Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:
The natural branches are Israel as a nation broken off because of unbelief, and believing Gentiles are grafted in as wild branches among the faithful remnant to partake of the root, which is Christ Jesus Himself. To stand by faith is to be joined to Christ and abide in Him as a branch in the living vine, receiving life and strength from Him and bearing fruit like the parent stock. Those who stand have no ground for boasting against the broken branches or for high-mindedness, but must be humble and fear, for if God spared not the natural branches He will not spare them either. God's goodness continues toward them only as they continue in His goodness in obedience, otherwise they also will be cut off with the same severity that fell on unfruitful Israel. Yet blindness has happened to Israel only in part, and Jews who abide not still in unbelief but accept Christ shall be grafted into their own olive tree again, so Gentile believers must not despise them but labor specially for their salvation.
Olive Tree Imagery
The natural branches are Israel as a nation, the Jewish people, the seed of Israel, broken off from the noble olive tree because of unbelief and rejection of Heaven's purpose and thus losing connection with God. The branches from a wild olive tree grafted in among the faithful remnant are believing Gentiles, who with them partake of the root and fatness of the olive tree and stand in their place by faith alone. They stand as a new Israel grafted into the old olive tree, sharing its root and nourishment, with no ground for boasting against the broken branches or for high-mindedness but commanded to fear. If God spared not the natural branches He will also not spare them if they fail to continue in His goodness, and they must not despise the Jews, for among the Jews the Lord has mighty men who will proclaim the truth with power. Blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles comes in, yet Jews who accept Christ and abide not still in unbelief shall be grafted into their own olive tree again, which calls for a great work to save some of them by giving refuge and training to converted Jews cut off from their people so they can work for their own people.
The true stock, root, parent stock, and living vine into which branches are grafted is Christ Jesus. He is the True Vine from whom those united with Him receive life and strength, the parent vine from which the Jewish nation as a nation was broken off because of unbelief that it might be opened to the Gentiles, and the parent stock into which both cut-away Jews and Gentiles can be grafted again through repentance, conversion, and belief. The Jewish nation was broken off from Christ the living vine because it was fruitless, while the Gentiles were grafted in as branches sharing the vine's life, and a branch bears fruit only by abiding in the vine. Though they were His own chosen people and saw His miracles, they refused to receive Him, could not discern the divinity of His mission, and ascribed His power to cast out devils to the chief of devils, and by thus disconnecting from the True Vine they were cut off altogether. Had the Jews believed they would have become members of the royal family and manifested the riches of His grace, but belief in Christ still transforms character and makes Jew and Gentile partakers together of salvation, and if the Jews receive Christ as Saviour there is power to graft them in again. Many of the seed of Israel may still be grafted to the true stock, which is Christ Jesus, through work by men of their own nationality laboring for fellow countrymen, to be given all possible encouragement and help and not bound about by many forbiddings but seizing opportunities as they come. He is also the tame olive tree kept by Him under continual watchcare, and Jewish converts who accept Christ are grafted into the true stock, Christ Jesus.
The grafted wild olive tree partaking of the root and fatness is all who now share the privileges once given to ancient Israel as guardians and stewards of truth. The grafted branch does not bear the root but the root bears it, so there is no ground to boast against the branches. The broken branches are ancient Israel, who abused the messengers sent to them and lifted the Son and heir upon the cross, bringing forth wild grapes when fruit was required, and the same impenitence, pride, and unfruitfulness will bring the same severity and cutting off.
Israel as a nation divorced herself from God and the natural branches of the olive tree were broken off. The breaking off took place when Jesus looked for the last time upon the interior of the temple and passed out from its walls, leaving the house desolate. At that moment God's presence was withdrawn forever from the temple built to His glory, so it was no longer His Father's house, and henceforth its ceremonies were meaningless and its services a mockery.
The grafting in of believing Gentiles as a new Israel into the old olive tree did not turn aside the purpose of God when the Jews were broken off through unbelief and malice. This continued Christ's work on earth to lead the Jews out of their exclusiveness, seen in His direct work outside acknowledged Israel for the centurion and the Syrophoenician woman. When through unbelief, malice, bigotry, blindness of mind and hardness of heart the Jews rejected Christ and the apostles' preaching and the synagogues were closed against the apostles, the time came for active and continued work among the Gentiles. Whole Gentile communities gladly received the gospel, listened gratefully, rejoiced that Christ recognized them as children of God, and glorified God for the light of an intelligent faith, and private houses were opened for preaching with public buildings of the Gentiles also used to preach the word of God.
Reason for Breaking Off
The branches were broken off because of unbelief and rejection of Heaven's purpose, and in that unbelief they lost connection with God without turning aside His purpose. Israel as a nation was broken off from the noble olive tree for this cause, while Gentile believers stand in their place by faith alone. The Jewish nation was separated from Christ and cut away from Him because it was fruitless, no longer abiding in the living vine. A branch bears fruit only by remaining firmly connected to Christ by faith, receiving life and strength from Him, and those united with Him are pruned to become more fruitful.
