Author: drthomasclothier

“By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” (John 15:8).

How may God be glorified? What does it mean for God to be glorified? Today, we conclude our examination of the biblical doctrine of Soli deo Gloria or giving God all the praise and honor for who He is and what He has accomplished.

Jesus said to His disciples in the upper room, ““By this my Father is glorified.” The word glorified is from the Greek word δοξάζω (doxazo) from which we derive our English word doxology. Jesus posed a statement of certainty to His disciples. He stated that by them doing something, the Father would be glorified. What is it that disciples are to do in order to glorify God the Father?

Jesus said, “that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” If Jesus’ disciples bear spiritual fruit which is in keeping with the character of God and an evidence of obedience to the Word of God, God the Father will be glorified. Additionally, by bearing fruit and glorifying God, disciples of Jesus so prove that they are indeed Jesus’ disciples.

In concluding the second major section of the Epistle to the Romans, the Apostle Paul breaks forth into a climatic doxology of praise and glory to God. In Romans 11:33-36, the apostle writes: Oh, the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways. For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR? Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

This outburst of praise is not only due to the apostle’s understanding of God’s plans for Israel (chaps. 9-11), but also for the entire scope of justification by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone for all sorts of people (chaps. 1-11). Paul emphasizes several reasons why believers are to give God glory.

Believers are to give God glory because God is great. “Oh, the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God.” God is extremely great in wisdom and knowledge. Supreme intelligence belongs to God alone. Humans are unable to truly understand all that God is, but can grasp the reality that His character as being so much greater than their own. Therein is reason to give Him glory.

Believers are to give God glory because God is unfathomable. In describing the infinite God the text says, “How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways.”  His decrees, as to commendation and condemnation, cannot be completely understood by finite man. What He does, why He does it, and how He does it cannot be completely comprehended.

To support this conclusion, Paul quotes from the Old Testament. He cites Isaiah 40:13; Job 15:8; 36:22-23; 35:7; and 41:11 as biblical evidence of God’s preeminence. We owe Him everything. God owes us nothing. Therein is reason to give Him glory.

Finally, believers are to give God glory because God is complete or perfect. Everything either comes from Him, on the basis of something He has done, and exists for Him. This includes the redeemed. Therein is reason to give Him glory.

How long is everything that exists to give God glory? The text reads, “To Him be the glory forever. Amen.” The opportunity to give praise, majesty, and exultation to God is for eternity. Why? Because He is worthy! Because He is God!

The following hymn, based on Romans 11:36, was written by Dr. James M. Boice shortly before his death in June of 2000. It is an appropriate conclusion to this all too brief treatment of God’s preeminent glory.

Give Praise to God

Give praise to God who reigns                                                                                                        for perfect knowledge, wisdom, love;                                                                                              His judgments are divine, devout,                                                                                                 His paths beyond all tracing out.

No one can counsel God all wise                                                                                                      or truths unveil to His sharp eyes;                                                                                                  He marks our paths behind, before;                                                                                                  He is our steadfast Counselor.

Nothing exists that God might need                                                                                              for all things good from Him proceed.                                                                                         We praise Him as our Lord, and yet,                                                                                             we never place God in our debt.

Creation, life, salvation too,                                                                                                           and all things else both good and true,                                                                                    Come from and through our God always,                                                                                  and fill our hearts with grateful praise.

Come, lift your voice to heaven’s high throne, and glory give to God alone!

Soli deo Gloria!

 

 

 

 

 

“By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” (John 15:8).

How may God be glorified? What does it mean for God to be glorified? Today, we continue our examination of the biblical doctrine of Soli deo Gloria or giving God all the praise and honor for who He is and what He has accomplished. Is giving God glory only through the act of singing and praising Him with music? Or does giving God glory involve much more?

How may the believer in Christ glorify God in light of all that the Scriptures teach concerning God’s glory? There are a variety of ways in which this may happen. The following examples are but a sampling from God’s Word.

The believer glorifies God through humble service. Secondly, the believer also glorifies God by not being ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Thirdly, believers glorify God by being grateful to God for all of the blessings He has given. In Luke 17:11-18, Luke recounts the occasion when Jesus passed through the areas of Samaria and Galilee on His way to Jerusalem. Upon entering a certain village, Jesus met ten men who were lepers. As was the expected behavior of those diseased with this malady, they stood away from other unaffected people.

