Friday, April 18, 2008

More on Pruning

In pruning a vine, two principles are usually observed.

1. All dead wood must be ruthlessly removed. Dead wood is a container of insects and disease. These can cause the vine to rot, to decay and to be more unproductive.

2. the live wood must be cut back drastically. Live wood has to be trimmed back in order to prevent such heavy growth that the life of the vine goes into the wood rather than into bearing fruit.

In the springtime the vineyard is comprised of barren and bleeding stumps, but in the fall they are filled with luscious purple grapes.

In a believers life the cutting back of live wood can seem almost cruel, yet those who have been willing to suffer most often are the ones who bear much fruit.

John the Gospel of Belief, Merrill C. Tenney pp 227,228

The Right Stuff

Five points of resemblance between the vine and believers.

1. The Right Stock - Jesus said I am the true vine - The first essential in planting a vineyard is having the right stock. A nurseryman who sells stock guarantees the plant he sells is true to type. Jesus is the true stock, the one true vine, He is the one and only original from which all others must come from.

2. The Right Expert - My father is the husbandman - Great vineyards are taken care of by experts. An expert who knows when to prune as well as how much to prune and when to fertilize as well as how much to fertilize. He knows how to produce a maximum crop. This spiritual vineyard is taken care of by God himself the foremost expert on training and developing the maturity of man.

3. The Right Culture - Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh it away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he cleanseth it, that it may bear more fruit - to keep the culture pure pruning must take place.

4. The Right Contact - Abide in me, and I in you -

5. The Right Fruitage - the same beareth much fruit - the expert keeps the right stock with the right culture connected to the right contact bearing the right fruit.

The Gospel of Belief, Merrill C. Tenney p 227

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Gods Names and Attributes in John

My (Jesus) Father - used by Jesus in 15:1
the vinedresser - 15:1
the one who sent Jesus - 7:33, 8:18, 8:29, 8:42
the Father bears witness of Jesus - 8:18
the Father taught Jesus - 8:28
The Father is with Jesus - 8:29
The Father honors Jesus - 8:54
The Father knows Jesus - 10:16

Aseity of God in John

I am reading through the Gospel of John and Christian Theology edited by Richard Bauckham and Carl Mosser. This week I am reading the article by D. Jeffrey Bingham called Christianizing Divine Aseity: Irenaus Reads John.

The article points to Irenaus conviction of the Aseity of God and the reason for his focus was to combat Gnostic teachings of the time. Aseity or adversus haereses reveals Irenaeus's deep conviction of God's self-sufficiency.

"The Creator, he believes, stands in need of nothing and no one. The Father, with his Son (Word) and Spirit, needs no instruments to create. Through the agency and means of his Son and Spirit, the Father willingly and intentionally creates, governs and provides; creation and providence are mediated neither by angles nor any other creatures. As the Origionator of life, God does not need what he originates, for he is uncreated, without beginning or end, and separate from the creature. He does not need our possessions, our communion, our fruits, our offerings, our gifts, our oblations, our allengiance, our love, our obedience, our sacrifices, our service, our good works. Even the incarnation satiffies no need in God; God has no need.

The creature, however, stands in great need. Humans, for example, need many instruments to produce their intentions. But far more fundamentally, they need the Creator and to be related properly to him. They need revelation from the Father's Word and Spirit. They need for their own glorification, to be in communion with God, to be befriended by him, in fellowship with him. They need to offer something to God, to give gifts, to serve for their own benefit, fruitfulness, and glory, to provide oblations from the creations for their own education in gratitude and holy service which brings forth God's blessing. They need to obey for their own profit, to do good works so that God might recompense them with good things; to embrace righteousness and contrition that they might be justified, to bathe in the laver of regeneration that they might be cleansed."1

Irenaeus see this principle in John 1:3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. Or in John 15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you.. . Or 19:11 Jesus answered. "You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin."

One of the Gnostic myths of the times was that their were angelic creators.

I see why Irenaeus would establish this principle especially in light of the common teachings of the time and the popularity of some Gnostic teachings. It brings up some questions for me. How can a relationship work with one person having no need ? Can God want our love yet not need our love ? Why would that be true ? Does God just want our worship or is their any need in Him for his creation to worship the Creator. Is there any need in God for His created to become whole and fulfill what He created them to be ? These are some questions for me to chew on.


1 the Gospel of John and Christian Theology edited by Richard Bauckham and Carl Mosser p.55

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

15:16

You did not choose me, but I chose you and set you aside that you should go forth and yield fruit and that your fruit should remain, so that the Father should give you whatever you ask in my name.

God understood what He was working with when He chose you and me.

God has a proven track record of using ordinary people to do extraordinary exploits.

He used a man who had committed murder to later lead his people into the promised land (Moses).
He used a convict who later became the 2nd most powerful man in a nation to bless others (Joseph)

He uses people who had made grave errors. He uses people who have human weakness.

God is not looking for perfect people. He is looking for people who will admit their need and turn their heart toward Him and follow Him.

Many times human talent can be a hindrance to God using us. We rely on it instead of relying on God.

God desires to use all of us.