Grace Bible Church
Pastor-Teacher
Robert R. McLaughlin
Sunday,
April 7, 2019
There are Three Persons involved in John 15.
a. Vinedresser = God the Father
b. Vine = our Lord Jesus Christ
Branches = believers of the Church-age.
PSA 51:5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.
This refers to the fact that we were all conceived “in sin” and then we were all brought forth “in sin.
PSA 58:3 The wicked are estranged from the womb; These who speak lies go astray from birth.
All of us were conceived “in sin” and “brought forth” from the womb.
Conceived “in sin”
Born “in sin.”
Brought forth “in sin” or “in the sin nature.”
We use to walk according to the course of this cosmic system.
We also lived according to the “demonic viewpoint” that is now controlling the sons and daughters of disobedience.
- Our first problem is the fact that we were all born physically alive but spiritually dead and we need to be saved from eternal damnation, and therefore the Lord provided salvation for all; Eph 2:8-9.
These gifts are mentioned in Eph 2:8, the three spiritual gifts are grace, salvation, and faith.
- Our second problem is the fact that we all need to metabolize the “Word of God” so that after salvation, we are given a plan to walk in as we fulfill the PPOG; Eph 2:10.
Problem #1 is solved because the need that we have for salvation is solved by three unique spiritual actions by God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
Problem #2 is solved by our intake of doctrine as we grow in God’s grace and knowledge live “in the world” though we are not “of the world.” 2Pe 3:18; Joh 15:19.
Joh 15:19 "If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
“Theantric Action” is accomplished by means of the work of God the Holy Spirit which leads us to “Theandric Action.”
Theandric action refers to the Divine union of God or Deity dwelling inside of humanity, with emphasis upon the divine nature.
We are told that the divine nature and the human nature can co-exist between deity and humanity; ROM 1:20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes,
His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
Both deity and humanity can be intimate with each other if a believer desires so; 2PE 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord;
That describes Theantric Action with emphasis on the deity of our Lord working both the divine and the human natures actions by one Theandric (Godly) operation—that is God, in man.
On the hand, there is Theandric Action which emphasizes our humanity at work with the Trinity inside of the believer manifesting all Three Members of the Trinity work together to conform believers into the image of God’s uniquely born Son; Rom 8:29.
One way or another there is an action that must take place between God and man or between true humanity and deity.
- Theantric Action = Action from God with emphasis on the deity of our Lord.
2. Theandric Action = Action from man with emphasis on the humanity of our Lord working together with man.
PHI 1:6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He [God the Father] who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
In PHI 2:13, concerning the work of God the Holy Spirit with Theantric Action as a motivator; Paul says in PHI 2:13 for it is God [Holy Spirit] who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
In PHI 4:13, God the Son, our Lord Jesus Christ also taught this principle in PHI 4:13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
Theantric action is one of the ultimate manifestations of the glory of God revealed in the souls of man.
Our Main Goal once again = the challenge to produce divine good and not human good or “legitimate Christian service” which is acceptable to God as it is found in the vine and the branch metaphor of Joh 15:1-8.
One of the main principles that our Lord is emphasizing is the importance of relationships and intimacy.
MAT 25:40 "And the King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'
COL 1:27 to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
A metaphor is a figure of speech in which one thing is likened to another for the sake of understanding what is said in a simplistic way.
Here we have the vine and the branches used as a metaphor to represent the unity between the Lord Jesus Christ and the Church-age believer.
The vinedresser metaphor refers to God the Father as the author of the Predesigned Plan of God = emphasis on the PPOG.
The vine metaphor refers to the humanity of Jesus during the dispensation of the Hypostatic Union. This metaphor will focus in on the servant-hood of our Lord.
As a branch, the branch metaphor is the basis for the production of divine good or fruit-bearing.
The vine metaphor also emphasizes the fact that all precedence and all production of divine good in the Church-age comes from the vine - our Lord Jesus.
"in me" is a reference to the believer in Union with the Lord Jesus Christ; Col 1:24-30.
There are two categories of branches found in this passage --
"dead branches" representing dead works on the part of the believer or the production skills minus Spiritual skills.
Production skills minus spiritual skills = we know what we should be doing as far as our production skills are concerned, but the average believer lacks the spiritual skills needed to fulfill the production skills.
There are three principles of doctrine that I need to make sure that all of us understand as the basic principles of doctrine that we need to learn, to metabolize, or to apply.
- Two Power Options.
2. Three Spiritual Skills.
3. Four Spiritual Mechanics.
The “Two Power Options” are being filled with the Spirit and the power of the word of God; Eph 5:18; Heb 4:12.
The filling of the Holy Spirit is the first power option and the first spiritual skill in the spiritual life.
The filling of the Spirit converts human I.Q. into spiritual I.Q., so that we have equality to learn spiritual phenomena.
The third spiritual skill is the problem-solving devices deployed on the FLOT line of the soul also known as the Forward line of troops which is a military acronym.
Four Spiritual Mechanics = the filling of the Holy Spirit (PSD#1 & 2), metabolized Bible doctrine (MD) circulating in the soul (10 PSD), the execution of the PPOG.
The "dead branches" represent dead works on the part of the believer or the production skills minus spiritual skills which means that we produce human good with human power.
"live branches" = the ability of the believer who knows that divine good only results from living by using the spiritual skills.
Question: What are the spiritual skills?
The spiritual skills refer to what the branch "in me" that does not bear fruit refers to the believer who does not produce divine good.
(a) Drifting off course from grace, GAL 5:4.
(b) Coming short of the grace of God, HEB 12:15.
(c) Lukewarm, REV 3:15-16.
(d) Shipwrecked, 1TI 1:19.
(e) Psycho or double-minded, JAM 1:8.
Fear is a road block preventing metabolization of doctrine from circulating in the soul and eventually choking it out through scar tissue of the soul.
2TI 1:7 “God has not given to us a lifestyle of fear, but of power and of virtue-love and of sound mind.”
Dead works is not fruit-bearing and is punishable or subject to divine discipline.
In verse 2, God the Father removes and takes away all dead wood, dead branches, branches which produce dead works.
God the Father takes away or removes the dead works through disciplinary suffering in two categories:
- The law of volitional responsibility which produces a tremendous amount of self-induced misery;
2. Divine Discipline. - The law of volitional responsibility which produces a tremendous amount of self-induced misery and divine discipline.
- Secondly, we also have the principle of pruning which is necessary to redistribute where the energy for divine production should go.
The branch that does bear fruit has to be pruned occasionally so that the spiritual skills will increase and maximize.
However, this is suffering for blessing.
Prin: Just as God provides divine discipline and punitive action for the non-fruit bearer, so God provides suffering for blessing for the fruit-bearer.
In verses 3-4 of Joh 15, we are the cleansing of the branches for production.
Verse three is salvation cleansing of the branches.
This means that nothing in your life, including what you thought, what you said and what you do, can ever hinder your spiritual life = including your past.
ISA 43:25 "I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins.
ISA 44:22 "I have wiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud, And your sins like a heavy mist. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you."
Nothing that ever happened to you before salvation should be a hindrance to your worship of the Lord and the production of divine good.
Post-salvation refers to the cleansing of the branches from personal sins which took place after your salvation and that is which is found in 1Jo 1:9 for us as it was found in Psa 32 for the Old Testament believers