The picture of the vine and the husbandman shows us what God is doing in this universe and what we need to do. As branches in the vine, we simply need to grow Christ by expressing Him. In a sense, the branches of a vine do nothing; they have no work or activities. The branches simply live the vine. The branches do not merely live out the vine or live by the vine; they actually live the vine. Paul said, “To me, to live is Christ” (Phil. 1:21a). Day by day we need to live Christ. When we are enlightened to see that our unique obligation on the earth today is to live Christ, we will be immediately exposed. If we consider our actual situation in this light, we will confess that we are not truly living Christ. Although we are busy doing many things, we may not be living Christ. As branches in the vine, our main responsibility is to live the vine, to live Christ. In order to see who we are and what we should be doing on the earth today, we do not need to study doctrines. We need only to look at the picture of the vine to see that we are branches in Christ and that we should simply live Christ.
We do not need to wonder how to live Christ. Matters of life are not mainly matters of method. A baby enjoys life, but he does not ask how. A baby breathes, sleeps, and cries without ever asking his parents how to do these things. In matters related to life there is no method; there is simply living. If we are alive, we simply live, though we may not have been taught how. Knowledge may actually frustrate life. If a baby simply lives for some time, he will inevitably breathe, sleep, and cry. No one was ever taught how to shed tears or how to stop shedding tears, because these are matters of life. If we feel the need to ask how to live Christ, this may indicate that we are not living Christ. If we are truly living Christ, we will not ask how—we will simply live Christ. Life is very practical yet very mysterious; it is simple, yet no one can explain it. Life simply lives.
As believers, we are not only the disciples of Christ; we also are the branches of Christ. Since we are branches, our main need is not to learn many things. We simply need to live Christ, grow Christ, and produce Christ. When I was young, my family lived near a vineyard. I saw that the vine grows through the branches and that the branches live the vine, grow the vine, and eventually produce the vine. Their producing of the vine is fruit-bearing. The burden in this chapter is our living Christ, growing Christ, and producing Christ.
Although the words in this chapter are simple, through them we need to see a vision. In my youth in Christianity I heard that the Lord is the vine and that we are His branches. However, for many years I did not see the vision. I saw a little, but not as much as I have seen recently. We need a vision in order to see that in the entire universe God is doing only one thing—He is growing Christ. God grows Christ by being the source of supply that is embodied in Christ. Christ as the embodiment of God is the economy of God. Furthermore, we are the branches of this economy, branching out God’s economy by living, growing, and producing Christ. Seeing this vision will change our life. We will realize that God predestinated us to be branching factors of His economy. The Christian life is simply to live, grow, and produce Christ.
What we have seen of the vine thus far may be somewhat abstract, but two further items mentioned in John 15 make this matter practical and experiential. The first item is the Lord’s word. In verse 4 the Lord said, “Abide in Me and I in you.” Then in verse 7 He said, “If you abide in Me and My words abide in you...” It seems that the Lord was saying, “In order for Me to abide in you, you must have My word. When My word abides in you, I am abiding in you. I am mysterious, but My word is tangible. I am abstract, but My word is concrete. I am untouchable, but My word is receivable. You can touch My word and receive My word. When you receive My word, you receive Me, for My word is My embodiment.” Then in John 15:26 the Lord said, “When the Comforter comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of reality, who proceeds from the Father, He will testify concerning Me.” Here it seems that the Lord was saying, “The Spirit will transmit what I am into you.”
The way for us to abide in the Lord as branches in the vine is to receive the Lord’s word and touch the Spirit. All Christians have two great inheritances from God—the word in the Bible and the Spirit. We all have the Bible without and the Spirit within. These are the two means by which we abide in the vine. The proper receiving of the word and the proper touching of the Spirit are the abiding in the vine. First, we all need to see a vision of the vine. Second, we all need to receive the word and touch the Spirit.