The Pulpit Commentary — John — Volume 2 — Section 281

and ye shRll m:~ci,e." (3) Complete and perma'lleTlt disci'pleship, ".And eo shall ye be m~· rlisciple1<." Union with Chtist N!llults in fmit-bearing, and fruit-bearing results in permanent discipleship. "So aball ye be," ero. Not probationers, but full disolplea • not only in name, but in reality; not for a time, but for ever, This is a. high honou; and an inestimable privilege, to be under the direct and constant tuition of the Master, and wit.bin the circle of his guidance, light, and love, now and for ever. 2, In relaeion to tM Father. " H<'rein is my Father glorified, that ye," eto. The Vinedresser is glori- fied, honoured, and satisfied by the fruitfulness of the vine; hie heart is bladdened at the time of vint.age. The Father, as the Husbaudman of tho "true Vine," is specially glorified when the branches bear fruit. and much fruit. The greater the fruit, the greater is his glory and joy ; he is infinitely happy to see his labour not in vnin, his fatherly love, we.tchfulness, and expense a.re not for nought, but return with interest in fruitful branches. He rejoiooth over one sinner the.t repenteth, over one branch bear- ing a sin,zle fruit; whe.t must be his over the "much fruit"? Our greatest good ie inseparably connected with his greatest glory. 3. In relation to Ohrist. "So shall ye be my disciples." Complete discipleship is a great honour and blessing to the believer; fruitful discipleship is e. great satisfaction and joy to Jesus. The branches bear fruit through the vine, and the vine through the branches. The disciples bear fruit through Christ, and Christ bears fruit through them; their fruit is really his. It is through them chiefly he blesses and saves the world ; they are the mediums of his love and life, and in them he sees the travail of his soul, and is satisfied. They are proud of him, and he is proud of them, and refers to them with delight as his disciples; so that the Husbandm8.ll, the true Vino, a.nd the branches together reap the benefit of, and are highly satisfied with, the happy resnlts of the happy union. LEssoNs. 1. Thi. union cm the pa.rt of 01,,rist i.s perfect. Its bases are perfect, and its conditions are perfectly fulfilled. Its discontinuance will never happen on account of a.ny lack in him as the trne Vine, or in his Father as the Husbandman. 2. On our part it i.ti as yet imperfect. It is at best 8.lld of necessity so. We are imperfect beings, and perfection under the best conditions and advantages is not attainable at once. 8. To make thiJ; union perfect i.s our most solemn duty, and demands our best effort. For it is all-important, involves our highest interest, and by neglect is in danger of being destroyed. In vain we attempt to realize the end of our existence-fruit-bearing-a.part from him. Our solemn duty is, by diligent faith, watchfulness, and prayer, to abide in him, a.nd all besides will follow.-B. T. Ver. 11.-T/ujoy of the .Ma.ster and the joy of the di.sciplea. Notice- L TBEm DIFFERENCE. 1. One i.s thef()tl,ntain; the other is the stream. All the joy of the disciples sprang from his. Apart from his joy there would be none for them. Although there is an inseparable connection between the fountain and the stream, between the cause and effect, between the sun and its light and heat, between the joy of Jesus and tha.t of his disciples, yet there is a distinction, and such a one that the fountain will ever be a founte.in, and the stream will ever be a stream. The joy of Jesus will ever be his own, and that of the disciples will ever be theirs as the stream from the fountain of joy. 2. One is independent; the other is not. The joy of Jesus, which was specially his own, was independent of that of his disciples; but theirs was depen- dent on his, as the stream is dependent on the fountain, and the branches on the vine. The sun would be a BUn if all the planets were blotted out and all the stare fell. So much cannot be ea.id of the planets and stars if the sun were extinguished. Jesus had a joy which was abeolutely his own. As he had a glory with the Father before the world beuan, so he had joy which he could not but experience apart from human con- sequence: and r~lationships.. But the di~iples ~ad no sue~ joy; theirs w~s depende~t on, BB it was denved from, his. 8. One"' mfonitely capacwus; the other is not. It 1e finite. Jesw,' joy, like himself, was infinite. No vessel can hold more than its fill Thus the joys of men differ in degree according to their different capacities. The Divinity of Christ, the greatness and vastness of his work, the glo1y and dignity of his Penon, and the perfection of his character, ma.de him capable of infinite and bounrlleBB joy, compared with which the greatest joy of the moat perfect disciple would be but a drop to the ocean, a ray to the sun, and an atom to the uni verse. 4. One is ever full ; the other i8 not, The joy of J eeDB was abllolntely full a.nd complete-& continual flow with• ou. xv. 1-27.) THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO S'l'. JOHN. 29l