THE GOSPEL IN GRAFTING by William Warren Prescott

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · May 5, 1898

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 24, No. 18.

THE GOSPEL IN GRAFTING.

By William Warren Prescott

IN the book of nature, as well as in the printed Word, God has revealed Himself to us. Everything, animate and inanimate, speaks of the power and wisdom of Him who “commanded and they were created.” “But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee; or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee; and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this?” Job 12:7–9.

The Subject Outlined.

God’s plan for the salvation of lost man is also clearly set forth in “the visible Gospel,” His working in “the things that are made.” One phase of this teaching will be the subject of our study in this article. The facts concerning the creation of man, his fall, God’s purpose to restore him, and the result of this work, are briefly stated in the following scriptures: “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. . . . So God created man in His own image.” Gen. 1:26, 27. “All have sinned, and come short of the glory [character, or image] of God.” Rom. 3:23. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son.” Rom. 8:28, 29. This is accomplished by “the light of the glorious Gospel [the Gospel of the glory] of Christ, who is the image of God.” 2 Cor. 4:4. “And as we have borne the image of the earthly, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.” 1 Cor. 15:49. “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him.” 1 John 3:2.

We may summarize these facts in this way: Man at the first was made perfect, but lost that perfection through sin. The Gospel is God’s plan and power for restoring man to his original perfection through the gift of Jesus Christ and the acceptance of His righteousness. The result

will be that man will be once more like Him.

The Same Thing Revealed in Nature.

Now these same facts are brought to our attention in “the visible Gospel” of nature, and in His Word the Lord has made this instruction clear to us. That the original perfection of man and his subsequent fall are taught in nature, is pointed out in this scripture: “Yet I had planted thee [Israel, verse 14] a noble vine, wholly a right seed; how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto Me?” Jer. 2:21. The general method of restoration, as taught by the Saviour, is to “make the tree good, and his fruit good.” The details of the method will be considered later. And the result is “that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified.” Isa. 61:3. This shows that the degeneracy of all plants and trees, and their tendency to degenerate, is the visible teaching of the fall of man. And the fact that degenerate plants and trees can be made to yield good fruit, teaches the Gospel of restoration for man. And the method by which a degenerate plant or tree can be made to yield good fruit, when studied in the light of the Scripture, reveals the method by which sinful man can be “filled with the fruits of righteousness.” Let us therefore consider it carefully.

The Fruit of the Nature of the Tree.

The nature of the fruit depends upon and reveals the nature of the tree. “Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree can not bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. . . . Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” Matt. 7:17–20. This is the teaching of nature, and the experience of every man has made him familiar with these facts. But since a corrupt tree can not bring forth good fruit, it is evident that, if good fruit is to be obtained from a tree which has become corrupt, the nature, or character, of the tree must be changed. And every gardener knows that this can be done, and that it is done, by the process of grafting. One method of grafting is to saw off the end of a limb of the tree to be grafted, and then insert in the end one or more grafts or scions from a tree bearing a superior variety of fruit; and the nature of the graft or scion determines the nature of the fruit borne on the new branch. It is a well-known fact that our best varieties of fruits have all been obtained in this way.

The Engrafted Word.

But how are these facts interpreted by the Scripture so that we may see in them what they are designed to teach, viz., the method by which man may be restored to the image of God? Let us read and see: “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted Word, which is able to save your souls.” James 1:21. How is the degenerate human tree to be restored so that it may bear good fruit?—Just as is the tree in your garden,—it must be grafted. And what is the graft or scion to be used?—It is the Word, “which is able to save your souls.”

But what or who is the Word?—“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1. “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He doth judge and make war. . . . And His name is called The Word of God.” Rev. 19:11–13.

It is thus evident that the “engrafted Word” which we are to receive, and “which is able to save your souls,” is Christ, the living Word. “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” John 1:11, 12. “Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:12.

Tree and Graft Must Be of the Same Kind.

But it is now necessary to call attention to another fact which is well known to every one who has had any experience in grafting trees. Any gardener will tell you that in order for the process of grafting to be successful, the graft, or scion, must be nearly related botanically to the tree which is to be grafted. “Thus roses will bud on briers, but not on myrtles. Apricots will on plums; pears will on quinces; because all these are closely related. But apples will not graft on plums, being not of the same order.” This is the chapter in the gospel of nature in which we read of the necessity for, and the fact of, the incarnation of the Son of God.

Here we see the following scriptures: “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For verily He taketh not hold of angels, but of the seed of Abraham He taketh hold [margin]. Wherefore in all things it behooved Him [or He was obliged] to be made like unto His brethren.” Heb. 2:13–17. “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh; that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Rom. 8:3, 4. “Wherefore when He cometh into the world, He saith, Sacrifice and offering Thou wouldest not, but a body hast Thou prepared Me.” Heb. 10:5.

