I Am the True Vine!

John15:1-27.  I AM the True Vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser.
Any branch in Me that does not bear fruit [that stops bearing] He cuts away (trims off, takes away); and He cleanses and repeatedly prunes every branch that continues to bear fruit, to make it bear more and richer and more excellent fruit.
You are cleansed and pruned already, because of the word which I have given you [the teachings I have discussed with you].
Dwell in Me, and I will dwell in you. [Live in Me, and I will live in you.] Just as no branch can bear fruit of itself without abiding in (being vitally united to) the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me.
I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing.
 If a person does not dwell in Me, he is thrown out like a [broken-off] branch, and withers; such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, and they are burned.
If you live in Me [abide vitally united to Me] and My words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.
When you bear (produce) much fruit, My Father is honored and glorified, and you show and prove yourselves to be true followers of Mine.
I have loved you, [just] as the Father has loved Me; abide in My love [continue in His love with Me].
If you keep My commandments [if you continue to obey My instructions], you will abide in My love and live on in it, just as I have obeyed My Father's commandments and live on in His love.
I have told you these things, that My joy and delight may be in you, and that your joy and gladness may be of full measure and complete and overflowing.
This is My commandment: that you love one another [just] as I have loved you.
No one has greater love [no one has shown stronger affection] than to lay down (give up) his own life for his friends.
You are My friends if you keep on doing the things which I command you to do.
I do not call you servants (slaves) any longer, for the servant does not know what his master is doing (working out). But I have called you My friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from My Father. [I have revealed to you everything that I have learned from Him.]
You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and I have appointed you [I have planted you], that you might go and bear fruit and keep on bearing, and that your fruit may be lasting [that it may remain, abide], so that whatever you ask the Father in My Name [as presenting all that I AM], He may give it to you.
This is what I command you: that you love one another.
The Hatred of the World
 If the world hates you, know that it hated Me before it hated you.
If you belonged to the world, the world would treat you with affection and would love you as its own. But because you are not of the world [no longer one with it], but I have chosen (selected) you out of the world, the world hates (detests) you.
Remember that I told you, A servant is not greater than his master [is not superior to him]. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word and obeyed My teachings, they will also keep and obey yours.
 But they will do all this to you [inflict all this suffering on you] because of [your bearing] My name and on My account, for they do not know or understand the One Who sent Me.
 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin [would be blameless]; but now they have no excuse for their sin.
Whoever hates Me also hates My Father.
 If I had not done (accomplished) among them the works which no one else ever did, they would not be guilty of sin. But [the fact is] now they have both seen [these works] and have hated both Me and My Father.
But [this is so] that the word written in their Law might be fulfilled, They hated Me without a cause. [Psa 35:19; Psa 69:4]
But when the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener, Standby) comes, Whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth Who comes (proceeds) from the Father, He [Himself] will testify regarding Me.
But you also will testify and be My witnesses, because you have been with Me from the beginning.
I Am 
Most of our Lord’s figurative discourses were obviously suggested by some outward thing.
What was the visible object here? It could hardly have originated in a thought about “the fruit of the vine,” represented by what He had been pouring from the cup; nor is it satisfactory to say that He pointed to a vine in the garden; for the garden was not a vineyard. You will notice that although the words, “Arise, let us go hence,” occur in John 14:31, the words that fill up chapters 15, 16, and 17, were spoken before we come to the entrance into the garden. Now, for these long utterances to have been spoken in this walk is to me inconceivable. Some think however, that when Christ said, “Arise, let us go hence,” they rose, and that the words filling the next three chapters were spoken while they were still standing, just as a leader, after he has signified that the meeting is over, may say at the door, “Stop, a new thought strikes me,” and may then linger to utter unpremeditated things. But it is inconceivable that Christ should leave His longest and most important parting instructions until the audience had, at His own request, all risen to go. My own opinion is that Jesus on His way to the garden went to take a farewell glance at the Temple, and that for the purpose of teaching the disciples lessons founded on its golden vine. Nations have often taken certain plants or flowers for their heraldic devices, such as the rose, the thistle, and the shamrock. If not as a matter of heraldry, as a matter of fact, the vine appeared to be the device on the shield of Israel. Striking passages might be quoted in proof, from the prophets (Isa 27:6; JeEze 15:2; 17:8; Psa 80:8-11). The Master then took the scholars up to the famous national emblem displayed over the porch of the sanctuary, and with that before them, prepared them to understand that now the sacred nation was about to lose its ancient place, and to be superseded and fulfilled by the nation of saved souls; teaching them to withdraw their trust in that vine, and to place their trust in Him alone, henceforth to be one with Him, as are branches with the tree they spring from.
The True Vine
I. THE VINE.
1. The method of Christ’s teaching seems to have depended largely on chances and occasions. Seeds of truth were blown from Him who is the Truth by every breeze of circumstance, like thistledown by the wind. This allegory was suggested, perhaps, by a portion of a trellised vine outside, peeping in through the latticed window, rustling in the evening breeze, or showing through its veined, transparent leaves the golden light of the setting sun; or, more probably still, the wine cup before Him on the supper table.
2. But while the form of Christ’s teaching was determined by the accident of the moment, it fell in with the general analogy of Scripture teaching. The vine is one of the most familiar images in the Old Testament. No less than five of our Lord’s parables refer to it.
3. The Land of Promise was a land of vineyards; and Juaea especially, with its temperate climate, and elevated rocky slopes, was admirably adapted for the culture of the vine.
 A vineyard on a terrace or brow of a hill is the first object that strikes the eye of the traveller when he approaches Judaea from the desert. A vineyard on a hill, fenced and cleared of stones, was the natural emblem of the kingdom of Judah; and this heraldic symbol was engraved on the coins of the Maccabees, on the ornaments of the Temple, and on the tombstones of the Jews. It is not without significance that the vine should be thus peculiar to Judaea. One of the most perfect of plants, it belongs to one of the most perfect of countries as regards its physical structure. 
Contrast the grapes of Eshcol with the variegated scenery of that valley, and its geological conformation, with the hard dry woody fruits of the parched plains of Australia: a low type of fruit with a low type of country. There is a close typical relation between the character of a country and the character of its productions; and this relation ascends even into the world of man. As the monotonous plains and innutritious fruits of Australia reared the lowest savages; so the picturesque mountain scenery, and the rich nutritious grapes, pomegranates and olives of Palestine developed the noblest of the human races.
THE FITNESS OF THE VINE FOR OUR LORD’S PURPOSE.
1. He wished to represent
(1) The permanent spiritual union of His disciples with Himself; and therefore a perennial and not an annual plant must be selected, a dicotyledonous tree with branches, and not a monocotyledonous tree without branches. The image of the lily suited Him when His own personal loveliness, purity, and fragrance, and His own short-lived single life on earth were intended to be shadowed forth; and the image of the palm tree, which has no branches, suited the disciples when their own individual excellence was portrayed.