Ancient Israel were guardians and stewards of truth, yet they abused the messengers sent to them and lifted the Son and heir upon the cross, bringing forth wild grapes when fruit was required. Their unbelief was self-sufficiency, self-importance, and spiritual pride that separated them from God so that He hid His face from them. They despised the good offered in Christ, and after long forbearance what was for their peace was hidden from their eyes, so that what would have been their greatest blessing became their stumbling block and their minds were blinded. That unbelief also showed itself as malice, bigotry, blindness of mind and hardness of heart in rejecting Christ and closing the synagogues against the apostles' preaching. Their refusal to receive Christ was rooted in blindness, pride, and ostentation, and by rejecting the only One who could save them they lost their place.
Though they were His own chosen people and saw Christ's miracles, they refused to receive Him and could not discern the divinity of His mission. They ascribed His power to cast out devils to the chief of devils, and by thus disconnecting from the True Vine they were cut off altogether. This breaking off came when Christ was revealed to men in the likeness of humanity, because of unbelief and impenitence, and through failure to fulfill God's purpose. Had they believed, they would have become members of the royal family and manifested the riches of His grace.
Jerusalem's judgment shows the doom that comes through such rejection. Jerusalem also symbolizes the world facing judgment.
Meaning of Standing by Faith
Those grafted in stand only by faith, and that standing is the privilege of increasing in faith and righteousness and growing up into Christ the living Head by understanding and knowing His will. To stand by faith is to be joined to Christ and to abide in Him as a branch in the living vine, receiving life and strength from Him. Those who so abide bear fruit, and the branch is pruned that it may become more fruitful.
To stand by faith is to hold the truth in righteousness and to reveal in words and actions what the truth is doing. It is to give evidence at all times of partaking of nourishment from the parent stock through the Spirit of Christ. That nourishment produces fruit exactly like that of the stock, and it forbids a harsh, careless, masterful spirit that provokes wrath and leads the watching world to conclude the believer is not a Christian because he talks and acts like a sinner.
Standing by faith is personal union with Christ, like a dry and apparently lifeless branch grafted into a living tree so that it becomes a living branch of the True Vine. That union is formed by self-renunciation, faith, and obedience, by each person choosing Christ because He first chose them. The branch then draws all its life from the parent vine and bears the fruit Christ bore. God so grafts a person from a wild olive tree into a good olive tree to give him grace to do what is right in the Lord's sight and to make him a chosen vessel. That grafting comes by a course of obedience when one warned by the errors of a wicked father and grandfather refuses to repeat their sin, determines to climb upward instead of descending to sin and degradation, and presses on in the upward path though surrounded by wickedness and temptation with few counselors to encourage the right way.
Standing is by living faith alone, holding fast to the arm of God, pressing petitions to the throne and believing the things asked for are received with childlike simplicity. It prays earnestly and repeatedly until the answer comes, as Elijah prayed seven times until the cloud was seen. It keeps close to Jesus by fasting and praying, by singing to the glory of God and shouting to beat the enemy back, thereby keeping ascendancy above darkness, while doubting, letting go too quickly, and failing to glorify God wounds Jesus and lets the powers of darkness get the victory. Spiritual standing depends on faith that works by love and purifies the soul, for mere profession of truth is not enough when pride rules the unrenewed heart. Such profession bears only wild-olive fruit that is bitter, unpalatable, and deadly, as seen when a professed Christian treats his wife in an unchristlike, selfish, overbearing and dictatorial way, shirks the burden of providing food, raiment and household expenses, leaves planning and devising to her while exacting his own privileges, and so brings bitterness back upon himself instead of bearing the fruit of branches that abide in the vine.
Warning Against Pride
Those who stand do so only by faith after the natural branches, Israel as a nation, the Jewish people, the seed of Israel, were broken off from the noble olive tree because of unbelief and rejection of Heaven's purpose and thus lost connection with God, while believers from the wild olive tree were grafted in among the faithful remnant to partake of the root and fatness, which is Christ Jesus the true stock, and therefore they have no ground for boasting against the broken branches or for high-mindedness but must fear, for if God spared not the natural branches He will also not spare them if they fail to continue in His goodness. The grafted-in church shares the root and nourishment yet must not become proud but must fear lest it too be rejected and cut off. Blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles comes in, yet Jews who accept Christ and abide not still in unbelief shall be grafted into their own olive tree again, and this calls for a great work to save some of them by giving refuge and training to converted Jews cut off from their people so they can work for their own people. Gentiles must not despise the Jews, for among the Jews the Lord has mighty men who will proclaim the truth with power.
To be not highminded but fear is not to think more highly of oneself than one ought to think but to think soberly according as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith. Standing by faith is the privilege of increasing in faith and righteousness and growing up in Christ the living Head by understanding and knowing His will. It requires every member of the church to study and do his religious duty, one fitted for one class of work and another for another, all blending in a complete whole.
