The Vine of All Living.

 

In the mists of early morning, in the garden beyond the border, there under the wings of the angels, I peered. 

A beam of sunlight struck the minuscule droplets of water, and in a burst of vapor dissipated the veil before my vision. There in glorious beauty, I beheld the magnificent Vine. 

No ordinary vine was this before me. In all my knowledge-seeking I'd never been able to watch a vine writhing in growth, twisting and bringing forth new shoots even as other shoots withered and began their slow descent to the ground. 

The dying tendrils caught my eye, momentarily distracting me from the myriad of newly budding shoots. Before any of the dying shoots, broken off from the Vine, could touch the mossy floor below they turned to dark, thick dust, and wind swept them away. Not a single withering slip of decay ever touched the earth, it simply vanished.

Quickly my attention returned to the constant new growth, intermingling with the continuous release of the non-viable tendrils and it was a sight unlike anything known to me before.

Nature beyond this angel guarded garden simply had never shown us such a wondrous Vine as this, Vine of all Vines. We'd been allowed glimpses of such wonders. A plant whose flower would bloom only once a hundred years, a plant whose flower opened fully for only a single night, a water shoot growing twelve inches in one day… yet all these marvels could not compare to this Vine. 

This was the true Vine of all living, of all who had ever lived, and all who had ever died. Each offshoot of bearing life kept its promise of living even when it no longer grew- there attached to the Vine in a state of suspended growth- it would never die, rather forever be a part of this wondrous Vine.

Each offshoot of death left its tiny pockmark in the Vine for now, a testament to a life that could have been. 

All the tiny tendrils newly shooting forth were growing either towards life, or towards death. 

As I bore witness to the growing vines I noticed that many of them, if not all, were writhing each in their own almost agonizing way. I longed for a closer inspection of those living tendrils and even as I leaned inward I felt a sudden heat surround me. Daring to look upwards, I gasped as the glowing swords of the angel guardians ignited into flames of the most brilliant fire. I knew instantly this was a mere warning. I would only be allowed to catch glimpses of this majesty before me, not enter within the garden, not cross the border by even a hairsbreadth  

Leaning back, the instant relief from the glowing fire above rushed over me. As sweat beaded down my forehead and dotted my cheeks, I knew how close I had come to my own end should I have dared to move any closer. 

Yet the struggle of the tiny vine shoots beckoned my attention. Those living tendrils branched outwards from the vine pushing from within them something, but what? Were those fruit?! The tiny bits of golden nubs dotting a tiny branch here and there, fruit? Oh, how those struggling shoots were tormented by some unseen force! They struggled as they chose life, clearly longing for something, perhaps a promise of what they would one day become.

A heavy weight dropped upon my heart, but only for the briefest of moments. The weight then lifted, taken from me, as the story's end flashed into realization, a memory from the past.

Being allowed this brief vision of truth I knew that all I'd been told of the Vine long ago would come to pass one day. 

As the lore passed down through time unwound its tale I knew the Vine would not bring forth new shoots forever. One day the last tiny tendril would come forth from the Vine, and then all that would remain would be for each tendril still growing to compete its life cycle- choosing death or life. When the decision for each was made and the very last slip of life was decided, then and only then would the Vine bring into being the everlasting blooms promised of the Vine. All the sleeping branches of the Vine would once more spring to full life obtaining their ultimate end of eternal flowering along with every single living shoot attached to the Vine. Such beauty! Such wonder! How miraculous that would be to behold! 

To see the Vine of All Living. Such a gift I'd been given. As the vision clouded before me and I fought drifting downwards into a deep thought-less sleep, my lips curled in a soft smile, I would remember this dream. And I did.

*******

Joh 15:1  I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 

Joh 15:2  Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. 

 Joh 15:7  If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. 

Abide.... do we abide in Christ?  More on this tomorrow by the grace of our Lord and Savior.

The Word Has Power.

 

What Is Faith.

 The Word of God.

Joh 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 

Joh 1:2  The same was in the beginning with God. 

Joh 1:3  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 

Joh 1:4  In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 

Joh 1:5  And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. 

Joh 1:6  There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 

Joh 1:7  The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. 

Joh 1:8  He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 

Joh 1:9  That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. 

Joh 1:10  He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 

Joh 1:11  He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 

Joh 1:12  But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 

Joh 1:13  Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 

Joh 1:14  And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. 

Joh 1:15  John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. 

Joh 1:16  And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. 

Joh 1:17  For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. 

Joh 1:18  No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. 

