A Good Servant of Christ Jesus

Some Will Depart from the Faith

1Ti 4:1-5. BUT THE [Holy] Spirit distinctly and expressly declares that in latter times some will turn away from the faith, giving attention to deluding and seducing spirits and doctrines that demons teach,

Through the hypocrisy and pretensions of liars whose consciences are seared (cauterized),

Who forbid people to marry and [teach them] to abstain from [certain kinds of] foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and have [an increasingly clear] knowledge of the truth.

For everything God has created is good, and nothing is to be thrown away or refused if it is received with thanksgiving.

For it is hallowed and consecrated by the Word of God and by prayer.

If you lay all these instructions before the brethren, you will be a worthy steward and a good minister of Christ Jesus, ever nourishing your own self on the truths of the faith and of the good [Christian] instruction which you have closely followed.

But refuse and avoid irreverent legends (profane and impure and godless fictions, mere grandmothers' tales) and silly myths, and express your disapproval of them. Train yourself toward godliness (piety), [keeping yourself spiritually fit].

For physical training is of some value (useful for a little), but godliness (spiritual training) is useful and of value in everything and in every way, for it holds promise for the present life and also for the life which is to come.

This saying is reliable and worthy of complete acceptance by everybody.

With a view to this we toil and strive, [yes and] suffer reproach, because we have [fixed our] hope on the living God, Who is the Savior (Preserver, Maintainer, Deliverer) of all men, especially of those who believe (trust in, rely on, and adhere to Him).

Continue to command these things and to teach them.

Let no one despise or think less of you because of your youth, but be an example (pattern) for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity.

Till I come, devote yourself to [public and private] reading, to exhortation (preaching and personal appeals), and to teaching and instilling doctrine.

 Do not neglect the gift which is in you, [that special inward endowment] which was directly imparted to you [by the Holy Spirit] by prophetic utterance when the elders laid their hands upon you [at your ordination].

Practice and cultivate and meditate upon these duties; throw yourself wholly into them [as your ministry], so that your progress may be evident to everybody.

Look well to yourself [to your own personality] and to [your] teaching; persevere in these things [hold to them], for by so doing you will save both yourself and those who hear you.

1 Timothy 4:1-5

 APOSTASY IN THE CHURCH (4:1-16)

Warning Against the Impending Apostasy (4:1-5)

4:1-16.   There are two ways in which the Spirit might be thought of as speaking expressly. First of all, what Paul is about to say was certainly given to him by divine revelation. But it might also mean that throughout the Scriptures, and particularly in the NT, it is expressly taught that the latter times will be characterized by departure from the faith.

Latter times means “in later times,” periods of time subsequent to that time when the apostle was writing.

Some will depart from the faith. The word some is characteristic of 1 Timothy. What was a minority in this Epistle seems to have become the majority in 2 Timothy. The fact that these people depart or fall away from the faith does not mean that they were ever saved, but simply that they had professed to be Christians. They knew about the Lord Jesus Christ and had been told that He was the only Savior. They professed for a time to follow Him, but then they apostatized from the faith.

One can scarcely read this section without thinking of the rise of cults in our own day. The way these false systems have spread is accurately described here. A great part of their membership is made up of persons who were formerly in so-called Christian churches. Perhaps at one time these churches had been sound in the faith, but then they drifted toward the social gospel. The cultist teachers came along offering a more positive message, and these professing Christians were ensnared.

They give willing heed or assent to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons. Deceiving spirits is used here in a figurative sense to describe the false teachers, indwelt by evil spirits, who deceive the unwary. Doctrines of demons does not mean teachings about demons, but rather doctrines which are inspired by demons or have their source in the demon world.

The word hypocrisy suggests “wearing a mask.” How typical this is of the false cultists! They try to hide their true identity. They do not want people to know the system with which they are identified. They masquerade by using Bible terms and singing Christian hymns. Not only are they hypocrites, but they are liars as well. Their teaching is not according to the truth of God's word; they know this, and purposely deceive the people.

Their conscience is seared with a hot iron. Perhaps early in their lives their conscience had been tender, but they suppressed it so often and sinned against the light so much that now their conscience has become insensitive and hardened. They no longer have any scruples about contradicting the word of God and teaching things they know are untrue.

Two of the doctrines of demons are now stated. The first is the teaching that it is wrong to marry. This is directly contrary to the word of God. God Himself instituted marriage, and He did this before sin ever entered the world. There is nothing unholy about marriage, and when false teachers forbid marriage, they are attacking what God ordained.

An illustration of this teaching is the law forbidding certain priests and nuns to marry. However, even more directly, this verse refers to the teaching of spiritists called spiritual affinity by which, according to A. J. Pollock, “the marriage tie is derided, and in its practical working, men and women are seduced from their lawful partners to form unholy and unlawful links with their so-called spiritual affinities.” We might also mention the attitude of Christian Science toward marriage. Its founder, Mrs. Eddy, thrice married, wrote:

Until it is learned that God is the Father of all, marriage will continue. ... Matrimony, which was once a fixed fact among us, must lose its present adherence.

The second teaching of demons is to abstain from certain foods. Such teaching is found among spiritists, who claim that the eating of animal flesh hinders one in contacting the spirits. Also, among Theosophists and Hindus, there is a horror of sacrificing any kind of life because they believe that the soul of a man may come back and live in an animal or other creature.

The pronoun which may refer to marriage and to foods. Both were created by God to be shared by us with thanksgiving. He did not intend them only for the unregenerate but for those who believe and know the truth.

Every creature (or creation) of God is good. Both foods and marriage are creations of God, and are not to be refused if ... received with thanksgiving. He instituted marriage for the propagation of human life (see Gen 1:28), and food for the sustaining of life (Gen 9:3).

The word of God sets apart both food and marriage for man's use. Food is thus sanctified in Gen 9:3; Mar 7:19; Act 10:14-15; and 1Co 10:25-26. Marriage is set apart in 1 Corinthians 7 and Heb 13:4.

They are also sanctified through prayer. Before partaking of a meal, we should bow our heads and give thanks for the food (see Mat 14:19; Act 27:35). By this act we are asking the Lord to sanctify the food to strengthen our bodies so that we might serve Him more acceptably. Before entering into marriage we should pray that God will bless the union for His glory, for the blessing of others, and for the good of the bride and groom.

It is a good testimony for Christians to give thanks for meals when in the presence of unsaved people. The blessing should not be showy or long, but neither should we try to conceal the fact that we are thanking God for our food.

1 Timothy 4:6-16

Positive Instructions in View of the Impending Apostasy (4:6-16)

By instructing the brethren about these things mentioned in verses 1-5, Timothy will be a good minister of Jesus Christ. As mentioned previously, the word minister means “servant.” He will be a servant, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which he has carefully followed up to this time.

In this section, Paul is thinking of Christian service as a form of athletic contest. In verse 6, he spoke of the suitable diet for one who is serving Christ—he should be nourished in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine. In verse 7, he speaks of exercise that has godliness as its aim.

The apostle advises Timothy to reject profane and old wives' fables. He is not to combat them or spend a lot of time on them. Rather, he is to disdain them, to treat them with contempt. Old wives' fables make us think of Christian Science, which was founded by a woman, seems to appeal especially to elderly women, and teaches fables instead of truth.

Instead of wasting time on myths and fables, he should exercise himself to godliness. Such exercise involves reading and studying the Bible, prayer, meditation, and witnessing to others. Stock says, “There is no such thing as drifting into godliness; the ‘stream of tendency’ is against us.” There must be exercise and effort.

Here two kinds of exercise are contrasted. Bodily exercise has certain values for the body, but these values are limited and of short duration. Godliness, on the other hand, is good for man's spirit, soul, and body, and is not only for time but for eternity as well. As far as this life is concerned, godliness yields the greatest joy, and as far as the life which is to come is concerned, it holds promise of bright reward and of capacity to enjoy the glories of that scene.

It is generally agreed that this verse refers back to the saying about godliness. The fact that godliness is of widespread and eternal value is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance. This is the third faithful saying in this Epistle.

For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach. The end mentioned is the life of godliness. Paul states that this is the great goal toward which he exerts his finest efforts. This would not seem a worthy aim in life to unbelievers. But the Christian sees beyond the passing things of this world and sets his hope on the living God. This hope can never be disappointed for the very reason that He is the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe. God is the Savior of all men in the sense that He preserves them in the daily providences of life. But He is also the Savior of all men in the sense pointed out previously—that He has made adequate provision for the salvation of all men. He is the Savior of those who believe in a special way because they have availed themselves of His provision. We might say that He is the potential Savior of all men and the actual Savior of those who believe.

These things probably refers to what Paul has been saying in verses 6-10. Timothy is to command and teach such precepts, continually bringing them before the people of God.

At the time of this Letter, Timothy was probably between thirty and thirty-five years of age. In contrast with some of the elders in the assembly at Ephesus, he would be a comparatively young man. That is why Paul says here, “Let no one despise your youth.” This does not mean that Timothy is to put himself on a pedestal and consider himself immune from criticism. Rather, it means he is to give nobody occasion to condemn him. By being an example to the believers, he is to avoid the possibility of justified criticism.

In word refers to Timothy's conversation. His speech should always be that which should characterize a child of God. He should not only avoid such speech as is distinctly forbidden, but also such as would not be edifying for his hearers.

In conduct refers to one's entire demeanor. Nothing about his deportment should cause reproach on the name of Christ.

In love suggests that love should be the motive for conduct, as well as the spirit in which it is carried out and the goal toward which it strives.

In spirit is lacking in most modern versions and commentaries that follow the critical text. However, the words do occur in the traditional and majority texts. Guy King decries the fact that enthusiasm, his insightful understanding of the phrase, is a:

... quality strangely lacking from the make-up of many Christians. Plenty of enthusiasm for a football match, or for an election campaign, but so little of it for the service of GOD. How the magnificent enthusiasm of the Christian Scientists, the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Communists should put us to shame. Oh, for the flaming zeal again that once the church knew. This fine spirit will greatly help Timothy as he seeks to consolidate the position and to advance the line.

In faith probably means “in faithfulness,” and carries the idea of dependability and steadfastness.

Purity should characterize not only his acts but his motives as well.

This verse probably refers primarily to the local church, rather than to Timothy's personal life. He should give attention to the public reading of the Scriptures, to exhortation, and to doctrine or teaching. There is a definite order here. First of all, Paul emphasizes the public reading of the word of God. This was especially necessary at that time, since the distribution of the Scriptures was very limited. Few people had a copy of the word. After reading the Scriptures, Timothy was to exhort the believers on the basis of what had been read, and then he was to teach the great truths of the word of God. This verse reminds us of Nehemiah 8, and especially verse 8: “So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading.”

However, we should not leave out the thought of private devotions from this verse. Before Timothy could exhort and teach the word of God to others, he should first make it real in his own life.

We are not told exactly what gift had been given to Timothy—whether evangelist, pastor, or teacher. The general tenor of these Epistles would lead us to think that he was a pastor-teacher. However, we do know that the gift ... was given to him by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. First of all, it was given along with or by prophecy. This simply means that a prophet in a local church at one time stood up and announced that the Spirit of God had imparted some gift to Timothy. The prophet did not confer the gift, but announced it. This was accompanied by the laying on of the hands of the eldership. Again we would emphasize that the presbyters, or elders, did not have the power to bestow the gift on Timothy. Rather, by laying their hands on him, they signified public recognition of what the Holy Spirit had already done.

