ALPHA MAAMA (A.M.)

 Tusite Sepitema 14, 2021

apart from me you can do nothing

he ka māvae mo au, ‘oku ‘ikai te mou fa‘a fai ha me‘a

Sione 15 (John 15)

(v. 5) Ko au pē ko e vaine, ko kimoutolu ko e ngaahi va‘a: ko ia ‘oku nofo ma‘u ‘iate au, mo au ‘iate ‘ia, ‘oku fua lahi ‘a e toko taha ko ia: he ka māvae mo au, ‘oku ‘ikai te mou fa‘a fai ha me‘a.

(v. 5) I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

G. Campbell Morgan's Exposition on the Whole Bible

Our Lord now uttered the great allegory of the vine. Certain words in it arrest our attention, "the vine," "the branches," "the fruit." The close interrelationship between these is emphasized, and our Lord declared, "I am the Vine, ye are the branches." The vine includes all-root, stem, branches, leaves, and fruit. No figure of speech could more perfectly set forth the intimate relationship between Christ and His own.

In applying the truth, the commandments of the Lord are found in remarkable setting. The first, "Abide ye in My love"; the second, "Love one another." In this connection He dealt with the ministry of the Spirit in this application.

Their relationship to Him, issuing in likeness to Him, must bring on them the hatred and persecution of the world which already had been brought on Him. Jesus declared this hatred to be finally hatred of the Father. The measure in which His disciples produce the fruitage of His life will be the measure of their revelation of the Father, with its protest against worldliness; and so it must be the measure of the world's hatred of them. Nevertheless, in the Comforter there would be a ministry directly for the world. That testimony is to be borne by the Spirit in His co-operation with the Church.

David Guzik :: Study Guide for John 15

Without Me you can do nothing: It isn’t that the disciples could do no activity without Jesus. They could be active without Him, as were the enemies of Jesus and many others. Yet they and we could do nothing of real, eternal value without Jesus.

“The ‘I am’ comes out in the personal word ‘me,’ and the claim of all power unveils the Omnipotent. These words mean Godhead or nothing.” (Spurgeon)

“It is only by union with Him that any branch can bear fruit: once that union is broken, the sap no longer flows; and fruit in that branch is no longer possible, though the remains of the sap that lay in it may be enough to bear leaves and so for a time give semblance of life.” (Trench)

“Paul does not use the Johannine idiom but he expresses the same truth when he says, ‘It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me’ (Galatians 2:20), and ‘I can do all things in him who strengthens me’ (Philippians 4:13).” (Bruce)

“‘Without me ye can do nothing;’ if this be true of apostles, much more of opposers! If his friends can do nothing without him, I am sure his foes can do nothing against him.” (Spurgeon)