Part 1: What Vine are you Abiding In?

Part One - What vine are you abiding in?

One of my favorite passages in scripture is Jesus’ teaching on the vine and the branches. Recently I had a chance to work through this passage with the high school group at our church and look at what it means for Christ to be the Vine and for the believer to be the branch in relation to the changing and transforming nature of their young lives. Here is the passage:

John 15:1-11
15:1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 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. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

Background and Context

Before we get into the meat of this passage we need to consider the context and set the stage a bit. Just two chapters previous to this we see Jesus and the disciples entering the upper room to celebrate the Passover together. This was probably a few hours before Jesus teaches on the vine and the branches. In the upper room, Christ knows he is on his way to the cross and he knows the misery and suffering that is to come. He takes time during this last supper to teach the disciples massive truths. From chapter 13 to our passage in chapter 15 we see all of this:

- Jesus washes the feet of the disciples and introduces servant leadership – love one another (John 13:1-17) – remember this
- Jesus tells of a disciple who will betray him. (John 13:18-30) – remember this
- Jesus introduces communion – (Mat 26:26-29)
- Jesus introduces the new covenant of his blood (Luke 22:20)
- Jesus introduces a new commandment – love one another (John 13:31-35) – remember this
- Jesus foretells of Peter’s denial (John 13:36-38)
- Jesus drops the deity bomb by declaring that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life and no one comes to the Father except through him…and if you have seen him you have seen the father. (John 14:1-14)
- Jesus promises the Holy Spirit (John 14:16)

After all these huge topics that Christ slips onto his unsuspecting disciples during this little Passover dinner, says in v 31: “Rise and let us go from here!” The disciples I’m sure are sitting at the table looking at each other asking, “What did he say? Another is coming? A Helper? What was that about eating his body?” – and Jesus gets up to move on…probably leaving the disciple scrambling to catch up with Him.

According to Harry Ironside in his commentary and also in Morgan’s commentary, there are a couple of possible reasons why Christ compares himself to a vine and defines himself as the TRUE Vine.

1. As Christ and the disciples leave the upper room at night – probably dark by then – and walk past the Temple, they would have passed by the temple Gates which have a huge golden vine with hanging fruit – representing the Old Testament references of Israel (Hosea, Isaiah, Jeremiah,, Ezekial) as the vine. You could see Christ stopping the disciples in the tracks and point up to this vine above the gates and say, “I am the TRUE VINE – abide in me.” Now, there is a whole rabbit trail – more like a freeway system to follow related to Christ as the true vine in reference to the Old Testament passages, however, we don’t have time to deal with now.

2. The second possibility is that as they were walking through the Kidron Valley on their way to the Gethsemane, they passed a vineyard along the path, and again, you can see Christ stop the disciples and say: “I am the TRUE VINE!”
Neither of these can be confirmed historical or biblically, but they provide us with a nice picture of this late night adventure.

This passage, John 15:1-11, is about as famous of a scriptural passage as you can find in the Bible and we can’t get anywhere near being able to deal with everything, so I have boiled it down to four points that I want you to learn, own, and live out:

Point #1 - What vine are you abiding in?
Point #2 - What kind of fruit are you bearing?
Point #3 - Why does Christ tell us these things?
Point #4 - How do we abide? – The practical side


Keller Hackbusch

The Cost from Glory to Humility - Part One

Over 2000 years ago Jesus Christ, the perfect, sinless, and eternal son of the living God - who is and was and always will be - left the splendor of Heaven and entered time and space here on earth which is temporary, fallen, corrupt, and full of darkness. He shed His robes of righteousness and glory to become like us – human. He left His magnificent crown on the cushion of the throne at the right hand of the Father to be born in a stranger’s barn in a tiny worthless town in Israel. This is no simple matter.

Have we ever gazed into the depths of the transformation the Son – the second person of the Trinity – underwent? Do we understand the cost of Jesus Christ’s voluntary descent to the ranks of mere mortal man?

I am afraid that we rarely, if ever, consider what Jesus actually did for us 33 years before going to the cross.

Why would Jesus lay His crown down and leave Heaven?