All ten men cried out to Jesus for Him to heal them. In fact the text says, “they lifted up their voices and said, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us’.” Jesus told them to show themselves to the priest in order to be declared clean as keeping with Old Testament law (Leviticus 13:1-3; 14:2-32). As these ten men journeyed to the priests, they were cleansed of the disease.

However, only one of the ten returned to Jesus “and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan” (NASB 1516). Jesus asked where the other nine were. He remarked that the only one who returned to give God glory was a foreigner. This would imply that the other nine were Jews.

We often in our prayers ask God for many things such as healing, prosperity, wisdom, and deliverance. Yet, when these prayers are answered by God in the way we wanted, do we return to God and give Him glory? What about when our prayers are not answered in the way we want? What then? Do we give God glory even in the pain? Our level of gratitude in life’s situations speaks volumes concerning whether we truly desire to give God glory.

Fourthly, believers give God glory by not seeking their own way. Humans are born selfish and self-centered and God’s salvation does not immediately eradicate this tendency to want what we want when we want it. The Christian must continually battle this conflict between the Spirit and the flesh (Galatians 5:16-23). Success in this endeavor, through God’s assistance (Philippians 2:13) results in the believer giving God glory.

Fifthly, believers glorify God by renouncing and rejecting anything that would set itself up as equal to, or greater than, God.  Idolatry was a continual problem for Israel throughout its history. The same could be said for the church. In fact, the world continues to seek for that object or philosophy to take God’s place (Romans 1:23). However, God calls the believer to fulfill the greatest commandment He has given. Believers are to love the Lord with all their heart, soul, and mind (Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:28-34). As they do so consistently, they give God glory.

Sixthly, believers glorify God by living righteously. The Apostle Paul explained in Romans 6:4 that believers are to identify themselves with Jesus Christ in all areas of life. Due to the fact that Christ has raised us up from spiritual death, we are to live in a way that evidences this new life in Christ. This is the predominant theme throughout the epistle of I John.

Philippians 1:11 indicates that believers are to be filled with the fruits of righteousness. This righteousness is through Jesus Christ alone and results in glory and praise to God.

I Thessalonians 2:12 explains that Christians are to live in a manner worthy of God’s call unto salvation. The reason for this is because God has brought believers into His kingdom and glory.

Peter stated in his second epistle that believers are to “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever. Amen” (2 Peter 3:18).

Finally, one of the most significant ways believers glorify God is in trials. The conundrum to this subject is that believers do not always associate trials with an opportunity to bring God glory. Many believers assume trials are something to be avoided at best, and painfully endured until they are over at worst. However, the Scriptures teach that one of the most profound ways believers may glorify God is when they are in the crucible of conflict.

In Romans 5:1-3, the Apostle Paul writes, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope.”

To “exult” means to glory; from the Greek καυχάομαι / kauchaomai. The believer glories in tribulations presently and personally. The verb form refers to boasting or rejoicing, with or without reason, because of trouble.

Within the context, tribulations (θλῖψις / thlipsis) refer to the pressing and squeezing of olives or grapes in a press. However, Paul is speaking of the normal pressures of living and the inevitable troubles that characterize life in this world for the disciples of Jesus (Matthew 5:10-12; John 15:20; 2 Corinthians 4:17; I Thessalonians 3:1-3; 2 Timothy 3:12; I Peter 4:19).

Paul reiterates this perspective in Romans 8:18. He explains, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

Peter contributes to this concept of glorifying God in the midst of trials. In I Peter 1:7 he writes, “that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;” (NASB 1909). See also I Peter 2:20; 4:13-14; 5:1, 10.

What then is the chief end of man? Clearly, it is to give God glory.

Soli deo Gloria!

 

 

 

“By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” (John 15:8).

Today, we continue our examination of the biblical doctrine of Soli deo Gloria or giving God all the praise and honor for who He is and what He has accomplished. Is giving God glory only through the act of singing and praising Him with music? Or does giving God glory involve much more?

How may the believer glorify God in light of all that the Scriptures teach concerning God’s glory? There are a variety of ways in which this may happen. The following examples are but a sampling from God’s Word.

