The Presence of God

[Alex_Smith]

The Presence of the transcendent God immanent in His Church by the Incarnation of Jesus Christ is pictured in Holy Scripture under more than one symbol. We have already briefly touched upon the symbol of the Vine whereby He is shown to be the Life of our life. The branches of the vine abide in the tree, and the tree is one whole. The Church is Christ and ourselves ; “Every branch in Me,” He says. The fruit is the fruit of the tree not the produce and possession of a branch ; the branch is the means used by the whole to manifest its fruitfulness. Thus the branches in Christ have no fruits of their own ; they exist that Christ may manifest in them the beauty of the Divine presence and character. Barrenness means that the life of Christ is being thwarted in its expression by our sinfulness and selfishness because we are making the branch an isolated centre instead of resting on our union with Christ. Christians who have the life of God in them are not set to attain certain virtues of their own but they are to be the conductors of the virtues of Christ. It is to be Christ’s patience and gentleness and sympathy and courage which are to find an outlet in them. “The Lord direct your hearts,” said St. Paul to the Thessalonians, " into the love of God and into the patience of Christ" ; that is to say: “May God’s love be revealed in you, may Christ’s patience be expressed in you.” “What hast thou that thou didst not receive?” asks St. Paul of the Christian. The truth conveyed in the question is not only that whatever natural and spiritual endowments we have received are not due to any creative efforts of our own, but that the excellences of character, the fruits of the Spirit, are not the excellences of our character nor the fruits of our spirit but the excellences and fruits of the Vine, which is Christ.

[AllanS]

And if cut off from the vine, the branch withers.

I love this Moltmann quote: “The more I love God, the more gladly I exist.”

[amy]

Alex, this analogy, further explained by WGH Holmes, is helpful to me. Ever since it was pointed out to me that God had mercy on Paul because of his unblief I’ve been wrestling with how to understand God’s grace more. I feel, intuitively, like to understand it is everything. The grace in UR is what I believe has had the most impact on me and the grace/love I’m able to show to others. It’s wonderful to be able to attribute all we are and will ever be to God’s efforts. This analogy of the vine and the branches really shows our salvation could never be earned because we cannot exist on our own. Without God there is no life.

[Alex_Smith]

I like the vine analogy too. It’s also helpful in Romans 11 where it shows that even though someone can be cut off, it doesn’t exclude them being grafted back on again

If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.

Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!

I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in,

[amy]

Yes, this question from Paul, "Did they stumble beyond recovery, " follwed by the nice explanation of how it is possible to be cut off and grafted back in is very informative.