I WOULD remark first that all the blessings spoken of here, are connected with the responsibility of those attached to Christ. It is not saving grace, that seeks and brings in the sinner, but the path in which the believer is to walk, and how he can keep in this path in the joy Christ gives.
The vine, as a figure, has nothing to do with the church: individuals are here spoken of as branches, but the vine is not a; figure of the church. In chapter 13. the Lord had. spoken of going away to heaven, and He washes the disciples' feet. In chapter 14. He unfolds the joy He is going to prepare for them in the Father's house; He tells them what had been manifested to them in. Himself: the Father, revealed in the Son, and the coming of the Holy Ghost the Comforter, when they would know their union with Him, He in them, and they in Him, is what He puts before them in this chapter.
Two things are distinct: first, the place they had whilst He was on earth, He, the vine, they the branches; and, second, in chapter 16., the heavenly part is brought out.
The vine is not the Head in heaven. You could not plant a vine there. In heaven there is no pruning or looking for fruit. It is what the church is on earth, and if there is a false branch, it is cut off; it is the earthly condition of the church, and the responsibility of the' disciple as to walk, and keeping and holding fast the joy that belongs to, him in Christ.
These things have I Spoken unto you that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full." If it were only the question of simple grace to the sinner here, it would cut it dreadfully short, for it is only friends that He speaks of laying down His life for, not enemies; it is not here that He is the friend of sinners, but it is if they are obedient they are His friends; " Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you; " it was the intimacy they were in with Him.
They are looked at as disciples, and: told. how they may have Christ's joy abiding in their hearts; they are Called to walk so is to abide practically in: That my joy might remain in you, and that your joy may be full."
" I am the true vine." Israel was not the true vine. Israel was spoken of by the prophets under the figure of a vine, and it brought forth wild grapes. Israel thought that When Messiah came, He would be the topmost branch. If we look at Isa. 42, after the rejection of Israel, as God's servant, Messiah is brought in as the true servant, and then, in chapter 65:, the remnant are treated as servants. Therefore, instead of Israel being the vine, and Christ the best branch, Christ Himself is the vine, and His disciples the branches.
By nature I am in the first Adam, but when in Christ, I am in the second Adam. The vine was planted on earth and failed as to Israel, but the true vine can never fail; He brought forth the best fruit when- tested and tried in every way, and -He sets His disciples to bear fruit, saying, you are clean now, you are responsible to bear fruit. In ch. 13, they were not all clean, but Judas having gone out He says, " Now ye are clean."
A branch when broken off and cast forth, marks a mere professor. -If the union of the church as the body is understood, such a thought as a member being taken away could not be conceived: the body would not be perfect if this could be. If I am a member of the body, I belong to Christ Himself; I am taken into all the privileges He has brought His people into.
But as professing His name upon earth, as branches of this vine, we need pruning to bear more fruit, and that is what the Father, as the husbandman, is occupied with here. How wonderful for the people of God to be able to say He is thus occupied with them! The Lord is watching for fruit; the Father pruning the branches to make them bear it.
" Now ye are clean," made white as snow. Where the word has been received, sinners are washed clean; but that is not the question here; it is " Abide in me and I in you." It is entire confidence, entire dependence, and constancy of heart in looking to Christ and getting all from Him. I repeat it must be an entire dependence. I may say I am dependent on Him, and something else start up and off I go: we trust to self, and so we have not present dependence on Christ. How often in any difficult circumstance our minds start up, as if we could do something; when we have not the consciousness of having Christ with us, we get discouraged by difficulties, but if one gets the mind of God and one starts with Him, the difficulty is gone; without that one doubts whether one is in the right path, and, being. confused, the difficulty becomes greater.
He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit." What wonderful blessing, if made clean! Have we no desire for the glory of God? No affection-towards Him? He has put us where He can look for fruit, though where everything around may hinder fruit-bearing; but if God has saved us and given us a portion With His Son in-glory, what we have to do is to serve Him and bear fruit where He has set us. It May be a very little branch, but it is to bear fruit that the World may see Christ in those who are His down here while He is away. We have kid up our happiness in heaven; all is settled a; to future joy, but He leaves us down here to Show Him forth amongst those Who know Him not.