The process is seen in Acts 13. In verse 2, the Holy Spirit singled out Barnabas and Saul for a specific work. Perhaps it was through a prophet that this word was transmitted. Then the local brethren fasted and prayed and laid their hands on Barnabas and Saul and sent them away (v. 3).

This same policy is followed by many local Christian communities today. When it becomes evident to the elders that a man has been given some gift of the Holy Spirit, they commend that man to the work of the Lord, indicating their confidence in him and their recognition of the Spirit's work in his life. Their commendation does not bestow a gift on him but merely recognizes that this has already been done by the Spirit of God.

There is a difference between what happened when the elders laid their hands on Timothy, as mentioned here, and when Paul laid his hands on Timothy, as described in 2Ti 1:6. In the former case, the action was in no way official, nor was it responsible for Timothy's gift. It only expressed fellowship with him in his work. In the latter case, Paul was actually the apostolic channel through whom the gift was imparted.

The words meditate on these things can be translated “cultivate” or “take pains with these things.” This may well be the meaning here, since the next words are give yourself entirely to them. Paul is encouraging Timothy to give himself undividedly and undistractedly to the work of the Lord. He should be all-out in his efforts. In this way, his progress will be evident to all. Paul does not want Timothy to hit a plateau in his Christian service and then settle down into a comfortable rut. Rather, he wants him to be always advancing in the things of the Lord.

Notice the order here. Timothy is first to take heed to himself and then to the doctrine. This emphasizes the importance of the personal life in any servant of Christ. If his life is wrong, he might be ever so orthodox in his doctrine, but it is of no avail. A. W. Pink has well said: “Service becomes a snare and an evil if it be allowed to crowd out worship and the cultivation of one's own spiritual life.”

By continuing in the things Paul has been writing about, that is, reading, exhortation, and instruction, Timothy would save both himself and those who heard him. The word save here has nothing to do with the salvation of the soul. The chapter opened with a description of the false teachers who were causing havoc among the people of God. Paul is telling Timothy that by faithful adherence to a godly life and to the word of God, he will save himself from these false teachings and he will also rescue his hearers from them as well

LAZARUS IS DEAD!

John11:11-14.  

After he had said this, he went on to tell them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up."

His disciples replied, "Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better."

Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.

So then he told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead,

JESUS RAISES LAZARUS FROM THE DEAD

The death of Lazarus.

1. (John11:1-3) A request is brought to Jesus.

Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”

a. Mary . . . her sister Martha . . . brother Lazarus: Jesus had a close relationship with this family, and it was expected that if He miraculously met the needs of so many others, He would meet their need also.

b. Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick: They do not state their request, but they do not need to. Where there is a true bond of love, there is no need to request a favor; it is enough to make the need known.

2. Jesus responds with a delay.

When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.

a. This sickness is not unto death: Lazarus was already dead when Jesus said this; but He knew the end result of this would be the glory of God, not death.

b. He stayed two more days: In John’s gospel, there are three times when someone near and dear to Jesus makes a request of Him (the other two are His mother at Cana, and His brothers on their way to Jerusalem). In each of these three cases, Jesus responded in the same way.

i. He first refused to grant their request, then He fulfilled it after asserting that He does things according to the timing and will of God, not man.

ii. Through His actions, Jesus demonstrated that His delays were not denials. They would bring greater glory to God.

3. (John 11:7-10) Jesus courageously decides to go to Judea and Jerusalem.

Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?” Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.”

a. Let us go to Judea again: Jesus could have raised Lazarus from a distance. But Jesus was willing to go to Judea and minister to Lazarus and his family, even though it was dangerous to go there. Jesus walked in the confidence of someone who really trusts God.

b. Are there not twelve hours in the day? Jesus’ disciples were shocked that He would return to the region of Judea when He was a wanted man there. But Jesus makes it clear that He still has work to do. The twelve hours probably refer to the time allotted by the Father for Jesus’ earthly ministry.

c. If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble: During these hours no harm could come to Jesus and the disciples, but now they must work before the night of Jesus’ passion.

4. (John 11:11-15) Jesus tells them plainly of Lazarus’ death.

These things He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.” Then His disciples said, “Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.” However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.”

a. Lazarus is dead. And I am glad: Jesus could be glad, even in the death of a dear friend, because He was certain of the outcome.

5. (John11:16) Thomas’ bold faith.

Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.”

a. Let us also go, that we may die with Him: Thomas expresses what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. He is willing to go with Jesus, even if it means dying with Him. Thomas may not have understood it at the time, but we can know today that if we die with Him we will surely be raised and be glorified with Him.

i. Thomas, like the other disciples, didn’t understand all that Jesus said or meant. But what he did know was enough to make him willing to die with and for Jesus. “Here is a sufficient rule to walk by, whether our faith be dim or clear; namely, sheer loyalty.” (Loyd)

b. Thomas, who is called the Twin: Church tradition says that Thomas was called “The Twin” because he looked like Jesus, putting him at special risk. If any among the disciples of Jesus were potential targets of persecution, it would be the one who looked like Jesus.

Jesus meets with Martha and Mary.

1. (John11:17-22) Martha greets Jesus as He comes to Bethany.

So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away. And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house. Then Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.”

a. He had already been in the tomb four days: Why did He wait four days? Jesus did this in light of the Jewish superstition of that day that said a soul stays near the grave for three days, hoping to return to the body. Therefore, it was accepted that after four days there was absolutely no hope of resuscitation.

b. Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died: Martha plainly states her disappointment in Jesus’ late arrival. Even if she doesn’t show total confidence in Jesus at this point, her honesty with Jesus is refreshing.

c. Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You: Martha isn’t confident that Jesus will raise her brother, rather she says that she still believes in Him despite the disappointment. Can we say the same thing?

2. (John11:23-27) I am the resurrection and the life.

Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

a. I am the resurrection and the life: With this statement, Jesus overthrows everything thing we know about the law of entropy and the way things work in this world. For a long, long time, death has ruled over men like a tyrant. This is not the land of the living, but the land of the dying.

i. Humorists and philosophers have understood the basic fear of death, and the basic dilemma of death. “Neither in the hearts of men nor in the manners of society will there be a lasting peace until we outlaw death.” (Albert Camus) “I don’t want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it through not dying.” (Woody Allen)

b. He who believes in Me, though he may day, he shall live: Jesus is the champion over death. While the ancients feared death, the Christian can only fear dying. The believer will never die, but simply make an instant transition from an old life to a new life.

i. Think about how grand the claim of Jesus is here. I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. Who but God could possibly say such things?

c. Do you believe this? Jesus challenges Martha not to debate or intellectual assent, but to belief.

3. (John 11:28-32) Mary’s regret.

And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, “The Teacher has come and is calling for you.” As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him. Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him. Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, “She is going to the tomb to weep there.” Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”

a. Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died: Lazarus had two sisters, Mary and Martha. Martha has already spoken to Jesus regarding the death of Lazarus, but now Mary speaks for the first time. Her words are remarkably similar to what Martha told Jesus (Joh 11:21).

b. My brother would not have died: This is one of the places in the Bible where we wish we could hear the tone of voice and see the expressions on the face. This could be a noble statement of faith, saying that if Jesus were here they have no doubt at all that He would have healed Lazarus. On the other hand, it can be seen as a criticism of what seemed to be the tardiness of Jesus.

C. Lazarus is raised.

1. (John11:33-38 a) A deeply moved Jesus comes to the tomb.

Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. And He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!” And some of them said, “Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?” Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb.

a. He groaned in the spirit and was troubled: Coming to the scene of Lazarus’ tomb, Jesus intensely groaned in the spirit. In the ancient Greek, this literally means “to snort like a horse,” implying anger and indignation.

i. It means that Jesus wasn’t so much sad at the scene surrounding the tomb of Lazarus. It’s more accurate to say that Jesus was angry. Jesus is angry and troubled at the ravages of the great enemy of man: death. He won’t settle for this domination of death much longer.

ii. But, “Christ does not come to the sepulchre as an idle spectator, but like a wrestler preparing for the contest. Therefore no wonder that He groans again, for the violent tyranny of death which He had to overcome stands before His eyes.” (Calvin)

b. Jesus saw her weeping . . . Jesus wept: The contrast between the tears of Mary and Martha and the tears of Jesus is insightful. Weeping (the word used for Mary in John 11:33) is a word that describes loud wailing. Wept (the word to describe Jesus’ expression of grief in John11:35) is another word that indicates a quiet weeping. Jesus is greatly moved, but not out of control.

c. Jesus wept: This shows that Jesus is not unfeeling, nor stoic, but with strong feeling He prepares to strike a blow against death, the enemy of God and man. Jesus is a passionate enemy of death.

i. To the mind of the ancient Greek, the primary characteristic of God was apatheia: the total inability to feel any emotion whatsoever. The Greeks believed in an isolated, passionless, and compassionless God. That isn’t the God of the Bible. That isn’t the God who is really there.

2. (John 11:38-40) Jesus commands the stone to be removed.

It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?”

a. Take away the stone: Everybody thought this was a strange thing for Jesus to ask. After all, Martha knew Lord, by this time he stinketh (King James Version). People probably thought that Jesus was so taken with grief that He wanted one last look at His dear friend Lazarus.

b. By this time there is a stench: In any case, the condition of the body provides an irrefutable confirmation of Lazarus’ dead state.

c. If you would believe you would see the glory of God: Jesus is fully capable of this miracle without the belief of the Martha or Mary. But if they would not believe, then they would never see the glory of God. They could see the end results and be happy in that, but they would miss the glory of working together with God in the accomplishing of His plan.

3. (John11:41-44) Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead.

Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”

a. He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” Jesus simply calls forth; others whom God used to raise dead bodies in the Scriptures often used far more elaborate procedures

b. Lazarus, come forth! Jesus speaks to a dead body as if Lazarus lived, because He is God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did (Rom 4:17).

i. This is how Jesus can call forth the person dead and defeated in sin and deception to a new life in Him. He is still calling the dead forth from their tombs today!

c. And he who had died came out: Jesus fought death at Lazarus’ tomb, and plundered the grave, serving it notice that shortly He would completely conquer it. This was “coming attraction” for what would happen at the empty tomb of Jesus.

d. His face was wrapped with a cloth: Lazarus was not resurrected, but resuscitated. He arose bound in grave-clothes, for he would need them again; Jesus left His grave-clothes behind in His tomb, never again having need of them.

e. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.” Jesus did not miraculously whisk the grave-clothes off of Lazarus, but He asked attendants to do so. He did what only God could do, and looked for men’s cooperation for the completion of Lazarus’ deliverance.

D. Two reactions.

1. (John11:45) The reaction of faith: many of the Jews . . . believed in Him.

Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him.

a. Many of the Jews . . . had seen the things Jesus did, believe in him: This was undeniably an impressive work of God, and for many it helped them put their trust in who Jesus said He was by seeing what He did.

2. (John 11:46-57) The reaction of unbelief.

But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, “What shall we do? For this Man works many signs. If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation.” And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish.” Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad. Then, from that day on, they plotted to put Him to death. Therefore Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there into the country near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim, and there remained with His disciples. And the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went from the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves. Then they sought Jesus, and spoke among themselves as they stood in the temple, “What do you think; that He will not come to the feast?” Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a command, that if anyone knew where He was, he should report it, that they might seize Him.

a. Everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away our . . . place: Their fears revealed a complete misunderstanding of the motives of Jesus, who had no political ambition, whatsoever.

b. The Romans will come and take away both our place and nation: In ironic fact, this rejection of Jesus resulted in the political ruin and ultimate destruction of the nation.

c. It is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish: Caiaphas gives an unconscious and involuntary prophecy, but it is attributed to the office, not the man (being high priest that year he prophesied).

d. Then from that day on they plotted to put Him to death: Before, it was mostly lesser religious officials who wanted Jesus dead. But now, the men with real political power have decided to murder Jesus. The time is short until the end - or, the beginning, if you will.

e. Therefore Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews: Again, Jesus did not do this out of fear, but because His hour had not yet come (as in John 7:30). The hour had not yet come, but it was soon to come.

TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART!

Trust in the Lord with All Your Heart

Pro 3:1  My son, do not forget my teaching. Keep my commands in your heart.

Pro 3:2  They will help you live for many years. They will bring you success.

Pro 3:3  Don't let love and truth ever leave you. Tie them around your neck. Write them on the tablet of your heart.

Pro 3:4  Then you will find favor and a good name in the eyes of God and people.

Pro 3:5  Trust in the LORD with all your heart. Do not depend on your own understanding.

Pro 3:6  In all your ways remember him. Then he will make your paths smooth and straight.

Pro 3:7  Don't be wise in your own eyes. Have respect for the LORD and avoid evil.

Pro 3:8  That will bring health to your body. It will make your bones strong.

Pro 3:9  Honor the LORD with your wealth. Give him the first share of all your crops.

Pro 3:10  Then your storerooms will be so full they can't hold everything. Your huge jars will spill over with fresh wine.

Pro 3:11  My son, do not hate the LORD's training. Do not object when he corrects you.

Pro 3:12  The LORD trains those he loves. He is like a father who trains the son he is pleased with.

Proverbs 3:1-12

THE EARTHLY REWARDS OF WISDOM

THE general teaching of these nine introductory chapters is that the "ways of Wisdom are pleasantness, and all her paths are peace." We are taught to look for the fruit of righteousness in long life and prosperity, for the penalty of sin in premature destruction. "The upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it. But the wicked shall be cut off from the land, and they that deal treacherously shall be rooted out of it." (Pro 2:21-22) The foolish "shall eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. For the backsliding of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. But whoso hearkeneth unto Wisdom shall dwell securely, and shall be quiet without fear of evil." (Pro 1:31-33) "By Wisdom thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased. If thou art wise, thou art wise for thyself; and if thou scornest, thou alone shall hear it." The ways of Folly have this legend written over the entrance-gate: "The dead are there; her guests are in the depths of Sheol." (Pro 9:12; Pro 9:18)

This teaching is summarized in the passage before us. "My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: for length of days, and years of life, and peace, shall they add to thee. Let not mercy and truth," those primary requirements of wisdom, "forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thy heart"; i.e., let them be an ornament which strikes the eye of the beholder, but also an inward law which regulates the secret thought. "So shalt thou find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man"; that is to say, the charm of thy character will conciliate the love of thy fellow creatures and of thy God, while they recognize, and He approves, the spiritual state from which these graces grow. "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not upon thine own understanding: in all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes; fear the Lord, and depart from evil: it shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the first-fruits of all thy increase: so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy vats shall overflow with new wine." (Pro 3:1-10) The rewards of wisdom, then, are health and long life, the good-will of God and man, prosperity, and abundant earthly possessions. As our Lord would put it, they who leave house, or wife, or brethren, or parents, or children, for the kingdom of God’s sake, shall receive manifold more in this time, even of the things which they surrender, in addition to the everlasting life in the time to come. (Luk 18:29-30)

This is a side of truth which we frequently allow to drop out of sight, in order to emphasize another side which is considered more important. We are accustomed to dwell on the promised joys of the future world as if godliness had no promise of the life which now is, and in so doing we take all life and color from those expected blessings. The true view seems to be, the way of wisdom, the path of the upright, is so full of joy, so crowned with peace; the life of the children of the kingdom is so wisely and bountifully provided for; the inevitable pains and troubles which fall to their share are so transformed; that from this present good we can infer a future better, gathering hints and promises of what we shall be from the realized felicity of what we are.

If we try to estimate the temporal blessings of wisdom we do not thereby deny the larger and more lasting blessings which are to come; while if we ignore these present joyful results we deprive ourselves of the surest evidence for the things which, though hoped for, are not yet seen.

We may, then, with much advantage try to estimate some of the immediate and apprehensible benefits of the life which is lived according to the dictates of heavenly wisdom.

(1) First of all, the right life is a wholesome life-yes, physically healthy. Obedience to the eternal moral laws brings "health to the navel," and that peculiar brightness which is like the freshness of dew. The body is a sacred trust, a temple of the Holy Ghost; to use it ill is to violate the trust and to defile the temple. The temperance of habit and orderliness of life which Wisdom requires of her children are the first conditions of vitality. They who seek health as the first consideration become valetudinarians and find neither health nor happiness; but they who diligently follow the law of God and the impulse of His Spirit find that health has come to them, as it were, by a side wind. The peace of mind, the cheerfulness of temper, the transfer of all anxiety from the human spirit to the strong Spirit of God, are very favorable to longevity. Insurance societies have made this discovery, and actuaries will tell you that in a very literal way the children of God possess the earth, while the wicked are cut off.

Yet no one thinks of measuring life only by days and years. To live long with the constant feeling that life is not worth living, or to live long with the constant apprehension of death, must be counted as a small and empty life. Now, it is the chief blessedness in the lot of the children of light that each day is a full, rich day, unmarred by recollections, unshadowed by apprehensions. Each day is distinctly worth living; it has its own exquisite lessons of cloud or sunshine, its own beautiful revelations of love, and pity, and hope. Time does not hang heavily on the hands, nor yet is its hurried flight a cause of vain regret; for it has accomplished that for which it was sent, and by staying longer could not accomplish more. And if, after all, God has appointed but a few years for His child’s earthly life, that is not to be regretted; the only ground for sorrow would be to live longer than His wise love had decreed. "If God thy death desires," as St. Genest says to Adrien in Rotrou’s tragedy, "life has been long enow."

The life in God is undoubtedly a healthy life, nor is it the less healthy because the outward man has to decay, and mortality has to be swallowed up of life. From the standpoint of the Proverbs this wider application of the truth was not as yet visible. The problem which emerges in the book of Job was not yet solved. But already, as I think we shall see, it was understood that the actual and tangible rewards of righteousness were of incomparable price, and made the prosperity of the wicked look poor and delusive.

(2) But there is a second result of the right life which ordinary observation and common sense may estimate. Wisdom is very uncompromising in her requirement of fair dealing between man and man. She cannot away with those commercial practices which can only be described as devising "evil against thy neighbor," who "dwelleth securely by thee." (Pro 3:29) Her main economic principle is this, that all legitimate trade is the mutual advantage of buyer and seller; where the seller is seeking to dupe the buyer, and the buyer is seeking to rob the seller, trade ceases, and the transaction is the mere in-working of the devil. Wisdom is quite aware that by these ways of the devil wealth may be accumulated; she is not blind to the fact that the overreaching spirit of greed has its rich and splendid reward; but she maintains none the less that "the curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked; but He blesseth the habitation of the righteous." (Pro 3:33)

It is a very impressive experience to enter the house of a great magnate whose wealth has been obtained by questionable means. The rooms are beautiful; works by the great masters shed their radiance of eternal truth from the walls; the library gleams with the well-bound books of moralists and religions teachers. The sons and daughters of the house are fair and elegant; the smile of prosperity is in every curtained and carpeted room, and seems to beam out of every illuminated window; and yet the sensitive spirit cannot be rid of the idea that "the curse of the Lord is in the house."

On the other hand, the honorable man whose paths have been directed by the Lord, no matter whether he be wealthy or merely in receipt, as the result of a life’s labor, of his "daily bread," has a blessing in his house. Men trust him and honor him. His wealth flows as a fertilizing stream, or if it run dry, his friends, who love him for himself, make him feel that it was a good thing to lose it in order to find them. In proportion as the fierce struggle of competition has made the path of fair dealing more difficult, they who walk in it are the more honored and loved. Nowhere does Wisdom smile more graciously or open her hand to bless more abundantly, than in the later years of a life which has in its earlier days been exposed, and has offered a successful resistance, to the strong temptations of unrighteous gain.

(3) Further, Wisdom commands not only justice, but generosity. She requires her children to yield the first-fruits of all their possessions to the Lord, and to look tenderly upon His poor. "Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. Say not unto thy neighbor, Go, and come again, and tomorrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee." (Pro 3:27-28) And the teaching of experience is that those who act upon this precept purchase to themselves a good possession. The main value of the Mammon of unrighteousness is, as our Lord says, to make to ourselves friends with it, friends who shall receive us into the everlasting habitations. The money we spend upon our own pleasures, and to promote our own interests, is spent and gone; but the money given with an open hand to those poor children of God, to whom it is strictly due, is not spent at all, but laid up in the most secure of banks. There is no source of joy in this present world to be compared with the loving gratitude of the poor whom you have lovingly helped. Strangely enough, men will spend much to obtain a title which carries no honor with it, forgetting that the same money given to the needy and the suffering purchases the true honor, which gives the noblest title. For we are none of us so stupid as to think that the empty admiration of the crowd is so rich in blessing as the heartfelt love of the few.

But in enumerating these external results of right living we have only touched incidentally upon the deeper truths which lie at the root of it. It is time to look at these.

God is necessarily so much to men, men are necessarily so completely bereft without Him, that clear vision and strong action are utterly impossible apart from a humble dependence upon Him. The beginning of all wisdom is, as we have seen, in the recognition of God, in personal submission to Him, in diligent obedience to all His directions. This appears, before we reflect, to be a mere truism; when we have reflected, it proves to be a great revelation. We do not at first see what is meant by trusting in the Lord with all our heart; we confuse it with that tepid, conventional relation to God which too frequently passes current for faith. We do not readily apprehend what is implied in acknowledging God in all our ways; we suppose that it only means a general professing and calling ourselves Christians. Consequently, many of us who believe that we trust in the Lord, yet lean habitually and confidently upon our own understanding, and are even proud of doing so; we are wise in our own eyes long after our folly has become apparent to everyone else; we resent with a vehemence of righteous indignation any imputation upon the soundness of our judgment. The very tone of mock humility in which we say, "I may be wrong, but" shows that we are putting a case which seems to us practically impossible. Consequently, while we think that we are acknowledging God in all our ways, He does not direct our paths; indeed, we never gave Him an opportunity. From first to last we directed them ourselves. Let us frankly acknowledge that we do not really believe in God’s detailed concern with the affairs of the individual life; that we do not, therefore, commit our way with an absolute surrender into His hand; that we do not think of submitting to His disposal the choice of our profession, the choice of our partner in life, the choice of our place of residence, the choice of our style of living, the choice of our field of public service, the choice of our scale of giving. Let us confess that we settled all these things in implicit and unquestioning reliance upon our own understanding.

I speak only in wide and fully admitted generalities. If Christians as a whole had really submitted their lives in every detail to God, do you suppose that there would be something like fifty thousand Christian ministers and ten times that number of Christian workers at home, while scarcely a twentieth of that number have gone out from us to labor abroad? If Christians had really submitted their lives to God, would there have been these innumerable wretched marriages-man and wife joined together by no spiritual tie, but by the caprice of fancy or the exigencies of social caste? If Christians had really asked God to guide them, meaning what they said, would all the rich be found in districts together, while all the poor are left to perish in other districts apart? If Christians had really accepted God’s direction, would they be living in princely luxury while the heathen world is crying for the bread of life? Would they be spending their strength on personal aims while the guidance of social and political affairs is left in the hands of the self-interested? Would they be giving such a fragment of their wealth to the direct service of the Kingdom of God?

We may answer very confidently that the life actually being lived by the majority of Christian people is not the result of God directing their paths, but simply comes from leaning on their own understanding. And what a sorrowful result!

But in the face of this apostasy of life and practice, we can still joyfully point to the fact that they who do entirely renounce their own judgment, who are small in their own eyes, and who, with their whole heart trusting Him, acknowledge Him in all their ways, find their lives running over with blessing, and become the means of incalculable good to the world and to themselves. It would not be easy to make plain or even credible, to those who have never trusted in God, how this guidance and direction are given. Not by miraculous signs or visible interpositions, not by voices speaking from heaven, nor even by messages from human lips, but by ways no less distinct and infinitely more authoritative, God guides men with His eye upon them, tells them, "This is the way; walk ye in it," and whispers to them quite intelligibly when they turn to the right hand or the left. With a noble universality of language, this text says nothing of Urim or Thummim, of oracle or seer, of prophet or book: "He shall direct thy paths." (Pro 3:6) That is enough; the method is left open to the wisdom and love of Him who directs. There is something even misleading in saying much about the methods; to set limits to God’s revelations, as Gideon did, is unworthy of the faith which has become aware of God as the actual and living Reality, compared with whom all other realities are but shadows. Our Lord did not follow the guidance of His Father by a mechanical method of signs, but by a more intimate and immediate perception of His will. When Jesus promised us the Spirit as an indwelling and abiding presence He clearly intimated that the Christian life should be maintained by the direct action of God upon the several faculties of the mind, stimulating the memory, quickening the perception of truth, as well as working on the conscience and opening the channels of prayer. When we wait for signs we show a defect of faith. True trust in our Heavenly Father rests in the absolute assurance that He will make the path plain, and leave us in no uncertainty about His will. To doubt that He speaks inwardly and controls us, even when we are unconscious of His control, is to doubt Him altogether.

When a few years have been passed in humble dependence on God, it is then possible to look back and see with astonishing clearness how real and decisive the leadings of the Spirit have been.

There were moments when two alternatives were present, and we were tempted to decide on the strength of our own understanding; but thanks be to his name, we committed it to Him. We stepped forward then in the darkness; we deserted the way which seemed most attractive, and entered the narrow path which was shrouded in mist. We knew He was leading us, but we could not see. Now we see, and we cannot speak our praise. Our life, we find, is all a plan of God, and He conceals it from us, as if on purpose to evoke our trust, and to secure that close and personal communion which the uncertainty renders necessary.

Are you suspicious of the Inward Light, as it is called? Does it seem to open up endless possibilities of self-delusion? Are you disgusted with those who follow their own willful way, and seek a sanction for it by calling it the leading of God? You will find that the error has arisen from not trusting the Lord "with the whole heart," or from not acknowledging Him "in all ways." The eye has not been single, and the darkness therefore has been, as our Lord declares that it would be, dense. (Mat 6:22) The remedy is not to be found in leaning more on our own understanding, but rather in leaning less. Wisdom calls for a certain absoluteness in all our relations to God, a fearless, unreserved, and constantly renewed submission of heart to Him. Wisdom teaches that in His will is our peace, and that His will is learnt by practical surrender to His ways and commandments.

Now, is it not obvious that while the external results of wisdom are great and marked, this inward result, which is the spring of them all, is more blessed than any? The laws which govern the universe are the laws of God. The Stoic philosophy demanded a life according to Nature. That is not enough, for by Nature is meant God’s will for the inanimate or non-moral creation. Where there is freedom of the will, existence must not be "according to Nature," but according to God; that is to say, life must be lived in obedience to God’s laws for human life. The inorganic world moves in ordered response to God’s will. We, as men, have to choose; we have to discover; we have to interpret. Woe to us if we choose amiss, for then we are undone. Woe to us if we do not understand, but in a brutish way follow the ordinances of death instead of the way of life.

Now, the supreme bliss of the heavenly wisdom is that it leads us into this detailed obedience to the law which is our life; it sets us under the immediate and unbroken control of God. Well may it be said, "Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies." (Pro 3:13-15) And yet rubies are very precious. I learn that the valley in Burmah where the most perfect rubies in the world are found is situated four thousand five hundred feet above the sea level, in a range of mountainous spurs about eighty miles due north of Mandalay; but owing to the difficult nature of the intervening ground, the valley can only be reached by a circuitous journey of some two hundred miles, which winds through malarious jungles and over arduous mountain passes. An eminent jewellers’ firm is about to explore the Valley of Rubies, though it is quite uncertain whether the stones may not be exhausted. Wisdom is "more precious than rubies, and none of the things thou canst desire are to be compared unto her."

To know the secret of the Lord, to walk in this world not guideless, but led by the Lord of life, to approach death itself not fearful, but in the hands of that Infinite Love for whom death does not exist, surely this is worth more than the gold and precious stones which belong only to the earth and are earthy. This wisdom is laden with riches which cannot be computed in earthly treasures; "she is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her." (Pro 3:18) The creation itself, in its vast and infinite perfections, with all its aeonian changes, and all the mysterious ministries which order its details and maintain its activities, comes from that same wisdom which controls the right human life. The man, therefore, who is led in the ways of wisdom, trusting wholly to God, is in harmony with that great universe of which he forms an intelligent part: he may lie down without being afraid; he may walk securely without stumbling; no sudden fear can assail him; all the creatures of God are his sisters and his brothers; even Sister Death, as St. Francis used to say, is a familiar and a friend to him.

We have been dwelling upon the outward results of Heavenly Wisdom-the health, the prosperity, the friends, the favor with God and man which come to those who possess her. We have been led to seek out the secret of her peace in the humble surrender of the will to its rightful Lord. But there is a caution needed, a truth which has already occurred to the author of this chapter. It is evident that while Wisdom brings in her hand riches and honor, (Pro 3:16) health to the navel, and marrow to the bones, (Pro 3:8) it will not be enough to judge only by appearances. As we have pondered upon the law of Wisdom, we have become aware that there may be an apparent health and prosperity, a bevy of friends, and a loud-sounding fame which are the gift not of Wisdom, but of some other power. It will not do, therefore, to set these outward things before our eyes as the object of desire; it will not do to envy the possessors of them. (Pro 3:31) "The secret of the Lord is with the upright," and it may often be that they to whom His secret has become open will choose the frowns of adversity rather than the smile of prosperity, will choose poverty rather than wealth, will welcome solitude and contumely down in the Valley of Humiliation. For it is an open secret, in the sweet light of wisdom it becomes a self-evident truth, that "whom the Lord loveth He reproveth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth." (Pro 3:12)

There is, then, a certain paradox in the life of wisdom which no ingenuity can avoid. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, but we may not seek them because they are pleasant, for other ways are pleasant too, or seem to be so for a while. All her paths are peace, but we do not enter them to gain peace, for the peace comes often under the stress of a great conflict or in the endurance of a heavy chastening. A thousand temporal blessings accompany the entrance into the narrow way, but so far from seeking them, it is well-nigh impossible to start on the way unless we lose sight and care of them altogether. The Divine Wisdom gives us these blessings when we no longer set our hearts on them, because while we set our hearts on them they are dangerous to us. Putting the truth in the clearest light which has been given to us, the light of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are called upon to give up everything in order to seek first the Kingdom of Heaven, and when we are absorbed in that as our true object of search everything is given back to us a hundredfold; we are called upon to take up our cross and follow Him, and when we do so He bears the cross for us; we are called upon to take His yoke upon us and to learn of Him, and immediately we take it-not before-we find that it is easy. The wise, loving only wisdom, find that they have inherited glory; the fools, seeking only promotion, find that they have achieved nothing but shame. (Pro 3:35)

My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord,.... This seems to be introduced to prevent an objection that may be made to the above promise of plenty; seeing the children of God are often afflicted in this world; even the wise and pious, and those that fear the Lord, and honour him; which is accounted for, and the reason of it given, in Pro 3:12. These words are cited in Heb 12:5, and are represented as an exhortation, spoken unto children, the children of God; by which it appears, that not any single person is meant by "my son"; and, as not here, so neither elsewhere in this book, where the same phrase is used. It is not to be limited to any son of Solomon's according to the flesh; nor to any person or persons, that applied to him for instruction, and were taught by him; nor to all the people of God in his time: but it has respect to the Jews in the times of the apostles; and even to all the children of God in all ages, who more or less endure afflictions, here called "the chastening of the Lord", because they are from him; whatever concern men or devils, or second causes, may have in them, they are originally from the Lord, either sent or suffered by him; they are indeed by his appointment, and are ordered, limited, and restrained by him, and are overruled for his glory and his people's good: they are not chastisements in a way of vindictive wrath and justice, which would be contrary to the satisfaction of Christ, the justice of God, his everlasting and unchangeable love, and to his word and oath; but they are in love; they are the chastisements of a father, in which he deals with them as with children; and uses them for the good discipline and instruction of them, as the word (r) here signifies; and therefore not to be "despised", or loathed and abhorred, as disagreeable food or physic be; or as if they were unnecessary and unprofitable, or unworthy of notice and regard; or as little, slight, and trifling things, without considering from whence they come and for what they are sent; but, on the contrary, should be regarded as useful and serviceable; see Job 5:17;

neither be weary of his correction; "rebuke" or "reproof" (s); so in Heb 12:5; "when thou art rebuked of him", not in wrath and fury, but in love, as before. The same thing is meant by correction as chastening; and supposes a fault to be committed by him that is corrected, for God corrects none but for sin; and authority in the corrector, which he, as the Father of spirits, and as our covenant God and Father in Christ, has a right to do: he corrects by his Spirit, by his word, by his ministers, and by his providences, afflictive ones, which last is here meant; and it is always for good, at a proper time, and when necessary, in measure and with judgment: and of this the children should not be "weary", as grievous and intolerable; and especially should not be weary of their lives on account of it, in which sense the word is used in Gen 27:46 which has been the case of Job and others; but should bear it quietly and peaceably, and with patience, without fretting and murmuring; or should not "faint", as it is rendered in Heb 12:5; or sink under the weight, but cheerfully support under it. The two extremes, which men are apt to run into, are here guarded against; on the one hand, to make little or nothing of an affliction; to outbrave it, not to be affected with it, nor humble under the mighty hand of God; nor consider the rod, and him that has appointed it: and, on the other hand, to aggravate an affliction, as if no sorrow was like theirs, and to be quite dejected and overwhelmed with it.

For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth,.... This is a reason why the children of God should not despise corrections, nor be weary of them; since they spring from love, are given in love, nor is there any abatement of it in them: when the Lord chastens and corrects, he does not take away his lovingkindness from them; yea, it is because he loves them that therefore he thus deals with them; wherefore they ought to be patiently bore, and kindly taken by them;

even as a father the son in whom he delighteth; as a father chastens and corrects his son, whom he dearly loves, and has the greatest pleasure in, so the Lord chastens and corrects his people; see Deu 8:5. There is such a relation subsisting between them as that of father and son, which flows from the inexpressible love of God to them; and which is a love of complacency and delight in them, and is invariable and unchangeable, and continues the same under all their afflictions; as appears by what he does for them in them, and by the issue of them; he knows their souls in adversity, and chooses them in the furnace of affliction; he pays love visits to them, and comforts them under all their tribulation; he sympathizes with them, and supports them; he makes their bed in their affliction, and delivers out of it, or takes them to himself: the issue is always his own glory, and their good.

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.)