“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.”
Devotional - Sunny Christian
The image of a branch gaining all its sustenance and strength from the parent vine is a beautiful description of man's total dependence upon God, without Whom we can do nothing, for in Him we live and move and have our being.
When Jesus Christ, the Son of God walked the earth, He demonstrated this truth, for He lived His entire life in utter dependence upon the Father.
19 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. (John 5:19)
Jesus lived as God intended man to live - in utter dependence upon God. Though Jesus Christ was fully God, He lived His life so that the life of God could be lived through the Son of Man in His humanity. He drew all His strength from His Father in heaven, demonstrating how you and I should live our lives as God's children - drawing all our strength from our Lord Jesus Christ, for without Him we can do nothing.
As Jesus Christ walked in this truth, and His early disciples pass this flame onto us, we too are to walk our daily lives in absolute dependence on this truth; we are to do only the things we hear from Christ our Savior as He has spoken to us in the Scripture so that His life may flow in and through us.
Until we humbly confess that in and of ourselves we can do nothing, we will unsuccessfully attempt to produce good fruit in our own strength and power.
Church, let us meditate on this vital principle - that JESUS is the vine and we are the branches. We are to abide in HIM and allow HIS Spirit to live HIS life through us, just as He abode in the Father during His earthly ministry, and did only those things that He heard from the Father - for apart from Me you can do nothing. This verse is plain and the last phrase is straightforward - Christ is and will always be our source of our strength to be fruitful for God. Indeed, God has given us everything in Christ; He (Christ) is all we need for life and godliness. Therefore, church, let us abide.
“What does God require in the fourth and fifth commandments?
Fourth, that on the Sabbath day we spend time in public and private worship of God, rest from routine employment, serve the Lord and others, and so anticipate the eternal Sabbath. Fifth, that we love and honor our father and our mother, submitting to their godly discipline and direction.”
Fighter Verses
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New City Catechism
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