Concept and Principles of the Vine: I Am the Vine, Ye Are the Branches

By Wisdom Emamuzo Peter

I am the Vine, Ye are the Branches remains one of the greatest statements of our Lord
Jesus Christ. It reveals our identity and destiny in God. It reveals our purpose and mission on
the earth. It reveals our position and functionality in the Godhead. Rev. Wisdom has revealed
that the peak of Gods work in our lives is conformity to the Image of His Son. Christ is the
pattern we are to be fashioned to. Christ is our blueprint. The idea is that God has predestined
us to be fashioned like unto Christ. He has predestined us to be jointly formed unto Christ.
He has dug deep into the mind of Christ to reveal the hidden truth and intention of Christ
in making us His branches. This revolutionary and evangelical work will help you discover
these eternal truths:
nHumanity needs Christ because man was created in Christ
nMan is the extension of divinity and full representation of Gods authority on the
earth.
nThe fruit of the vine as the revealed nature, person, power, glory, and authority of
Christ revealed by the believers.
nThe Holy Spirit as the main helper of man in the realization of Gods purpose on
the earth.
nThe canopy of the vine as the kingdom dominion and government of God created
on the earth by the believers.
nAbiding in Christ is the only way to exhibit the glory of God and to fulfi ll our
destiny of bearing the fruit of Christ.
This book is set to awaken you to your full personality, purpose and power in Christ, and
to stimulate spiritual revival in the body of Christ.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Sep 16, 2013
• ISBN: 9781483685823

Wisdom Emamuzo Peter

Wisdom Emamuzo Peter has earned degrees from Rhema University (RU), where he is currently studying for his Doctorate (Ph.D.) in Theology. Pastor Wisdom leads the Path Founder’s Ministry headquartered in Abuja, Nigeria and his apostolic teaching and healing ministry has brought joy to many people around the world. His radio program reaches hundreds of thousands of people within and outside Abuja, the Nigeria capital. He resides in Abuja with his wife, Dorcas, and two daughters, Oruaroghene Awesome, and Charis Evi.

Book preview

Copyright © 2013 by Wisdom Emamuzo Peter.

ISBN:                  Softcover                              978-1-4836-8581-6

                            Ebook                                   978-1-4836-8582-3

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

All Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible, except otherwise stated. Note, there is a violation of the grammatical rule of capitalisation of the name satan and its related names. This is because we refuse to regard him to this level.

Rev. date: 09/12/2013

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Contents

Preface

Introduction

—   The Purpose of His Calling for Fruit

—   Objective of this book

—   Purpose of John 15

—   Understanding the Background of the Chapter

—   Study Questions

Part One—The Organism Of The Vine

—   Understanding The Structure Of The Vine

—   The Planting Of The Vine

—   Study Questions

Part Two—The Vine

—   Introduction

—   Purpose Of The Vine

—   Understanding The Image Of God

—   The Vine And The Branches

—   Study Questions

Part Three—The Husbandman

—   Understanding God As The Owner Of The Vine

—   The Role Of The Husbandman

—   The Husbandman, The Vine, And The Branches

—   The Father’s Desire For The Branches

—   Responding To The Father’s Desire

—   Fulfilling The Pleasure Of The Father

—   Study Questions

Part Four—The Sap

—   Understanding the Sap

—   Relating The Sap To The Holy Spirit

—   Relationship Between The Sap And The Branches

—   Growing In The Spirit

—   Study Questions

Part Five—The Branches

—   Introduction

—   The Branches

—   Becoming A Branch: Redemption Worked Out

—   Purpose Of The Branches

—   The Functions And The Functioning Of The Branches

—   Living In The Vine

—   The Glory Of Abiding In The Vine

—   The Inability Of The Branches

—   Understanding Our Righteousness

—   Principles Of Meeting Our Needs

—   The Principle Of The Same

—   Study Questions

Part Six—The Fruit

—   The Vine And The Fruit

—   The Fruit And The Branch

—   Rediscovering The Fruit Of The Vine

—   The Vine’s Purpose For The Fruit

—   Principles Of Answers To Prayers

—   Study Questions

Part Seven—The Vine’s Leadership System

—   Leadership—The Vine’s Perspective

—   Understanding The Holy Spirit In The Leadership System

—   Leadership Reproduction In The Vine

—   Study Questions

Part Eight—Overcoming Temptation

—   Introduction

—   Challenges Will Come

—   Appropriating The Victory Of Christ

—   Study Questions

Bible Used

About The Author

I am the branch

He is the Vine

There is no greater blessing than this

That I am His branch

What flows in Him, same flows to me

What lives in Him, same make me live

’Cos I am His branch

’Cos I am His branch

I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing.

