BASIC WORD THE INTRINSIC SIGNIFICANCE OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE "GRAFTED LIFE"

THE INTRINSIC SIGNIFICANCE OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE

Grafted Life

IN GRAFTING, TWO SIMILAR LIVES BEING JOINED AND THEN GROWING TOGETHER

In grafting, two similar lives are joined and then grow together (Rom. 11:17-24). Our ability to be grafted is related to the way we were created. In the universe there are two vines. There is the vine spoken of John 15, and we are branches of that vine because of our salvation. We thank the Lord that we are branches of Him as the vine and that together we are the organism of the Triune God. However, the Bible reveals another vine. Revelation 14:18-19 talks about the vine of the earth. We may describe this vine as the satanic vine, a counterfeit vine. In John 15 the Lord said, “I am the true vine” (v. 1) because there is another vine. This other vine is the vine of the earth. Eventually, at the Lord’s coming, that vine will be cast “into the great winepress of the fury of God” (Rev. 14:19). The choice of all human beings is whether to be part of the vine of the earth or to be part of the true vine, the divine organism, described in John 15.

We praise the Lord that we have been joined to the Lord to be a part of this divine organism, and we have been rescued from the vine of the earth by being grafted into the true vine. In the process of grafting, the weakened branch of the poor wild olive tree, the uncultivated olive tree, is cut from the tree and then grafted onto the healthy tree, the cultivated tree, the tree in which there is life thriving. We have been cut off from the vine of the earth to be joined to the cultivated olive tree. Praise the Lord we have been joined to Christ!

The Lord created us with a life that is similar and compatible to His life. This is because He has always desired in His heart to be joined with us. In the grafting process two similar lives are joined as one. I am sure that there is much grafting done on fruit farms. When a fruit farmer wants to graft a branch from a sick or weak tree into a healthy tree, he must make a cut both in the branch of the weaker tree and in the healthy tree. He then joins that weak branch to the healthy and more desirable tree by inserting the weaker branch into the healthy tree and binding them together. Although the weak branch was struggling, disease-ridden, and corrupted, it is now grafted into a strong and healthy tree; it therefore begins to grow with the growth of the healthy tree. The life of the healthy tree now has a direct way to be transmitted into the weak branch. The life that is in the [55] healthy tree can flow freely into the weak branch. Because they are joined and bound together, there is no division or separation. Likewise, we have been grafted into Christ. We have been joined to Him because He and we have been cut, and there is a joining and a knitting together of these two lives so that we become one life. What a mercy that we fit in, belong, and have become part of the Triune God through the process of grafting.

                Grafting Being Effective Only If the Lives to Be Grafted Are Similar

Grafting can be effective only if the lives to be grafted are similar. Although the weak branch is corrupted and diseased, its life is similar to that of the healthy tree, so they can be joined together.

Because Our Human Life Was Made in the Image of God and according to the Likeness of God, Its Being Able to Be Joined to the Divine Life

Because our human life was made in the image of God and according to the likeness of God, it can be joined to the divine life. Genesis 1:26 indicates that we are created in God’s image and according to His likeness. Human beings are a photograph of God. God created us to correspond with Him. We have a spirit just as He is Spirit, and we have virtues that match His attributes. According to Acts 17:28, human beings are of the race of God. A cute little puppy cannot be grafted into God because the two lives are not similar. It is marvelous that God created us in such a way; He did so because He was always anticipating, because it was always on His heart, that He would be joined to us and that we would be joined to Him. What is now needed is for the Triune God to come live in us.

Our Human Life Resembling the Divine Life; Therefore, the Divine Life and the Human Life Being Able to Be Grafted Together and Then Grow Together Organically

Our human life resembles the divine life; therefore, the divine life and the human life can be grafted together and then grow together organically. How wonderful that we can grow with the “growth of God” (Col. 2:19)

IN ORDER FOR US TO BE GRAFTED INTO CHRIST,HIS HAVING TO PASS THROUGH THE PROCESSESOF INCARNATION, CRUCIFIXION, AND RESURRECTION

In order for us to be grafted into Christ, He had to pass through the processes of incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection. Consider that the Triune God passed through a process in order to attain this kind of grafting with us! In His Godhead He could not be joined to us, because He dwells “in unapproachable light” (1 Tim. 6:16). As God in His Godhead, there was no way for the grafting to take place. God created man in His image and according to His likeness; thus, we now have a life that is similar to His life. Nevertheless, something more needed to be accomplished; that is, He had to pass through some processes. What love is expressed that our God would go through the processes of incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection so that He could be joined to us!

Christ Becoming Flesh to Be the Seed of David the Branch of David, the Shoot,So That We Might Be Grafted Together with Him; His Becoming the Same as We AreSo That He and We Could Be Grafted Together

Christ became flesh to be the seed of David, the branch of David, the Shoot, so that we might be grafted together with Him; He became the same as we are so that He and we could be grafted together (John 1:14; Matt. 1:1; Zech. 3:8; Jer. 23:5; 33:15). How precious! Our God loves us to such an extent that He became a man, entered into human living, and went through the sufferings of human life. Thus, He understands our suffering. According to Hebrews 4:15, it is clear that He sympathizes with our situation because He became the same as we are. We may pass through suffering and feel a little bit upset with the Lord. For example, a brother may have been looking for work for so long a time that he may begin to feel upset with the Lord. Inwardly, he may say, “Lord, You are the God of the universe. Surely, a job could have opened by now. Why do I not yet have a job?” No one knows the answer to this question; nevertheless, the Lord sympathizes with us in our sufferings. He understands. Because He passed through human living, He understands the situations that we go through.

In many ways the situations that we go through are arranged so that we will realize how much we need Him. It is very easy for us to become self-reliant and independent, and the Lord may allow us to pass through sufferings and difficult experiences to cause us to realize that we need Him. We need to learn to live according to the principle of the tree of life, which is to be dependent on Him. We do not learn this overnight, and neither can we acquire this kind of living automatically or naturally. Instead, we  have to pass through experiences so that the Lord can work this realization into us. One of my favorite daily prayers is: “Lord, I need You.” I pray this because I really need Him. The Lord understands our needs, for He had entered into the human life that we are experiencing and understands what it is to suffer. He is the Creator, but our relationship with Him is much more than one of the Creator and creatures. We are enjoying a union in life.

Jeremiah 23:5 and Zechariah 3:8 make clear that Christ comes forth as the seed of David and as the Shoot, the branch, of David. We also realize from Matthew 1:1 that Christ is the son of David. Christ came forth as the Shoot, as the branching-out of God to enter into humanity, to make Himself available for this grafting process.