(2) The fruitfulness of Christ and of believers in Him; and hence the plant that can do this adequately must be a cultivated one—not a mere herb of the field, like corn, yielding fruit only on the top of a stalk, but a tree yielding fruit on every branch.
(3) The subordinate relation to and dependence of Christ upon His Father in the days of His flesh; and this idea manifestly excludes all fruit trees that are capable of standing alone and unsupported, such as the apple—the pomegranate, or the fig tree.
(4) Believers exhibit, with general features of resemblance, considerable personal differences; and the plant which is to represent this quality must admit of considerable variability within certain distinct and well-recognized limits. All these qualifications meet in the vine, and in the vine alone.
2. The vine belongs peculiarly to the human period, and was planted in the earth shortly before its occupancy by man. It came into the world along with the beautiful rose, and the fruitful apple, and the fragrant mint, and the honey-laden bee, to make an Eden of nature for man’s use and enjoyment. The former ages were flowerless; green, monotonous tree ferns and tree mosses, destined to become fuel for man, alone covered the land. Prophesied by all previous vegetable forms, whose structure approached nearer and nearer to its type, the vine appeared in the fulness of the earth’s time; just as He whom it shadowed forth was announced in type and prophecy from the foundation of the world, and appeared in the fulness of human history when the world was ready for His reception. And thus the symbol and the Person symbolized belong peculiarly to the human world, and were destined specially for human nourishment and satisfaction.
3. A strict correlation exists between the culture of the vine and the intellectual and spiritual development of humanity. Wherever the grape ripens, there flourish all the arts that chiefly tend to make life nobler and more enjoyable. The spread of the Christian religion, as a general rule, has been co-extensive and synchronous with that of the vine, so that wherever the allegory of our Saviour is read, there the natural object may be seen to illustrate it.
4. In the symbol of the vine our Lord recognizes the prefiguration in plants of animal forms and functions. In the stem, branches, and foliage of the vine, we discern the ideal plan on which our own bodies are constructed: the stem being the spinal column; the branches the ribs and members: the leaves the lungs; while the sap vessels, filled with their nourishing fluid, correspond with the veins and their circulating blood. The functions, too, which all these parts and organs in the vine perform are precisely analogous to those which similar parts and organs perform in the economy of man.
CHRIST THE TRUE VINE.
St. John’s Gospel has several peculiar terms—such as the Word, the Light, the Life, the Truth, the World, Glory, Grace—which, perhaps more than all others, bear upon them the clear stamp of the Divine signet. 
To these may be added the word “true,” which occurs no less than twenty-two times in this Gospel, as against five times in all the rest of the New Testament. By us the word is commonly employed to represent, and so confound, two distinct ideas; viz., the true as opposed to the false, and as distinguished from the typical or subordinate realization. Our forefathers recognized this distinction, and expressed the former idea by “true,” and the latter by “very.” The man who fulfilled the promise of his lips was a true man; but the man who fulfilled the wider promise of his name was a very man, a man indeed. God is the true God, in the sense that He cannot lie; but He is the true God, inasmuch as He is all that the name of God implies, in contradistinction to false gods. The phrase is still retained in the Nicene creed, “very God of very God.” In Greek the distinction is clearly indicated by the use of two words, ale?the?s true, and ale?thinos very, which are never used indiscriminately. The word here is ale?thinos, and should be rendered “very,” for it indicates the contrast, not between the true and the false, but between the imperfect and the perfect—between the shadowy and the substantial, the type and the archetype, the highest ideal and a subordinate realization or partial anticipation. And in this connection it is interesting to notice that the Saxon word “tree” is etymologically cognate with “true,” signifying that which is firm, strong, or well-established.
Israel was a vine, but not the true vine of God. Though not altogether false and fraudulent, it was an inferior and subordinate realization, a partial and imperfect anticipation of the truth. It did not come up to God’s ideal of a vine. But Christ was the True Vine of God; He fulfilled to the utmost the purposes of His existence. The vineyard of Israel was to be taken from the wicked husbandmen. But out of this Jewish vineyard was to grow one Vine, which should endure when all the peculiar institutions of Judaism had perished, and become the starting point of a new and higher religious growth. While the Law was given by Moses, grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
Christ is also the “True Vine,” as distinguished from the false or counterfeit vine. There are many species of vine, but there is only one grapevine; so error is multiform, but truth is one. And just as the wheat is imitated by the tares—the poisonous darnel—which closely resemble it in every respect; so the True Vine is imitated by the vine of Sodom, with its poisonous fruit.
But there is another aspect still in which the phrase may be viewed. It is as if Christ had said, “I am the unconcealed Vine.”
(1) Israel was a concealed vine. Its full significance was not known until Christ, the True Vine, revealed it. And
(2) The natural vine is a concealed vine. Men could not understand its symbolical meaning, they misinterpreted its lessons; they thought that it had no higher uses than the mere material, utilitarian ones. It was only when Christ appeared that the parable was explained, and the mystery, hid from ages and generations, revealed. Our Lord’s first miracle at Cana was effected by the direct and immediate agency of the True Vine. It revealed the power which enables the natural vine in the vineyard to change the rains and dews of every summer into wine in its grapes. And what is thus asserted of the vine is equally applicable to bread, to light, to water—to every natural object. They all had a concealed meaning—a reference to Christ—from the beginning. Our Lord does not say, “I am like the vine.” That would have been to use a mere metaphor, or figure of speech. But He says, “I am the True Vine;” and this declares that the vine is the actual shadow of His substance.
THE QUALITIES IN CHRIST WHICH ARE ADUMBRATED BY THE VINE?
1. The vine is the most perfect of plants.
(1) Some plants possess one part, or one quality, more highly developed; but for the harmonious development of every part and quality—for perfect balance of loveliness and usefulness, there are none to equal the vine. It belongs to the highest order of the vegetable kingdom. Painters tell us that to study the perfection of form, colour, light, and shade, united in one object, we must place before us a bunch of grapes. It is perfectly innocent, being one of the few climbing plants that do not injure the object of their support. It has no thorns—no noxious qualities; all its parts are useful. Its foliage affords a refreshing shade from the scorching sunshine. Its fruit was one of the first oblations to the Divinity, and, along with bread, is one of the primary and essential elements of human food. In common with other plants, it purifies the air—feeding upon what we reject as poison, and returning it to us as wine that maketh glad the heart, and in the process maintaining the atmosphere in a fit condition for our breathing.
(2) In all these aspects the vine is the shadow of Him who is altogether lovely—who unites in Himself the extremes of perfection—who is continually doing good—who beautified our fallen world by His presence, changed its wilderness into an Eden, and made the polluted atmosphere of our life purer by breathing it, and is now transforming our evil into good, and our sorrow into a fruitful and strengthening joy.
The words distinguish between nature and that which is above it. To Pantheism nature is God.  The pronoun “I” in it leads us up to the Personal Origin of all creation, shows to us that creation is not eternal, but springs from a Person. 
How, then, can anyone expect to be able to interpret the meaning of the vine, without the personal knowledge of the Living Being who is working and speaking to us through its instrumentality? Without the knowledge of His person we cannot have the knowledge of His work in its fulness. But once united to Him by a living and loving faith, we have the proper view point of the universe. (H. Macmillan, D. D.)