—John 15: 5

I want to personally dedicate this work to the only True Vine, in whom the Godhead dwells bodily, and has brought us into fellowship with the Godhead.

And to everyone whose heart pants for the reign of the kingdom of Christ on the earth and also to reveal the very nature of the Godhead in the person of Christ Jesus.

This work is a testimony to the cooperation and contributions given by so many persons which I have encountered in the journey of life and in the realization of the purpose of God for me. Life has proven over and again that we are the sum total of the contributions and challenges, instructions and corrections, commitment and examples, wisdom and inspirations of the people, both past and present, who, through their lives we get stirred up to pursue the will of God for us on the earth. To these persons that have stirred up the gifts of God in my heart I am most grateful.

While this page will not be enough to mention all the people that have brought this work to print, I feel a deep sense of gratitude to these persons that have helped in the process and production of this book.

My precious wife, Dorcas, has been so patient and supportive in seeing this work achieved. And to my lovely daughters, Oruaroghene Awesome, and Charis Evi, this is a seed into your destinies.

I sincerely appreciate my friend and partner, Dr. Philemon I. Gora for his sincere identification and partnership in the pursuit of the kingdom mandate.

Thanks to Karline Cunningham who introduced me to Rhema University, USA, and also created the good environment for me to study even to my doctorate. The warm fellowship we share has changed my life forever in pursuing my calling.

I would like to personally thank the Rhema University president, Dr. Roger Richardson, for endorsing this book. I believe God has connected me to the RU family for such a time as this.

Thanks to the members and partners of the Path Founder’s Ministry, and the Matthew 7:7 radio crew. Your prayers, physical contributions and patience in hearing the truth of God’s Word is a great blessing to me.

Finally, I reserve my deepest gratitude to the Lord, the heavenly vine, for given me this wonderful revelation with the intention of establishing His kingdom government on the earth and to reveal His nature and glory to humanity.

To be fruitful and multiply is a human expression of our existence that relates where we come from and where we are going. However, it is our quest for the truth of our existence to search out the Source (God the Father) that gives us power to fulfill our purpose and destiny in this life. I feel that this book by Rev. Wisdom Peter relates the hidden spiritual realities of one’s journey of discovering who we are as an extension of our creator.

Dr. Roger Richardson

President of Rhema University U.S.A.

Preface

God is so gracious that He has not left us in the dark in knowing Him and also knowing who we are in Him. God has brought us the awareness of His holy intention for the creation of man and the eternal purpose of Christ for redeeming man. Hidden in the Word of God is the revealed truth of God and our identity in Christ. The Word has been the greatest gift God has given us, in that, without it we would not have known what Christ accomplished for us on the cross. Without the Word of God, we would not have known who and what we are in Christ. Without the Word we would not have known the blessedness of our redemption.

Each time we come in contact with the Word of God with an opened heart, there comes the fullness of joy that accompanies our salvation and enlightenment of the blessed hope in Christ and the exceeding greatness of His power that works in us. This was one of the experience I had almost ten years ago when the Lord shorn the light of the eternal verse into my heart where Jesus said:

I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing.

—John 15: 5

This singular verse brought the truth of our origin that we are made in Christ and not evolutional objects. This verse brought to light the blessedness of the redemptive work of Christ. This verse reveals the source of our strength, creativity, productivity and effectiveness in the kingdom. God has eternally placed this verse in the Scriptures to reveal to us the nature of life that He has ordained for His children. With this Scripture we are separated from the world to become partakers of the divine nature of the Godhead. One salient reality of this verse is that we are made to understand that what lives in Christ lives in us, and that we as the branches of the vine, we are the representative and extension of the Godhead on the planet Earth.

While we undertake a deep study of this verse, I admonish you to be heart opened for the divine inspiration; revelation and understanding that come only from the Holy Spirit in order to discover what Christ has made us and destined us to be in the Godhead. It is my prayer that this study will bring you to a close relationship with the Lord in the bid to revealing and extending the glory of the Lord.

