The Sabbath School

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Mar 18, 1897

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 23, No. 11.

The Sabbath School

International Series.

LESSON I.—SABBATH, APRIL 3, 1897.

ABIDING IN CHRIST.

INTRODUCTORY NOTE.—At the Passover supper Jesus gave the instruction found in chapters 13 and 14. Then Jesus said, “Arise, let us go hence” (John 14:31), and he and his disciples left the upper chamber, and crossed the brook Cedron toward the Garden of Gethsemane, which lies at the foot of the Mount of Olives. While on their way the instruction found in chapters 15 and 16 was given, and the Saviour’s prayer, as recorded in chapter 17, was offered. See chapter 18, verse 1.

Lesson Scripture, John 15:1-11, R. V.

1 “I am the True Vine, and my Father is the Husbandman. 2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh it away; and every branch that beareth fruit, he cleanseth it, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already ye are clean because of the word which I have spoken unto you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch can not bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; so neither can ye, except ye abide in me. 5 I am the Vine, ye are the branches; he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit; for apart from me ye can do nothing. 6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatsoever ye will, and it shall be done unto you. 8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; and so shall ye be my disciples. 9 Even as the Father hath loved me, I also have loved you; abide ye in my love. 10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. 11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be fulfilled.”

QUESTIONS.

1. What does Christ declare himself to be?

2. What is the Father?

3. What is done with the fruitless branch?

4. What is done to the fruit-bearing branch? For what purpose?

5. What was said of the condition of the disciples?

6. How is union with Christ urged?

7. On what condition only is a branch fruitful? What application is made of this fact in nature?

8. Under what figure is union with Christ taught?

9. What is the condition of fruitfulness for the disciple? Why is union with Christ necessary?

10. What is done to the one who does not abide in Christ? What is done to these withered branches?

11. What promise is based upon union with Christ?

12. How is God glorified? Of what is such an experience the evidence?

13. What is the measure of Christ’s love to man? What exhortation is based upon this statement?

14. What is the experience of abiding in Christ’s love? How is this experience illustrated to us?

15. What is the first purpose in giving this instruction? The second?

NOTES.

1. THE following extract shows the circumstances under which the Saviour gave the instruction contained in this lesson: “Jesus now repaired with his disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane, at the foot of Mount Olivet, a retired place, which he had often visited for seasons of communion with his Father: It was night; but the moon was shining brightly, and revealed to him a flourishing grape-vine. Drawing the attention of the disciples to it, he said, ‘I am the True Vine, and my Father is the Husbandman.’” —Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 3, pp. 89, 90.

Palestine abounded in vineyards, and the Jews were familiar with the facts which formed the basis of the Saviour’s illustration. In the Old Testament scriptures, God’s people had often been compared to a vineyard. See Ps. 80:8-16; Isa. 5:1-7; Jer. 2:21.

2. “PURGETH” here means “pruneth” or “cleanseth,” and is rendered “cleanseth” in the Revised Version. So the Saviour says of his disciples, who are compared to branches in verse 5, “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.” Verse 3. It means the taking away of worthless and unprofitable portions.

3. “THEY are burned.” As the branches which are separated from the vine wither and die, and are cast into the fire and burned, so those who are separated from Christ become lifeless branches, and are burned up, root and branch. Mal. 4:1. In the parable of the wheat and tares, recorded in Matt. 13:24-30, the Saviour compared the wicked to tares, and in explanation of the parable he declares that the tares will be gathered and burned in the fire (see verses 38-40). And it is a remarkable fact that in every instance in the Scriptures where the fate of the wicked is mentioned, and a comparison is used, they are always compared to the most perishable or combustible materials, and they are never compared to imperishable or enduring substances that withstand the action of the elements and the ravages of time. See Ps. 37:20; Isa. 1:28-31; 10:16-18; Nahum 1:9, 10; Matt. 3:12; 13:47, 48; 1 Cor. 3:12, 13.

4. “ABIDE IN ME.” This means a constant union with Christ, the True Vine, by living faith and entire submission of the will to God. When we thus abide in Christ, we shall only will to ask according to his will, and then we may be sure that the promise, “It shall be done unto you,” will be fulfilled. This was Christ’s experience in his relation to the Father. His will was wholly submitted to God’s will, and his prayers were always heard. John 11:41, 42.

Suggestions for Further Study:

1. Can a branch that has just been severed from the vine be distinguished from the other branches by its appearance?

2. Are branches that are severed from the stock the only fruitless ones? Compare Matt. 21:19, 20. What is the lesson?

3. Name a few plants, trees, etc., which live and bear fruit exclusively for themselves. How about the human tree—the “planting of the Lord”?

4. What is Christ’s joy?