Cultivating Faith - What Is Faith?

(Excerpt)

In order to be able to know what the Scripture means when urging upon us the necessity of cultivating faith, it is essential to know, first of all, what is faith.

Plainly, it must be too little purpose to urge upon a person the necessity of cultivating faith, while that person has no intelligent idea of what faith is. And it is sadly true that, though the Lord has made this perfectly plain in the Scriptures, there are many church-members who do not know what faith is. They may even know what the definition of faith is, but they do not know what the thing is. They do not grasp the idea that is in the definition.

For that reason the definition will not be touched now, but rather there will be cited and studied an illustration of faith-an instance which makes it stand out so plainly that all can see the very thing itself.

Faith comes "by the word of God." To the Word, then, we must look for it.

One day a centurion came to Jesus and said to him, "Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof, but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed . . .  When Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel." Matt. 8:6-10.

There is what Jesus pronounces faith. When we find what that is, we have found faith. To know what that is, is to know what faith is. there can be no sort of doubt about this, for Christ is "the Author . . . of faith," and He says that that which the centurion manifested was "faith"--yes, even "great faith."

Where, then, in this is the faith? The centurion wanted a certain thing done. He wanted the Lord to do it. But when the Lord said, "I will come" and do it, the centurion checked Him, saying, "Speak the word only," and it shall be done.

Now what did the centurion expect would do the work? "The word ONLY." Upon what did he depend for the healing of his servant? Upon "the word ONLY."

Now, brother, sister, what is faith?

December 6, 1898 A.T Jones EXCERPT

Not Our Righteousness.

 Christ's Righteousness saves us! This must be a constant reminder and not a reminder in such a way as we know we sin and are forgiven, so we deliberately indulge in sinful ways without true remorse. We cannot have the attitude of once saved, always saved- this is a ruse of Satan's many have fallen for.  Accepting Christ as our Savior is an ongoing continuous way of life. Christ is part of us, Christ is in us- our hope. Christ is our righteousness in us. We can go an entire day without falling into sin by overcoming our temptations that so easily beset us, but it will still NOT be us who have not sinned and are now are righteous because of that. We CANNOT make ourselves righteous, or find any righteousness in us outside of Christ's righteousness.  IF we do happen to overcome some more obvious and blatant sins we are prone to -we must give all the glory to God for that overcoming. At the same time we have to continue to recognize that our thoughts can also betray us with sin. Our righteousness is forever Christ's righteousness, and never ours. The victory over sin is Christ's victory and we partake of that through His grace! Having such an amazing gift as salvation does not intitle us to presumptuously sin, not ever. If sin ever becomes acceptable to us and not abhorrent we seriously need to seek forgiveness urgently! Forever let us kneel at the foot of the cross, recognizing the sacrifice made for us, and the righteousness of Christ alone- His righteousness in us. All through HIS LOVE!

(Excerpt)

 

"Now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;  even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe; for there is no difference: for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."

Ro. 3:21-23

The righteousness of God is that which every man is to seek first of all. 

"Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness." Matt 6:33 And in the way of righteousness there is life. It is impossible to separate the life of God from the righteousness of God. As certainly as you have the righteousness of God, so certainly you have the life of God.

And "now the righteousness of God is made known." Ro. 1:17 Now is at this time, at this very moment, even while you read. At this very moment, then, the righteousness of God is manifested "unto all, and upon all them that believe." Ro. 3:22  Do you believe in Jesus Christ now, at this moment? Do you? If you say, Yes, then "now," at this very moment, the righteousness of God is made known to you and upon you. Do you believe it? The word of God says that it is; do you say that it is? And if you do not say that it is, then do you believe the word? When the Lord says plainly to you that His righteousness is "now" manifested unto you and upon you and you do not say that it is now manifested unto you and upon you, then do you really believe the Lord? When He plainly says a thing to you and you will not say that that thing is true to you, then do you really believe Him?

