WE are still in the first chapter of our study in Foundations For Spiritual Growth, Position Defined and Illustrated. We have observed the definition for Position summed up in the one word source, illustrated in The Grain of Wheat that must die; followed by the Principle of Reproduction and the analogy of the Vine and the Branch, which we looked at last time. From that Vine and Branch metaphor we note some key points:
• Consistent with the principle of position and the principle of reproduction, our risen Lord Jesus is the Vine. As such, He brings forth fruit “after his kind.”
• In the natural realm, the life that is already complete in the vine is increasingly supplied to the growing branches.
• The healthy condition of the branches is contingent upon their abiding in their position in the vine.
• The branch is not only a product and a living part of the vine, but that which is produced in the branch is also the fruit of the vine.
• The branch produces nothing, either for the vine, for others, or for itself.
• The vine, the positional source, has everything to do with the development and fruitfulness of all its branches.
• The chief responsibility of the branch is to rest just where it was born, to abide in its living position in its living source.
• As the believer rests in his position, the life of the Vine (the “fruit of the Spirit”) is manifested in his condition—“love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”
And finally –
• The life of the Vine is the life of the branch.
AS a reminder, when we speak of our Position in Christ it is synonymous with the term Union in or with Christ – “For in him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28)
SO here we have the “what” and now we come the “how;” how do we affect this in our daily walk? That thought brings us the next chapter heading, Taking Our Position.
In the wondrous blessings of Christ,
Joe
Neh. 8:10, Isa. 30:15 & Job 2:10
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Chapter 19—Position Defined and Illustrated Continued….
Taking Our Position
We take our position, not by attempting to get into it, but simply by seeing that we are already positioned in the Lord Jesus. We abide in Him by resting in the fact. We have been in this risen position ever since our new birth. As we come to realize this truth and to “stand in our standing” in Him, we begin to experience the daily benefits of our life that is hid with Christ in God. Our attitude becomes, “I see my position in the Lord Jesus, and I abide there; I rest in Him, not only as my Savior, but as my life.” Faith in our position will bring growth in our condition.
Paul prayed for believers, “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints”(Eph. 1:17, 18). He also said, “Blessed be … God … who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Eph. 1:3, ASV, italics mine).
Our Father intends us to know and understand that He has already provided, in Christ our life, everything required for our Christian life both in time and eternity. He is patiently teaching us to have no faith in the old man (self), and to exercise all of our faith in the new Man (Christ). We are told to do in faith what our Father has already done in fact. …to be continued
