4. The vine and the branches, the war and the crown

So we are the new trees, planted by the spring of living water, feeding on the bread of life, from Christ, from His Word, the Bible. Without Him, we cannot exist in the Kingdom of God. Christ says, “I am the vine. You are the branches” (John 15:5), and this is echoed by Paul in Romans 11:17: “You, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them, and became partaker with them of the root and of the richness of the olive tree”. Here we find again this concept of our total dependence on the vine, on the root, on Christ, the Tree of Life.

But now Christ comes and emphasizes one idea repeatedly: “Remain in me, and I in you […] If a man doesn’t remain in me, he is thrown out as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned […] Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and remain in his love […] I have spoken these things to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be made full.” (John 15:1–11). The Son of God speaks to us about remaining in Him, in His love, as if there is the possibility of not remaining in Him. It seems that there is the option of being cast out, of being burned. In the same way, He tells us in Matthew 5:13–16: “You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its flavor, with what will it be salted? It is then good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under the feet of men” (Matthew 5:13–16). If we do not remain in Christ, in keeping His commandments, in knowing His Word, in living it out, in relationship with the Lord, if we lose our power to be witnesses, to salt this world, we become worthy to be cast out, rejected.

In the same line of thought, we find Paul speaking about the Jews (the natural branches) and the Gentiles (the grafted branches): “Don’t boast over the branches. But if you boast, it is not you who support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, ‘Branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in.’ True; by their unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by your faith. Don’t be conceited, but fear; for if God didn’t spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. See then the goodness and severity of God. Toward those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in his goodness; otherwise you also will be cut off.” (Romans 11:18–22). Paul tells us not to become proud of the salvation we have received, because it was received, not earned, it was grace, undeserved. Otherwise, if we come to believe that it is our merit and boast in it, abandoning the fear of the Lord, we may not be spared by God, but cut off. We must “remain” in His goodness.

It seems that someone is fighting so that we, the branches, the grafted ones, would not remain in the vine, in the goodness of God, in His love, in keeping His commandments. It seems that we are part of a real war. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. To him who overcomes I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of my God” (Revelation 2:7). John tells us that we have to fight, and in a battle, one conquers and the other is conquered. And only the one who conquers will partake of Christ in the paradise of God, of the tree of life in the new garden, Eden. Peter reminds us: “Be sober and self-controlled. Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour […] Therefore prepare your minds for action. Be sober, and set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 5:8; 1:13).

Satan will deliberately, intentionally, and very strategically seek to overcome us. Paul tells the Corinthians that no advantage may be gained over us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes (2 Corinthians 2:11). This is our enemy, the accuser, the father of lies, the deceiver, the slanderer. He makes plans and strategies, and we must understand how he works. We are not to fear him, but to know his schemes. In Ephesians 6:10–18, Paul speaks at length about the enemies we face and about our armor as soldiers: “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world’s rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places […] Therefore put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand […] Stand therefore, having the utility belt of truth buckled around your waist, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having fitted your feet with the preparation of the Good News of peace; above all, taking up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; with all prayer and requests, praying at all times in the Spirit, and being watchful to this end in all perseverance and requests for all the saints.” (Ephesians 6:10–18).

Earlier, we quoted Peter, who warns us twice to be sober and watchful. This means that we can fall asleep. The Lord Jesus Himself connects watchfulness with prayer: “He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, ‘What, couldn’t you watch with me for one hour? Watch and pray, that you don’t enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak’” (Matthew 26:40–41). Peter, surely remembering that moment in the Garden of Gethsemane, repeats the same idea in his epistle: “But the end of all things is near. Therefore be of sound mind, self-controlled, and sober in prayer” (1 Peter 4:7). Likewise, the Lord Jesus in the parable of the ten virgins reinforces this truth: “Watch therefore, for you don’t know the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming” (Matthew 25:13).

The Lord Jesus told us that the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. There is a battle within us between the flesh and our born-again spirit, which Paul also describes in Romans 7:22–25: “For I delight in God’s law after the inward person, but I see a different law in my members, warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity under the law of sin which is in my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will deliver me out of the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! […] So then with the mind, I myself serve God’s law, but with the flesh, the sin’s law.”

So this battle takes place on three fronts, as we have seen: the battle with the devil, who tempts us; the battle with the flesh, which wars within us; and, not least, the battle with the world, with its desires, with the things that come toward us to attract us, to lure us, to make us fall (“instructing us to the intent that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we would live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age” (Titus 2:12)). This threefold battle will not cease until the end of life. Our task is to fight until the finish line: “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling […] for it is God who works in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12–13). Paul fought to the end: “I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith. From now on, there is stored up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day; and not to me only, but also to all those who have loved his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7–8). The Lord Jesus also completed the mission for which He came: “I glorified you on the earth. I have accomplished the work which you have given me to do” (John 17:4).

Christ warns us that the battle is real and that we must fight. But if we do not watch, if we do not drink the water and eat the bread of life each day, if we do not remain in Christ, in the vine, in the tree of life, there is a real danger that we may fall into temptation, that the devil may devour us, that the world with its desires may steal us away, that the flesh may overcome us, that we may break the covenant with our Bridegroom, just as the Israelites did repeatedly, and God rebuked and disciplined them. There is the danger that our tree may dry up, that our branches may be cut off, that we may be cast out and burned: “If a man doesn’t remain in me, he is thrown out as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned […] if you continue [...] otherwise you also will be cut off” (John 15:6; Romans 11:22). Saul broke the covenant, and “Yahweh’s Spirit departed from Saul” (1 Samuel 16:14). Samson broke the covenant many times, until the Lord departed from him: “He didn’t know that Yahweh had departed from him” (Judges 16:20). Some willingly choose to abandon the covenant, to turn away from the faith: “for some have already turned aside after Satan” (1 Timothy 5:15). To the Ephesians Christ says: “Remember therefore from where you have fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I am coming to you quickly and will remove your lampstand out of its place, unless you repent” (Revelation 2:5). And to the Laodiceans: “So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:16). How painful it is, rather than being a friend of God, known by God, for God to become disgusted with you… to remove the lampstand of a church… how painful it is for the Spirit of God to depart from you, to have no oil in your lamp, and in the end for Christ to say to you: “Most certainly I tell you, I don’t know you” (Matthew 25:12).