The True Vine
Christ selected this metaphor because of
I. THE ABUNDANCE OF ITS FRUIT; for which reason it is used by David to express great fertility (Psa 128:3). Hence this tree is especially appropriate as a type of Christ, through whose life and passion the abundant fruits of holiness are brought forth by believers.
II. THE PLEASANTNESS AND THE GRATEFUL CHARACTER OF ITS FRUIT, as the fruits produced by the indwelling of Christ are those which are accordant with and pleasing to man’s highest nature.
III. THE STRENGTH AND JOY WHICH WINE PRODUCES within the heart of Jdg 9:13; Psa 104:15; Pro 31:6-7).
IV. THE WIDE EXTENT OF THE BRANCHES stretching on all sides, and furnishing a striking figure of the growth and expansion of the Church, which is the body of Christ (Psa 80:11).
V. ITS TYPICAL CHARACTER, wine symbolizing the blood of Christ in the Holy Eucharist. (W. Denton, M. A.)


I. THE VINE IN THE VITAL UNITY OF ALL ITS PARTS. We shall best understand this thought if we recur to some of those great vines in royal conservatories, where, for hundreds of yards, the pliant branches stretch along the espaliers, and yet one life pervades the whole, from the root, through the crooked stem, right away to the last leaf at the top of the furthest branch, and reddens and mellows every cluster. This great thought of the unity of life between Jesus Christ and all that believe upon Him is the familiar teaching of Scripture, and is set forth also by the metaphor of the body and its members. Personality remains, but across the awful gulf of the individual consciousness, which parts us from one another, Jesus Christ assumes the Divine prerogative of passing and joining Himself to each of us. A oneness of life, which is the sole cause of fruitfulness and growth, is taught us here. This is a oneness which results
1. In a oneness of relation to God. In this relation He is the Son, and we in Him receive the standing of sons. He has access ever into the Father’s presence, and we through Him and in Him have access with confidence and are accepted in the Beloved.
2. In relation to men, if He be Light, we touched with His light, are also, in our measure and degree, the lights of the world; and in the proportion in which we receive the power of His Spirit, we, too, become God’s anointed—“As the Father hath sent Me, even so send I you.”
3. In regard of character, this union results in a similarity of character, and with His righteousness we are clothed.
4. In regard to the future, we can look forward and be sure that we are so closely joined with Him, that it is impossible but that where He is, there shall also His servants be. And as He sits on the Father’s throne, His children must needs sit with Him on His throne.
5. Therefore the name of the collective whole is Christ. And, as in the great Old Testament prophecy of the servant of the Lord, the figure fluctuates between that which is the collective Israel and the personal Messiah; so the “Christ” is not only the individual Redeemer, but the whole of that redeemed Church, of which it is said, “it is His body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all.”
II. THE HUSBANDMAN AND THE DRESSING OF THE VINE. The one tool that a vinedresser needs is a knife, and the one kind of husbandry spoken of here is pruning—not manuring, not digging, but simply the hacking away of all that is rank and dead.
1. Fruitless branches mean all those who have a mere superficial adherence to the true vine. If there be any real union, there will be some life, and therefore some fruit. And so the application is to those nominal adherents to Christianity, who, if you ask them to put down in the census paper what they are, will say that they are Christians, Churchmen, or Dissenters, as the case may be, but who have no real hold upon Jesus Christ, and no real reception of anything from Him; and the “taking away” is simply that God makes visible, what is a fact, that they do not belong to Him with whom they have this nominal connection. The longer Christianity continues in any country, the more does the Church get weighted and lowered in its temperature by the aggregation round about it of people of that sort. And one sometimes longs and prays for a storm to come, of some sort or other, to blow the dead wood out of the tree, and to get rid of all this oppressive and stifling weight of sham Christians that has come round every one of our churches.
2. The pruning of the fruitful branches. We all, in our Christian life, carry with us the two sources—our own poor, miserable self, and the better life of Jesus Christ within us. The one flourishes at the expense of the other; and it is the Husbandman’s merciful, though painful work, to cut back unsparingly the rank shoots that come from self, in order that all the force of our lives may be flung into the growing of the cluster which is acceptable to Him.
III. THE BRANCHES ABIDING IN THE VINE AND THEREFORE FRUITFUL.
1. Union with Christ is the condition of all fruitfulness. There may be plenty of activity and yet barrenness. Works are not fruit. We can bring forth a great deal “of ourselves,” and because it is of ourselves it is naught.
2. There is the great glory and distinctive blessedness of the gospel. Other teachers come to us and tell us how we ought to live, and give us laws, examples, reasons, motives. The gospel comes and gives us life, and unfolds itself in us into all the virtues that we have to possess. What is the use of giving a man a copy if he cannot copy it? Morality comes and stands over the cripple, and says to him, “Look here! This is how you ought to walk.” But Christianity comes and bends over Him, and lays hold of his hand, and says, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”
3. Our reception of that power depends upon our own efforts. “Abide in Me and I in you.” Suppress yourselves, and empty your lives of self, that the life of Christ may come in. A lock upon a canal, if it is empty, will have its gates pressed open by the water in the canal and will be filled. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)


False vines
There are “strange vines” which bring forth wild grapes in perilous abundance, planted in the soil of our human nature by “an enemy.” Their nature is deadly, their grapes, however luscious and inviting, are noxious; their very shadow and foliage, like the fabled Upas tree, are redolent of destruction and death. There are grapes of gold, for which the grower sells his soul, and Mammon is the spirit that drives the ruinous bargain. There are the grapes which being pressed into the goblet do sparkle and coruscate, and Pleasure’s fascinating beauties are reflected in the flowing cup; but a serpent lies coiled below the ruby draught and stingeth like an adder the victim she allures. There are grapes of which the smooth-tongued vine dresser says that “they are much to be desired to make one wise.” “Eat,” quoth he, “and ye shall be as gods. Yes. There are vines, vineyards, vine dressers, and wine vats in this deluded and deluding world. Pleasant is their shadow, graceful and winsome their festoonings, attractive are their supplies either from the cluster or the flagon, and, alas! those who are deluded by them “know not that the dead are there,” and that the shaded and enticing paths that lead men thither are “steps that take hold on hell.” “Their vine is of the vine of Sodom and of the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are grapes of gall, etc. It was a “wild vine” which produced the fruit gathered in mistake by the servant of Elisha, so that there came to be “death in the pot” into which the deceptive grapes were shed; and so with all the false trusts and hopes of humanity. (J. JacksonWray.)


