7. What is the sap that flows through us from the vine? 2 Peter 3:18; John 5:39, last part; John 15:26.
NOTE: ‘In this vine is all spiritual life. From Christ’s fullness alone can we obtain nourishment unto eternal life. The vine stock is unseen; but the branches, members of His body, are visible. The scion, which before was leafless and apparently lifeless, becomes, when grafted into the vine, a partaker of its life and fatness. Fibre by fibre, and vein by vein, the graft adheres to the parent stock, till the life-giving sap flows to the adopted member, causing it to bud, and blossom, and bear fruit …The Spirit of Christ, flowing into the hearts of all who are indeed united with Him, makes them partakers of the divine nature. They become pure even as He is pure.’ Review & Herald, September 20, 1881.
‘Christ must abide in the heart by faith. His word is the bread of life and the water of salvation. Trust in its fulness comes to us through constant communion with God. By eating the flesh and drinking the blood of Christ we gain spiritual strength. Christ supplies the lifeblood of the heart, and Christ and the Holy Spirit give nerve power. Begotten again unto a lively hope, imbued with the quickening power of a new nature, the soul is enabled to rise higher and still higher. Paul’s prayer to God for the Ephesians was, “That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.” The blessing of grace is given to men that the heavenly universe and the fallen world may see as they could not otherwise, the perfection of Christ’s character.’ Counsels on Health, page 593.
8. If a branch does not bear fruit, what will the gardener do? John 15:6.
NOTE: ‘“My Father is the husbandman. Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit He taketh away.” While the graft is outwardly united with the vine, there may be no vital connection. Then there will be no growth or fruitfulness. So there may be an apparent connection with Christ without a real union with Him by faith. A profession of religion places men in the church, but the character and conduct show whether they are in connection with Christ.’ Desire of Ages, page 676.