The Pulpit Commentary — John — Volume 2 — Section 261

Lord's. As he enicl (eh. xiv, 19), "Boonuse hume.n will nfter rightoousnoss, nor pro- I Ii ve, nncl yo shnll Ii vo ; " so now, As the no11noe a judgment on the grent controversy branoh oannot bear fruit from itaelf-from its between Augustinians e.nd Pelngi11ns. These own inherent vitallty-exoept it abide in the word~ e.re not e.<ldressed to unconverted men, vine-except this connootion is mainte.ined- but to disciples, who h!lve to learn their ln like manner no more (or, so neither) oan ye, constant need of spiritual conte.ct with their noept ye abide in me. The affirmation does invisible Lord. Let o. believer, let an not cover, as Augustine implies (although it apostle, sever himself from Christ, and live may suggest), the impotence of tho nature.I on his own past reputation or his supposed me.n, but it o.sserts tho unfruitfulness of the strength, on the clee.rnese of hia intellect, diBciple in his own strength. Suma he.ve the vigour of his body, the eminence of his found here rovinclico.Uon of the pie.ea of the position, he can and will do nothin'J. humnu will in the work of grace. Let it be Ver. 6.-U any one abide not iil me, he is seen, however, the.t it ie the" good will," the oe.at forth as the branch-perhaps away from new no.ture, whioh he.a been wakened into the vineye.rd, e.a well as from proximity to normal activity, and which wills the thing the vine-and is withered. The two aorista, most pleosing to the Di vine Source of the lfJl,.fi871 and J(71pdve-r,, are simply cases of a lifo. common daily experience. These are the Ver. 5.-Christ returns to the main theme inevitable consequences of not abiding in of the previous verse, but here discriminates the Vine. We may imagine two ways in more forcibly the vine from the bro.nches, which this non-e.biding in Christ, this sever- and yet holds e.nd binds them into a unity. ance from him, may be effected: (1) the I am the vine, ye are the branches; which pruning-knife may have lopped them off shows that he treated the disciples them- because of their lack of fruitfulness; or, selves as tbe organs of his ee.rthly fruit- (2) they me.y he.ve withered on the stem, bee.ring; and then draws o. lo.rger circle and and, by their deficiency of strength and life, makes 11 complete and comprehensive state- have suffered from some external e.ssault ment on which the very existence of the which they have not had energy to resist. "true vine," the "body of Obrist, including Liicke, Winer, Tholnck, and Hengstenberg the Head," depends, viz. Re that abideth in regard the aorists as indicative of what will me, and I in him-i.e. whenever the conditions happen should branches in Christ cease to of which I 1,ave spoken to you are fulfilled: derive life from him. Calvin is satisfied wherever there a.re human souls deriving that the expression cannot refer to the elect, from their connection with me the full but to the hypocrite, while Alford is as advantage of. the life ever streaming forth confident of its repudiation of unconditional from me-the same beareth muoh fruit ; the election. In my opinion it keeps clear of entire end_ ef their new life is secured. both suggestions. And they gather them, and He bearoth " muoh fruit."' In other words, oast them into the fire, and they are burned. many of those blessed fruits of the super- 'fhe vine is one of the noblest of all trees, ne.tural life appear, which the great Hus- and produces the most abun<.lant fruit; but band.man desires to receive. And this it is one of its peculiarities that all its strengthens the position of the previous strength is spent on the fruit, and that its verse, which threatened excision from the branches are utterly valueless for all other vine to such as bear no fruit. Such, though purposes. Heaps of burning vine-prunings in one sense " in the Vine," do not abide may have suggested the awful image which fo him. Beoauee apart from 1 - severed the embodied Love of God here adopts. from-me ye oan do nothing. The ilT1 sug- Some have supposed (Meyer and Alford) that gests the question-Can the negative result the fire is here the last judgment, which our justify tho positive assertion? It does in Lord looks upon as come. But the present this we.y. There are two premi,sses: the first tense, following the two aorists, suggests the is, " I am the Vine, e.nd ye are the branches," immediate collileq uence of such severance and the second is, " Severed frou1 me 11, from Christ-the fiery triah, the fierce temp- branch can effeot nothing," having no inde- tations, the terrible j udgments, al ways over- pendent fruitfulness or stability. All its taking the unfruitful and unfaithful servants, powers are derived from this supernatural e.nd preluding the awful consummation of source, and depend on Christ's faithfulness Divine judgment, of whioh our Lord had to his own nature and functions: therefore, often spoken (Matt. xiii. 42, 50; :uv. 41 ; "He, that abideth in me, and I in him, Luke xvi. 24), and which the apostle of love bri11geth forth much frui.t.'' The language deso1·ibed in Rev. :u. 15: xxi. 8. here dpes not repres8 the endeavour of the Ver. 7.-In this verse he returns once more on the principle of union with himself, 1 xC:.pls, equivalent to X"'P•l1'9EJITES. It has aud of what will come out of it. The dis- this force in oh. i. 3 : xx. 7; Heh. vii. 20; oiples me.y be sorely distressed e.t this pos- ix. 7; Eph. ii. 12. sible doom, for whatever mo.y be the lot of 2i0 THE GOSPEL ACJCORDING 'l'O ST. JOHN. [on. xv. 1-27,