Warning: Please do not read this if you are a satisfied
nominal Christian—it will only anger you.
(John
15:4-8 NKJV) "Abide in Me,
and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in
the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
{5} "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in
him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. {6} "If anyone
does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and
they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. {7}
"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask
what you desire, and it shall be done for you. {8} "By this My Father is
glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
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The Lord Jesus' teaching in John 15 is one of the most
important lessons in the Word of God. I
cannot think of another teaching that so clearly describes the nature of true
Christianity. The teaching enforces all
the other examples and lessons that are presented by Christ and the letters of
the Apostles Paul, Peter, James, and John.
The
lesson uses the metaphor of a grape vine and grafting process. This was a familiar example to the disciples
since grape production was a very essential part of culture in Israel. Grafting is a fundamental part of vine
dressing. When Christ declared, "I
am the true vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser," they knew exactly to
what He was referring.
To explain clearly why this lesson is so important, I share
a bit of history concerning American grape production. When early Americans tried to make wine from
indigenous grapes, they found them too sour, bitter, and strong in aroma. Thus, they tried planting European vines, but
the vines were not hardy enough to survive.
The main reason foreign vines cannot be grown in America
is phylloxera, a tiny louse that kills grapevines by feeding on their
roots. In fact, phylloxera was
unwittingly introduce into France
during the 19th century and wiped out nearly all of Frances
vineyards. From France,
it spread around the world destroying nearly every vineyard on each
continent. Because grape vines
indigenous to America
were phylloxera resistant, rootstocks from America
were shipped to France
in order to save their vineyards.
Currently, there are almost no grape vines in the world that are grown
on their own rootstock. This is where
the story gets fascinating for me.
American
rootstock is phylloxera resistant, but European vines are most desirable
for making wine. Therefore, Americans
and Europeans graft the popular European vine, the Vitis vinifera scion,
onto the roots of a resistant Vitis labrusca or other American native
species. There are several grafting
methods, so I will give only one example.
The T-method involves cutting a T into the bark of an adult vine near
the ground. Two Vitis vinifera scions
are then inserted and wrapped with grafting rubber or some other wrap. The vine will bleed when it is cut, so two
additional cuts are made below the grafting area in order to let the blood
drain into the soil. Selah! Weeks later, when the grafts heal, the vine
is sawed off above the grafts and thrown away.
The grafts will then grow vigorously and rapidly into a strong
fruit-bearing vine.
This
is a fascinating event. The root has its
main body cut off and thrown away. It is
treated almost savagely, bled, cut, sawed, spliced, and yet will faithfully and
unassumingly grow the foreign vine as if it were its own body. What an amazing example of Christ!
Therefore, it is important to notice that the Lord Jesus
said abide in the vine. He did
not say that we should abide on the vine. Next, consider that when He declared Himself
to be the Vine, He was declaring Himself as the Rootstock.
(Isaiah
11:10 NKJV) "And in that day there shall be a Root
of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall
seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious."
(Romans 15:12
NKJV) And again, Isaiah says:
"There shall be a root of Jesse; And He who shall rise to reign
over the Gentiles, In Him the Gentiles shall hope."
(Revelation
5:5 NKJV) But one of the elders said to
me, "Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of
David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals."
Jesus Christ, the Lord and Savior, is the Rootstock that is
impervious to sin. We cannot grow in
this world without Him as our Rootstock.
Here is the mystery of Christ that is clearly revealed in the
Bible. Israel,
who was the indigenous branch, was cut off because they produced fruit unfit
for consumption. Those who submit their
lives to God, accept Christ as Lord and Savior, are grafted in. The Apostle Paul warns us not to boast about
the process since we could also be cut off for the same reason as Israel
was cut off.
(Romans
11:17-21 NKJV) And if some of the
branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in
among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of
the olive tree, {18} do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast,
remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports
you. {19} You will say then, "Branches were broken off that I might be
grafted in." {20} Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and
you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. {21} For if God did not spare
the natural branches, He may not spare you either.
What
a blow to the false doctrine of Unconditional Eternal Security, otherwise known
as Once Saved, Always Saved! In John 15,
Christ Jesus gives the same warning as Paul gave in Romans 11.
(John
15:2 NKJV) "Every branch in
Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that
bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
The
lesson in John 15 is explicit concerning true followers of Christ Jesus. Additionally, there is no ambiguity in any of
the Gospels or in Paul's letters. There
are teachers of false doctrine today who parse the Gospel, picking sentences
and even words out of context, in order to turn God’s grace into
licentiousness.
4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were
before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only
Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. Jude 1:4 (KJV)
Antinomianism
is one of the major reasons many professing Christians have complied with the
gradual morphing of Christianity into a social event that occurs once each
week. This unfruitful Christianity is a
perpetual effort to force God out of people and into a box (church building,
doctrine, etc.). They have taught the secular world to agree with them. A common remark by secular individuals is,
"religion belongs in the church."
