Outline
Ⅲ
The believers in Christ are branches of the vine—John 15:1, 4-5:
A
The vine, which is Christ, with its branches, which are the believers in Christ, is the organism of the Triune God in God's economy to grow with His riches and to express His divine life—vv. 1-5.
B
We are nothing, we have nothing, and we can do nothing apart from Christ as the vine; thus, we need to abide in Him, to remain, stay, and dwell in Him, not living by what we are or by what we can do but by the immortal life, which is Christ Himself—14:6a; 2 Cor. 5:4.
C
To abide in Christ is to abide in His love so that we may love Him and love one another to express the divine life in fruit-bearing—John 15:9-10, 16-17:
１
"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another"—13:34-35; cf. 1 John 4:18-19.
２
If we love the Lord, we will be filled with Him, and whatever fills us within will come out of us; loving the Lord to the uttermost qualifies, perfects, and equips us to speak forth the Lord—John 21:15-17.
D
To abide in Christ is to keep ourselves in the fellowship with Him daily and hourly, not allowing anything to come between us and Him; the entire church life depends on the divine fellowship, which is the circulating Triune God working, flowing, communicating, transporting, transmitting, and dispensing all that He is into us for our enjoyment—1 John 1:3; 2 Cor. 13:14.
E
In order for the Lord to abide in us, we must let His words abide in us; if we abide in His written word by coming to Him for life, His instant words will abide in us as spirit and life—John 15:7; 5:39-40; 8:31; 6:63.
F
As the branches of Christ, the true vine, we need to live Christ, grow Christ, express Christ, and propagate Christ in every respect; this is to "walk worthily of the Lord to please Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and growing by the full knowledge of God"—Col. 1:10.
G
Fruit-bearing is the overflow of the riches of the inner life; out of the abundance of the inner life there will be a flow that will reach others, penetrating into their lives, so that they may become remaining fruit for the Father's glorification—John 15:16.
Morning Nourishment
Col. 1:10 To walk worthily of the Lord to please Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and growing by the full knowledge of God.John 21:15 …Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these? He said to Him, Yes, Lord, You know that I love You. He said to him, Feed My lambs.
A walk worthy of the Lord is to please Him in all things [Col. 1:10]; it is pleasing to the Lord in all ways. God the Father is pleased with the Son (Matt. 3:17; 17:5). In Galatians 1:15 and 16 Paul says that it pleased God to reveal Christ, the Son, in him. Nothing is more pleasing to God the Father than for us to live Christ. Apart from Christ, nothing can please the Father. The only time we are fully happy is when we are living Christ. If we are humble or kind in a natural way, we are not happy. But if we take Christ as our life and our person and live Him out, we will be the happiest people on earth…The most pleasant thing is to live Christ, to enjoy Christ, and to experience Christ.
If we walk worthily of the Lord, we will bear fruit in every good work… Bearing fruit [in Colossians 1:10] refers to living Christ, growing Christ, expressing Christ, and producing Christ in every respect. This is the good work Paul had in mind. (Life-study of Colossians, p. 21)
Today’s Reading
In John 21 the Lord asked Peter if he loved Him. Peter told the Lord, “You know that I love You.” Then the Lord answered, “Feed My lambs,” and “Feed My sheep” (vv. 15, 17). To speak is not only to edify or to teach but also to feed the lambs and to feed the sheep. If we are going to feed the Lord’s sheep, we have to speak…For us to feed the Lord’s sheep, we must love Him…The more that we love Him, the more we are qualified, equipped, and even perfected to speak.
One day a young lady came to my hometown. I was nineteen years old, and she was twenty-five. That was over sixty years ago in conservative mainland China. For a young lady to speak to a thousand people was a unique and unusual event. Although I had been to Christian meetings quite often, I went to this meeting full of curiosity to see this young lady speak. In my whole life, even up to today, I never heard a person speaking with that much authority…As I listened to her, all my curiosity was taken away. Every word that she spoke caught me, and I was fully convinced. I was a young man raised up in Christianity, but that day I was convinced and caught by the Lord. After the meeting as I was walking home, I prayed and gave my entire life to the Lord.
That young lady, who was only twenty-five years old, loved the Lord to the uttermost. That was her motive. Her love for the Lord was the factor, the element, and the very basic essence of her being powerful. The message she released was from the book of Exodus. She told the audience that Egypt typified the world and that all the worldly people were under the tyranny of Satan, just as the children of Israel were under the tyranny of Pharaoh. She said that we had to be delivered out of this tyranny and that this was our exodus. When I heard this near the beginning of her message, I said to myself that I would not be under Satan’s tyranny anymore. Because this young sister loved the Lord to the uttermost, she had the Lord’s authority, and the impact was in her gospel preaching.
If we love the Lord, we surely will be filled with Him. Whatever fills us within will come out of us. The overflow comes from the infilling…From that day in 1925 when I gave my life to the Lord, I loved to study the Bible and to talk to people about Jesus. Because I was filled with the Lord Jesus, I wanted to speak the Lord Jesus. If we are filled with the Lord Jesus, we surely will have something to pour out…When we love the Lord to the uttermost, we must speak. We must release the One who has filled us within. (CWWL, 1988, vol. 1, “Speaking Christ for the Building Up of the Body of Christ,” pp. 172-173)
Further Reading: Life-study of Colossians, msg. 3