Christ the true Vine in His Divine humanity
It is in His manhood that Christ is the true Vine. It was of the essence of His Mediatorial work, of the Daysman, who should lay His hands upon both, that as on the one side He could say, “I and My Father are one,” so upon the other, “I and My brethren are one;” but while the vine and the vine branches must thus both be partakers of the same nature (Heb 2:11), He will presently challenge for Himself a share in the work of the husbandman. He, too, has power to “purge” or cleanse through His word (Joh 15:3). His humanity was a Divine humanity, for so only could it have become a life-giving humanity to the world. (Archbishop Trench.)


Union with Christ
I. ITS NATURE.
1. An actual joining of each branch to the vine. When Madame Guyon was ten years old, she learned that Madame de Chantal had written the characters of the holy name of Jesus upon her bosom with a red-hot iron. She sought to imitate, so she sewed on her breast a piece of stiff paper containing the name of Christ. Never has there been good in such folly. Union to the Saviour does not consist in tacking on a badge of mere profession of love for Him. You might as well nail a branch to a trellis, and call that grafting.
2. A living joining of each branch to this Vine. We have often seen flowers bound to sticks with a bit of wire, so that they seemed growing on long stems; but there was no life in the merely mechanical contact.
3. The reciprocal joining of every branch to the vine, and of the vine to every branch.
II. ITS PURPOSES. That it may produce after its kind for the enrichment of the husbandman the fruits he loves. These fruits are
1. Good views. It never profits anyone to sneer at creeds, and cry out for deeds instead; for no good deed was ever done unless there was a good thought behind it. The shallowness of much of our modern piety is owing to want of real conviction. Our religion has always been “a faith,” and so has had an intellectual basis.
2. Good deeds. For all genuine ideas force themselves out into conduct. Mere admiration for the character, or mystic affection for the person, of a Saviour like ours would not be enough. A pretty little honeysuckle in the garden might as well twine itself up around a trellis, and try for a whole season to look like a vine; grape time would show the sham.
3. Good feelings. Some people doubt the power of a religious duty to start the enthusiasm of a large soul. And yet many of the finest minds and purest hearts have drawn their inspirations from the spiritual intercourse they kept with the life and the words of Jesus. While Claudius Buchanan was missionary in India, he translated and issued the Syriac Testament. Macaulay says that once in his presence he stopped and suddenly burst into tears. When he recovered himself the great man said, “Do not be alarmed, I am not ill; but I was completely overcome with the recollections of the delight I have enjoyed in this exercise.” It is thus that good Christians have often gone to the stake for the love they bore for this Redeemer of men.
4. Good graces. Vines feel no shame for being beautiful. Excellencies of character are what the Lord loves (Gal 5:22-23).
III. CHRIST’S CARE FOR IT. The Husbandman is God the Father. He cleanses the vines. In the East dressers wash the leaves and shoots and tendrils and clusters, each by itself in turn, so as to clear off the dust and mould. They cut away, also, the dead branches, and keep the whole vine under discipline.
1. The branch may be too feeble in its growth. Then, of course, it must be made to draw more strength from the vine which supports it. In the union of Christ to each soul these quickenings are efficaciously wrought by the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. The believer seeks them by prayer, and openly welcomes them with thanksgiving and trust. A female teacher in Persia was seated on a mat in the middle of the earthen floor of the church greatly fatigued, and as she was endeavouring to catch a moment’s rest, one of the native women seated herself directly behind on the same mat. In a quiet whisper she begged her to lean back. The missionary just suffered her weight to fall against her knee; but the generous Christian drew her nearer and then whispered again, “If you love me, lean hard.” Never was a truer imitation of Christ. Those who are weal: show more love by leaning harder.
2. The branch may be too perverse in its growth. Sometimes it appears as if it had become wilful. It thrusts its rings and tendrils off as if a petulant rebelliousness against the trellis had awakened its spite, and it had determined to grow out of order. It will lay hold of twigs below it in the grass, and trees above it in the orchard, always endeavouring to defeat the husbandman’s purpose. For this there is no remedy but one: the knife comes suddenly, and now remains only the fire. (C. S. Robinson, D. D.)


Union with Christ
I. THIS UNION.
1. It is compared
(1) By Peter (1Pe 2:5-6) to the connection between the foundation stone and the building, and the relation thus suggested is one of dependence.
(2) By the Lord Himself to the union between the branches and the vine, the connection is seen to be one of life.
(3) By Paul (Eph 4:15-16) to the union between the head and the members, where the connection is one of subjection.
(4) By the same Apostle (Eph 5:22-23) to the union between husband and wife; and there the idea of affection is the predominating one. Now, putting all these together, we get this result, that believers are one with Christ, as represented by Him, dependent upon Him, living in Him, subject to Him, and loving Him with tenderest affection. But in the figure of our text there is further suggested the idea that believers are supported by Christ. The branches are sustained by the sap, which the vine supplies; and so His people are animated by the Spirit which Christ bestows.
2. How this union is entered into. The analogy of the vine does not help us here. The branches are in the vine, whether they will or no. But men have wills; and so this union is, on their part, a voluntary thing.
3. Then, when we are thus united to Him, His strength and grace flow into us. When the car is coupled to the engine, the motion of the engine is communicated to, and shared with, the car; and when we are one with Christ in love and trust, His Spirit comes into our hearts and makes us more responsive to Himself.
II. THE END FOR WHICH THE UNION EXISTS (Joh 15:2; Joh 15:8). Fruit, the character of which may be gathered from Eph 5:9; Gal 5:22-23; 2Pe 1:6-8. Then this fruit is
1. A personal thing. It is not the effect on others of some effort which we put forth, but the appearance in ourselves of the graces of holiness.
2. Not a single grace, but a whole circle. The spiritual vine, like the natural, brings forth its fruit in a cluster, and only when each of the members of that cluster is fairly and symmetrically developed is there true fruitfulness. (Christian Age.)


Union with Christ
The fruitful source of all the Christian’s blessings. Constantly felt and remembered tends to dignify and fructify his life. Leads to
(1) Purity.
(2) Safety. In Christ.
(3) Glory.
I. UNION IN ITS NATURE.
1. Mysterious.
2. Mutually agreed.
3. Spiritual.
4. Living.
II. PERMANENCE OF THE UNION.
III. FRUITFULNESS OF THE UNION. “Bear much fruit.”
1. Expected. It is a vine—a vineyard under care. “Father is the husbandman.”
2. Only possible in union. Human nature. “No fruit of itself,” “for without Me ye can do nothing.” Linked to Christ by faith. “Much fruit.”
3. To the highest end. Heavenward. “Glory to God” (Joh 15:8). Earthward. “So shall ye be My disciples” (Joh 15:8). The great want of earth—true disciples. God claims the glory.
4. Sign of life. “Bringeth forth”—out of—grow—result of the Divine life within. (E. Wickliffe Davies.)