The believer glorifies God through humble service. The attitude, and consequential action, by the believer in serving God is to do it humbly. Humility is a demeanor of modesty, meekness, and respect towards God and other people. The believer is humble in serving God by placing all the attention, credit, and praise for that service to God and not towards himself. More than just a few perfunctory words in order to appear humble, the genuinely humble person of God continually gives all the glory to God for any accomplishment. This applies to not only that in full time ministry, but also those in volunteer ministry.

In Matthew 6:1-4, Jesus taught that those belonging to God’s kingdom should not do their good works for the purpose of receiving praise and attention from other people. Rather, individuals seeking to glorify God should do their good works in secret. The consequence of such behavior done in this way is that God dispenses praise to the believer for their service as the believer has given God all the glory for that service.

The Apostle Paul communicated this concept of glorifying God, through humble service, in numerous epistles (2 Corinthians 10:17; 11:30; 12:1-9; Galatians 5:26; 6:14; Philippians 2:1-13; I Thessalonians 2:6; 2 Timothy 2:10). For Paul, the attitude of humility was a predominant theme.

This perspective was also important for the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews. He states, “Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen” (Hebrews 13:20-21).

In I Peter 4:10-11, Peter states, “As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to Whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” (NASB 1916).

In I Peter 5:1-5, the apostle commended the elders to humbly serve God by not lording over the flock of God, but rather by being examples to those of which God made them spiritual overseers. The eternal reward of such service is a crown of glory.

Secondly, the believer also glorifies God by not being ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus said in Mark 8:38 that, “whoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels” (NASB 1445).

The Apostle Paul wrote in I Corinthians 9:16, “For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast (glory) of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel.” Paul did not preach from human pride but rather by divine compulsion. The purpose of which was to give God the glory.

The gospel of Jesus Christ can never be a negotiable message. While many have attempted to apostate this central truth (see the Epistle of Jude), the true believer will never apostatize or be ashamed of the only means necessary whereby sinners can be redeemed and forgiven of their sins.

Soli deo Gloria!

“By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” (John 15:8).

How may God be glorified? What does it mean for God to be glorified? Today, we continue our examination of the biblical doctrine of Soli deo Gloria or giving God all the praise and honor for who He is and what He has accomplished.

The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals’ 1996 Cambridge Declaration states: We affirm that because salvation is of God and has been accomplished by God, it is for God’s glory and that we must glorify him always. We must live our entire lives before the face of God, under the authority of God and for his glory alone. We deny that we can properly glorify God if our worship is confused with entertainment, if we neglect either Law or Gospel in our preaching, or if self-improvement, self-esteem or self-fulfillment is allowed to become alternatives to the gospel.

Of the vast sum of passages throughout Scripture that emphasize the glory of God, one of the most striking is Ephesians 1:3-14. In this extensive paragraph, the glory of God is the believer’s response because of the specific work of the Father (vs. 3-6), the work of the Son (vs. 7-12), and the work of the Holy Spirit (vs. 13-14) in the unfolding drama of salvation.

In Ephesians 1:3, the Apostle Paul prefaces this entire section by declaring that God has “blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” The response by the believer to those blessings is to give God glory.

The believer gives God glory because of the work of the Father. First, the Father chose us (vs. 4). This election, according to God’s sovereign and independent will, happened before the creation of the world. The purpose and result of this was so that believers would be holy and blameless before Him. This means the unrighteous are declared righteous and the sinner is forgiven of all sin (Colossians 2:8-13).

Second, the Father in His love predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ (vs. 5). He marked out beforehand whom He would select as His children. He has given believers not only His name, but also His nature (John 15:15; Romans 8:15).

The ultimate purpose of the Father’s work was so that the believer would give God the glory for salvation. Paul describes this in vs. 6, as “to the praise of the glory of His grace.” This grace, of which the believer gives God glory, was freely given by God. This was a kindness that God was under no pressure or compulsion to give by any authority greater than Himself because there is no authority greater than Himself. This grace was provided through the person and work of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Therefore, the believer also gives God glory because of the work of the Son.

Paul declares that the Son has provided redemption (vs. 7). Redemption means to be released from captivity and slavery by a price that is paid. For the sinner, this captivity and slavery is to sin. This redemption is solely through the substitutionary atonement on the cross. It is only through the blood of Christ. I Peter 1:18-20 states, “knowing that you (believers) were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.”

