Paste Content Below15:4 Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. 15:5 I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing. An all-inclusive picture of the Gospel of John This Gospel begins with the words, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” One day, the Word became flesh (1:14), and this flesh was the Lamb of God (1:29). When the Lord was crucified, He was not only the Lamb to accomplish redemption; He was also in the form of the serpent (3:14). He was lifted up on the cross that He might deal with Satan, the old serpent. In His death He was not only in the form of the Lamb and the serpent, but also in the form of a grain of wheat (12:24). As a grain of wheat, He died to produce the many grains, which include all of us. John 1:4 says, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” This life was the light of life (8:12). When the Word became flesh, He was full of grace and reality, truth. Thus far, we have ten significant words: the Word, God, flesh, Lamb, serpent, grain, life, light, grace, and truth. Christ was the Word, who was God and who became flesh. This flesh was the Lamb who was crucified for our redemption. In His crucifixion Christ was in the form of the serpent to destroy the devil, and in His death He fell into the ground as a grain of wheat to produce many grains. These many grains now have His life. This life has become their light. To them, this life is grace, and this light brings them reality. The overflow If we truly contact the Lord and eat and drink of Him, we shall have the overflow spoken of in 7:37 and 38. On the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirst, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.” What an overflow! Whoever believes in Him will have an overflow of rivers of living water. The water the believers take in of Christ will become overflowing rivers. This is the overflow we are talking about in this message. The overflow of life being our fruit-bearing Now we can understand what it means to bear fruit by the overflow of life. We need to see this vision. If we do, we shall say, “I am part of the organism of the Triune God. Daily I contact my God, drink of Him, eat of Him, and live by Him. Now, spontaneously, this very God is flowing out of me.” This overflow of life is our fruit-bearing. Our fruit-bearing is God being lived out of us. As we are with our relatives, neighbors, colleagues, and friends, we must have this kind of living and be this kind of person. Recently a sister shared about meeting a woman in an airport and spontaneously testifying to her of her rich supply in Christ. That woman surely must have been impressed by our sister’s testimony. Coming out of the mouth of our sister was not simply preaching; it was the Triune God being lived out of her. If we have such a testimony with our relatives and friends, they will be impressed with the overflow of life, and this flow will certainly get into some of them. They will be infused with the flow and become a fruit born by this organism. This is fruit-bearing by the overflow of the inner life. If you have such an overflow, could you help but love the Lord? Could you still live in sin and continue to love the world? This would be impossible. There is no need to strive to overcome sin and the world. There is not even any need to try to love the Lord. In fact, there is no need for us to do anything. Because we realize that we are part of this organism, that the Triune God has been wrought into our being, and that we have been constituted with His riches and have become parts of Him, something naturally and spontaneously will flow out of us. We are the branches of the divine vine; we are part of the organism of the Triune God. In life, in nature, and in position we are the same as He. Hallelujah! Daily we are contacting our God. He is not simply the object of our worship but the Spirit within us as the living water. As we drink of Him and eat of Him, we have the overflow of life. This overflow is our fruit-bearing in our daily living. Whether or not the ones we contact will receive this flow is a matter of God’s choice. But we can be assured that the chosen ones will receive it and become fruit born by the divine organism. This is the way to increase the organism and to spread the kingdom of God. This is what it means to bear fruit by the overflow of the inner life.

Clear

SHARE