A FRIGHTENING SITUATION.
To have been, but currently not to be joined to the vine and continuing in that flow of life is the very epitome of danger. It is unthinkable that anyone would want to knowingly place themselves in such a precarious position. These dried up branches await the time when they shall be gathered with others of like condition and be cast into the fire where they are consumed. John 15:6 It is perhaps important that it is emphasized here that the ugly, withered branches were at one time a part of the vine and were a part of the beauty and life of the vine. Israel is not the vine, they were branches that were broken off. CHRIST is the vine. All who repent are graffed into the LIVING VINE. Be they Jew or Gentile. There is only one true vine. All lose their identity as to race when they become one with Christ Jesus. The only man that counts with the Lord is the NEW MAN. The man born of and filled with the Spirit of the Almighty.
GOD IS HUSBANDRY.
A message to the New Testament church. A declaration of the workmanship of the Lord. The church working by the Spirit fulfilling the perfect will of the Lord. This is the result of the growth of the True vine, with the culmination being the bride.1 Cor. 3:9 The Lord has planted the true vine, it will grow and continue to prosper. It is an eternal vine. Having its beginnings on earth and continuing in The New heavens and the New Earth.
IN THAT DAY. The day of the destruction of every thing that is vile and wicked. Isa. 27:1 In that day, a second statement, but what a contrast. The climax of unrighteousness and righteousness. v.2 During the coming great tribulation the Lord will keep His vine. He will protect it and nurture it in a place called the wilderness. Rev. 12:6 While it is termed a wilderness the presence of the Lord and His Bride will cause a great transformation and the desert will blossom as a rose. Isa. 35:1-2 The manifestation of the glory of the Lord will create great changes in the area that He will choose. It will not be bleak and barren. The rose of Sharon will be there. Song 2:1Where ever He is, there is life and beauty. He will demonstrate His ability as a husbandman. His promise is that the wilderness will be like the garden of Eden. Isa. 51:3 A true shelter in the time of the greatest demonstration against God or anything that is called God.
A VINEYARD OF RED WINE. Isa. 27:2b Red is the color of blood. The blood of the vine or the juice of the grapes portrays the blood of the atonement. Eternal life was purchase for us by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Acts 20:28 The grand and glorious purchase is the church that has become the branches on His vine. We live by and through Him. His life flows through us. Unless we eat His flesh and drink His blood we do not possess His life. John 6:53 This is an absolute. It is a strong statement of fact. This is the way it is, there is no other way. Transubstantiation does not work, the blood and the bread are not miraculously changed. Symbolism, does not work, for the bread and the juice are not mere symbols. The alternative is to partake by faith, of the body and the blood of the Lord Jesus. Paul, likewise, spoke very plainly that partaking of the cup and the bread is COMMUNION. 1 Cor. 10:16 Literally, a partnership with or a participation of the body and blood of our Lord Jesus. All the wonders, the virtues, the powers of His life are communicated to His church through her recognition of His eternal body and blood. We are not foolish, we know that in the bread and wine of which we are partaking is natural. But, through faith we look beyond the natural and realize that we are becoming one with Him. We are in unity with that glorious body and royal blood of the Lord Jesus. What a privilege is ours