The redemption Christ provides results in the sinner being forgiven of all trespasses. The penalty and guilt of sin has been released or dismissed. Forgiveness is the remission of a punishment that is deserved. God releases the debt, obligation, and penalty the sinner has earned. He does so not because the sinner has earned God’s love, but rather because of the boundless riches of God’s grace. This grace was lavished upon us because of the kind intentions of God (vs. 9-10).

Secondly, Christ provides an inheritance to all believing sinners. The inheritance is the promise of future glory in heaven with God. The promise of this inheritance is so certain that Paul speaks of it, in vs. 11, as if it has already been given. This future destiny is according to the sovereign purpose of God who does everything according to His perfect will. The Apostle Peter describes this inheritance as imperishable, undefiled, and one that will not fade away ( I Peter 1:4).

Accordingly, the ultimate purpose of redemption and the believer’s eternal inheritance in Jesus Christ is to give God glory. Vs. 12 states, “to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory.”

The believer also gives God glory because of the work of the Holy Spirit. Paul does not comprehensively focus on everything the Holy Spirit does in the believer’s soul in this text, but rather on the mark of identification the Spirit accomplishes. The Holy Spirit seals the believing sinner. Most specifically, the Holy Spirit is the seal. The seal describes a guarantee, a proof of authenticity, ownership, and authority by the One who not only is the seal but Who also does the sealing. Ephesians 1:13-14 states, “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of the truth, the gospel of your salvation – having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.”

As one commentator has written, God’s own Spirit comes to indwell the believer and secures and preserves his eternal salvation. The sealing of which Paul speaks refers to an official mark of identification placed on a letter, contract, or other document. That document was thereby officially under the authority of the person whose stamp was on the seal.” Four primary truths are signified by the seal: (1) Security. Daniel 6:17; Matthew 27:62-66; (2) Authenticity. I Kings 21:6-16; (3) Ownership. Jeremiah 32:10; (4) Authority. Esther 8:8-12.

God gives the Holy Spirit as a pledge so that what He has promised regarding eternal life in Christ will be completely fulfilled. There is nowhere in Scripture where believers are exhorted to be sealed. The sealing takes place when God brings the sinner to saving faith in Christ. The believer’s response to the work of the Holy Spirit, by the sovereign plan of the Father carried out by the Son, is to give God the glory.

Believers glorify God by rejoicing in the salvation of the gospel of Jesus Christ that the Lord has given by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. The Reformers may have rekindled the fires of God’s people glorifying Him because of salvation’s worth, but the New Testament writers spoke clearly and often concerning this primary purpose of man.

But how does the believer go about giving God glory? Is giving God glory only through singing and praising Him with music? Or does giving God glory involve much more?

Soli deo Gloria!

 

“By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” (John 15:8).

How may God be glorified? What does it mean for God to be glorified?

One of the Sola’s of the 16^th century Protestant Reformation was the phrase Soli deo Gloria. You have obviously noticed that I conclude each devotional with that phrase.

In April 1996, the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals held its first major meeting of evangelical scholars. The Cambridge Declaration, first presented at this meeting, was/is a call to the evangelical church to turn away from the worldly methods it has come to embrace, and to recover the Biblical doctrines of the Reformation. The Cambridge Declaration explains the importance of regaining adherence to the five “solas” of the Reformation.

Thesis One: Sola Scriptura. We reaffirm the inerrant Scripture to be the sole source of written divine revelation, which alone can bind the conscience. The Bible alone teaches all that is necessary for our salvation from sin and is the standard by which all Christian behavior must be measured. We deny that any creed, council or individual may bind a Christian’s conscience, that the Holy Spirit speaks independently of or contrary to what is set forth in the Bible, or that personal spiritual experience can ever be a vehicle of revelation.

Thesis Two: Solus Christus. We reaffirm that our salvation is accomplished by the mediatorial work of the historical Christ alone. His sinless life and substitutionary atonement alone are sufficient for our justification and reconciliation to the Father.
We deny that the gospel is preached if Christ’s substitutionary work is not declared and faith in Christ and his work is not solicited.