The Lord wants you to say that what He says is so; that it is so "now," at this moment, and that it is so to you and in you. "A new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you."  1 Jn 2:8 When the Lord says a thing, it is true, even though nobody in the world ever believes it. It would be true in Him, but not in them. But He wants it to be true in you as well as in Himself. And when you acknowledge that what He says is true to you "now," at this moment, then that thing is true in Him and in you. This is believing God. It is believing His word.  This is having His word abiding in you. And, "If ye abide in me and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." Jn. 15:7

 

Many people are ready to admit, in a general way, that what the Lord says is so; they will admit that it may be so to other people, but that it is so to themselves, just now, they will not say. Such people do not really know that the word of God is true. "Hast thou faith? Have it to thyself before God." Ro. 14:22 

If you do not have faith for yourself,  faith of your own, you do not have faith at all. If you do not believe the word of the Lord as being true to you personally and now, you do not believe it at all; for as you are not living yesterday nor tomorrow but just now,  while it is now, so if you do not believe now, you do not believe at all. Therefore the word of God is that now is the accepted time; now is the day of salvation; 2 Cor. 6:2 and, "Now the righteousness of God . . . is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe." Ro. 3:21,22

Do you believe in Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour now? You can answer that in one moment; you know that you do. Then this moment thank the Lord that His righteousness is manifested unto you and upon you. He not only says it but He gives you witnesses to the fact--it is witnessed by the law and the prophets. That law which you have transgressed, that law that has shown you guilty before God, that very law "now," in view of the manifestation of the righteousness of God, witnesses that you have a just claim to this righteousness and that you are thereby justified through the faith of Jesus Christ. 

The prophets likewise witness to this blessed fact. "The moment the sinner believes in Christ, he stands in the sight of God uncondemned; for the righteousness of Christ is his; Christ's perfect obedience is imputed to him." 

Ro. 4:22-24

Is not this, then, sufficient to cause you to say now, at this moment if never before, that "now the righteousness of God is manifested" unto you and upon you who now do believe in Jesus?

"Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past,  through the forbearance of God." Ro. 3:25

Would you rather have the righteousness of God now than to have your sins?  You say, Yes. Very good. God has "now" set forth Christ Jesus "to declare" to you "his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past."

Will you let the sins go now, this moment; and take the righteousness which He is set forth purposely to give and which He now, this moment, freely gives? "Being justified freely." Ro.3:24 "Being" is present tense. "Was" is past; "shall be" is future; but "being" is present. Therefore the Lord says to you and of you who believe in Jesus, "Being [now, at this moment] justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus . . . through the forbearance of God."

But the Lord does not drop the subject yet. He emphasizes the present power and blessing of this infinite fact.  "To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness." Ro.3:26 First He says that it is "now" that the righteousness of God is manifested unto all and upon all them that believe; then He speaks of all such as "being justified freely", Ro.3:24 and next He emphasizes it all thus: "To declare, I say at this time his righteousness." Ro.3:26  O poor, trembling, doubting soul, is not this assurance enough that now, at this moment, the righteousness of God is yours? That now you are being justified freely by His grace? that now, "at this time," righteousness is declared to you for the remission of all your sins that are past?

Is not this enough? It is enough to satisfy the Lord, for He says, "To declare, I say, at this time, his righteousness; that he might be just and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus." Then as it is all-sufficient to satisfy the Lord, is it not enough to satisfy you? Will you now take the fullness of this blessed "gift of righteousness," which is life, so that the Lord, by seeing the fruit of the travail of His soul, shall be satisfied again, and so, by your rejoicing, be doubly satisfied? This is all He asks of you. For "to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." Ro.4:5

Here is the word of God, the word of righteousness, the word of life, to you "now," "at this time." "Will you be made righteous by it now? Will you live by it now? This is justification by faith. This is righteousness by faith. It is the simplest thing in the world. It is simply whether the word of God shall be true in you "now" or not. God spoke to Abraham, "Tell the stars, if thou be able to number them. . . . So shall thy seed be." And "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." "Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him; but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up our Lord Jesus from the dead; who was delivered for our offenses and was raised again for our justification. Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."

"Now," "at this time," it is true; it is true in him. Now, at this time, let it be true in you.

November 10, 1896 A.T. Jones EXCERPT

The Word.

 

All Powerful Word of God.

 Can you speak anything into existence? No, you can't. You cannot sit there and speak words such as- "Let there be a flower blooming in the empty flowerpot before me."  No, it won't happen.  You can't say, "Let there be a puppy in the empty puppy kennel across the room." No, puppy will appear by your words.  You might say, "Let there be a flower blooming in that empty flowerpot before me." And then someone plants a flower there, or you do so yourself, but your word would not put a flower in that pot any more than your word could produce a puppy instantaneously in that kennel. Your word might cause something to happen by other means, but your word alone would not. This is factual. 

We call speaking and having something appear out of nowhere at all- magic.  We have people called magicians who work tirelessly to perfect slight of hand so it appears as if their words make things happen instantly. We all know that such trickery is just that, someone learning to use deceptions to fool us into thinking something is what it isn't. People go to schools to learn these sorts of illusions. They read books on it, study online sources, and have others pass down their tricks of the trade. 

