Lesson XXXIII—August 27th
will bring to remembrance the things of Christ, Jno. 16:12-14. He gives power to discern the t r u th so t h at we m ay be kept from fads and f a n- cies and errors of Satan, 1 Cor. 2:9-14. If we were more dependent upon H im we would be saved from much . sorrow. We should pray, "Open thou mine eyes," Psa. 119:18. He takes charge o f. our lives and directs us wh at to do and say, Rom. 8:14; Acts 16:6, 7. H e calls men to service and gives direc- tion and character of Jesus Christ so t h at all of the beautiful graces of the Matchless Man can be made manifest in us. Gal. 5: 22-25. H e makes clear to us the fact of the Deity of Christ. "Ye shall know t h at I am in My Father, and ye in Me and I in you," vs. 20. He will bear witness with our spirits t h at we are the children of God, Rom. 8:16. He will also Impart to us an endless life. The Holy Spirit in us assuring us t h at Christ has gone to the F a t h er and t h at because He lives we shall live also, and as long as He lives we shall live also, vs. 19. The world can never receive the Holy Spirit because of their unbelief, therefore they can never know the Father. Dead in sin, with blinded eyes, the world mu st be forever shut out from the place prepared for disciples and mu st go to the place prepared for the devil and his angels. How earnestly we should work to save men out of the wordl. —September 3d ing on H im (Jno. 7:51); retained by His promise (Jno. 14:19). It is all of Him and f r om H im and for Him. All of the avenues of our being should be open to the infilling and outflowing of t h at life. Abide In Him for Power, vs. 7. His words mu st abide in us. We mu st have conscious fellowship (1 Jno. 1:7). We must know t h at we are doing His will. His Word moulds our will, makes His will our own. Hide H is Word in your heart (Psa. 119:11). L et it dwell in you richly (Col. 3:16). Abide in His Love, vs. 9. H a v i ng loved His own, He loves u n to the end (Jno. 13:1). Think of the immensity of His love, the fulness of it. He tells us t h a t He loves us as the F a t h er loved Him; He was facing the cross b ut talking of His joy. For the joy set before H im (Heb. 12:2. His joy was associated with His suf- fering. It is connected with persecution (Acts 13:52; 1 Pet. 1:7, 8). Abide for Fruit, vs. 16. There can be no fruit a p a rt f r om Him. Fruit bearing depends upon our submission to His life. No fruit separate from Him (vs. 5). We may have much of h uman words and works, b ut no fruit. Such lining is useless and fruitless. F r u it is an evidence of unity, and is the normal condition of the disciple. "By their fruits ye shall know t h e m" (Acts 4:13).' God demands fruit. Not to bring forth fruit is to rob the Lord Jesus Christ and the Father. Let us abide in t h at love. Abide In His Joy, vs. 11.
THE PROMISE OF THE SPIRIT. Jno. 14:16-31.
The Lord Jesus goes on in His message to the disciples and gives them the won- derful promises concerning the Holy Spirit. (1) Another Comforter. This word comfort me a ns one who Is called alongside to be a helper or strength- ener—an Advocate. He was going to the F a t h e r 's House and become their advocate in the presence of the Father, 1 Jno. 2:1; Heb. 9:24; Rom. 8:34. There He would bear them upon His bosom and present their claims through the merits of His atoning work. T he Holy Spirit would come in t he name of the JJord J e s us to be their Advo- cate here oh earth, vs. 26. He -would be all t h at the Lord had been to them, and more. So in heaven H e would plead for t h em and here on earth the Spirit would plead in them. This Holy Spirit who was to come was to be' a person, so the personal pro- noun is used concerning Him. He and Him. (2) The Comforter's Work. H e comes to t a ke up His abode in us, vs. 17. Under the old dispensation He came upon men and departed f r om them, 1 Sam. 16:13, 14. Now He lives in the believers, making their bodies His temples, 1S Cor. 6:19, and He never departs from them, vs. 16. He comes to testify concerning Jesus. " He shall testify of Me," Jno. 15:26. He The Master h as finished His words of con- solation and has arisen to go (14-31), but He stops to give t h em another discourse. - Jesus the Vine. The vihe is an Old T e s t ame nt emblem for Israel. The Jews were a vine out of E g y pt (Psa. 80:8), watered and kept (Isa. 27:23), but they were degenerate (Jer. 2:21). Jesus is the true vine, not a branch. The J e w s ' would have accepted Him as a branch, a member of Israel, but He. was more, He was the vine, the Word made flesh, and planted in the world. He was the True vine, True Light, True Bread, T r ue God, the True and Faithful. His F a t h er was ' the husbandman. He planted, He possessed, H e cultivated, He was in all things subject to the F a t h e r 's care. Disciples the Branches. United to the vine, part of it, they were one with Him. The union between the vine and branches was a permanent one (Jno. 14:19; 17:2.1; Eph. 5:30). The branches were dependent upon the. vine, vs. 4 .(Jno. 15:5). The purpose of a vine and branches is to bear fruit. The vine is the most useless of all trees. Its sole excellency is fruit bear- ing. Abide In Him for life, vs. 5. The life is in the vine, its roots are hidden out of sight. "Our life is hid with Christ in God" (Col. 3:3). The root bears the branches, so our unseen life is in Him.' Life is received through Him (Jno. 1:12); sustained by feed- THE VINE AND BRANCHES. Jno. 15:1-17.
Lesson XXXIV-
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