Thesis Three: Sola Gratia. We reaffirm that in salvation we are rescued from God’s wrath by his grace alone. It is the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit that brings us to Christ by releasing us from our bondage to sin and raising us from spiritual death to spiritual life. We deny that salvation is in any sense a human work. Human methods, techniques or strategies by themselves cannot accomplish this transformation. Faith is not produced by our unregenerate human nature.

Thesis Four: Sola Fide. We reaffirm that justification is by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone. In justification Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us as the only possible satisfaction of God’s perfect justice. We deny that justification rests on any merit to be found in us, or upon the grounds of an infusion of Christ’s righteousness in us, or that an institution claiming to be a church that denies or condemns sola fide can be recognized as a legitimate church.

Thesis Five: Soli deo Gloria. We reaffirm that because salvation is of God and has been accomplished by God, it is for God’s glory and that we must glorify him always. We must live our entire lives before the face of God, under the authority of God and for his glory alone. We deny that we can properly glorify God if our worship is confused with entertainment, if we neglect either Law or Gospel in our preaching, or if self-improvement, self-esteem or self-fulfillment are allowed to become alternatives to the gospel.

The Reformation was not only a break from the apostate system of the Roman Catholic Church, but also a return and recommitment to the essential biblical truths of the nature of salvation that Jesus Christ and the apostles taught in the New Testament Scriptures. The true nature of salvation, based upon the authority of Scripture alone, is that salvation from the penalty, power, and eventual presence of sin is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

Grace alone is the operative word of God wherein He sets His love, mercy, and unmerited favor upon the fallen sinner. This is initiated upon the sinner by the monergistic work of the Holy Spirit in regenerating the sinner through the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. (John 3:1-8; I John 3:9).

When regeneration, or the new birth occurs (John 3:1-8), the sinner is given the ability to commit to, trust in, depend upon, and worship the God of salvation and in turn be saved. This is the instrument of faith alone. Along with grace, faith is a sovereign gift from God (Ephesians 2:8-9; Philippians 1:29; 2 Peter 1:1; Acts 13:48). The sinner exercises this God given faith into the only object sufficient to save the sinner: Jesus Christ.

What must the sinner believe about Jesus Christ? The sinner must place faith in Jesus’ eternal sinless existence as God, His incarnation as the eternal God-Man, His sinless life, His substitutionary death for sinners on the cross, His bodily resurrection, His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and His soon return in power, might, and glory. These are the indispensable truths that must be believed for the fallen sinner to become a child of God.

At this moment of trust, the sinner is declared by God to be righteous in His sight. This righteous standing is not on the basis of anything the believer has done, including believing, but completely on the merit of Jesus Christ and the grace of God the Father. This imputed righteousness is known as justification.

What must be the believer’s response to such a change of standing between him and God? The sinner, who once was condemned before God, is now a justified child of God. Where hell and eternal damnation was the destination of such an individual, now heaven and eternal life is the confident expectation based upon the promises of God. What must the response be to such graciousness and mercy? Soli Deo Gloria! To God be the glory!

We will take the next several days to comprehensively explain this biblical doctrine. Let us all pray and consider how we may truly glorify the Lord in our lives.

Soli deo Gloria!

 

 

 

“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (John 15:7)

Prayer is a conversation between God and believers in Jesus Christ. I recently read that two things must be continually considered when we go to the Lord in prayer. First, when we pray we must remember who God is. Secondly, we must also remember who we are. God is not to be perceived as some sort of cosmic Santa Claus who is available in order to satisfy our every whim and want.

Consider this when engaging in prayer. God is the creator; we are the created. God is the redeemer; we are the redeemed. God is the justifier; we are the justified. God is holy; we are unholy. God is the shepherd; we are the sheep.

Jesus said to His disciples that biblical prayer is the result of a right relationship with Him and the Father. If believers continue to remain in Christ by being obedient to the Word of God, and displaying such obedience by evidencing the resulting fruit of the Spirit, then believers can be bold to ask God whatever they wish and it will be done for them. The reason why their request will be answered is because the request has been saturated by, and reflects obedience to, the Word and will of God.

This in essence is the idea behind Psalm 37:3-4 which says, “Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” To trust means to be confident and to rely upon God. To delight means to take pleasure in God: who He is and what He does. Such a person will have desires reflective of their trust and their delight in the Lord. Therefore, their prayers will be granted because those prayers will reflect their desire to trust and delight in the Lord.

