“I am the Vine, ye are the branches: He that abides in Me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without Me you can do nothing.” John 15:5
Dear Ones:
We are apt to think that when one comes to Christ, “works” are to be central in our service to Him. However, we must understand that “being,” what we are, is the primary thing. Works follow. What do we mean by this? When a person comes to Christ, and is born of the Spirit, be “becomes” a child of God, a son or daughter of the Father. It is then that we begin to discover the love of the Father toward His child, a love not based on the child’s “works” or performance, but on the fact of what he IS, what the Father has declared him to be. All through Scripture, the believer is called upon to BE what he or she IS. For example, “Therefore, BE imitators of God, as dear children; and walk in love, as Christ also loved us, and given Himself for us.” (Ephesians 5:1,2) In the gospel of Matthew, the Lord instructs His disciples to “love your enemies.” However, this is only possible because of the relationship between the child and the Father, for He later says, “…that ye may BE the children of your Father.” (Matt. 5:45) The new creation in Christ, the true believer, begins every endeavor, every mission or work, with what God has made him or her IN CHRIST, what God is to them, and what they are to be to Him.
In the fifteenth chapter of the Gospel of John, the Lord Jesus makes a most remarkable, and monumental statement: “I am the Vine, and your are the branches: He that abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” In speaking of fruitfulness, the visible manifestation of the life of Christ in the life, (i.e. the fruit of the Spirit), Christ begins with what He IS and what we ARE in Him. From that point of beginning, he calls the believer to faith, faith to live in the reality and truth of that declaration. From a life of abiding in the Vine, the believer can receive that which is of Christ, in order to give to others.
In the first letter of John, John begins with what IS, “…for the Life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us… (1 Jn.1:2) John is declaring what IS with regard to Christ’s coming, His Life and purpose…to give eternal life. But then John goes a step further by declaring: “…that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.” (1:3) John begins with what Jesus Christ IS, by virtue of what he and others have seen. On the basis of this knowledge and testimony, he writes of the purpose of the revelation, to have and know true fellowship with God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. What God IS, and what we ARE to Him, opens the door to know Him, true fellowship with Him, “…that your joy should be made full.”
Dear Father, You have given Your Son to redeem us from sin and death, in order to bring us into true, and lasting fellowship with Yourself. Give us to see what You ARE, and what we ARE in Christ, so that out of such a relationship, we can abide in Him and He in us, by faith. Then Christ’s life, by the Spirit, shall be revealed in and through us for Your glory. We thank and praise You in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad