Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1891-10-29
CHRIST THE TRUE VINE.
LESSON v, FOURTH QUARTER, INTER.
NATIONAL SERIES, NOV I.


compiled from Lesson Helper Quarterly by
permission OF ii. s, Hoffman, publisher, Phil
adelphia.
l. 81 am the true vine, and My Father is
the husbandman.
Having arisen to 90 He still talks with
them. Israel was the vineyard OF the Lord
Of Hosts and the men of Judah His pleas.
ant plant. He also called Israel vine
which He had brought out of Egypt lisa
v. 8; Ps. Xxx. 81 But Israel was only
type of Him who now spake with them.
g Every branch in Me that beareth not
fruit He taketh away"
"And every branch that beareth fruit,
He purgeth it that it may bring forth more
fruit"
Now He speaks of the eleven, who we're
really His but ncgded cleansing, that they
might be more fruitful Anything Of self
hinders fruitfulmrss, and all hlthiness,
both of flesh and spirit must be cleansed.
This also Is His work and He will see to it
II we are only willing Ql Cor. vii, /; Eek
xxxvii, 25-27)
8. "Now We are clean through the word
which have spoken unto you"
The revised version says, ALREADY ye are
clean," reminding us Of His words in xiii,
10, HE that IN washed is clean every whit;
and ye are Clean Every one in Christ is
washed, justified sanctled and made meet
for the inheritance of the saints Il Cor. vi,
II; Col /, 10y The moment we are in Him
He is our righteousness, and we are &C
cepted in Him Il Cor Y, q, Eph I, o. He
stands for us and we stand in Him com
pleto.
4. "Abide in Me and in you. As the
branch cannot bear fruit of itself exceDt it
abide in the vine, no more can We except we
abide In Me-
B, II am the vine, We are the branches
He that abidcth in Me, and in him, the
same bringeth forth much fruit, for with
out Me ye can do nothing"
We all know that the grapes are gath
cred from the branches of the vine and not
from the stalk, aud also that grapes grow
only on the new growth of the branches
put forth year by year What then is this
abiding which He makes so much of and
by which alone we can bear fruit? What
can 1t be but conscious occupation of the
heart with Christ; "A continuous faith in
Christ cruclied, risen, interceding and
coming again
O, "lf a man abide not in Me, he is cast
forth as a branch and is wthered; and
men gather them, and cast them into the
fire and they are burned"
A believer may be stripped of his gifts
and opportunities which he failed to i'm
prove, and be thus left rs warning to
others, and finally saved as by fire q Cor
iii, ll-l5), or II only nominal Christian
as Judas, he will finally be cast into the
lake of fire (Math XIV, 4D
T. "If We abide in Me aud My words abide
in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it
shall be done unto you"
8. Herein Is My Father glorihed that
ye bear much fruit, SO shall ye be My dis
ciples."
Q. "As the Father hath loved Me, so have
l loved you; continue yr in My love"
Here is the source of all true service and
fruit bearlng--the love of God. Who can
estimate the love of God to His only begot
ten Sonf And yet that Son says to all who
are truly in Him that His love to us is as
the Fathers love to Himself-everlastng
unchangiag, love that lays down its life
for its enemies, Il love that bears with such
as Peter and continues to love him through
all his wanderings, bOastings and denals
10. "lf ye keep My commandments We
shall abide in My love; even as have kept
My Fathers commandments and abide in
His love"
II. '"These things have Ispoken unto you,
that My joy might remain in you, and that
your joy might be fun"
1t was the delight of tho Lord Jesus TO
do the Fathers WILL it was His meat and
drink Cps. Xl, s, John iv, 30 This was
His Joy, and the time will come when the
will of God shall be done on earth as in
heaven; the prospect Of this enabled Him
to endure the cross and disregard the
shame (1eb, xii, |, ~ When the will Of
God becomes our delight, and His way is
more to us than our own way, and the
glory of His kingdom is ever before us,
then shall we have His joy abiding in us
and be filled with it in proportion MS we
are filled with His spirit. See Rom, xiv, H.
IL. This is my commandment, that We
love one another as have loved you"
10. Greater love hath no man than this,
that a man lay down his life for his friends"
This is the height of human love, to die
for n friend; but see the love of God, for
"God commendeth His love toward us in
that while we were yet sinners Christ died
for u.s." Christ died for the ungodly"
(Rom, v, 6-S).
II, "Ie are My friends If ye do whatso
ever command YOU"
10. "HenCeforth call you not servants
for the servant knoweth not what his lord
doeth."
Paul took pleasure in calling himself tho
servant of the Lord Jesus, meaning by hat
his very bond slave, rs one whom Jesus
had taken captive from the enemy, but he
reioiced to be the servant of Jesus because
he had been set free from the bondage of
sin and Satan, and he knew it and was
fully persuaded OF it. He was like one who
sang;
could not work my soul to save,
For that my Lord has done:
But could work like any slave
From love 10 Gods dear SON
But have called you friends for all
things that have heard Of My Father
have made known unto YOU"
Just as we tell our secrets only to our
most intimate friends, SO Jesus reveals
Himself fully only to those who prove
themselves His friends 10y keeping His
words, as He said in chapter xiv, %
16 aye have not chosen Me, but | have
chosen you and ordained you, that We
should go aud bring forth fruit, and that
your fruit should remain"
In Eph. l. a. 1t says that we were chosen
In Christ before the foundation of the
world. But it is also written in the same
connection that we were chosen to be holy
and without blame before Him in love, not
chosen simply to be saved but chosen to
bear fruit that might abide to the glory of
God; not chosen merely that we might be
happy in time and in eternity, but chosen to
lay down our lives fer others. that they
too, might share His glory
THAT whatsoever ye shall ask of the Fa
Their in my name, He may give it you"
Sec In this connection rhnnter xiv. Ii Ia