Dr. Burk Parsons explains that, “John 15:7 records Jesus’ words that when we abide in Christ and He abides in us, our prayers will be effective. In other words, when we lean only on Christ and seek to have His teaching shape our lives, God will grant us fruitfulness when we pray for it. This is not a guarantee that obeying Christ means we will receive everything we could ever want; rather, as Christ’s words abide in us, we will come more and more to pray for what He wants, and therefore we will see results.

This is the understanding behind I John 5:14-15 which says, “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.”

Let me encourage you to always saturate your whole heart with the Word of God prior to going to the Lord in prayer for the will of God. The will of God will always reflect a proper understanding of the Word of God.

Soli deo Gloria!

 

“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. 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.” (John 15:5-6)  

When doctrinal truths, or even particular words, are repeated in Scripture they are done so for emphasis. Such is the case in John 15:5-6 when Jesus repeated what He had previously stated to His disciples in vs. 1-4. What truths were restated and reconsidered by the Lord?

First, Jesus stated that He was the vine and His disciples were the branches. As such, disciples of the Lord are joined to Him and responsible to bear fruit for His glory and honor. The fruit disciples are to evidence are those qualities and characteristics which best exemplify the qualities and characteristics of the Lord Jesus Christ. Galatians 5:22-23 describes this so-called fruit of the Spirit as follows: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” This type of fruitful living best exemplifies a disciple and follower of Jesus Christ.

Second, disciples of Jesus are to abide in Him. This means they are to remain, stay and reside in Christ by obedience to display the fruits of the Spirit. This speaks of the perseverance of the saints. All true believers in Christ will abide in Christ. Those who do not abide in Christ are not true believers of Christ (I John 2:19).

Third, those who do not abide in Christ are thrown away like a branch which has been cut off from the vine and/or the tree. I recently removed a branch from my peach tree located in my back yard. Soon after I discarded the removed branch, the leaves on the branch began to wither and die. It was because the branch was no longer joined to the tree. I removed the branch from the life giving sap of the tree.

In light of this statement by Jesus, is our Lord teaching that true believers can and do lose their salvation? This is often argued in light of John 15:5-6. I do not believe this is the case.

Dr. R. C. Sproul provides some wonderful insight when he writes, “His (Jesus) warnings about what will happen to those who are unfruitful is not a declaration about whether one can lose one’s salvation; they are an encouragement to believers to test the genuineness of their faith by examining their fruit and asking God to do what is necessary to make them more fruitful.”

Dr. Sproul concludes, “We do not want to be among those who make a false profession and end up in the fire. Thus, we seek to know that we possess genuine faith, and one way we do that is by looking to our lives for evidence of spiritual fruit. We will invariably be disappointed by what we see, given the abiding presence of sin, but even meager fruit is better than none. And we will also ask the Father to prune us, to do what it takes to make us more fruitful, so that our harvest increases.”

Are you willing to ask your heavenly Father to prune you in order for Him to produce more, and much more, spiritual fruit in your life? What areas in your life need to be pruned by the Lord?

Soli deo Gloria!

 

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 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. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 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.” (John 15:1-4).

What does it mean to “abide in Christ?” The word “abide” (μείνατε; meinate) means to remain, to reside and to stay. Jesus commands His disciples to remain, reside and stay in Him. Fundamental in our understanding of remaining in Christ is the truth that we can only abide in Christ if we have first been joined to Christ by grace alone, through faith alone in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone. To remain in Christ means that salvation has already occurred in Christ.

I John 2:19 says, “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.”

Therefore, it stands to reason that those who do not remain in Christ never belonged to Christ in the first place. They professed a love for Christ but they did not possess a love for Christ. They may have joined a church but they were not joined to Christ. They may have sung psalms, hymns and spiritual songs extolling Christ but they did not know the One about whom they sang. They may have partaken of the Lord’s Supper but they did not partake of the Lord of the Supper. The doctrine of the perseverance of the saints is taught in today’s text.

Dr. John MacArthur explains that, “The ones who persevere are the same ones who are saved—not the ones whose love grows cold (Matthew 24:12). This does not suggest that our perseverance secures our salvation. Scripture everywhere teaches precisely the opposite: God, as part of his saving work, secures our perseverance. True believers “are being guarded through faith for a salvation” (I Peter 1:5). The guarantee of our perseverance is built into the New Covenant promise. God says: “I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me” (Jeremiah 32:40). Those who do fall away from Christ give conclusive proof that they were never truly believers to begin with (I John 2:19).”

Dr. MacArthur continues by stating, “To say that God secures our perseverance is not to say that we are passive in the process, however. He keeps us “through faith” (I Peter 1:5)—our faith. Scripture sometimes calls us to hold fast to our faith (Hebrews 10:23; Revelation 3:11) or warns us against falling away (Hebrews 10:26-29). Such admonitions do not negate the many promises that true believers will persevere (John 10:28-29; Romans 8:38-39; I Corinthians 1:8-9; Philippians 1:6). Rather, the warnings and pleas are among the means God uses to secure our perseverance in the faith. Notice that the warnings and the promises often appear side by side. For example, when Jude urges believers, “keep yourselves in the love of God” (Jude 21), he immediately points them to God, “who is able to keep you from stumbling” (Jude 24).”

We abide in Christ by remaining obedient to Christ. We remain obedient to Christ because God’s love has been poured into our hearts.

Romans 5:1-5 says, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

The believer can abide in Christ because Christ abides with the believer. Meditate upon the lyrics from Matt Redman’s song Abide With Me.

VERSE
I have a home
Eternal home
But for now I walk this broken world
You walked it first
You know our pain
But You show hope can rise again up from the grave

CHORUS
Abide with me
Abide with me
Don’t let me fall
And don’t let go
Walk with me
And never leave
Ever close God abide with me

VERSE
There in the night
Gethsemane
Before the cross
Before the nails
Overwhelmed
Alone You prayed
You met us in our suffering and bore our shame

BRIDGE
O love that will not ever let me go
Love that will not ever let me go
You never let me go
Love that will not ever let me go

VERSE
And up ahead
Eternity
We’ll weep no more and sing for joy
Abide with me
We’ll weep no more and sing for joy
Abide with me

Soli deo Gloria!

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 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. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 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.” (John 15:1-4).

When my family and I lived in West Michigan for nine years, our home was surrounded by fruit orchards and farms. Apples, peaches, strawberries, cherries and a number of other fruit trees and vines adorned the landscape for miles. We often went strawberry, blueberry and apple picking for example during their respective harvests. These are precious memories which I will always cherish.

I remember one particularly cold, winter’s day when I left my house to travel 30 miles to Grand Rapids. I always passed by the home of my neighbor. He owned one of the fruit farms I just spoke of. His property bordered my own.

What I noticed that day intrigued me. Here was my neighbor in the middle of his apple grove on a winter’s day pruning his apple trees. As he did so, he also began burning a pile of dead branches he had previously pruned and gathered. He knew what branches to prune, even when there was no fruit on the trees, because he knew the trees he was pruning.  He not only owned them but he spent nearly every day of every season of the year in the midst of that orchard.

This pruning was not for the purpose of hurting the trees, but rather to make the trees more productive. The winter pruning was so that the trees would bear more fruit and yield a greater harvest the following autumn.

What I observed that day in a grove of pruned apple trees is the truth Jesus illustrated in John 15:1-4. “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 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. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 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.” (John 15:1-4).

As believers are joined to Christ, who is the vine, God the Father, the gardener, accomplishes a two-fold work. First, branches which do not produce fruit He takes away. What does this mean? The phrase “takes away” (αἴρω; airo) is a forceful and strong term. It means to destroy, to execute and to remove. Do true believers then, who do not produce spiritual fruit (Galatians 5:22-23), lose their salvation?

Dr. John MacArthur explains that, “The branches that do not bear fruit are those who profess to believe, but their lack of fruit indicates genuine salvation has never taken place and they have no life from the vine. Especially in the immediate context, Judas was in view, but the imagery extends from him to all those who make a profession of faith in Christ but do not actually possess salvation. The image of non-fruit-bearing branches being burned pictures eschatological judgment and eternal rejection (see Ezek. 15:6–8).The picture is of the vinedresser (i.e., the Father) getting rid of dead wood while preserving the living, fruit-bearing branches. The dead branches picture apostate Christians who never genuinely believed and will be taken away in judgment (v. 6; Matt. 7:16; Eph. 2:10). They have never truly experienced the life of Christ within them (John 8:31–32; cf. Matt. 13:18–23; 24:12; Heb. 3:14–19; 6:4–8; 10:27–31; 1 John 2:19; 2 John 9).”

