lord’s Word,
it is far too wonderful for us to fully comprehend. We can readily see how and
why our Lord Jesus was greatly beloved of the Father, and called his
well-beloved Son, but it astounds us to know that this same love is exercised
by our Lord in turn toward us. “Behold what manner of love the Father hath
bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God;” for our Lord Jesus
expressed and fully manifested the Father’s love.-1 John 3:1; John 14:7.
But then comes a limitation, namely, that this intense love is only for
the “little flock.” True, “God so loved the world,” and our Lord Jesus loved
the world also, in the sense of sympathetic love, and a desire to do them
good. But the love which the Lord is here declaring is a different one. It is
only for those who have made a full consecration to him-indeed, that
consecration is the secret of his special love. The Father loved the only
begotten Son because he was full of faith and trust and obedience-“unto death,
even the death of the cross.” And likewise this same love extends to those
justified ones who, filled with the Master’s spirit, desire to walk in his
footsteps, to take up their cross and follow him. God’s love, of the same kind
that went out toward our dear Redeemer, goes out to all such; and the
Redeemer’s love goes out to them; and the good message comes to them, “All
things are yours, for ye are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.” “Who shall lay
anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth....It is
Christ that died.”-1 Cor. 3:22,23; Rom. 8:33,34.
But as this special love is in view of the consecration and obedience of
this class, so it depends upon the continuation of that spirit of consecration
and obedience. If their loving devotion grow cold, and they become filled with
self-love and the spirit of the world, to that extent they grieve the holy
Spirit,-they turn from them this special love of the Lord: and hence the
injunction of our Lord, “Continue ye in my love.” These words show that it is
possible for us to forfeit the Lord’s love and to become castaways-to fail to
make sure our calling and election to the exceeding great things which God hath
in reservation for them that love him with this supreme love.-2 Pet. 1:4-11; 1
Cor. 9:27.
It is important that we keep in mind that true love on our part will
manifest itself in obedience, and hence that disobedience is an evidence of the
loss of love as viewed from the Lord’s standpoint; and we must all agree that
this is a reasonable standpoint of judgment. Some may say, How would it be if
we disobeyed through ignorance? We answer that the Lord has made provision
against our ignorance: first, he has given us the Word of truth, “that the man
of God may be perfect [perfectly informed], thoroughly furnished unto every
good work;” and secondly, he has promised to supply such helps in the spirit of
holiness, and the understanding of his Word as will enable us to do those
things which are pleasing in his sight. (2 Tim. 3:17; John 16:13.) Thus,
carelessness respecting the Word of the Lord is one evidence of the lack of
love. Our Lord points out that his continuance in the Father’s love, as the
well-beloved Son, with all that this implies, was because of his obedience to
the Father’s will, and that following the same line he must require that we
shall be obedient to him if we would abide in his love, share his throne and
glory.
“These things have I spoken unto you that my joy might be in you, and that
your joy might be filled-full.” Our Lord’s instructions and commandments are
not intended to terrify us, nor to deprive us of happiness. On the contrary, as
the most fruitful branches well know, obedience to the Lord’s words, and the
privilege thus obtained of abiding in him and his love, is the greatest joy-a
joy which wholly outweighs all the trifling pleasures which the world has to
offer. It is the joy and peace that passeth all understanding, which rules in
the heart, and which brings with it the promise, the assurance, not only of the
life which now is, but also of that which is to come.