This book is a combination of my books and teachings on the vine and the branches, however, I strongly recommend these other books of mine alongside this book for broader understanding of the teaching. These other books have other topics which are very helpful for personal study and development in your relationship with Christ and also to fulfil your purpose in the Kingdom. I am the Vine, Ye are the Branches: Exploring the Glory and Purpose of the Branch in the Vine (www.rosedogbookstore.com), and, I am the Vine, Ye are the Branches: Lessons that Transform the Human Soul, (www.xlibris.com).

It is my prayer that you will never remain the same at the end of this study.

Introduction

I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing.

—John 15: 5

This is one of the greatest verses in the Scriptures made by the blessed Saviour. It reveals the essence of the coming of Christ Jesus and it holds the completeness and source, the purpose, and future of man. It reveals man’s origin and position with divinity. It reveals the sweet fellowship of God and man, and the uniqueness of man’s identity in God.

Here are some of the hidden truths in the blessed verse.

The verse, first and foremost, reveals the King, His Kingdom, and citizens:

   It reveals the dominion of Christ over the citizens—the believers.

   It reveals the heart of the Godhead for creating and redeeming man.

   It pictures the oneness of the Godhead and the redeemed man.

   It shows that the believers have the same composition of Christ though in small quantity but the same content or quality.

   Again, it reveals that, just as all of God the Father was expressed in and by the Son Jesus, so also all of Christ is (or would be) revealed in and through the believers only.

   It reveals that in Christ are our purpose, function, importance, and future.

These and many more we shall discover in this study.

If you have actually studied a tree to understand its organism, that is, its dependent parts, it will amaze you what Jesus meant when He likened Himself to be the Vine and the believers as the branches. Let me give you a hint: The Vine consists of the root, the trunk, the branches, the sap, the flowers, and the fruits. Just like every other tree, the Vine has His canopy from which shade is created by the branches. Let’s relate them all.

—   The Vine’s Root is God the Father.

—   The Vine’s Trunk is Jesus Christ.

—   The Vine’s Sap is the Holy Spirit.

—   The Branches are the believers in Christ.

—   The Vine’s Fruits are the nature, character, personality, power, glory, and presence of the Vine revealed in a smaller form (mostly consumable or edible form as in the natural trees) through the branches.

—   The Flowers are the sweet fellowship and atmosphere in which divinity relates with the believers to impact His nature, life, faith, glory, etc., in the spirit of man, so as to express them, just as the natural flower creates an environment suitable for pollination for fruits production.

—   The Canopy is the spiritual Kingdom of God having dominion over the spirit of man.

—   The Shade created by the canopy is the physical outward expression and environment created by the believer as a result of the spiritual Kingdom of God in the spirit of man.

Studies have it that a man cannot live beyond the knowledge at his disposal. You cannot live and experience life beyond the understanding you have. This is the same in the Kingdom of God which Christ brought us into. This means, knowledge is your limitation in experiencing and expressing the kingdom.

The Purpose of His Calling for Fruit

In the chapter of the vine, Jesus emphasised that He has brought us into Himself as His branches for the purpose of bringing forth His fruit. As we commence an in-dept study of I am the vine, ye are the branches I would want us to consider why Christ has placed great emphasis on us bringing forth His fruit. We shall be cross-examining Genesis 1 and John 15 for this particular question.

Bearing fruit is a mandate

The first reason for fruit bearing is because it is a mandate from our Creator and Redeemer. Jesus, giving the purpose of choosing, grafting, and ordaining us, as His branches, said, "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit . . . . (John 15: 16) Notice, Jesus did not say,  . . . that ye may go," implying if we so choose. But He said, " . . . that ye should go" as in command.

The mandate is in the word GO. Mandate is an authority given to somebody to do a thing. It is an order from a higher person of authority to carry out an assignment. Jesus gave us an authority to bear fruit and that authority or order is in the words  . . . go and bring forth fruit. This means, anything less than bearing fruit is rebellion to Christ’s authority and government; it is a betrayal to His work of choosing, grafting, and ordaining us to be His branches.

He ordained us and set us apart properly for the purpose of fruit bearing. This mandate is the very one God gave to man when He said, "Be fruitful . . . . (Gen. 1: 28) Be fruitful" is not an appeal, neither an advice but a command.

Another thing to learn is that, both mandates in the Old and New Testaments were not just given without the capacity to be fruitful. We were adequately equipped with the capacity to be fruitful, hence the mandate. Please, understand that your greatest assignment in life is to bear fruit because it is only by it you can replenish and subdue the earth and thereafter have dominion over the earth. Another thing to learn is that Christ did not give us any new law but to restore the original mandate of God for man.

