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
John 15:4-5 Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so 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, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing.The believers are also the many branches of the vine. This means that the believers are members of the Christ of God to form the organism of the Triune God in the divine dispensing. In John 15:1 the Lord Jesus declared, “I am the true vine,” and in verse 5 He said, “I am the vine; you are the branches.” This 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.
The vine in John 15, therefore, is a universal vine comprising Christ and His believers as the branches. In this vine, this organism, the Triune God lives, expresses Himself, and dispenses Himself to the uttermost. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 1178)
Today’s Reading
As branches of the vine, we need to abide in the vine, the Christ of God… Only when the branches abide in the vine can the vine be everything to them. This is the reason the Lord Jesus said concerning Himself as the vine and us as the branches, “Abide in Me and I in you” [John 15:4]. Our life and enjoyment are to abide in the vine. Our destiny as branches is to remain in the vine…A branch of a vine cannot live by itself, for it will wither and die apart from the vine. The relationship between the branches and the vine portrays the relationship between us and the Lord Jesus. We are nothing, we have nothing, and we can do nothing apart from Him. What we are, what we have, and what we do must be in the Lord and by the Lord in us…We should not do anything in ourselves; we should do everything by abiding in the vine… Because we are branches to the Lord and the Lord is the vine to us, we must abide in Him and let Him abide in us. Then in our experience Christ will be everything to us for our enjoyment.
Any insulation will separate us from the rich supply of the vine. A little disobedience, a sin, or even a sinful thought can be the insulation that separates us from the riches of the vine. First, we must see that we are branches. Then we need to maintain the fellowship between us and the Lord. Nothing should be between Him and us…Hence, we need to pray, “Lord Jesus, let there be nothing between You and me separating me from Your rich supply.”
The vine and the branches are an organism to glorify the Father. With the vine we have the glorification of the Father through the expression of the riches of the divine life in fruit-bearing. In fruit-bearing the Father’s life is expressed; hence, in fruit-bearing He is glorified [John 15:8].
The Father is the source and substance of the vine. Apart from the fruit, the essence, substance, and life of the vine are concealed, hidden, confined. However, the riches of the inner life of the vine are expressed in the clusters of fruit. To express the inner life in this way is to release the divine substance from within the vine. When the life of the vine is expressed through the branches in its propagation and multiplication, the Father is glorified, because what the Father is in the riches of His life is expressed in the propagation and multiplication of the vine. This is the glorification of the Father.
Our fruit-bearing is the glorification, the expression, of the Triune God from within. Today the Triune God is within us as our life and nature, and the expression of the life and nature of the Triune God from within us is glory. Therefore, when the divine life with its nature is expressed through us in fruit-bearing, the Father is glorified. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 1180-1182)
Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msgs. 109—110; CWWL, 1967, vol. 2, “An Autobiography of a Person in the Spirit,” ch. 6