John 15:5 I am the vine, you are the branches: He that stays in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit… This growing is to be the growth of a branch: not by accretion, by adding to the surface, but by strength and development from within. You may make a molehill into a mountain by bringing a sufficiency of material to it, to swell the rising pile; but trees and branches expand from within: their growth is the putting forth of a vital but unseen force. The life power in the stock, being also in the bough, compels an outward exhibition of results in progressive keeping with the vigour and strength of the supplies. So the believer "grows up" into Christ into ever-increasing holiness, influence and grace through the Divine afflatus which is at work within his soul, for it is thus that "God worketh in you" more and more "to will and to do of His good pleasure." By this inner power the branches of a tree have a wonderful power of assimilation.. They take hold upon all surrounding forces and turn them to advantage. The dew that falls, the gases of the atmosphere, the descending rain, the chemistry of the sunlight, all are drawn into it; all are made a part of itself, are made to serve its purpose and to nurse its health. The very storms that blow, the alternations of weather that test and try it and ofttimes seem to work it damage, are all made to consolidate its fibres, to quicken the action of its sap, and send new energy through every vein, a stronger life: thrill into every leaf. So grows the righteous soul into higher, stronger, more mature religious life. "All things are yours," says the apostle Paul. That is to say, all events, all experiences, all the providences of God, all the circumstances of life, as well as all the riches of promised grace, are made by the goodness and wisdom of God to serve the Christian's interests and help his soul to grow. The dew of the Spirit, the sunshine of God, the aids of the sanctuary, the society of the good, the exercise of Christian toil, the business of life, the storms and tempests of sorrow and toil — all things, by reason of the subtle power of the inner life, are made to help the Christian, to deepen his piety, to strengthen his soul, to beautify his character, to mature and ripen his graces, and to give him a stronger grip upon his God. "All things work together for good to them that love God." Neither is there any limit to the attainments possible to the godly soul. Under the influence of the Divine life it is placed amid an exhaustless store of nourishment, it is grafted into the Vine whose Root is the Godhead and whose resources are infinite and eternal. (J. J. Wray.) Parallel Verses KJV: I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. |
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