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The Spirit of Prophecy Volume 3
that they might become a part of the living vine, and bear a rich harvest
of fruit. “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of
itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in
me. 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.”
When the sinner has repented of his sins, and is united with Christ,
as the branch is engrafted in the vine, the nature of the man is changed,
and he is a partaker of the divine nature. He loves the things that Christ
loves, and hates that which he hates. His desires are in harmony with
the will of God. He treasures up the words of Christ, and they abide
in him. The life-giving principle of the Saviour is communicated to
the Christian. Just so the little scion, leafless and apparently lifeless, is
engrafted into the living vine, and, fiber by fiber, vein by vein, drinks
life and strength from it, till it becomes a flourishing branch of the
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parent stalk.
He still impressed upon them the importance of carrying forward
the work which he had begun, and bearing fruit to the glory of God:
“Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that
ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain;
that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it
you.” The disciples were the chosen depositaries of the truth of God.
They were witnesses of the Father’s acknowledgement of Jesus as
the Son of God. They had beheld his miracles, heard his teachings,
and it was theirs to give the message of salvation to the world, that
through their evidence men might lay hold of Christ by living faith.
Thus would the disciples bring forth fruit to the glory of God.
Jesus assured his disciples that he would in no case forsake them,
but would be clothed with power, and would become their Advocate
at the right hand of the Father, to present the petitions they might ask
in the name of his Son. The disciples did not then fully comprehend
the words of their Master, but later in their religious experience they
cherished the precious promise, and presented their prayers to the
Father in the name of Jesus.
Jesus warned his disciples not to expect the commendation of the
world. Said he, “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before
it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own;
but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the