Why would Jesus leave the infinite joy of fellowship with the Father?

How could He who created the universe for His pleasure sacrifice for the creation?

How could He who the angels bow down to become a servant to sinful man?

I want to look into these three points:

1. Glory before the manger.
2. Humility and sacrifice on Earth
3. Why would Christ do this?

I hope to reveal the contrast between Jesus Christ’s infinite glory and His infinite humility over the blog posts to follow.


Hebrews 1:3
"He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high."



by Keller Hackbusch

A Message of Joy!

All was quiet under the stars. The fragrant smell of field grass lingered in the calm cool air. Each pinpoint of light from the distant stars above joined together and pooled into a subtle glow across the sky. Deep darkness fading into the belt of stars was accented by one particular star hanging low and heavy just above the horizon - as if it was hanging from a string. The muted sounds of sheep whispered down the hillside to where the shepherds congregated. Two of the shepherds lounged lazily on the grassy slope. They picked at the blades of grass and pebbles while the others stood above them sharing amusing stories. Each shepherd carried long wooden staffs, crooked and gnarled in their natural shape but worn smooth from years of use. The recent appearance of the star was odd as it seemed so close that it consumed the horizon.

Suddenly the tranquil night sky and grassy hillside exploded with devastating white light as if the sun exploded. The shepherds stumble back and shielded their eyes. Then out of the light, an angel of the Lord stepped forward only a few feet from them. The shepherds fell flat on their faces and trembled in fear.

The angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

The shepherds, although shocked and afraid, rose to their feet together and listened to this supernatural being from Heaven speak to them. They were raised with stories of prophets and miracles, but none could have ever imagined the glory and power from the Lord in this one angel before them.

The angel continued, “And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.”

The shepherds listened intently and leaned closer. Again, as suddenly as the angel had appeared moments ago, a multitude of the heavenly hosts were with the angel. The sky opened up and more of Heaven’s glory blasted the poor shepherds. The Heavenly Hosts praised God by saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those whom he is pleased!” Their collective voices stormed down and destroyed the peaceful calm. The hillside was aglow like nothing they had ever seen before.

Then, nothing. The multitude was gone, the angel was gone, the voices were gone, and the shining glory was gone. All was quiet and dark again as if nothing had happened. Sheep scattered about spooked and uneasy and the shepherds knew life would never be the same.

Immediately the shepherds looked and one another and said, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”

This is the story found in the Gospel of Luke Chapter 2 verses 8 through 15. It is a story of simple men who were given an amazing message – a message we are given every year at Christmas: “I bring you good news of great joy!”

Good news of great joy? What good news could this be that brings great joy?

It is the message from a loving God who came to earth to redeem us. He came as a baby so that he could live a perfect sinless life while growing to be a man who would obediently be persecuted, beaten, bloodied, nailed to a cross, become sin (the sins of the whole world) and absorb the righteous wrathful judgment of the creator of the universe. His death paid the price for our sins and because of him, those who are in him have become the righteousness of God and will inherit the kingdom of God as heirs and brothers with he who died for us.

Philippians 2:5-11

” Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

2 Corinthians 5:21

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Romans 3:21-26

“But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

Now, this is a message of great joy. Will we be like the shepherds who ran to Jesus after they received the message?

Keller Hackbusch

Christ Died for God

Christ Died for God

By Akash Sant Singh

Associate Pastor of Community Bible Church (Reno, NV)

www.cbcreno.net

What were we saved from?

Our sins?

Yes.

Hell?

Yes.

The sting of death?

Yes.

But those pale in comparison with this profound reality: on the cross, God through Christ saved us from Himself. That’s right – God through Christ saved us from Himself. From His wrath, His holiness, His justice. And Because Jesus Christ fully satisfied God (propitiation) on the cross as our Divine Substitute, we need to never fear of eternal judgment, condemnation, wrath or punishment for our sins. The penalty of our sins have been fully quenched in the once for all vicarious penal substitutionary sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the Good News of the gospel beloved.

God treated Christ on the cross as if He lived our life, so that we by grace through faith in Him, can be treated as if we lived His life (2 Cor. 5:21). He was clothed with our sin (thought sinless and holy); so that we might be clothed with His righteousness (though are sinners and sinful). That is the great doctrine of imputation.

