Then we have another verse which speaks about the seed of Abraham: “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed” (Gen. 22:18). In the seed of Abraham, all the nations, not only Israel, shall be blessed.
Now we must see that this seed, Jesus, eventually becomes the branch, and this branch is called “the Lord our righteousness.” We have already seen this in Zechariah 6 and Jeremiah 23. Isaiah 4:2 then tells us that this branch is “the branch of the Lord” and also “the fruit of the earth.” “In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.” Jesus on the one hand is “the branch of the Lord,” and on the other hand He is “the fruit of the earth.” Jesus is the branch that bears the fruit, and He is also the fruit that is brought forth by the branch. The branch is to bring forth the fruit, and the fruit is for our enjoyment.
We also see that this branch is the root. “And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious” (Isa. 11:10). This verse shows us that the branch is also the root, and this root is an ensign, a banner, or a standard for all the people of the earth. And the Gentiles, including you and me, will seek after Him. And His resting place is full of glory.
Not only is this One the root of Jesse, but also the seed of David. “And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son” (2 Sam. 7:12-14a). He is the seed of David, but on the other hand He is the son of God. God said that He would be His Father, and He would be His son. He will build a house for God, and God will establish the throne of His kingdom forever.
Who is this wonderful person who has all of these names and who will accomplish the building of God’s house? It is Jesus! But now we are clear that He is much more than we thought. First of all, Jesus is a kind of seed. This seed is God in the Son to be sown into mankind. Man is the fertile soil to this seed. For this seed to grow, we need the soil. God in the Son as the embodiment of life is the seed, and we are the soil. We are God’s soil for God’s growth.
This is not my thought or concept. Matthew 13 shows us that Jesus came as the seed of God Himself and sowed this seed into the human heart. Thus, humanity is the soil for the divine seed to grow. Did you ever see this in the Bible? God in the Son is a divine seed, and we are the soil for Him to grow in us. It is easy to gather the doctrines and stories in the Bible, but to enter into the depth of the Bible is not easy. To know the teaching of the Bible is not difficult, but to realize the life that is conveyed in the Bible requires divine revelation. Jesus is the divine seed that has been sown into our heart. We are the soil in which Jesus can grow. The seed is sown and something has sprung up.
After the seed, we see that Jesus is also the branch. The verses we have read show us that He is the branch of the Lord. By this we can realize that this man Jesus was the very branching out of God. God branches out in Jesus. Jesus is the branch of God, and we are the branch of Jesus. Jesus branches out God, and now we are branching out Jesus. John 15 tells us that Jesus is the vine, and we are the branches. Hallelujah! Jesus is the branching out of God.
To say that Jesus is the Savior and Redeemer is altogether right, but too shallow. Jesus is not merely our Savior and Redeemer, He is the branching out of God. And He has branched out to us. We all have been caught by Jesus. One day God branched Jesus into us. Eventually this branch bears the fruit. Jesus as a branch is not for a column or beam of a building. Jesus is the branching out of God to bear fruit for our enjoyment. And now we are the branches of Christ to branch out Christ for others’ enjoyment.
Jesus today is not only the seed, but also the branch, and this divine branch bears the fruit of the earth. This means that Jesus is the branching out of the Lord into us as the earth. Divinity branches out into our humanity. And through humanity, this branch bears fruit for man’s enjoyment. This is Jesus. It is this Jesus that builds God’s temple. The Bible shows us that today God’s temple is a group of living persons framed together and built up as God’s habitation in the spirit. The only one that can build this temple is Jesus, and the way that He builds it is by being the seed, the branch, and the fruit.
Hence, Jesus as the seed is the branching out of God to bear fruit for our enjoyment. This seed will also bruise the head of the serpent, and in this seed shall all the nations be blessed. It is the branching out of this seed that will build God’s temple, and it is this branch that bears the priesthood and the kingship. “Even he shall build the temple of the Lord; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both” (Zech. 6:13).