The truth is, only GOD has ever spoken something from nothing into existence.

The Devil has used trickery to deceive, and the Devil has used his angelic powers to make things seem magical and miraculous, but even the Devil has not spoken a world into existence, or created a sun or moon, or animals, or plants. 

Being able to SPEAK into existence life, is only of God. Is it any wonder God's word is so incredibly all powerful beyond our mere imaginings.

(Excerpt) 

'"As the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." Isa 55:10,11

 

The earth can bring forth vegetation only because of the moisture that comes upon it by the rain or the snow from heaven. Without this, everything would fade and perish. So also is it with the life of man and the word of God.  

Without the word of God the life of man is as barren of power and of good as is the earth without rain. But only let the word of God fall upon the heart as the showers upon the earth; then the life will be fresh and beautiful in the joy and peace of the Lord, and fruitful with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ.

Notice, too, it is not you who are to do that which he pleases; but, "It shall accomplish that which I please," You are not to read or hear the word of God, and say, I must do that, I will do that. You are to open the heart to that word, that it may accomplish the will of God in you. It is not you who are to do it, but it. "It", the word of God itself, is to do it, and you are to let it. "Let the word of Christ dwell in you."

This is stated in another place thus: "When ye receive the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe."  1Th 2:13  

Thus it is the word of God that must work in you. You are not to work to do the word of God: the word of God is to work in you to cause you to do. 

"Whereunto I also labor, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily." Col 1:29 

The word of God being living and full of power, when it is allowed to work in the life, there will be powerful work wrought in that individual. As this word is the word of God, the power, of which is full, is only the power of God;  and when that word is allowed to work in the life, there will be the work of God manifested in the life-it is his power working mightily. And thus it is God that worketh in you, both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Php 2:13 "It shall accomplish that which I please." Let it.

From these scriptures it is plain that we are expected to look upon the word of God only as self-fulfilling. The word of God is self-fulfilling. This is the great truth presented everywhere in the Bible This is the difference between the word of God and the word of men. And this is just the difference emphasized in the passage that says, "When ye received the word of God,...ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe."

 

There is no power in the word of a man to do what it says. Whatever may be the man's ability to accomplish what he says, there is no power in the man's word itself to accomplish what he says. A man's word may express the easiest possible thing for him to accomplish, and you may thoroughly believe it, yet it is altogether dependent upon the man himself to accomplish it apart from his word. It is not his word that does it. It is he himself that must do it; and this just as really as though he had spoken no word at all. Such is the word of men.

It is not so with the word of God. When the word is spoken by the Lord, there is at that moment in that word the living power to accomplish what the word expresses. It is not needed that the Lord employ any shadow of any other means than that word itself to accomplish what the word says. The Bible is full of illustrations of this, and they are written to teach us this very thing, -that we shall look upon the word as the word of God, and not as the word of men; and that we may receive it thus as it is in truth, the word of God, that it may work effectually in us the will and good pleasure of God.

"By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.... For he spake, and it was." Psa 33:6  "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear." Heb 11:3 

At first there were no worlds at all. More than this, there was none of the materials of which the worlds are made. There was nothing. Then God spoke, and all the worlds were in their places. From whence came the worlds, then? Before he spoke, there were none; after he spoke, there they were. Whence, then, did they come? What produced them? What produced the material of which they are composed? What caused them to exist? It was the word which was spoken that did it all. And this word did it all, because it was the word of God. There was in that word the divinity of life and spirit, the creative power, to do all that the word expressed. Such is the word of God. 

"And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you." 1Pe 1:25    

The word of God in the Bible is the same,-the same in life, in spirit, in creative power,-precisely the same, as that word that made the heavens and all the host of them. It was Jesus Christ who spoke the word at creation; it is he who speaks the word in the Bible. At creation the word which he spoke made the worlds; in the Bible the word which he speaks saves and sanctifies the soul. In the beginning the word which he spoke created the heavens and the earth; in the Bible the word which he speaks creates in Christ Jesus the man who receives that word. In both places, and everywhere in the work of God, it is the word that does it.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. Receive it, not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you. Then, "as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." "To you is the word of this salvation sent." Act_13:26   "And now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able [literally, 'full of power'] to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified." Act 20:32'

Excerpt - Advent Review and Sabbath Herald A.T. Jones October 20, 1896