“As for an ox or a sheep that is deformed or stunted, you may offer it for a freewill offering, but for a vow it will not be accepted” (v. 23). The Hebrew for “is deformed or stunted” may also be translated “has a member that is too long or too short.” A longer member is a member that exceeds the limit; a shorter member is one that is under the proper measure. Verse 23 signifies that we may, in a general way, offer to God as food the Christ whom we experience too much or too little, but if we offer in a stronger way, our offering will not be accepted.
Verse 23 indicates that we may not be balanced even in the experience of Christ. Sometimes our experience of Christ may surpass the limit. At other times it may be under the proper measure. For example, some saints stress the enjoyment of Christ, but they do not bear any fruit. The enjoyment of Christ is covered in John 15. “Abide in Me and I in you” (v. 4a). If we abide in the Lord, we shall absorb the rich life-juice from Him. Then He will abide in us to supply us and support us with all His riches. The issue of this is the bearing of fruit. Abiding in Christ issues in fruit-bearing. However, some saints emphasize the enjoyment of Christ by abiding in Him, but they do not bear fruit. This kind of experience of Christ is typified in Leviticus 22:23 by a member that is too long. Their lack of fruit is the evidence that their experience of Christ is not balanced.
The Lord Jesus said, “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes it away....If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is dried up; and they gather them and cast them into the fire, and they are burned” (John 15:2a, 6). This is not to perish-it is to lose the enjoyment of Christ. If a branch is cut off from the vine, it loses its enjoyment of the vine. We have seen such a thing with certain saints who claimed that they did not care for anything other than the enjoyment of Christ but who did not bear any fruit, even after a period of years. Their kind of enjoyment was an overstretching; it was like a member that is too long. No fruit issued from their experience of Christ.
Other saints are short in the enjoyment of Christ, and, as a result, they likewise do not bear fruit. Regarding the experience of Christ, these saints are not up to the standard. Those who are too much and those who are too little in their experience of Christ are alike in that they fail to bear fruit.
In John 15 we see the proper, balanced way to experience Christ. We need to abide in Christ that we may enjoy Him, yet we still need to bear fruit. We need to check whether or not our enjoyment of Christ is real by the matter of fruit-bearing. Bearing fruit is the evidence that our enjoyment of Christ is within the limit.
In John 15:16 the Lord Jesus says, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and I appointed you that you should go forth and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain.” The Lord does not say that we should simply abide in Him without doing anything, for that would be to exceed the limit and thus to have an overstretching enjoyment of Christ. We need to visit others that we might bear fruit.
Then regarding abiding and fruit-bearing we shall be balanced. Abiding is for fruit-bearing, and fruit-bearing is an evidence of the real enjoyment of Christ. If we are really enjoying Christ, we shall go forth to bear fruit.
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