Grafted Into Christ

John 15:1-8

A vinedresser plants and tends his vines for the purpose of seeing them
produce grapes. God, as our vinedresser, encourages us to bear spiritual
fruit.
He wants us to have a character like Christ's, marked by love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
God
wants to ensure that believers will be fruitful; for this reason, they are
removed from the dead tree of humanity and grafted onto the living vine,
Jesus
Christ.

After His baptism, Jesus was "full of the Holy Spirit," who led Him to the
next step. (Luke 4:1) Christ's life and ministry were the result of the
Spirit's
empowerment, and when we become believers, God sends the very same Helper to
indwell us. In the language of vineyards, the sap from the vine flows into
a grafted branch, giving it life and the capacity to grow the kind of fruit
typical of that plant. The branch and the vine become one life. The Living
Bible translation says, "Let your roots grow down into him and draw
nourishment up from him" (Colossians 2:7).

Some people run away from the Christian life because they think they cannot
do it. And they're right: They cannot, but the Holy Spirit can. When we are
one with Jesus Christ, the Spirit of God lives His life through us. That
doesn't mean we are free from responsibility-the Spirit can do His work only
as
we wisely choose to yield to Him. When we are obediently following the Lord,
our joy and peace are not be dependent upon circumstances; the One in whom
we are rooted is our joy and peace.


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