n John 15:6-17 we see the secret of abounding in Christ. Here Jesus starts in verse 6 Jesus starts with the uselessness of the branch that is no longer attached to the vine. Thee is a notable change here in the Lord’s pronouns. Up to this point He has been using first and second person pronouns (I, me, ye), Now he uses third person pronouns (He, them, and they). Here the severed branches are carefully distinguished from the real ones. Judas was a severed branch, He had an attachment to the cause but not to the Christ. He is representative of those who attach themselves to the truth but who are alien to Christ. In verses 7-8 we se the tragedy of being severed with the triumph of abiding. These verses are not an unconditional guarantee that any child of God can make any demand and have instantly from God whatever they want. The key to getting what we want is wanting what He wants. To have Christ’s words abiding in us means more than merely memorizing them. It means meditating on them until our conscious natures are impregnated with them until they become a vital part of us, so … READ MORE

The imagery of the vine is ancient, as the Old Testament portrays Israel as God’s vine. But Israel proved to be a fruitless, unfaithful vine, and their apostasy made it disqualified as the channel for God’s blessing. Those blessings now come only from union with Jesus Christ, the true vine. Theologically, the point of John 15:1-5 is that Jesus displaces Israel as the focus of God’s plan of salvation. The implication is that faith in Jesus becomes the decisive characteristic for membership among God’s people. The point of this analogy is not to define the relationship of the father to the Son, but to emphasize the Father’s care for the vine and the branches. There are many who have a false profession of faith, the evidence lies in whether or not shoes professing ranches bear fruit (Galatians 5:22-23). Knowing the truth, Orthodoxy, is not proof of salvation, proof of salvation comes manifesting the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. The lack of love in the church today, is a reflection of the worldliness and carnality of the Christians who comprise it. We need to examine our lives and see if we have life, and fruit, and if the source … READ MORE

With the solitude of the upper room now over and the agony ahead, Jesus talked as he made his way to Gethsemane. First to his followers, then to His Father. This talk with his followers gave them information about God the Son (Himself) God the Spirit, and God the Father. The Bible uses many analogies to depict God’s relationship to His people. Here in our text of John 15:1-17, Jesus does exactly this in depicting our relationship with him. As they walked, perhaps their journey took them through a vineyard, and Jesus Begins to talk to them about the importance of abiding with Him. Just as a branch depends entirely on the vine for life, sustenance, growth, and fruit, so believers depend completely on the diving Lord as the source of their spiritual life and effect. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit unless it is connected to the vine, so believers cannot bear spiritual fruit apart from their life-giving union with Christ. The central truth the Lord wanted to communicate in this symbol is the importance of abiding in Him. IN the most basic sense, whether or not a person abides in Christ reveals whether they have a relationship … READ MORE