Secondly, those branches which do bear fruit, illustrative of genuine believers joined to Christ, God the Father prunes in order for them to bear more spiritual fruit. Dr. MacArthur continues by saying, “God removes all things in the believer’s life that would hinder fruit bearing, i.e., he chastises to cut away sin and hindrances that would drain spiritual life just as the farmer removes anything on the branches that keep them from bearing maximum fruit (Heb. 12:3–11).  

This is what my neighbor was doing on that cold winter’s day. He was removing dead branches and pruning the live branches. God does the same thing in the life of the believer.

John Calvin writes, “He (God) speaks of pruning, or cleansing, because our flesh abounds in superfluities and destructive vices, and is too fertile in producing them, and because they grow and multiply without end if we are not cleansed or pruned by the hand of God. When He says that vines are pruned, that they may yield more abound fruit, He shows what ought to be the progress of believers in the course of true religion.”

Take time to thank God for His pruning in your life.

Soli deo Gloria!

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 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. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 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.” (John 15:1-4).

What did Jesus mean when He compared Himself to a vine and for that matter, a true vine? The word “true” (ἀληθινός; alethinos) means genuine or real along with not being imaginary. The word “vine” (ἄμπελος; ampelos) specifically refers to a grapevine. Jesus spoke of a fruit bearing vine. Coupled together these two words, Jesus was expressing the inward and intimate fellowship He has with each of His disciples: then and now.

When Jesus said He was the “true vine” this presumes that there are those who pretend they are either true vines, or connected to such. But in reality are liars and deceivers. This would mean Satan who is the father of lies (Genesis 3; John 8:44) along with those who follow him (I John 2:26).

Jesus then said that “and my Father is the vinedresser.” The noun Father, from the Greek word πατήρ (pater) in which we derive our English word “paternal” meaning fatherly or a male parent, is a specific reference to God the Father. Jesus refers to Him as “my” Father. Jesus also made this reference to the Father in John 5:18 wherein the Jews rightly concluded that Jesus was making Himself equal with God.

Jesus said the Father “is the vinedresser.” The little word “is” means the Father presently, actively and singularly exists as something or someone. That someone God the Father is compared to is a vinedresser.

A vinedresser is a tenant farmer, a share-cropper or even a gardener. He is a person who works the land by digging into the ground for agricultural or gardening purposes. Where I live in Indiana, there are multiple  farms owned and tended to by dedicated farmers. In a more modest way, one of my favorite hobbies is working outside my house during the spring, summer and autumn seasons. I thoroughly enjoy working in my flower beds and landscaping my front and backyard.

A background commentary to Jewish history indicates that “The Old Testament and Jewish literature sometimes portrayed Israel as a vineyard (e.g., Isaiah 5:7), or less frequently as a vine (e.g., Psalm 80:8; Hosea 10:1), and God as the vine grower. A golden vine in the temple symbolized Israel’s power, and Jesus may here portray the disciples as the remnant of Israel (see comment on 15:16). The most basic point of the imagery is the obvious dependence of branches on the vine for their continued life.”

Isaiah 5:1-7 says. “Let me sing for my beloved my love song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; and he looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it? When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes? And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down.  I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and briers and thorns shall grow up; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting; and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, an outcry!”

God the Father is characterized as one who carefully protects the vine and the fruit of the vine. In the Old Testament, Israel was known as the vineyard of God. However, it failed to produce the fruit of righteousness. Rather, it produced the wild grapes of sinfulness.

However, by being the true vine Jesus Christ is the true Israel of God. Jesus is the fruitful servant who will accomplish God’s purposes for salvation and glorification of God’s people. God the Father’s people are those joined to the true vine, Jesus Christ, by the sovereign grace of God alone, through the sovereign gift of faith alone, in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone. This is ultimately for the glory of God alone.

How does God the Father protect the fruit of the vine, which are those joined to the true vine, Jesus Christ? The answer Jesus gave may surprise you. Take time today to thank God for joining you to the vine, Jesus Christ. May the fruit of righteousness be seen in you today.

More to come.

Soli deo Gloria!