Place in the tree depends on faith and gives no ground for pride; those grafted in must remain humble, reverent, watchful, and careful, mindful that they too can be broken off and cut off if they turn from God's goodness. The broken branches are those cut away from Christ, and the grafted-in branches are Gentiles admitted to the true church through faith in the gospel, with both groups needing continued interest and no slackness. There is no place for pride but for fear and care, with special efforts in these last days to gather the cut-away branches out of the world and engraft them once more into the true vine stock, since if a man repents and receives Christ as Saviour, Christ has power to engraft him into the vine stock and invigorate his life with the life of the Eternal One, centering all branches in Christ Jesus. As a nation the Jews were separated from God for rejecting Christ, so standing by faith is no ground for pride but calls for fear, and the warning also cautions against devaluing the church because evils are present within it.
This dealing of God displays the matchless love of Jesus, which is truth to be gained by close perusal of Scripture, dwelt upon in the heart, and made the theme of conversation as evidence Christ abides within, instead of opening mind and heart to envy and evil speaking and speaking words of self. The same warning calls professed Christians who have only outward profession without the vital principles of truth, like lamps without oil, to awake from carnal security and examine their own faith and hope to see if it agrees with the Word of God, not self-confident and high-minded but fearing lest they come short and be found unprepared. Those who stand by faith must not be high-minded and exalted in self but fear and tremble before God, examining self lest tempted and stumbling they fall, for selfishness and self-confidence endanger standing. This fear is urgent amid the perils of the last days, where failure to heed it leads to shipwreck of faith.
Conditional Continuance and Severity
Election to salvation is conditional, secured only by complying with God's conditions and proved by perfect obedience to His commandments, and those in the church who disobey break the terms of their election. Those who have broken those terms must confess and forsake sin to obtain mercy rather than harden the heart and fall. Toward those grafted in is God's goodness only if they continue in His goodness, otherwise they also will be cut off. This is severity on those who fell and goodness toward those who continue, with cutting off for those who do not continue. Their place depends on faith and gives no ground for pride or high-mindedness, but calls for humility, reverence, watchfulness and fear, mindful that they too can be cut off if they turn from God's goodness.
The same impenitence, pride, and unfruitfulness that broke off ancient Israel will bring the same severity and cutting off upon all who now share the privileges once given to them. Ancient Israel as guardians and stewards of truth abused the messengers sent to them and lifted the Son and heir upon the cross, bringing forth wild grapes when fruit was required, and the grafted wild olive tree partaking of the root and fatness is all who now inherit those privileges. The grafted branch does not bear the root but the root bears it, so there is no ground to boast against the branches but only to fear. If God spared not the natural branches He will also not spare the grafted branches if they fail to continue.
Branches that do not partake of the spirit of Jesus can be cut off and others who had not heard and rejected the truth raised up in their stead to bear fruit to God's glory. The stubborn and rebellious who bear no fruit and remain a dead weight wounding and tearing hearts will be purged out of the camp and disfellowshipped unless they change their course entirely and soon partake of the spirit of Jesus. Those raised up instead will embrace the truth, bear fruit and work to the glory of God and take their places, for God takes away the first and establishes the second when the desolations of Zion are accomplished. God's rising people must therefore be careful and fear instead of being highminded, keeping close to Jesus and fasting and praying to get victory over the powers of darkness and never fall again. Standing is by living faith alone, holding fast to the arm of God, pressing petitions to the throne and believing with childlike simplicity that the things asked for are received, praying earnestly and repeatedly until the answer comes as Elijah prayed seven times until the cloud was seen, singing to the glory of God and shouting to beat the enemy back to keep ascendancy above darkness, while doubting, letting go too quickly, and failing to glorify God wounds Jesus and lets darkness get the victory.
The rejected vine is removed and replanted beyond the reach of those who tried to destroy it, showing that God preserves His purpose despite Israel's rejection. Israel's branches were broken off because of unbelief while others stand by faith, and they are warned not to become proud but to fear.
Israel's Restoration and Mission
Partial hardening has come upon Israel until the full number of the Gentiles comes in, yet Jews who accept Christ and do not remain in unbelief will be grafted back into their own olive tree, for belief still changes character and makes Jew and Gentile share together in salvation. The natural branches, the Jewish people as the seed of Israel, were broken off because of unbelief, while believing Gentiles as branches of a wild olive tree stand grafted in among them by faith and share the root and richness of the tree whose true stock is Christ Jesus. Had the Jews believed they would have become members of the royal family and shown the riches of His grace, and if they receive Christ as Saviour there is power in the gospel to graft them in again.
If a person repents and receives Christ as Saviour, Christ has power to engraft him into the vine stock and enliven his life with the life of the Eternal One, centering all branches in Christ Jesus. Both Jews who were cut away and Gentiles are given the privilege of being engrafted into the living vine stock through repentance, conversion, and belief in the gospel. Those so grafted in have peace with God, unity with one another in oneness with Christ, transformation of character, renewed love to God, and fruit in good works as partakers of the divine nature in disposition, words, and works. There is no place for pride in this standing by faith but only for fear and care, and both groups need continued interest with no slackness, with special efforts in these last days to gather the cut-away branches out of the world and engraft them once more into the true vine stock.