The true spiritual life in man is
I. DERIVED FROM CHRIST. Religion is not a mere creed or form; it is a life, and the life is a “branch” of Christ’s life. It grows out of Him. There is no true spiritual life where Christ’s spirit is not the inspiration.
II. DEVELOPED IN FRUITFULNESS. The production of fruit is what is required; it is not to pass off in foliage and blossom. Unless we yield fruit we are worthless and doomed to destruction. What is the fruit? “Love, joy peace,” etc.
III. THE JOINT AGENCY OF GOD AND MAN.
1. Man must seek an abiding connection with Christ. 
Cut the branch from the tree, it will wither and rot.
2. God must act the part of the Great Husbandman. 
The mere abiding in Christ will not do of itself. (D. Thomas, D. D.)

Stewards of God's Grace and Suffering as a Christian

Please listen to this broadcast Walking Through the Door To Freedom - Part One on the Oneplace app! 

Throughout history, there have never been more important words spoken than when Jesus called out from the cross, “It is finished.” His completed work opened the door to real freedom, where we find release from fear, condemnation, and the hurts and habits that hold us back in life.

Jesus said, “I am the door, and the person who enters through me will be saved” (John 10:9 NCV). Join Pastor Rick as he teaches how God breaks you out of whatever is holding you back or holding you down and what it means to walk through the door to freedom.

If you feel trapped in a relationship, you’re a prisoner to debt, or you’re held captive to bitterness, anger, loneliness, or unrelenting grief, then you need to be set free. Join Pastor Rick as he teaches how Jesus leads us to the freedom of forgiveness, grace, peace, and the abundant life.

 

https://www.oneplace.com/ministries/daily-hope/listen/walking-through-the-door-to-freedom-part-one-750359.html

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1Pe 4:1-19.   SO, SINCE Christ suffered in the flesh for us, for you, arm yourselves with the same thought and purpose [patiently to suffer rather than fail to please God]. For whoever has suffered in the flesh [having the mind of Christ] is done with [intentional] sin [has stopped pleasing himself and the world, and pleases God],

So that he can no longer spend the rest of his natural life living by [his] human appetites and desires, but [he lives] for what God wills.

For the time that is past already suffices for doing what the Gentiles like to do--living [as you have done] in shameless, insolent wantonness, in lustful desires, drunkenness, reveling, drinking bouts and abominable, lawless idolatries.

They are astonished and think it very queer that you do not now run hand in hand with them in the same excesses of dissipation, and they abuse [you].

But they will have to give an account to Him Who is ready to judge and pass sentence on the living and the dead.

For this is why the good news (the Gospel) was preached [in their lifetime] even to the dead, that though judged in fleshly bodies as men are, they might live in the spirit as God does.

But the end and culmination of all things has now come near; keep sound minded and self-restrained and alert therefore for [the practice of] prayer.

Above all things have intense and unfailing love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins [forgives and disregards the offenses of others]. [Pro 10:12]

Practice hospitality to one another (those of the household of faith). [Be hospitable, be a lover of strangers, with brotherly affection for the unknown guests, the foreigners, the poor, and all others who come your way who are of Christ's body.] And [in each instance] do it ungrudgingly (cordially and graciously, without complaining but as representing Him).

As each of you has received a gift (a particular spiritual talent, a gracious divine endowment), employ it for one another as [befits] good trustees of God's many-sided grace [faithful stewards of the extremely diverse powers and gifts granted to Christians by unmerited favor].

Whoever speaks, [let him do it as one who utters] oracles of God; whoever renders service, [let him do it] as with the strength which God furnishes abundantly, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ (the Messiah). To Him be the glory and dominion forever and ever (through endless ages). Amen (so be it).

Beloved, do not be amazed and bewildered at the fiery ordeal which is taking place to test your quality, as though something strange (unusual and alien to you and your position) were befalling you.

But insofar as you are sharing Christ's sufferings, rejoice, so that when His glory [full of radiance and splendor] is revealed, you may also rejoice with triumph [exultantly].

If you are censured and suffer abuse [because you bear] the name of Christ, blessed [are you--happy, fortunate, to be envied, with life-joy, and satisfaction in God's favor and salvation, regardless of your outward condition], because the Spirit of glory, the Spirit of God, is resting upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. [Isa 11:2]

 But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or any sort of criminal, or as a mischief-maker (a meddler) in the affairs of others [infringing on their rights].

 But if [one is ill-treated and suffers] as a Christian [which he is contemptuously called], let him not be ashamed, but give glory to God that he is [deemed worthy to suffer] in this name.

For the time [has arrived] for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will [be] the end of those who do not respect or believe or obey the good news (the Gospel) of God?

And if the righteous are barely saved, what will become of the godless and wicked? [Pro 11:31]

Therefore, those who are ill-treated and suffer in accordance with God's will must do right and commit their souls [in charge as a deposit] to the One Who created [them] and will never fail [them].

GROW INTO COMPLETE MATURITY OF GODLINESS IN MIND AND CHARACTER

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Mat 5:48 You, therefore, must be perfect [growing into complete maturity of godliness in mind and character, having reached the proper height of virtue and integrity], as your heavenly Father is perfect. [Lev 19:2, Lev 19:18]

5:48 Jesus closes this section with the admonition: Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. The word perfect must be understood in the light of the context. It does not mean sinless or flawless. 

The previous verses explain that to be perfect means to love those who hate us, to pray for those who persecute us, and to show kindness to both friend and foe.

 Perfection here is that spiritual maturity which enables a Christian to imitate God in dispensing blessing to everybody without partiality.

(Mat 5:48) The conclusion to the true interpretation of the law: be perfect.

“Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

a. Therefore you shall be perfect: If a man could live the way Jesus has told us to in this chapter, he would truly be perfect.

• He would never hate, slander or speak evil of another person.

• He would never lust in his heart or mind, and not covet anything.

• He would never make a false oath, and always be completely truthful.

• He would let God defend his personal rights, and not take it upon himself to defend those rights.

• He would always love his neighbors, and even his enemies.

b. Just as your Father in heaven is perfect: If a man could keep just what Jesus said here, he would truly have a righteousness greater than the scribes and the Pharisees (Mat 5:20), the very thing we must have to enter into God’s Kingdom. But there is only one man who has lived like this: Jesus Christ. What about the rest of us? Are we left out of the Kingdom of God?

i. We see that in this section Jesus was not primarily seeking to show what God requires of the Christian in his daily life. True, Jesus has revealed God’s ultimate standard, and we must take it to heart. But His primary intent was to say, “If you want to be righteous by the law, you must keep the whole law, internal and external - that is, you must be perfect!”

c. Jesus has demonstrated that we need a righteousness that is apart from the law (Rom 3:21-22). As Paul put it in Rom 3:21-22: But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe.

d. What is our current relation to the law, as truly interpreted? We are exposed as guilty sinners who can never make ourselves righteous by our performance of good works - which was exactly the view held by most people in Jesus day - and in our own day.

e. We must remember the fullness of Jesus’ teaching on the law: our command is to love God and our neighbor, and the law will accomplish itself (Mat 22:37-40).

i. The fullness of the interpretation of the law will be honored by love: Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith. (1Ti 1:5)

Elijah—A Prophet of Wrath; Jeremiah—A Prophet of Tears

Elijah or Jeremiah

Some say that thou art…Elias,' and others, Jeremias — Mat 16:14

Elijah—A Prophet of Wrath; Jeremiah—A Prophet of Tears

It is of the deepest interest to discover what was the common impression about Jesus, and in this report conveyed by the disciples we get a hint of the utmost value. 

"Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?" said Jesus; and the answer was, "Some say…John the Baptist: some [and probably the greater number], Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets." 

Now there are many interesting suggestions in these answers; but one of them to my mind exceeds all the others. Did you ever think of the vast difference there was between the characters of Elijah and Jeremiah? Yet some said about Christ, "This is Elijah," 

and others said, "No, it is Jeremiah."

 If you read again the page of the Old Testament you will appreciate the gulf between the two. The one is ardent, enthusiastic, fierce sometimes. The other is the prophet of the tender heart and tears. And the remarkable thing is that the common people should have taken these types, which are so wide apart, and should have found in both the character of Christ. In other words, the impression which Jesus made was that of a complex, inclusive personality. You could not exhaust Him by a single prophet. It took the range of the greatest to portray His character. And I want to try to bring before you some of these qualities of different natures, which harmonise so perfectly and wonderfully in the human nature of our Lord.

Christ to Be Obeyed and Loved

First, then, I am arrested in Christ's character by the perfect union of mastery and charm. It is one of the rarest things in the world to find the masterful man possessed of the indefinable quality of charm. There are some people born to be obeyed, and there are some other people born to be loved; but it is very rarely that the compelling nature, in the language of Scripture, is "altogether lovely." Think of the masterful men whom you have known; the men whose distinguishing attribute was power; the men who never insisted on obedience, yet somehow or other always were obeyed; the men who were very quiet, and very strong. Such men are always needed in the commonwealth—such men are always secretly admired; but it is very seldom, in this curious world, that such authoritative men are loved. What they lack is the indefinable quality of charm. They can master everything except the heart. They appeal to all that is strong and virile in us. Yet they do not appeal to the imagination. And it is strange what a deal the people will forgive, and how they will cover up a hundred failings, in the man who appeals to their imagination.

Christ Was Characterised by Power and Love

Now when we turn to Christ, the first thing we observe is that the mark of His character is power. Here is no sentimental dreamer from the hills; here is a regal, authoritative Man. Read over His life in the Gospels once again and mark how often that word "power" occurs. "His word was with power," says Luke. 

"The kingdom comes with power," 

says Mark. "The multitude glorified God who had given such power unto men," 

says Matthew. We are quite wrong in saying about Jesus that the first impression which He made was that of gentleness—the first impression which He made was one of power. He spake with authority, and not as one of the scribes. And why did men leave all when He said, "Follow me"? And in the garden when He was betrayed, and said to them, "I am he"—why did the rabble shrink and fall away? There is something so magnificent in that—in the sheer power of that defenceless manhood—that I defy any painter to portray it. Yet look at the little children how they came to Him, and nestled without a tremor in His arms. And think of Peter by the sea of Galilee, "Lord, Thou knowest that I love thee." Some men are born to be obeyed, some to be loved; but Jesus pre-eminently was born for both. That is why people said, "Lo, here is Elijah," and others, "No, it is Jeremiah." All that had marked the noblest of the prophets was harmonised and reconciled in Him. Untold authority, infinite sensibility; a will that would not swerve, a tender heart; the union of mastery and charm.

Christ Characterised by Remoteness and Accessibility

Again, I am arrested in Christ's character by the union of remoteness and accessibility. There is something in Christ that always suggests distance. There is much in Christ that tells us He is near. Now there are many people who convey the impression of remoteness, though none in the same way as Jesus did. There is the man who is absorbed in some great work, for instance; and we feel that he moves apart when we meet him. And there is a certain type of the religious spirit that is so cold and so icily immaculate that a poor sinner, like the rich man in hell, sees what a gulf there is between him and Abraham. What you feel is, when men are so remote, that you must not trouble them with your small matters. You must not look to them for the sweet word of sympathy. You must not expect them to bother about you. They lift themselves apart like some high alp, which catches the morning, but is always snow clad; while we poor mortals, with hearts so weak, so warm, must struggle along in the valleys as we may.

There never lived on earth a Man who so impressed men with His remoteness as did Christ. "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord," was how Simon Peter reacted to His presence. You remember how Milton in his Hymn of the Nativity says, "Kings sat still with awful eye, as if they surely knew their Sovran Lord was by!" and I tell you there are a hundred touches in the Gospel that confirm that impression of the incarnate Lord. It is the height of childishness for any Gospel student to say that Jesus was just a genial socialist. "Gentlemen," said Napoleon, "I know men, and you may take my word for it, this is more than man." For He stood apart; men felt He was remote; there was the touch of the far away about this figure. Some said Elias, and others Jeremiah; no one said, "A genial, pleasant neighbour." The strange thing is that though Christ thus stood remote, men still should have come to Him with every worry. "Come unto me," and they came from every rank—from the lady of the court to the poor reprobate. And He who stood so far apart that He could say, "Thy sins are forgiven thee, go in peace"; yet He stood so near that there was not a sorrow He could not appreciate and understand. Some said Elias, that lone figure, standing apart from the surge and flow of Israel. And some said Jeremiah—tenderhearted, whose tears were a river for his people's sorrow. And both opinions were wrong, yet both supremely right, for Elias and Jeremiah both were here. Christ was far more lonely than the one, and far more sympathetic than the other.

Christ Characterised by Enthusiasm and Tranquility

Once more I am arrested in Christ's character by the union of enthusiasm and tranquility. His feelings were often powerfully stirred, yet the whole impression is one of profound peace. There are men who can walk unmoved through a vast crowd. When Christ saw a crowd, He was touched with compassion always. There are men who can stand beside a grave emotionless, but by the grave of Lazarus, Jesus wept. 

1. There are men who can view all manner of iniquity and never lose a moment's peace about it; but Jesus, in a mighty surge of indignation, drove out the buyers and sellers from the temple. Clearly, this is no cold, phlegmatic nature. There is nothing of the steeled heart of the Stoic here. Here is a man whose eye will flash sometimes, whose soul can be roused into a glow of passion. And yet the one impression of the whole is not that of an eager, strained unrest; the impression of the whole life of Jesus is that of an unutterable peace. It is very easy to be bold, yet calm; to be uninterested, unimpassioned, and so tranquil. It is very easy to deaden down the feelings, till a man has made a solitude and called it peace. But the abiding wonder about Christ is this, that He had an ardent, eager, enthusiastic heart; yet He breathed such a deep, such a superb tranquility, that men instinctively felt He was at rest.
   