Bearing fruit is our status

You will recall so well that in Genesis 1, everything that God said came to be. For instance, when He said Let there be light we read, and there was light (Gen. 1: 3). Again, all the living creatures God created had seeds that would reproduce themselves after their kinds (Gen. 1: 11).

When it came to man, God said, " . . . Be fruitful . . . ." (Gen. 1: 28). As a divine pattern, as soon as these words were uttered, man assumed the position of being fruitful. In other words, man had within himself seed that would produce fruits. It is this seed he was expected to produce as fruit, multiply them, fill, and subdue the earth with them, and through them have complete dominion over the earth.

So, fruitfulness is man’s status. It is what man is. You are fruitful or full of fruit as a child of God. This is the audacity of Christ commanding us to  . . . go and bring forth fruit, because immediately, we were grafted into Him; we had His seed in our spirits to produce as fruit. This is one of the reasons Paul made us understand that that seed in us is Christ. For he said, Christ is in you (Col. 1: 27).

You see, we must understand the word Be in order to grab this teaching. Be means to assume existence. So, when God said to man Be fruitful, man assumed an existing status of being full of fruits in the inside. Within him were fruits that would reveal the very essence of the image of God in him.

We were empowered to be fruitful

God’s word says "And God blessed them . . . and said, ‘Be fruitful . . . .’" Blessed, in this context, actually means empowered to be, anointed to, ordained to do something." So, man was empowered to live in a status of fruitfulness. Man was given the power to be fruitful from within.

However, man lost it. And this resulted to the coming of Christ Jesus to make all things new. Concluding the mission, Jesus repeated the blessing or empowerment in Genesis 1 in this manner: " . . . I have . . . ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit . . . ." (John 15: 16) The blessedness to bear fruit that man lost in the Garden was exactly what Christ restored and gave back to man in order to fulfil destiny. He re-ordained man to be fruitful, which he was made to be.

Beloved, if you are in Christ Jesus, the Bible says, you are a new creature (2 Cor. 5: 17). This means, you are just like Adam before the fall. This further goes to establish the fact that you are blessed just as Adam was. You are not just mandated to bear fruit or it is your mere status; you are also equally and adequately empowered and ordained to become it and to release the fruit.

We have a fruitful life

Again, in Genesis, God’s word says, " . . . man became a living soul" at the entrance of the breath of life that came from God (Gen. 2: 7). This breath of life is the very life of God. And from all indications, God is fruitful in nature. This establishes the fact that man (I mean the new creature) has fruitful life flowing in his spirit. Your life is fruitful in nature. This is the life of God in Christ, and Christ, in whom you are in and grafted to as branch, is naturally fruitful.

If then you are a branch of Christ, the very life that flows in Him flows into you as well. This indicates that, as the life of God in Christ is fruitful, so the life that flows from Him to you as a new creature is fruitful.

Fruitfulness is the expectation of God

Whatsoever God expects, He speaks forth. He does not say or utter a thing that He does not expect to see. That is why whatsoever He says, He sees. This follows that, Jesus’ greatest expectation is that we bear fruit. He paid the price for us to bear His fruit, hence voicing out His expectation.

This was the exact thing God did in Genesis 1: 28 when He said " . . . Be fruitful . . . . It means; He expects fruits from man. Again, He did not expect what He knew would not become a reality. From the very part of God, the fruits were as real as when He said Be fruitful."

Divinity did not just place responsibility on us to bear fruit; it is also the highest expectation of the Godhead. Hence, God sent His Son Jesus to restore man to the position of bringing forth the fruits which God has always expected in and from man. Nor did He only send His Son to pay the price, He equally sent His very own Spirit to work in us, so as to bring out the fruits.

One reason why it is the greatest expectation of God is because He is glorified in it. Jesus made this clear when He said, "Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit . . ." (John 15: 8).

It is a proof of being His disciples

Jesus said, Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciple (John 15: 8). The acid test, proving whether we are Christ’s disciples, is the fruits we bear. This is where our real walk and work with the Lord lies. The fruit we bear is the clearest form to prove our relationship with and loyalty to Christ.

Objective of this book

This book has the objectives which are as follow:

   To gain in-depth knowledge and understanding of the metaphoric teaching of I am the Vine, Ye are the branches.

   To discover our true purpose as the branch of the heavenly vine.

   To stir up a personal intimacy with the Lord in the bid to reflect His glory on the earth.

   To reposition us in bringing forth the fruit of the vine, which is, revealing the nature of Christ on the earth.