The broken-off Jews are still children of the heavenly birth who can be grafted into the parent stock again and bear fruit to the glory of God if in humility they stand on the right platform. Their salvation requires continued special interest and special efforts by Gentile believers, who are responsible to be interested in them and to proclaim the gospel to the Jewish race. The Jewish nation as a nation rejected Christ and refused His offers of mercy and was broken off from the parent vine so that Gentiles might be grafted in and stand by faith, yet disconnecting from the True Vine through failure to fulfill God's purpose does not close the way back.
Gentiles who stand only by faith must not boast against the branches nor be high-minded but fear, and this means they must not despise the Jews. Among the Jews the Lord has mighty men who will proclaim the truth with power. Many Jews will accept the light of truth, be converted, and proclaim God's law.
The chapter calls for a great work to be done for the Jewish people to save some of them. Converted Jews cut off from their people are to be given refuge and training so they can work for their own people. The Jews are to be given every opportunity to come to the light, and that work must be carried out with special wisdom and righteousness and must never be ignored. It requires the wisdom of God, clearing the King's highway in all wisdom and righteousness.
That regrafting is done through work in behalf of the Jewish people by men of their own nationality and by men of different nationalities laboring for their fellow countrymen. Many of the seed of Israel may still be grafted to the true stock, which is Christ Jesus. That work is to be given all possible encouragement and help and all possible help, not bound about by many forbiddings but seizing opportunities as they come. Faithful use of those opportunities vindicates the power of truth and gives a needed example to others, benefiting Gentile believers as well by the example set before them.
Fruit Unity and Church Life
The union with Christ must be preserved only by continual earnest painstaking effort, for Christ exercises His power to preserve and guard the sacred tie while the dependent helpless believer must act his part with untiring energy. Standing by faith is personal union with Christ like a dry and apparently lifeless branch grafted into a living tree to become a living branch of the True Vine, formed by self-renunciation, faith and obedience, by each person choosing Christ because He first chose them, drawing all life from the parent vine and bearing the fruit Christ bore. After that union is formed the believer must stand on guard, pray for divine help, resolutely resist every inclination to sin, and conquer by courage, faith and persevering toil through Christ abiding in him and he in Christ, or Satan by cruel cunning power will separate him from Christ. That union with Christ naturally leads to union with one another, as Christ is one with the Father, and standing depends on faith rather than pride with humility and watchfulness.
Those who hold the truth stand by faith as branches grafted into the olive tree to receive nourishment from the parent stock and bear fruit exactly like that of the stock through the Spirit of Christ. To stand by faith means to hold the truth in righteousness and to reveal in words and actions at all times what the truth is doing for the grafted branches, giving evidence of partaking of that nourishment. It forbids a harsh, careless, masterful, coarse spirit that provokes wrath, for those who belong to Christ must put away such behavior lest the watching world conclude the believer is not a Christian because he talks and acts like a sinner. Their lives must truly represent Him by bearing the same kind of fruit as He does, with humility and reverence rather than pride.
When the Word is grafted in, it should not bear only wild olives, for the wild branch grafted in shows what happens when errors and human theories take the place of truth. Such substitution produces spiritual darkness and ignorance, contrasting God's Word as the tree of life with forbidden knowledge which disorders the imagination. Standing therefore depends on faith and calls for humility and reverent caution rather than unbelief.
Believers stand by faith as individuals grafted into one parent stock in unity with diversity, belonging together while retaining distinct character and gifts. A consecrated life develops and beautifies individuality, and no person is to sink his individuality in that of another. God does not give all minds the same likeness, just as He has not made two leaves alike, and even the best men are not to be of the same character. There is to be complete unity with mind blending with mind, yet no two are to be of the same mold, with abundant room for all in harmonious diversity to act the part assigned them because no one man's mind or judgment is complete. All characters are to be fashioned after the Lord's ideal under the molding of the Holy Spirit unto the fragrance of Christ's character, not after man's pattern, and none is to demerit or belittle God's workmanship because another does not bear his likeness.
Those who minister in word and doctrine are branches grafted into the same parent stock and must not stand apart from each other as independent branches. They stand by faith together in the same stock, so they must be united in receiving the light God has given for these last days, advancing with it, and giving to others what they have received, rather than working away from that light or counterworking those God has appointed to do a certain work. Those who turn from that light are warned that the light they already have will become darkness, and those who stand must not be proud but fear.
Believers grafted into Israel share the people's covenant identity and are to observe the seventh-day Sabbath God sanctified as a lasting sign and memorial of creation, standing by faith with reverence rather than pride because the natural branches were broken off through unbelief. God's agencies placed in the church are not to be disparaged or devalued even when tares are among the wheat and evils are seen among Sabbath-keepers. Their place depends on faith, not grounds for pride, and they must remain humble and reverent, mindful that they too can be cut off if they turn from God's goodness. Instead purification is required that makes the church a bright light in a dark place, showing severity on those who fell and goodness toward those who continue in His goodness, with cutting off for those who do not continue.
The rejection of the Jews because of unbelief and the calling of the Gentiles who stand by faith belongs to the deep things and mysteries of God that finite minds comprehend very little and few try to ascertain. It requires deep thought to understand, with fuller intelligence given as God progressively opens His Word to the understanding.
