Partnership Theology in Creative Access Regions by Shreve Kenneth

Partnership Theology in Creative Access Regions by Shreve Kenneth

Author:Shreve, Kenneth
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Langham Global Library


Branches

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). The metaphor here pictures a garden. God the Father is the gardener, and the one true vine is God the Son (John 15:1). A main focus of this picture is the concept of bearing fruit. The word “fruit” (καρπός) is used eight times in John 5:1–16. The emphasis is not the interconnectedness of the parts of the building, although this concept is present, but on the direct connection to the life source, which is the Lord Jesus Christ. Every branch must have a vital and living connection to the source; only then will there be the fruit that the branches were designed to produce. The desired fruit is described later on in John 15:16 as eternal fruit, fruit that will last. “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.” The fruit itself is completely interconnected to the purpose of God. God “chose” (ἐξελεξάμην – aorist middle indicative) his people, and he appointed them for fruit. This appointment is intertwined with the purpose and task of the Lord Jesus Christ. “The verb rendered ‘appointed’ is ἔθηκα which is the verb used also of Christ’s laying down of his life for his people (10:11, 15, 17f.; 15:13).”[5] The metaphor of the branches emphasizes the connection to the source and that each branch has been designed to bear abundant fruit according to God’s eternal purpose.



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