He turns next to professors, and it is, " If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch; and is withered." His own never Can be cast forth.
" If ye abide in Me and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you:" It is not enough simply to abide in Christ; His words must abide in us also. I get the path of wisdom from His Words; and I: am called -to walk in a path which is the wisdom, goodness and power of God,` a -world of sin, not to set the World right by law, but to manifest Christ's goodness in a world that-knows Him not. That is the path that' the vulture’s eye path not Seen; the divine Life has created for Himself a path through this World. I an not speaking of church discipline but Of God sheaving the path of divine wisdom and, the path of divine life in this world.
At present God is not exercising His power; it is subjection, what Christ was here; He was the subject, obedient man, we are to follow Him, walking even as He walked. The word of God, is the expression of that divine path, it is the one single thing that has come from "dog The Lord says, " Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth." “Man shall not, live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." He was the obedient man. I am to live by every word that comes out of God's mouth, and it is as perfect as Himself. As the man under human authority receives the commander's word and carries it out intelligently, so it is with the believer, he must carry it out, and live by every word and abide in Christ with perfect, entire confidence.
It is just here that the heart is tested. Very often I think I should be happier in carrying out my own will, and that is where I get apart from Christ. Directly a believer's heart is in fellowship with Christ, not seeking his own will, but the Lord's, it may be but a lowly little place, but it is Christ's divine path of glory, and there he gets the daily exercise of life Wanting to do our Own will, is the beginning of all evil. Do you think that you can make yourself happier by doing your own will? by doing something that you like, something that is of the world? Then you get away from Christ.
We find here the way we are being modeled: " If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." Can I say I have His word abiding in me? Then, I have His own divine direction; I am filled with the knowledge of His will, and entirely' dependent on Him. But suppose awful difficulties arise in the way, giants and fenced cities. Well, ask what you will; the walls tumble down. The difficulties in the way keep the believer leaning only the more on Christ in a lowly place. In difficulties we have to believe what we ask will be done for us a great deal more. If we ask for our lusts we shall get quails and judgment with it, eating of the fruit of our own ways; but here it is the most entire, blessed confidence in Him; having His word, I ask Him, and I get the things I ask. If I have His mind, I command His power. We cannot ask for what we will, but for what He does. We know when we have simple and humble dependence on Him, and when we have His word abiding in, us so that we know His mind and will, and if so, we may ask what we will; we command His heart.
What a wonderful place of privilege to be in! We cannot have it, in heaven as down here; having Christ and bringing forth fruit; it is entire identification of heart with the Lord Jesus; and the Lord grant us more of it! A greater closeness to Himself; carried on and exercised by His word. To know His mind, and having His power to carry out what we ask; what might we not have! I am not looking for miracles, but in answer to prayer I do expect the exercise of His power. I, feel how saints in this respect come short. If we have faith expecting an answer, we shall see difficulties, we do not know how, melted and gone. I cannot but think how short we come of abiding in Him, and having what we will done for us, getting an answer, if we see a brother sinning, or dying a natural death.
" Herein is my Father glorified that ye bear much fruit." It is our glory and blessedness that He is thinking of, laid up with God. Meanwhile, He says, you go and serve me; I want you to bear much fruit.
" As the Father path loved me, so have I loved you." Here love takes a divine character. Here Christ gives on the one hand an expression of His own entire dependence on the Father, and, on the other, the Father's eternal delight in Him when down here, coming forth in, " This is my beloved Son in whom I am well. pleased; " and, as we read elsewhere, He " grew in stature, and in favor with God 'and roan." There was in Him the 'unfolding of all that was perfect, and of the most blessed obedience and love, that which was the Father's delight; and He says, " As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you." I have been with you in this world as my Father-has been with me.
!Beside this, there is His delight in them. Do you not think Christ's actual life when down here was the delight of the Father? So, as we abide in Christ's words and follow Him, His delight is in us. His heart has been watching over us with earnest delight, as. His Father's did over Him.
He says, I want you to be keeping close to me, that the outgoing of my delight may be unchecked: " If ye keep my commandments ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love." What was His path down here? Doing the will of God, and keeping His commandments. If you want to give Him delight you must keep His commandments, even as He kept His Father's.