   Finally, to stimulate growth into maturity as we learn that life in the vine is lived in love.

Purpose of John 15

John chapter 15 is exceptionally dedicated to the metaphoric teaching of the vine and the branches. It is a chapter in which Christ purposefully reveals His purpose for the earth, the purpose of the branches, and the consequences of man detaching from Him as the true source of life.

The fifteenth chapter of John is purposefully written in the Scripture to help us appreciate our position and purpose in the Godhead, and to know how valuable our relationship with Christ is. It is a chapter given to us to understand our main function as team members in the Godhead in establishing the purpose of God on the earth.

It is a chapter that leads to self discovering and alignment with the Lord. It is a chapter given us to equip us against the temptations that would come to us from the world because we are no more of the world. It is a chapter given to educate us on how to live as the followers of Christ. Chapter 15 of John reveals that the very nature of Christ is our life and in living in that nature God is glorified.

This book is going to deeply reveal the purpose of this chapter of the I am the vine and ye are the branches.

Understanding the Background of the Chapter

Jesus brought the study of the I am the vine, ye are the branches in a ripe time. It is amazing He did not commence His teaching ministry or His discipleship programme with this teaching. There is a reason for that.

Now Jesus brought this teaching in the very week of His departure from the earth. And as He continues giving His last messages to His disciples, certainly the disciples were weary of His departure. They were sorrowful because they felt they would miss Him for life, and that their relationship would end the moment He leaves them. Jesus even testified of their fears by saying But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. (John 16: 6).

In the midst of the fears and sorrow in their hearts Christ brought the teaching of the vine and the branches to help them understand how strong His relationship is with them and how connected they are with Him. He erased their fears by pointing them to a vine teaching them that until they are cut off from Him they are as connected with Him just as the branches to the vine.

However, why He was teaching them this truth, He pointed out that they are in Him for the purpose of fruit bearing. He helped them understand that even in the time of temptations which shall surely come; the Comforter will be with them to help overcome all temptations.

Therefore, Jesus brought the teaching of the vine to reassure the disciples of their position, purpose and relationship with the Godhead through Christ.

Having said this, it is important to know that every word of God has deep revelation and insight designed for us to fulfil our purpose in Christ. We shall be looking deep into the eternal word of Christ as we learn under the tutelage of the Spirit of Truth, the Greatest Teacher of all ages—the Holy Spirit.

Study Questions

1.    Why did Jesus lay great emphasis on the branches bringing forth His fruit?

2.    Briefly give a background of the vine’s chapter.

Part One

The Organism Of The Vine

Understanding the Structure of the Vine

I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing.

—John 15: 5

Chapter One

Understanding The Structure Of The Vine

I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing.

—John 15: 5

Let us begin this study from having good understanding of an organism. This will set the tone of the study. An organism is a living thing, no matter its size and state of existence. From the outset of this book therefore our focus is on a living object (person). Jesus, " . . . the True Vine" (John 15: 1) is not dead but a living being. He only died but graciously arose on the third day and ascended on high to reposition us to our real place in God. He is presently seated at the right hand of God Almighty. Hallelujah!

Again, an organism is known to be a system consisting of parts that are dependent of each other. By this definition, it is important to know that a tree consists of the root, trunk (or main stalk), branch, sap, and fruits that are dependent of each other to exist as a singular tree. This underlies the study of this segment in particular and the book as a whole.

As earlier said, a tree has parts with different functions yet dependent of each other as a single tree. This is similar to the human body. The human body has different systems and parts that functions separately but in unity for the existence of the body. Now, let us see the parts of the tree and relate them to the Vine. This will give us better walking knowledge with the Lord Jesus and fulfil our purpose as the Vine’s branches.

The Trunk—Jesus Christ

Although the trunk is not the first part, our study demands that we begin from it. Now, the trunk or the stalk is the main thick and biggest part of the tree that grows directly from the root and from which all branches grow. It is the main body of the tree and it shoots from the root. I have likened the trunk of the vine to be Jesus Christ who proceeded from God and also from whom all the redeemed children of God came into being. He is just like the natural trunk of the vine from which all the branches of the vine grows.

Jesus said this about Himself as the Trunk or Vine: "I am the true vine . . . the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine . . . I am the vine . . . ." (John 15: 1, 4, 5)

Jesus is the trunk and at the same time the True Vine from which the branches grow.

The Root—God the Father

Without the root, there is