Christ Was Characterised by Abnegation and Appreciation

Then, in closing, and most notable of all, there is the union of abnegation and appreciation. I regret using such ungainly words, but I know no others that so express my meaning. What is the last word in the ideal of Jesus—is it asceticism, or is it joy? Let me show you in a word how Christendom has leaned at different times to different answers.

Think, then, on the one hand of mediaeval painters who have portrayed for us the Man of Nazareth. It is not the Christ who considered the lilies whom they paint. It is the Christ of agony and shame. You know that figure kneeling in the garden. You know that face with its awful look of agony. You know those hands with the blood dropping from them, and St. Dominic looking upward with enraptured eyes. And even where the suffering is shrouded by an art as exquisite as it is perfect, you know that the appeal of all such art is, "Come, and let us mourn with Him awhile." It is not joy that animates these pictures; it is a calm and holy acquiescence. It is not intense delight in the glad world; it is unquestioning acceptance of the will of God. He has given up everything, this Christ, to die for men, and the last word of that art is abnegation.

And then I turn to some modern paintings of Christ, and I seem to be moving in a different world. I turn to Renan, to Zangwill, or to Dawson, and I hardly recognise the painter's figure. He is entranced with the vision of the divine life, says Renan, and He gives Himself with delight to its expression. He is the incarnation of the spirit of joy, says Dawson. And Mr. Zangwill, in his Dreamers of the Ghetto, says, "I give the Jews a Christ they can accept now; the Lover of warm life and the warm sunlight, and all that is fresh and beautiful and pure." Is this the mediaeval Sufferer, with the blood-drops, and with the crown of thorns? Is this glad poet with His glowing cheek the pallid figure of mediaeval paintings? It is not suffering that is the keynote here. It is positive, intense, and simple joy. It is not abnegation of the world; the keynote is appreciation.

"Some said Elias, others Jeremiah"—have we not here another echo of such judgments? The wonder of Jesus is not this or that; the wonder of Jesus is this and that together. There is a joy that has no room in it for sacrifice; it is too selfish, too sensuous, and too shallow. There is a sacrifice that is absolutely joyless, without a gleam of the sunshine on its cross. But Christ was happy as a child in this green world, because not a sparrow could fall without His Father; yet He gave up everything and died on Calvary, that guilty men and women might be saved. In the deepest of all senses Christ renounced the world, and trampled all its glory underfoot. The first condition of following in His train was that one should lead the life of self-denial. Yet He who so followed Him was never deadened to the call of lovely or delightful things; He was led into a world where birds were singing, and which was beautiful with the lilies of the field. That is why in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek. All are united in that wonderful character. That is why you and I can never say, "He was Elias," or, "He was Jeremiah." Embracing both—all that was best in both—and all that is highest and fairest in humanity; we fall before Him and reply, with Peter, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."

Put on! And Clothe yourselves! Get Rid Of! Make Allowances! Put Off. “ Every day in our lives we are tempted to distort the truth!”

If we are to have an intimate relationship with The Holy Spirit Of Christ Jesus and God The Father in Whom our spirits cry out ABBA  (Daddy FATHER!) The Three Persons Of The Trinity! Of Almighty JEHOVAH

 We are in partnership with God The  Holy Spirit ! We must give Him room in our lives lest we grieve Him and also priority to speak to us and lead and comfort us !

COLOSSIANS 3v8-10, 12-14.

Col 3:8  But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language.

Col 3:9  Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds.

Col 3:10  Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like Him. 

We were created in His image!

https://youtu.be/lfJL5VxGxwo

Col 3:12  Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

Col 3:13  Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.

Col 3:14  Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.

3:8 Since they had been redeemed at such a tremendous cost, they should now put off all these things like a dirty garment. 

Not only does the apostle refer to the various forms of unholy lust listed in verse 5, but also to the types of wicked hatred which he is about to enumerate.

Anger is, of course, a strong spirit of dislike or animosity, a vengeful spirit, a settled feeling of hatred. Wrath describes an intense form of anger, probably involving violent outbursts. 

Malice is wicked conduct toward another with the idea of harming his person or reputation. It is an unreasonable dislike that takes pleasure in seeing others suffer. Blasphemy here means reviling, that is, strong, intemperate language used against another person. It means scolding in a harsh, insolent manner. Filthy language means shameful speaking, and describes that which is lewd, indecent, or corrupt. 

It is disgraceful, impure language. In this catalog of sin the apostle goes from motives to acts. Bitterness starts in the human heart and then manifests itself in the various ways which have been described.

3:9 In verse 9 the apostle is saying in effect, “Let your state be consistent with your standing.” 

You have put off the old man; now put him off practically by refraining from lies. Lying is one of the things that belongs to the old man, and it has no place in the life of the child of God. Every day in our lives we are tempted to distort the truth. It may be by withholding information on an income tax form, or by cheating on an examination, or even by exaggerating the details of a story. Lying becomes doubly serious when we injure another by a false statement, or by creating a false impression.

3:10 Not only have we put off the old man, but we have put on the new man, who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him. Just as the old man refers to all that we were as sons of Adam, with an unregenerate nature, so the new man refers to our new position as children of God. There has been a new creation, and we are new creatures. God's purpose is that this new man should always be growing more and more like the Lord Jesus Christ. We should never be satisfied with our present attainments, but should always press on to the goal of increasing conformity to the Savior. He is our example and the rule of our lives. In a coming day, when we stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ, we will be judged not by how much better our lives were than others but rather by how our life measured up to the life of the Lord Jesus Himself.

The image of God is not seen in the shape of our bodies, but in the beauty of the renewed mind and heart. Holiness, love, humility, meekness, kindness, and forgiveness—these make up the divine character. (Daily Notes of the Scripture Union)

3:12 In verse 10, Paul said that we have put on the new man. Now he gives some practical ways in which this can be done in our everyday lives. First of all, he addresses the Colossians as the elect of God. This refers to the fact that they had been chosen by God in Christ before the foundation of the world. God's electing grace is one of the mysteries of divine revelation. We believe the Scripture clearly teaches that God, in His sovereignty, has chosen men to belong to Christ. We do not believe that God has ever chosen anyone to be damned. Such a teaching is directly contrary to Scripture. Just as we believe in God's electing grace, we also believe in man's responsibility. God does not save men against their will. The same Bible that says “elect according to the foreknowledge of God” also says “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Next Paul addresses the Colossians as holy and beloved. Holy means sanctified, or set apart (same word as “saints”) to God from the world. We are positionally holy, and we should be practically holy in our lives as well. Because we are the objects of God's love, it gives us a desire to please Him in every way.