The natural branches are Israel as a nation broken off because of unbelief, and believing Gentiles are grafted in as wild branches among the faithful remnant to partake of the root, which is Christ Jesus Himself. To stand by faith is to be joined to Christ and abide in Him as a branch in the living vine, receiving life and strength from Him and bearing fruit like the parent stock. Those who stand have no ground for boasting against the broken branches or for high-mindedness, but must be humble and fear, for if God spared not the natural branches He will not spare them either. God's goodness continues toward them only as they continue in His goodness in obedience, otherwise they also will be cut off with the same severity that fell on unfruitful Israel. Yet blindness has happened to Israel only in part, and Jews who abide not still in unbelief but accept Christ shall be grafted into their own olive tree again, so Gentile believers must not despise them but labor specially for their salvation.
Olive Tree Imagery
The natural branches are Israel as a nation, the Jewish people, the seed of Israel, broken off from the noble olive tree because of unbelief and rejection of Heaven's purpose and thus losing connection with God. The branches from a wild olive tree grafted in among the faithful remnant are believing Gentiles, who with them partake of the root and fatness of the olive tree and stand in their place by faith alone. They stand as a new Israel grafted into the old olive tree, sharing its root and nourishment, with no ground for boasting against the broken branches or for high-mindedness but commanded to fear. If God spared not the natural branches He will also not spare them if they fail to continue in His goodness, and they must not despise the Jews, for among the Jews the Lord has mighty men who will proclaim the truth with power. Blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles comes in, yet Jews who accept Christ and abide not still in unbelief shall be grafted into their own olive tree again, which calls for a great work to save some of them by giving refuge and training to converted Jews cut off from their people so they can work for their own people.
The true stock, root, parent stock, and living vine into which branches are grafted is Christ Jesus. He is the True Vine from whom those united with Him receive life and strength, the parent vine from which the Jewish nation as a nation was broken off because of unbelief that it might be opened to the Gentiles, and the parent stock into which both cut-away Jews and Gentiles can be grafted again through repentance, conversion, and belief. The Jewish nation was broken off from Christ the living vine because it was fruitless, while the Gentiles were grafted in as branches sharing the vine's life, and a branch bears fruit only by abiding in the vine. Though they were His own chosen people and saw His miracles, they refused to receive Him, could not discern the divinity of His mission, and ascribed His power to cast out devils to the chief of devils, and by thus disconnecting from the True Vine they were cut off altogether. Had the Jews believed they would have become members of the royal family and manifested the riches of His grace, but belief in Christ still transforms character and makes Jew and Gentile partakers together of salvation, and if the Jews receive Christ as Saviour there is power to graft them in again. Many of the seed of Israel may still be grafted to the true stock, which is Christ Jesus, through work by men of their own nationality laboring for fellow countrymen, to be given all possible encouragement and help and not bound about by many forbiddings but seizing opportunities as they come. He is also the tame olive tree kept by Him under continual watchcare, and Jewish converts who accept Christ are grafted into the true stock, Christ Jesus.
The grafted wild olive tree partaking of the root and fatness is all who now share the privileges once given to ancient Israel as guardians and stewards of truth. The grafted branch does not bear the root but the root bears it, so there is no ground to boast against the branches. The broken branches are ancient Israel, who abused the messengers sent to them and lifted the Son and heir upon the cross, bringing forth wild grapes when fruit was required, and the same impenitence, pride, and unfruitfulness will bring the same severity and cutting off.
Israel as a nation divorced herself from God and the natural branches of the olive tree were broken off. The breaking off took place when Jesus looked for the last time upon the interior of the temple and passed out from its walls, leaving the house desolate. At that moment God's presence was withdrawn forever from the temple built to His glory, so it was no longer His Father's house, and henceforth its ceremonies were meaningless and its services a mockery.
The grafting in of believing Gentiles as a new Israel into the old olive tree did not turn aside the purpose of God when the Jews were broken off through unbelief and malice. This continued Christ's work on earth to lead the Jews out of their exclusiveness, seen in His direct work outside acknowledged Israel for the centurion and the Syrophoenician woman. When through unbelief, malice, bigotry, blindness of mind and hardness of heart the Jews rejected Christ and the apostles' preaching and the synagogues were closed against the apostles, the time came for active and continued work among the Gentiles. Whole Gentile communities gladly received the gospel, listened gratefully, rejoiced that Christ recognized them as children of God, and glorified God for the light of an intelligent faith, and private houses were opened for preaching with public buildings of the Gentiles also used to preach the word of God.
Reason for Breaking Off
The branches were broken off because of unbelief and rejection of Heaven's purpose, and in that unbelief they lost connection with God without turning aside His purpose. Israel as a nation was broken off from the noble olive tree for this cause, while Gentile believers stand in their place by faith alone. The Jewish nation was separated from Christ and cut away from Him because it was fruitless, no longer abiding in the living vine. A branch bears fruit only by remaining firmly connected to Christ by faith, receiving life and strength from Him, and those united with Him are pruned to become more fruitful.