When the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle of the testimony, the camp of Israel broke up and departed from Sinai; when they started, the ark went before them, to seek out a resting place. He led them. When the cloud stayed, they stayed; when the cloud was taken up, they went on; a figure of our dependence on Him who is leading and guiding His people. In walking with Christ we can never walk in darkness; if I walk in darkness, it is because my body is not full of light: " He that is spiritual, discerneth all things." If I am only humble enough to set about what Christs puts before me, I shall always get direction. I am sure, as far as I am doing His will and waiting on Him, to get direction from Him. They always had the cloud, but our discernment of His will depends. on our spiritual state. It is no uncertainty here, no question of His unchanging love, but of our way being His delight. He says, I want you to walk as I walked, to delight me as I delighted God.
We find two things here. The blessedness of Christian life, bearing fruit, and doing what Christ did, and the blessedness of enjoying His love: " These things have I spoken unto you that my joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full."
Alas I If we look at ourselves, we see how far we come short of the enjoyment of walking in the present path of Christ. If we fail, there is sovereign grace to meet us, but it is the joy of Christ Himself that is put before us here. If you think of your failure instead of Christ, do you not find that your joy is not full? If you look up, is there not often the consciousness of something allowed of the old nature, that deer not belong to the machinery of the new? Joy can only be full, as the heart is going on simply in communion with God. The out-flowing of this ought to be simply what we get in intercourse with Him; it is joy in God; the heart entering into the relationship of love, where Christ has put us, and not law.
Next, " This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you." This increases the blessedness. We do look for love and interest to be shown, but we have to look more to this, that we show activity of love and interest to others, " as I have loved you," our pattern. He was above our infirmities, and so, able to help. If a brother's infirmities meet mine, we clash, 'and it often requires a good deal of grace to see a little grace in another. You may see what is harsh in another, but if you had grace enough, you would seer, a little bit of Christ there. Christ was, in His unselfish hive, entirely-above their failures; He could adapt Himself to meet each one's needs. That is what we have to do, not to pass over evil, Christ never did that. It is a blessed divine principle, and a relationship that gives such a perfect interest, that if one suffers, all the other members suffer with it. The moment get a brother, I get Christ, in a sense: "No one ever yet hated his own flesh;" " These things I command you that ye love one another."
But if walking so as Christ would have you, as Himself, you must expect the world to hate you as it hated Him: " If ye were of the world, the world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." What a wonderful thing! Christ putting His disciples into His own place, to get the same hatred as Himself, whilst He is away. But, by abiding in Him, and His word abiding in them, they can draw froth His power and get what they will, and have His joy fulfilled in themselves. He had a deep and constant source of joy that nothing could dry up: constant communion, and favor with His Father, and that is what we are to have with Himself, called to walk with Him, His present favor resting on us, that our joy may be full. The hand of God carries us on that we may bear fruit in the path where no vulture's eye can look, a path where the light of life in Christ shines, and where is never any darkness to those who walk with Him.
We shall find it a hard test to the heart while walking with Him in such a world, but where does the path of rejection end? In—the same glory that He is in. " Where I am 'there 'shall also my servant be." It only requires confidence in His love to carry us on.
If we are hated by the world; we cannot wonder at it: If they have persecuted Me, they will, also persecute you." Poor feeble things, we may be, and the world gladly seizes on things in us which would be passed over in others, but we may be quite sure it is good for us.
Lastly, He speaks Of sending the Comforter: He would come mien' He Sent Him from the Father. Christ sent Him to be the revealer of the heavenly glory, to be a witness to His people of the glory He Himself has entered' into; and " we all beholding the glory of the Lord with unveiled face, are changed into the same image -from glory to glory, even as by the Lord the Spirit."
Are your hearts content to abide in Christ to know nothing in this World but Christ? If not, you will find some evil thing allowed, that is hindering.
The Lord give us purpose of heart to walk with Him, and to abide in Him! Humble and dependent may we be kept near Himself, for " He giveth grace to the humble." May our hearts lean on Him and look to Him, knowing His love all sufficient and He Himself ever near us.
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