"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." John 15:5.
Here the Lod calls Himself "The Vine" as He associates Himself with the branches. He is the root and stem upon which we, as branches, must depend. The purpose of the Vine is to bear fruit. The life is in the vine, but that life is also in the branches, and we are to be fruit-bearing branches. "He that abideth in Me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit." We can bear no fruit of ourselves. Our dependence is upon Him. The desire of the Husbandman is to produce fruit, and we must ask ourselves the question: "Am I a fruit-bearing branch? If not, why not?" How patient He is, yet how fearful is the contemplation of the thought: "I may be a fruitless branch."
Lord, forbid that it should be so. Holy Spirit, fill us with Thyself that we may bear much fruit. Amen.