Ancient Israel were guardians and stewards of truth, yet they abused the messengers sent to them and lifted the Son and heir upon the cross, bringing forth wild grapes when fruit was required. Their unbelief was self-sufficiency, self-importance, and spiritual pride that separated them from God so that He hid His face from them. They despised the good offered in Christ, and after long forbearance what was for their peace was hidden from their eyes, so that what would have been their greatest blessing became their stumbling block and their minds were blinded. That unbelief also showed itself as malice, bigotry, blindness of mind and hardness of heart in rejecting Christ and closing the synagogues against the apostles' preaching. Their refusal to receive Christ was rooted in blindness, pride, and ostentation, and by rejecting the only One who could save them they lost their place.
Though they were His own chosen people and saw Christ's miracles, they refused to receive Him and could not discern the divinity of His mission. They ascribed His power to cast out devils to the chief of devils, and by thus disconnecting from the True Vine they were cut off altogether. This breaking off came when Christ was revealed to men in the likeness of humanity, because of unbelief and impenitence, and through failure to fulfill God's purpose. Had they believed, they would have become members of the royal family and manifested the riches of His grace.
Jerusalem's judgment shows the doom that comes through such rejection. Jerusalem also symbolizes the world facing judgment.
Meaning of Standing by Faith
Those grafted in stand only by faith, and that standing is the privilege of increasing in faith and righteousness and growing up into Christ the living Head by understanding and knowing His will. To stand by faith is to be joined to Christ and to abide in Him as a branch in the living vine, receiving life and strength from Him. Those who so abide bear fruit, and the branch is pruned that it may become more fruitful.
To stand by faith is to hold the truth in righteousness and to reveal in words and actions what the truth is doing. It is to give evidence at all times of partaking of nourishment from the parent stock through the Spirit of Christ. That nourishment produces fruit exactly like that of the stock, and it forbids a harsh, careless, masterful spirit that provokes wrath and leads the watching world to conclude the believer is not a Christian because he talks and acts like a sinner.
Standing by faith is personal union with Christ, like a dry and apparently lifeless branch grafted into a living tree so that it becomes a living branch of the True Vine. That union is formed by self-renunciation, faith, and obedience, by each person choosing Christ because He first chose them. The branch then draws all its life from the parent vine and bears the fruit Christ bore. God so grafts a person from a wild olive tree into a good olive tree to give him grace to do what is right in the Lord's sight and to make him a chosen vessel. That grafting comes by a course of obedience when one warned by the errors of a wicked father and grandfather refuses to repeat their sin, determines to climb upward instead of descending to sin and degradation, and presses on in the upward path though surrounded by wickedness and temptation with few counselors to encourage the right way.
Standing is by living faith alone, holding fast to the arm of God, pressing petitions to the throne and believing the things asked for are received with childlike simplicity. It prays earnestly and repeatedly until the answer comes, as Elijah prayed seven times until the cloud was seen. It keeps close to Jesus by fasting and praying, by singing to the glory of God and shouting to beat the enemy back, thereby keeping ascendancy above darkness, while doubting, letting go too quickly, and failing to glorify God wounds Jesus and lets the powers of darkness get the victory. Spiritual standing depends on faith that works by love and purifies the soul, for mere profession of truth is not enough when pride rules the unrenewed heart. Such profession bears only wild-olive fruit that is bitter, unpalatable, and deadly, as seen when a professed Christian treats his wife in an unchristlike, selfish, overbearing and dictatorial way, shirks the burden of providing food, raiment and household expenses, leaves planning and devising to her while exacting his own privileges, and so brings bitterness back upon himself instead of bearing the fruit of branches that abide in the vine.
Warning Against Pride
Those who stand do so only by faith after the natural branches, Israel as a nation, the Jewish people, the seed of Israel, were broken off from the noble olive tree because of unbelief and rejection of Heaven's purpose and thus lost connection with God, while believers from the wild olive tree were grafted in among the faithful remnant to partake of the root and fatness, which is Christ Jesus the true stock, and therefore they have no ground for boasting against the broken branches or for high-mindedness but must fear, for if God spared not the natural branches He will also not spare them if they fail to continue in His goodness. The grafted-in church shares the root and nourishment yet must not become proud but must fear lest it too be rejected and cut off. Blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles comes in, yet Jews who accept Christ and abide not still in unbelief shall be grafted into their own olive tree again, and this calls for a great work to save some of them by giving refuge and training to converted Jews cut off from their people so they can work for their own people. Gentiles must not despise the Jews, for among the Jews the Lord has mighty men who will proclaim the truth with power.
To be not highminded but fear is not to think more highly of oneself than one ought to think but to think soberly according as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith. Standing by faith is the privilege of increasing in faith and righteousness and growing up in Christ the living Head by understanding and knowing His will. It requires every member of the church to study and do his religious duty, one fitted for one class of work and another for another, all blending in a complete whole.