God’s plan for man contemplated, not the overlooking of sin in man but the removal of sin from man, and his complete restoration to the image of God, a change of character or nature, that we might “be partakers of the divine nature.” But since man, who was at the first and by creation “a noble vine, wholly a right seed” (or seed of truth), had through sin “turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine,” and had lost the divine nature, so that “there is none righteous, no, not one,” it was necessary, in order to make it possible for him to receive “the engrafted Word,” for his restoration, that the Word should be made flesh, and not merely that it should be made flesh, but that it bear the same kind of flesh. And so God sent His own Son “in the likeness of sinful flesh,” that thus the scion or graft might be prepared so nearly related to us that it might be possible for us to receive the “engrafted Word,” and bring forth fruit after the divine nature.

Since it was man who was to be saved, and sinful man too, the Son of God became the Son of man, not laying aside His divinity but clothing it with our humanity, that He might be able to reach man where he was. This was the only way in which the divine nature could come in actual contact with sinful man as a means of salvation, since the unveiled glory of God could result only in destruction to sinners. “For our God is a consuming fire.” Heb. 12:29.

The Testimony of Prophecy.

All this was clearly set forth in the prophecy concerning the person and work of Christ. Thus we read: “And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch [or scion] out of his roots shall bear fruit.” Isa. 11:1, R.V. Here is presented “the Gospel of God . . . concerning His Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh,” but it is clothed in such language that it is most clearly intended as a partial interpretation of that remarkable phenomenon in nature which we are now studying. But another scripture will give further light upon the subject: “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch [margin, ‘Shoot or Bud’], and He shall reign as King and deal wisely. . . . And this is His name whereby He shall be called, The Lord is our righteousness.” Jer. 23:5, 6, R.V. The family of David is a “sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evil-doers, children that are corrupters” (Isa. 1:4); but to this same nation the promise was made, “Thy people also shall be all righteous” (Isa. 60:21); and inasmuch as this is to be brought about by receiving “the engrafted Word,” the Branch (Shoot or Scion) which is to be used in the process of grafting must be “a righteous Branch,” since the character of the scion determines the character of the fruit to be borne on the new branch. Thus a Branch was prophesied of which would be nearly related to the “degenerate plant,” so that it could be used in the grafting process, but at the same time infinitely superior in the character of its fruit, so that through it could be accomplished the restoration of the “degenerate plant.”

A Righteous Branch.

The meaning of this fact of nature, that the scion and the tree must be nearly related botanically, is further brought out in this scripture: “Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold, the Man whose name is the Branch [margin, ‘Bud’]; and He shall grow up out of His place, and He shall build the temple of the Lord; even He shall build the temple of the Lord; and He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon His throne; and He shall be a priest upon His throne; and the council of peace shall be between them both.” Zech. 6:12, 13, R.V. The tree to be restored was man; and so the Branch (or Scion) must be a man, but, in order to “make the tree good,” that it might bear good fruit again, it was necessary that the Branch, or Man, should be of an infinitely superior type, even “a righteous Branch,” so that the scripture should be fulfilled which says, “By His knowledge shall My righteous Servant justify many.” Isa. 51:11.

An Abominable Branch.

These same truths are taught, by contrast, in another way. Thus we read of Lucifer, who was created the light-bearer, but who through his rebellion became Satan, the adversary: “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit: They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; that made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners? All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house. But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch. . . . The seed

of evil-doers shall never be renowned.” Isa. 14:12–20. Read also Eze. 34:26–30, noticing especially verse 29: “And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more.”

What a contrast is here drawn between Christ, the “righteous Branch,” and Satan, the “abominable branch”! The one is He who “giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increaseth strength” (Isa. 40:29); the other is he “which did weaken the nations.” The one is “a plant of renown;” the other “shall never be renowned.” The one came “to seek and to save that which was lost;” the other “walketh about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”

The Final, Complete Restoration.

Thus, in the light which the Scripture throws upon it, we may learn the teaching which the Lord designs to impart to us through that really remarkable process, the process of grafting. In it the Gospel of the restoration of man to the image of God, and the method by which it is accomplished, are most certainly taught. So if any man will regard this process in the natural world in the light which is shed upon it from the Word of God, he can see the way in which the degenerate human plant is to be treated, and what the results will be. Thus if one will believe the Gospel in grafting, he will be thereby prepared to “receive with meekness the engrafted Word, which is able to save your souls.”

In the light of what we have learned we may profitably close this study with the following scripture: “Thus saith the Lord God: I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon an high mountain and eminent; in the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it; and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar; and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell. And all the trees of the field shall know that I the Lord have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish; I the Lord have spoken and have done it.” Eze. 17:22–24. W. W. PRESCOTT.

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