Sunday, 9 May 2021
Title: Secret of A Fruitful Life
By Elder Yu Chin Shie
Text : John 15: 5
“I am the vine; you are the branches.
Whoever abides in me and I in him,
He it is that bears much fruit,
For apart from me you can do nothing.“
John 15:1-17 is one of my favorite bible passages. It is one of Jesus’ most vivid and powerful illustration for the believer’s intimate relationship with Him in the metaphor of the Vine and the Branches.
John 13 through 17 is often called the Upper Room Discourse. Here in John 15, Jesus prepares His disciples for His imminent death and departure by instructing them about their calling and mission as His disciples and emphasizing their absolute dependence on Him.
For the sake of our readers who are not familiar with the Vine and Branches Metaphor, let me briefly unpack it.
The vine is Jesus. The branches are the believers or disciples. The vinedresser (the gardener) is God the Father. The unfruitful branches appear to be nominal disciples, people who outwardly follow Jesus for a time, but fail to bear fruit. The fruit we are called to bear probably include transformed character (fruit of the Spirit as in Gal 5:22-23) and fruitfulness in evangelism and disciples making.
From the passage in John 15, it is very apparent that God wants His children to be fruitful. There are three types of branches given here. Those who bear no fruit in verse 2; bear fruit in verse 4 and bear much fruit in verse 5.
God’s greatest desire is for us to bear much fruit, not just fruit, for His glory and show ourselves to be His disciples. (John 15:8) and He wants us to bear fruit that will last (John 15:16)
What is the secret of a fruitful life for God?
The metaphor given by Jesus of the Vine and the Branches is so simple and plain and yet so profound. To be fruitful, we just have to Abide in Jesus as branches abide in the vine.
Abiding in Christ can be described as
- Connection with Jesus – just like the branch is connected to the vine. Theologically it is called “union with Christ”. This connection is mutual. We abide in Him and He abides in us (v. 4). If there is no connection, there is no life and no fruit.
- Dependance on Jesus – the relationship is not reciprocal. The branch depends on the vine for its very survival and fruit bearing but the vine is not dependent on the branch. Without the sap flowing from the vine, supplying it with water, minerals and nutrients, the branch will be useless and lifeless. Apart from Jesus, we can do nothing of any spiritual significance or bear spiritual fruit (v. 5)
- Continuance with Jesus – abiding in Christ involves continuance. The Greek word for abide is “meno” which means to remain, stay or continue. So to abide in Christ is to remain in Him, keep trusting Him, depending on Him and persevere in Jesus and in His teaching.
The above three descriptions of the phrase abiding in Christ picture an intimate, close relationship and not just a superficial acquaintance.
How then shall we abide in Him so that we can bear much fruit for Jesus and for His glory?
John 15:7 likens abiding in Christ to His word abiding in us with a promise “ask whatever you wish and it will be given you”.
Spiritual fruitfulness is impossible if we are not abiding in Christ and spending time with Him daily in the study of His word and in prayer. Jesus is the source of our fruitfulness. He supplies the power to make us fruitful.
The proofs of abiding in Christ (true believers versus the pretenders) include
- obedience to Christ’s commands (John 15:10, 1 John 3:24);
- follow Jesus’ example (1 John 2:6);
- living a life free from habitual sin (1 John 3:6) and
- the awareness of a divine presence within one’s life (1 John 4:13).
Let us be the branch that bears much fruit, not just bear some fruit or even worst, no fruit at all! The warning for the branches which bear no fruit – they will wither and the gardener will gather them and have them thrown into the fire and burned. (John 15:6)
Prayer –
Heavenly Father,
Thank you for reminding us that You are the vine and we the branches. We acknowledge that apart from You, we can do nothing. Please help us to abide in You always so that we will bear much fruit and fruit that will last, for Your glory.