Place in the tree depends on faith and gives no ground for pride; those grafted in must remain humble, reverent, watchful, and careful, mindful that they too can be broken off and cut off if they turn from God's goodness. The broken branches are those cut away from Christ, and the grafted-in branches are Gentiles admitted to the true church through faith in the gospel, with both groups needing continued interest and no slackness. There is no place for pride but for fear and care, with special efforts in these last days to gather the cut-away branches out of the world and engraft them once more into the true vine stock, since if a man repents and receives Christ as Saviour, Christ has power to engraft him into the vine stock and invigorate his life with the life of the Eternal One, centering all branches in Christ Jesus. As a nation the Jews were separated from God for rejecting Christ, so standing by faith is no ground for pride but calls for fear, and the warning also cautions against devaluing the church because evils are present within it.
This dealing of God displays the matchless love of Jesus, which is truth to be gained by close perusal of Scripture, dwelt upon in the heart, and made the theme of conversation as evidence Christ abides within, instead of opening mind and heart to envy and evil speaking and speaking words of self. The same warning calls professed Christians who have only outward profession without the vital principles of truth, like lamps without oil, to awake from carnal security and examine their own faith and hope to see if it agrees with the Word of God, not self-confident and high-minded but fearing lest they come short and be found unprepared. Those who stand by faith must not be high-minded and exalted in self but fear and tremble before God, examining self lest tempted and stumbling they fall, for selfishness and self-confidence endanger standing. This fear is urgent amid the perils of the last days, where failure to heed it leads to shipwreck of faith.
Conditional Continuance and Severity
Election to salvation is conditional, secured only by complying with God's conditions and proved by perfect obedience to His commandments, and those in the church who disobey break the terms of their election. Those who have broken those terms must confess and forsake sin to obtain mercy rather than harden the heart and fall. Toward those grafted in is God's goodness only if they continue in His goodness, otherwise they also will be cut off. This is severity on those who fell and goodness toward those who continue, with cutting off for those who do not continue. Their place depends on faith and gives no ground for pride or high-mindedness, but calls for humility, reverence, watchfulness and fear, mindful that they too can be cut off if they turn from God's goodness.
The same impenitence, pride, and unfruitfulness that broke off ancient Israel will bring the same severity and cutting off upon all who now share the privileges once given to them. Ancient Israel as guardians and stewards of truth abused the messengers sent to them and lifted the Son and heir upon the cross, bringing forth wild grapes when fruit was required, and the grafted wild olive tree partaking of the root and fatness is all who now inherit those privileges. The grafted branch does not bear the root but the root bears it, so there is no ground to boast against the branches but only to fear. If God spared not the natural branches He will also not spare the grafted branches if they fail to continue.
Branches that do not partake of the spirit of Jesus can be cut off and others who had not heard and rejected the truth raised up in their stead to bear fruit to God's glory. The stubborn and rebellious who bear no fruit and remain a dead weight wounding and tearing hearts will be purged out of the camp and disfellowshipped unless they change their course entirely and soon partake of the spirit of Jesus. Those raised up instead will embrace the truth, bear fruit and work to the glory of God and take their places, for God takes away the first and establishes the second when the desolations of Zion are accomplished. God's rising people must therefore be careful and fear instead of being highminded, keeping close to Jesus and fasting and praying to get victory over the powers of darkness and never fall again. Standing is by living faith alone, holding fast to the arm of God, pressing petitions to the throne and believing with childlike simplicity that the things asked for are received, praying earnestly and repeatedly until the answer comes as Elijah prayed seven times until the cloud was seen, singing to the glory of God and shouting to beat the enemy back to keep ascendancy above darkness, while doubting, letting go too quickly, and failing to glorify God wounds Jesus and lets darkness get the victory.
The rejected vine is removed and replanted beyond the reach of those who tried to destroy it, showing that God preserves His purpose despite Israel's rejection. Israel's branches were broken off because of unbelief while others stand by faith, and they are warned not to become proud but to fear.
Israel's Restoration and Mission
Partial hardening has come upon Israel until the full number of the Gentiles comes in, yet Jews who accept Christ and do not remain in unbelief will be grafted back into their own olive tree, for belief still changes character and makes Jew and Gentile share together in salvation. The natural branches, the Jewish people as the seed of Israel, were broken off because of unbelief, while believing Gentiles as branches of a wild olive tree stand grafted in among them by faith and share the root and richness of the tree whose true stock is Christ Jesus. Had the Jews believed they would have become members of the royal family and shown the riches of His grace, and if they receive Christ as Saviour there is power in the gospel to graft them in again.
If a person repents and receives Christ as Saviour, Christ has power to engraft him into the vine stock and enliven his life with the life of the Eternal One, centering all branches in Christ Jesus. Both Jews who were cut away and Gentiles are given the privilege of being engrafted into the living vine stock through repentance, conversion, and belief in the gospel. Those so grafted in have peace with God, unity with one another in oneness with Christ, transformation of character, renewed love to God, and fruit in good works as partakers of the divine nature in disposition, words, and works. There is no place for pride in this standing by faith but only for fear and care, and both groups need continued interest with no slackness, with special efforts in these last days to gather the cut-away branches out of the world and engraft them once more into the true vine stock.
