March
6, 2003
THE
VINE AND THE BRANCHES
"Abide
in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself,
unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you
abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides
in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you
can do nothing" (John 15:4, 5, NKJV).
As a
branch has no life in it separated from the vine, so we have
no life in us separated from the source of life, our Creator.
Many have an idea that we are separate autonomous beings with
a life of our own, not subject to an external source of life.
Jesus here is saying that a living connection with Him is
essential for growth and fruitfulness.
You may
ask, "How am I to abide in Christ?" To abide in
Christ means that the soul must be in daily communion with
God. Paul gave an example of this when he said, "It is
no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life
which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of
God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians
2:20).
It is
not possible for one branch to depend on another for its vitality;
each must maintain its own personal connection to the vine.
In like manner, each person must maintain his or her own connection
with their Creator to be fruitful in the spiritual realm and
to receive the eternal inheritance of the redeemed.
Our weakness
is united to God's strength, our ignorance to His wisdom,
our frailty to His enduring might. We are not to look to our
own knowledge or intelligence to grow and prosper, but to
Jesus, the infinite Source of wisdom and knowledge. We are
not to let the mind dwell on self, but on God and Jesus for
what they have done for us and mean to us.
Our growth
in grace, our joy, our usefulness - all depend upon our union
with Jesus. It is by communion with Him, daily, hourly, by
abiding in Him, that we grow in knowledge, understanding and
grace. He is not only the author, but the finisher of our
faith.
He says,
"If
you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what
you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father
is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My
disciples"
(John 15:7, 8).
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