In Jesus name we pray,
Amen
班底浸信教会每日灵粮
2021年5月9日，星期日
标题：丰盛人生的秘密
作者：余清熹长老
翻译：林良億姐妹
约翰福音15：5 我是葡萄树，你们是枝子。常在我里面的，我也常在他里面，这人就多结果子；因为离了我，你们就不能做什么
约翰福音15：1-17是我最喜欢的经文之一。这是耶稣基督最生动，最有力的比喻之一，祂利用葡萄树和枝子的比喻来形容信徒和祂的亲密关系。
约翰福音13至17通常被人称作“楼上房间的演说”。耶稣在约翰福音15章中，通过教导关于作为门徒的呼召和使命，并强调他们对祂的绝对依赖，为门徒做好准备面对即将来临的死亡和分离。
为了那些不熟悉葡萄树和枝子的比喻的读者，让我简单地描述一点。
葡萄树是耶稣。枝子是信徒或门徒。葡萄种植者（园丁）是父神。徒劳无益的枝子似乎是名义上的门徒，这些人看来已经跟随耶稣一段时间，却没有结出果实。我们被呼吁要结出的果子可能包括性格的转变（就如加拉太书5：22-23中圣灵的果子），传福音并门徒训练。
从约翰福音15章中可以明显看出，上帝希望祂的儿女多结果子。这里给出了三种类型的枝子。那些在第二节没有结果的人；在第4节结出果子，在第5节结出更多果子的。
上帝最大的愿望就是希望我们结出许多成果，而不仅仅是果子，表现出自己是祂的门徒来荣耀神。 （约翰福音15：8）祂要我们结出持久的果实（约翰福音15:16）
对上帝而言，结出丰盛果子的秘诀是什么？
耶稣所给的葡萄树和枝子的比喻是如此简单明了，却又如此深刻。为了富有成果，我们只需要常在耶稣基督里，就像枝子长在葡萄树上一样。
遵守基督可以被描述为：
- 与耶稣的联系 – 就像枝子与树相连一样。从神学上讲，它被称为“与基督联合”。这种联系是相互的。我们守在祂里面，祂守在我们里面（4节）。如果没有联系，就没有生命，也没有果子。
- 依靠耶稣 – 这种关系不是对等的。枝子的生长是完全依赖于树，但树并不依赖于枝子。如果没有生命的汁从葡萄树中流出，为枝子提供水，矿物质和营养，枝子将毫无用处，也没有生命。除了耶稣基督以外，我们什么也做不了，在灵命上没有意义，也无法取得灵命上的果子（第5节）
- 与耶稣的延续 – 遵守基督包括延续相传。希腊语中的“在”一词是“ meno”，意思是保持，停留或继续。因此，要信守基督就是要留在祂的跟前，祂里面，继续信赖祂，依靠祂，并在耶稣基督的教导中坚持不懈。
以上对住在基督里的描述，形容了一种很亲密的关系，而不仅仅是表面上的相识。
那我们该如何住在祂里面，使我们能为耶稣基督和祂的荣耀结出许多果子呢？
约翰福音15：7将遵守基督的道比作祂的道对我们的承诺，并答应“问你想要的，你必得到”。
如果我们不遵守基督的道，每天不花时间在祂里面灵修，读经祷告，那么我们灵命上的长进及丰盛是不可能的。耶稣是我们富有成果的源泉。祂提供我们富有成果的力量。
遵守基督的证据（真正的信徒与虚伪的人）包括：
-服从基督的诫命（约翰福音15:10，约翰一书3:24）；
-效法耶稣的榜样（约翰一书2：6）；
-过着没有惯性犯罪的生活（约翰一书3：6）和
-意识到生命中有神的存在（约翰一书4:13）。
让我们成为一个不断结果子的枝子，不只是结出一些而已，甚至更糟的是，根本没有果子！对于没有结果的枝子的警告 – 它们将凋谢，园丁将其收集起来，扔入火中焚烧。 （约翰福音15：6）
祷告– 天父，感谢祢提醒我们，祢是葡萄树，我们是枝子。我们承认，除了祢之外，我们无能为力。请帮助我们常在祢里面，使我们为祢的荣耀结出许多永恒的果子。我们奉耶稣基督的名祈祷，阿们。