The broken-off Jews are still children of the heavenly birth who can be grafted into the parent stock again and bear fruit to the glory of God if in humility they stand on the right platform. Their salvation requires continued special interest and special efforts by Gentile believers, who are responsible to be interested in them and to proclaim the gospel to the Jewish race. The Jewish nation as a nation rejected Christ and refused His offers of mercy and was broken off from the parent vine so that Gentiles might be grafted in and stand by faith, yet disconnecting from the True Vine through failure to fulfill God's purpose does not close the way back.
Gentiles who stand only by faith must not boast against the branches nor be high-minded but fear, and this means they must not despise the Jews. Among the Jews the Lord has mighty men who will proclaim the truth with power. Many Jews will accept the light of truth, be converted, and proclaim God's law.
The chapter calls for a great work to be done for the Jewish people to save some of them. Converted Jews cut off from their people are to be given refuge and training so they can work for their own people. The Jews are to be given every opportunity to come to the light, and that work must be carried out with special wisdom and righteousness and must never be ignored. It requires the wisdom of God, clearing the King's highway in all wisdom and righteousness.
That regrafting is done through work in behalf of the Jewish people by men of their own nationality and by men of different nationalities laboring for their fellow countrymen. Many of the seed of Israel may still be grafted to the true stock, which is Christ Jesus. That work is to be given all possible encouragement and help and all possible help, not bound about by many forbiddings but seizing opportunities as they come. Faithful use of those opportunities vindicates the power of truth and gives a needed example to others, benefiting Gentile believers as well by the example set before them.
Fruit Unity and Church Life
The union with Christ must be preserved only by continual earnest painstaking effort, for Christ exercises His power to preserve and guard the sacred tie while the dependent helpless believer must act his part with untiring energy. Standing by faith is personal union with Christ like a dry and apparently lifeless branch grafted into a living tree to become a living branch of the True Vine, formed by self-renunciation, faith and obedience, by each person choosing Christ because He first chose them, drawing all life from the parent vine and bearing the fruit Christ bore. After that union is formed the believer must stand on guard, pray for divine help, resolutely resist every inclination to sin, and conquer by courage, faith and persevering toil through Christ abiding in him and he in Christ, or Satan by cruel cunning power will separate him from Christ. That union with Christ naturally leads to union with one another, as Christ is one with the Father, and standing depends on faith rather than pride with humility and watchfulness.
Those who hold the truth stand by faith as branches grafted into the olive tree to receive nourishment from the parent stock and bear fruit exactly like that of the stock through the Spirit of Christ. To stand by faith means to hold the truth in righteousness and to reveal in words and actions at all times what the truth is doing for the grafted branches, giving evidence of partaking of that nourishment. It forbids a harsh, careless, masterful, coarse spirit that provokes wrath, for those who belong to Christ must put away such behavior lest the watching world conclude the believer is not a Christian because he talks and acts like a sinner. Their lives must truly represent Him by bearing the same kind of fruit as He does, with humility and reverence rather than pride.
When the Word is grafted in, it should not bear only wild olives, for the wild branch grafted in shows what happens when errors and human theories take the place of truth. Such substitution produces spiritual darkness and ignorance, contrasting God's Word as the tree of life with forbidden knowledge which disorders the imagination. Standing therefore depends on faith and calls for humility and reverent caution rather than unbelief.
Believers stand by faith as individuals grafted into one parent stock in unity with diversity, belonging together while retaining distinct character and gifts. A consecrated life develops and beautifies individuality, and no person is to sink his individuality in that of another. God does not give all minds the same likeness, just as He has not made two leaves alike, and even the best men are not to be of the same character. There is to be complete unity with mind blending with mind, yet no two are to be of the same mold, with abundant room for all in harmonious diversity to act the part assigned them because no one man's mind or judgment is complete. All characters are to be fashioned after the Lord's ideal under the molding of the Holy Spirit unto the fragrance of Christ's character, not after man's pattern, and none is to demerit or belittle God's workmanship because another does not bear his likeness.
Those who minister in word and doctrine are branches grafted into the same parent stock and must not stand apart from each other as independent branches. They stand by faith together in the same stock, so they must be united in receiving the light God has given for these last days, advancing with it, and giving to others what they have received, rather than working away from that light or counterworking those God has appointed to do a certain work. Those who turn from that light are warned that the light they already have will become darkness, and those who stand must not be proud but fear.
Believers grafted into Israel share the people's covenant identity and are to observe the seventh-day Sabbath God sanctified as a lasting sign and memorial of creation, standing by faith with reverence rather than pride because the natural branches were broken off through unbelief. God's agencies placed in the church are not to be disparaged or devalued even when tares are among the wheat and evils are seen among Sabbath-keepers. Their place depends on faith, not grounds for pride, and they must remain humble and reverent, mindful that they too can be cut off if they turn from God's goodness. Instead purification is required that makes the church a bright light in a dark place, showing severity on those who fell and goodness toward those who continue in His goodness, with cutting off for those who do not continue.
The rejection of the Jews because of unbelief and the calling of the Gentiles who stand by faith belongs to the deep things and mysteries of God that finite minds comprehend very little and few try to ascertain. It requires deep thought to understand, with fuller intelligence given as God progressively opens His Word to the understanding.