It is an ignorant statement, but one born out of the ritual of dead
branches conducting dead meetings in dead buildings. If we are grafted in, and refuse to produce
fruit, the Father, who is the Vinedresser, will cut us off. Much is said about God adding to the church
those who are being saved, but little is said about His subtractions.
28 He that despised Moses' law
died without mercy under two or three witnesses: 29 Of
how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath
trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant,
wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the
Spirit of grace?
Heb 10:28-29 KJV)
“But
what about my security?” some may ask.
There is complete security in abiding in the Vine. But rebellious flesh hates the accountability
of abiding in the Vine. Carnal people
want a false grace that declares they remain in the Vine even when their fruit
is obviously evil. Teachers of false
grace hurl charges of “legalism” when they are confronted with God’s
truth. However, their false doctrine
that turns God’s grace into licentiousness is false security. It is fraudulent hell insurance whose policy
will not stand at the final judgment.
Christ gave a clear condition for abiding in the Vine. We must bear fruit.
We must abide in the Vine to be an overcomer.
11 He that hath an ear, let
him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not
be hurt of the second death. Rev 2:11 (KJV)
Our
own rootstock is worthless because it was not resistant to sin. We were removed from it, but we retain some
of its nature. In other words, we are
still human. We cannot overcome sin
unless we have the Spirit of life that is in Christ Jesus.
6 For to be carnally minded is
death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because
the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law
of God, neither indeed can be. 8 So then they that are in the
flesh cannot please God. 9 But ye are not in the flesh,
but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man
have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. Romans 8:6-9 (KJV)
The
nature of the righteous Rootstock affects the grafted branches. This is because the blood of the Rootstock
flows into the grafted branches and governs the aroma. The aroma is called the vigor of the
rootstock by vinedressers.
(2
Corinthians 2:16 NKJV) To the one we are the aroma of death
leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life.
And who is sufficient for these things?
We
are at the mercy of the Rootstock and the Vinedresser. If we are cut off, we cannot be grafted again
into our old rootstock because it cannot survive in the sin-infested soil of
the world system. No matter what
doctrine one believes in, what denominational title he or she chooses to wear,
or how many degrees are parked in front of his or her name, if there is no
fruit production. and no spiritual life, there is obviously no connection to
the Rootstock.
It is
any wonder that Christianity is dying today.
There are multitudes cut off, withering and dead branches, who are
either ignorant of, or unwilling to, produce fruit. Most professing Christians believe that just
struggling to the meeting each Sunday morning, enduring the lecture, and racing
to the restaurant for lunch, is true Christianity. Otherwise, their lives are as empty and
barren of fruit as a dead thorn bush.
Can such people be grafted into the Rootstock by mere profession of
faith? Will their profession stand up at
the Judgment Throne when God clearly calls for presentation of fruit?
When
we surrender to God, we become His property.
We are no longer thriving our own rootstock. We were bought with a price, grafted in, and
are now His possession. We gave up the
rights to follow our own whims and wishes.
Now here is a clear picture of God dealing with His property. If we are truly grafted into the Rootstock,
then either life must flow and fruit produced or we are dead branches. There is no other option. We will either bear fruit or God will remove
us as a dead branch is removed during vine dressing. When we bear fruit, we will be pruned so that
we will bear more fruit. We must
acquiesce to the will of God in all things.
Retaining the right of self-possession is a refusal of the will of God,
and a rejection of the Rootstock. It is
an attempt to draw life from the Rootstock, but remain aloof and indifferent to
His demands that we produce fruit.
Abiding
in the Rootstock means that we are connected to Christ. We will receive substance from the
connection. We become one with Christ,
albeit an extension of Himself. Our
minds conform to His mind. The Divine
Nature, which is the Holy Spirit, flows in us.
We consent to do His will, which is His mind that is transmitted to us
by the Holy Spirit. He thinks,
"bear fruit," and we are supposed to bear fruit. Notice that the Rootstock does not bear
fruit, but the branches. However, it is
the Rootstock that holds all the essential substance for life and imparts it to
the branches. The branches ask for
leaves, the Rootstock gives them leaves.
They ask for buds, and they get buds.
They ask for growth so that they may broaden and increase the size of
their leaves. They ask for blooms, for
moisture during dry times, and the Rootstock supplies all their needs. Because they are connected, the Rootstock knows
what they need before they ask. It is
not a matter of positive confession, or even of much asking, but a matter of
abiding. Abiding will cause a flow of
continual substance necessary for spiritual life. If we are abiding, we will be a branch that
receives substance so that we may produce fruit and represent the Rootstock
properly. It will be our nature to do
so.
Until
there is a full surrender, there will be no abiding in the Rootstock. When God looks at us, He looks for His divine
order. In nature, His divine order is
branches in the vine or root. With us,
it is abiding in the Rootstock where our lives hidden with Christ in God.
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