E
Christ is the true vine, and we are His branches—15:1-8:
１
The life, the substance, and the nature of the vine are the life, the substance, and the nature of the branches—1 John 5:11-12; 2 Pet. 1:4.
２
The Son as the vine is the center of God’s economy and the embodiment of all the riches of the Father; the Father, by cultivating the Son, works Himself with all His riches into the vine, and eventually, the vine expresses the Father in a corporate way through the believers in Christ as its branches.
F
The subjective experience of Christ is actually Christ Himself entering into us to be our life and the constituent of our being—Col. 3:4, 10-11.
Ⅲ
The Gospel of John reveals the subjective truths concerning the church:
A
The issue of our receiving the Lord into us is that we become constituents of the church— 12:24; 20:17; 15:4-5; 3:29-30.
B
The Lord’s recovery is to recover the subjective experience of Christ for the practice of the church life—Gal. 1:15-16; 2:20; 4:19; 1:2:
１
The church, which is the issue of our subjective experience of Christ, is Christ constituted into His believers—Eph. 3:16-19.
２
The Christ who died and resurrected has been wrought into us to produce the church, which is His Body—Col. 1:27, 18; 2:19; 3:15.
３
Christ in Himself is the Head, and Christ constituted into us is the Body—Eph. 1:22-23; 3:17; 4:15-16; Col. 1:18, 27; 3:4; 2:19; 3:15.
C
Although the word church is not specifically used in the Gospel of John, the fact of the existence of the church and the constituents of the church are clearly defined, and the church is referred to in seven ways:
１
The church is composed of many grains, which are the many believers produced through Christ’s death and resurrection—12:23-24.
２
The church is composed of the Lord’s many brothers—20:17.
３
The church is the Father’s house—14:2, 23.
４
The church is the Son’s vine with many branches—15:5, 7.
５
The church is the Spirit’s new child, the new man, born by the consummated Spirit— 16:20-22.
６
The church is the bride with Christ as the Bridegroom—3:29-30.
７
The church is the one flock with Christ as the Shepherd—10:14-16.
D
The practical church life is an issue of our experience of the subjective truths; when we experience the subjective truths, the church is spontaneously produced—Rom. 8:10-11; 12:4-5; 16:1, 4-5; 1 Cor. 1:9, 30; 15:45b; 6:17; 1:2; 12:27.
E
The issue of our subjective experience of Christ as life is the church life as a house of feasting—John 12:1-11:
１
In the church life we all must be a triangular member of the church—a “Martha-Lazarus-Mary.”
２
In the real church life the diligent service to the Lord is rendered, the living testimony of the Lord is seen, and the absolute love toward the Lord is poured out; this is the real expression of the Body of the Lord, which is a vessel to contain the Lord and express Him.
Morning Nourishment
John 3:28-30 …I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before Him. He who has the bride is the bridegroom;… He must increase, but I must decrease.14:2 In My Father’s house are many abodes…
23 …If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make an abode with him.
Although the Gospel of John does not have the term church, it mentions the grains, the brothers, and the branches. Do these not signify the church?… In addition,…John the Baptist said to his disciples, “I said, I am not the Christ…. He who has the bride is the bridegroom” [John 3:28-29]. The Bridegroom is Christ. Then who is the bride? The bride is the church. This is corporate, not individual. This is one bride in totality. (CWWL, 1977, vol. 3, “The Subjective Truths in the Holy Scriptures,” p. 126)
Today’s Reading
The phrase My Father’s house is used twice in the Gospel of John. It is used the first time in 2:16, where it refers to the temple (v. 15), the Body of Christ. Based on this, My Father’s house in 14:2 must still refer to the temple, the Body of Christ. We must interpret the Scripture by the Scriptures. Therefore, the definition of My Father’s house in chapter 14 must be according to chapter 2. “My Father’s house” is the temple, the Body, and this is the church today.We have to see that the Gospel of John refers to the church in five different ways. First, many grains are ground to powder to become one bread. Second, many brothers in totality become the church. Third, many branches joined to the vine become one entity. We are members of His Body, and though the members are many, they are one Body. This is similar to the branches; though they are many, they are still one vine. Fourth, there is one bride. Fifth, the one bride is the house of God, “My Father’s house.” All these different terms depict the church from different angles and aspects. However, the main point we should not forget is that the church is produced as a result of our subjective experience of Christ. (CWWL, 1977, vol. 3, “The Subjective Truths in the Holy Scriptures,” pp. 129-130)
[In John 12] we have three kinds of functions: serving, testifying, and loving….These three items must be found in the church life. Whenever people come to us, they must realize that among us are the service for the Lord, the testimony of the Lord, and the love poured out upon the Lord….We must have the service, serving all the time. Even more, we must have the testimony, testifying that the Lord is the resurrection life to us. There is no need for us to labor in this aspect of the testimony. We simply need resurrection life. After we have been resurrected with Him, it is unnecessary for us to labor. We simply sit with Him, go along with Him, and enjoy the feast with Him….Moreover, we must also have the absolute love shown to the Lord. When people come into our midst, they should say, “Oh, these people love the Lord at any cost. They will pay any price in loving the Lord. In their hearts nothing is so costly, so valuable, so lovable, and so precious as the Lord Himself.” We must give people this kind of impression.
We all must be a triangular member of the church. We must have three corners…. In the church life there must be at least three items: the diligent service for the Lord, the living testimony of the resurrection life of the Lord, and the absolute love poured out upon the Lord. If we are truly practicing the church life, we must have the service, the testimony, and the love toward the Lord. We all must be Martha, Lazarus, and Mary. Such a church is the result and issue of the Lord being life to us…. Here we can enjoy the Lord with other saints, and the Lord Himself can dwell, rest, and feast in satisfaction. This is the real expression of the Body of the Lord, which is a vessel to contain the Lord and to express Him. (Life-study of John, pp. 306-307)
Further Reading: Life-study of John, msgs. 10, 25; CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 5, “The Issue of Christ Being Glorified by the Father with the Divine Glory,” chs. 4-6