The Yale expositor., 1917-05-10
LESSON FOR MAY 13
JESUS TIE TRUE VINE.

! that of last Sunday. Christ had risen
with his disciples from the supper ia
BILE ia :3D, and the remainder of his
discourse may have occur ed in an ur-
per room, or in the courtyard of the
house before they letf tie city, or on
| the way to the garden II Gethsemane.
!. THE ABIDING LIFE wv. 1.4).
Under the figure ot tSe vine Jesus
teaches spiritual truth by natural
analogy. The vine is composed of
roots, stem, branches, tendrils, and
fruit. There is no separate life: the
branches are one witt the vine. Christ
is the head of that body which is the
church to it's least member. The life
lived by the Christian is Chrlst's life
humaniZed, the purpose of which is
fruit bearing. Discipline is in order
10 fruitfulneSs. Gle (My Father, the
vine-dresser) cuts away any branch on
me- which is not bearing fruit, and
cleans every branch which does bear
fruit, TO make it bear richer fruit
(Moffat's translation. Paul tells us
that mo Christening for the present
seemeth TO be joyous but grievOus:
nevertheless. afterward it yieldeth the
peaceable fruit of righteousness unto
them which are exercised thereby"
The Word is the cleansing agent III:
~. Verse four suggests double
abiding-we in him. and he in US
the branch depending upon the vine
for life, and the vine depending upon
the branch for fruit. Jesus had just
been talking about his approaching
death, and his disciples were full of
anxiety. He tells them not to be trou-
bled, and by this figure assures them,
that. though he would leave them, he
would still be joined to them. Al
though they had been made clean,
they are taught that the only way to
keep clean is by abiding" which is
TO be continued through the eternal
spirit after his decease and ascent to
the Father. at IS given to us to hold
fellowship with both the root that
twines itself about the cross and the
tendrils which stretch upward TO
glory."-A. ]. Gordon. So long MS we
think Of ourselves, and not of Christ,
as the source of power, we shall miss
the secret of fruitfulness.
". The Fruitful Life wv. So.
If we abide in him we Will bring forth
much fruit Note the progression:
"fruit," "mOre fruit" 'much fruit" If
the branch does not bear fruit 1t is fit
only for fuel elsa. q ~. IF We abide
In me, and my words abide in you, We
shall ask what We will, and It shall be
done unto you" ". -. Our first fruit
is to glorify God ". 81. The vine does
not consume the fruit which IL pro-
duces, though IL does exist for its pro-
duction. thus clarifying God through
its fruit-bearing function. The Bible
innate relationship between root and
fruit. without me-" emphasizes
Christ, Eye can do nothing" The
''word" Of verse three is equivalent to
the word al of verse four. snow We
are clean through the word which /
have spoken unto you" ". 81. Our
fruit bearing is for Gods glory be-
cause IL is an expression of his grace
and power. and II is made possible
through our identification with his
dear son. Our fruitfulness attests our
Christian character. We have not yet !
attained perfection in our conduct, but |
we are making progress. Progressive !
deliverance from the power of sin Is
counterbalanced by corresponding
fruitfulness.
~. The Permanent Life wv. 9-13). |
"Fruit," "more fruit" "much fruit"
Even as the life of Christ has increas-
ingly manifested itself through the |
ages, so our individual lives are to
increase in the fruitfulness which as
Stimulates them to his character and |
expresses his graces. AS the Father
has loved him, so has he loved us, and |
this love he communicates to those
who abide in MIN. The evidence of |
our abiding is manifested by our Joy /
In keeping his commandments, just as |
he delighted in keeping his fathers
commandments. Obedience and joy |
are correlated terms. The fuller the
obedience the greater the joy. Bush
nell said: Heaven is nothing but the
JOY Of a perfectly harmonized being
filled with God md his love" Instead
of minute. detailed instructions re-
garding their conduct. the disciples
are here presented with love, the gov
erning principle. Love was TO be the
one sufficient impulse for both divine
and human relationships. Our Lord
would have the world know his serv-
ants by the fruit they bear.
Three things are mentioned as re-
shifting from the abiding life; power
TO bear much fruit; transform lives
and change circumstances through an
swered prayer; and fullness Of Joy "A
Joy unspeakable and full of glory"
The world with its poor counterfeits
has nothing like II to give. nut oil OF
these gifts are, contingent unon our
abiding" In Christ, the source OF cv-
cry blessing. The personal pronom
suggests peculiarly intimate relation
ships: MY Father" (vv. 1. 8. 10);
sNfv LOVE" (v o. "Mv diecfnles" ~