When the fullness of that wrath was embraced by Jesus on the cross He cried out, "My God, My God, why has thou forsaken Me?" Some commentators think that at this point on the cross that God simply turned His back on His Son in shame for He could not look on sin. That that was the forsaking. That represents a very shallow, sentimental view of what our Lord endured on the cross - but I submit to you, is thoroughly unbiblical.

Where does this view come from? This belief stems from inaccurate rendering of a verse in Habakkuk 1:13 where the prophet says,

“Thine eyes are too pure to approve evil, And Thou canst not look on wickedness with favor. Why dost Thou look with favor On those who deal treacherously? Why art Thou silent when the wicked swallow up Those more righteous than they?” (NASB).

Notice, it isn’t that God cannot look on sin; but He cannot look on sin with favor. Consider these verses:

Jeremiah 16:17 "For My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, nor is their iniquity concealed from My eyes."

Proverbs 15:3 "The eyes of the LORD are in every place, Watching the evil and the good."

The Lord “sees” all things continually – including our sin. Nothing is hidden from His sight (Heb. 4:12-16). So the forsaking of Jesus on the cross by the Father couldn’t have been a simple turning away of the eyes of God from His Son because He cannot look on sin.

His holiness demanded a sacrifice; His justice demanded satisfaction; His righteousness required perfection. God had to be satisfied before we as sinners could be justified!

Therefore, Jesus was, as Hebrews 2:17 says,

"that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people" (emphasis mine).

That phrase "in things pertaining to God" in the Greek is: pros ton theon. It means "face to face with God"; and this occured on the cross. Don't miss this amazing picture of redemption: the Son faced the Father from the cross; and the Father faced His Son on the cross; and He poured out upon Him the eternal wrath that we deserve in hell forever. "Amazing love how can it be..."

Christ was absolutely forsaken; He bore our sin, its guilt, penalty, and shame. And He bore the wrath of God that burns against us. He drank the cup of wrath; He became the curse for us; he endured the shame of the cross for the joy set before Him; He was bruised, crushed, chastined for our iniquities. Once again beloved... hear this today: the Father faced the Son on the cross; and the Son faced the Father from the cross; and He “bore God’s wrath—all of it” as our divine Substitute in His once for all propitiatory sacrifice on the cross for His own.

The death of Christ was both a propitiation AND an expiation of sin. Propitiation refers to the turning away of wrath by an offering. God's wrath was satisfied and His justice meted out by Jesus’ once for all sacrifice on the cross. Expiation refers to covering sins and in specific, the guilt of sin. By the vicarious penal substitutionary atonement of Christ Jesus on the cross, our sins and their penalty are removed from us. The atonement satisfies both the demands of the Father and the needs of Christ's people (1 Pet. 1:2).

As C.H. Spurgeon can only say:

"When Jesus gave himself for us, he gave us all the rights and privileges which went with himself; so that now, although as eternal God, he has essential rights to which no creature may venture to pretend, yet as Jesus, the Mediator, the federal head of the covenant of grace, he has no heritage apart from us. All the glorious consequences of his obedience unto death are the joint riches of all who are in him, and on whose behalf he accomplished the divine will. See, he enters into glory, but not for himself alone, for it is written, "Whither the Forerunner is for us entered." Heb. 6:20. Does he stand in the presence of God?-"He appears in the presence of God for us." Heb. 9:24.

Can we now say with confidence this day with Paul himself: "If God be for us... who can be against us?"

Aren't we grateful to the Lord this day that He has not "rewarded us according to our sin, nor dealt with us according to our iniquity?" (Psalm 103:10). In Christ all our "sins are forgiven for His name's sake" (1 John 2:12); He has "forgiven us all our transgressions" (Col. 2:13). And if all our sins are forgiven by Him, can we not forgive the purposed wrongs that others do against us?

Christian, God for Christ's sake forgave us; we for Christ's sake must forgive each other. Remember, the measure of our love is the extent of our ability to forgive! (1 Jn. 2:12; Col. 2:12ff)