Now Paul describes the Christian graces which we are to put on as a garment. Tender mercies speaks of a heart of compassion. Kindness speaks of the unselfish spirit of doing for others. It is an attitude of affection or goodwill. Humility means lowliness, the willingness to be humbled and to esteem others better than oneself. Meekness does not speak of weakness, but rather the strength to deny oneself and to walk in grace toward all men. Vine says:

The common assumption is that when a man is meek, it is because he cannot help himself; but the Lord was “meek” because He had the infinite resources of God at His command. Described negatively, meekness is the opposite to self-assertiveness and self-interest; it is equanimity of spirit that is neither elated nor cast down, simply because it is not occupied with self at all.

If humility is the “absence of pride,” then meekness is “the absence of passion.” Longsuffering speaks of patience under provocation and of the long endurance of offense. It combines joy and a kind attitude toward others, along with perseverance in suffering.

3:13 Bearing with one another describes the patience we should have with the failings and odd ways of our brethren. In living with others, it is inevitable that we will find out their failures. It often takes the grace of God for us to put up with the idiosyncrasies of others, as it must for them to put up with ours. But we must bear with one another. Forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another. There are few disputes among the people of God which could not be solved quickly if these injunctions were heeded. Forgiveness should be exercised toward others when they have offended. We often hear the complaint: “But he was the one who offended me. . . .” That is exactly the type of situation in which we are called upon to forgive. If the other person had not offended us, there would have been no need for forgiveness. If we had been the one who had committed the offense, then we should have gone and asked for pardon. Forbearance suggests our not taking offense; forgiveness—not holding it. There could scarcely be any greater incentive to forgiveness than is found in this verse: Even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. How did Christ forgive us? He forgave us without a cause. So should we. He forgave us freely. So should we. He forgave and He forgot. So should we. Both as to manner and extent, we should follow our blessed Lord in this wonderful attitude.

3:14 Love is here spoken of as the outer garment, or the belt, which binds all the other virtues together in order to make up perfection. It holds together in symmetry all parts of the Christian character. It is possible that a person might manifest some of the virtues above without really having love in his heart. And so Paul is emphasizing here that what we do must be done in a genuine spirit of love for our brethren. Our actions should not be grudging but should be born out of wholehearted affection. The Gnostics thought of knowledge as the bond of perfection, but Paul corrects this view by insisting that love is the bond of perfection.

Do Not. Fret or Worry!

Php 4:6  Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God.

Philippians 4:6.  Be careful for nothing,.... This must be understood not in the most extensive sense, but with a limitation and restriction. There are many things that saints are to be careful for, as men and Christians; they are to be careful of their bodies, as well as of their souls; of the health of them, which is to be preserved by all lawful means, and not exposed to unnecessary danger; and for their families, to provide things honest for them, proper food and raiment, and the necessaries of life; for whoever does not do that, denies the faith, and is worse than an infidel; and even for the things of this world in a moderate way, using all diligence and industry in obtaining them; men ought to be careful to discharge the duties of their calling in civil life, and to care and concern themselves for the honour of God, the interest of religion, and the support of the Gospel; and that they offend not God, by sinning against him: but the carefulness the apostle speaks of, is an anxious solicitude for worldly things, an immoderate concern for the things of life, arising from diffidence, or negligence, of the power, providence, and faithfulness of God: saints should not be anxiously, or in a distressing manner concerned for the things of this world, but be content, whether they have less or more; nor be over much pressed with what befalls them, but should cast their care upon the Lord, and carry every case to him, and leave it there:

but in everything. The Syriac and Ethiopic versions render it, "in every time": always, constantly, every day, as often as there is opportunity, and need requires. The Vulgate Latin and Arabic versions join it with the following clause, "in every prayer and supplication"; but the grammatical construction of the words will not admit of such a version; it is best to understand it of every thing, or case, which should be brought to God; whether it be of a temporal or spiritual kind, relating to body or soul, to ourselves or others, to our families, relations, and acquaintance, the church, or the world:

by prayer and supplication: which may include all sorts of prayer, mental or vocal, private or public, ordinary or extraordinary, and every part of prayer: prayer may design petition, or asking for good things that are wanted; and "supplication", a deprecating of evils that are feared; though these two are often used together for the same thing, for prayer in general: which ought always to be accompanied

with thanksgiving; for mercies received; for a man can never come to the throne of grace, to ask for grace and mercy, but he has mercies to bless God for, and so to do is very acceptable to God; nor can a person expect to succeed in the enjoyment of future mercies, when he is not thankful for past and present ones: in this manner therefore, at all times, upon every occasion, in a way of humble petition and supplication, joined with thankfulness for all favours,

let your requests be made known to God; not to men; fly not to an arm of flesh, but to God, to him only, and that in the most private mariner, as not to be known by men; and put up such requests, as there may be reason to hope and believe God will "know" and approve of; such as are agreeable to his will, to the covenant of his grace, and the declaration of his word: use familiarity with God, tell him as you would do a friend, freely and fully, all your case, pour out your souls and your complaints before him. This God would have his people do, and he expects it from them; and though he knows all their wants, and what are their desires before they express them, yet he will seem not to know them, or take any notice of them, until they open them to him in some way or other; either by vocal prayer, or mental; by ejaculations, or sighs and groans, by chattering as a crane or a swallow, all which he understands: and be the case made known in what way or manner soever, with ever so much weakness, so be it, it is made known, it is enough, it shall be regarded and not despised.

4:6 Is it really possible for a Christian to be anxious for nothing? It is possible as long as we have the resource of believing prayer. The rest of the verse goes on to explain how our lives can be free from sinful fretting. Everything should be taken to the Lord in prayer. Everything means everything. There is nothing too great or small for His loving care!

Prayer is both an act and an atmosphere. We come to the Lord at specific times and bring specific requests before Him. But it is also possible to live in an atmosphere of prayer. It is possible that the mood of our life should be a prayerful mood. Perhaps the word prayer in this verse signifies the overall attitude of our life, whereas supplication signifies the specific requests which we bring to the Lord.

But then we should notice that our requests should be made known to God with thanksgiving. Someone has summarized the verse as saying that we should be “anxious in nothing, prayerful in everything, thankful for anything.”

Future Glory

Rom 8:18  That's why I don't think there's any comparison between the present hard times and the coming good times.

Rom 8:19  The created world itself can hardly wait for what's coming next.

Rom 8:20  Everything in creation is being more or less held back. God reins it in

Rom 8:21  until both creation and all the creatures are ready and can be released at the same moment into the glorious times ahead. Meanwhile, the joyful anticipation deepens.

Rom 8:22  All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it's not only around us; it's within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We're also feeling the birth pangs.

Rom 8:23  These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance.

Rom 8:24  That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don't see what is enlarging us.

Rom 8:25  But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy.

Rom 8:26  Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans.

Rom 8:27  He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God.

Rom 8:28  That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.

Rom 8:29  God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him.

Rom 8:30  After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun.