446 THE KING’S BUSINESS Jesus the True Vine MAY 13, 1917. LESSON VII. John 15:1-13^ (Read vs. 1-16. Memorize vs. 7, 8). G olden T e x t : “I am the vine, ye are the branches.”—John 15:5. DAILY BIBLE READINGS Mon., May 7—John 15:1-11. (The Lesson).
Tues., May 8—John 15:12-25. Wed., May 9—1 John 2:18-29. Thur., May 10—1 John 3 :1-12. Fri., May 11—1 John 3 :13-24. Sat., May 12—1 John 4:1-11. Sun., May 13—1 John 4:12-21. EXPOSITION AND PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
Christ showing itself in fruitage. Our life, our power to bear fruit is from Christ, our training into the highest fruitfulness is frotn the Father. Union with Christ brings life and power to bear fruit, glad submis sion to the Father’s pruning and training brings a larger measure of fruitfulness. How glad we ought to be that it is the Father who is the husbandman, for He will surely make no mistakes. Further more, He is not only perfect in wisdom, . He is wonderfully tender and kind. If any true disciple of Jesus will meditate long and deeply on the words of Jesus, “My Father is the husbandman,” he will find them filling his heart with rest and joy. v. 2. "Every branch in me that beareth not j*ruit, He taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth (cleanseth) it that it may bring forth (bear) more fruit." The distinguishing characteristic of a true branch, of a branch that is inwardly in the vine, and not merely outwardly and by mere external connection in it, is that it bears fruit. This, as we shall see further down, is also the-'' distinguishing characteristic of a true dis ciple (v. 8). What fruit is we learn from Gal. 5:22; Phil. 1:11; 1 John 2:6; Rom. 1:13; Col. 1:10, and from vs. 8 and 16 of this chapter. God alone is the final • fruit or not (Rom. 10:4). If one has not that real vital union with Christ tha,t results' judge as to whether we are really bearing
v. 1. “I am the true vine, and my Father is the h u s b a n d m a n This verse contains the central truth of the entire passage. All the'wonderful teaching of the. passage circles about, or is a develop ment of this great thought, Christ is the vine, and we are the branches. The basal thought of it is that all our life and power and fruitage result from our union with Him. He is the source of life, we are simply the branches through which the life manifests itself. There are many who are unwilling to be merely a branch, they wish to be the vjne themselves, to have their own independent life ; but when we stop to think o f. it, what higher honor could there be than to be a branch of the Divine vine. Furthermore, we should never for get that it is on the branches that the rich clusters which the vine bears hang, and just so Christ has no way of manifesting His life in this world except through us who are the branches. While Christ is the vine, God the Father is the vine cultivator, who by His wise care brings each branch to its highest possibilities, or, if it has no real union with the vine, removes it. It would be’difficult to find in the whole Word of God a passage that on the one hand has more comfort and encouragement in it for those who are in Christ, and on, the other hand has more soleman warning for those who have a mere outward, formal connection with Christ, and into whose life there is no real flow of the life of
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