John § 50

And he spoke well of the grape, because as the grape hung on the wood. He is the vine, he is the grape. The vine clinging to the wood: the grape, because the soldier's spear pierced the open side and released water and blood. For this reason, John said: because water and blood came out of him (John 19:34). Water for washing, blood for redemption. Water cleanses us, blood redeems us.

Not only is the church a field, but God is the tiller of the field. Listen to the Lord himself: "I am the vine, you the twigs, and my Father is the vinedresser." Toiling in this field as a laborer and hoping for an eternal reward, the apostle claims no credit for himself, except a laborer's due. "I planted," he says, "Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. And so neither the one who plants is anything, nor the one who waters, but God who gives the increase."

For we [through praise] cultivate God, and God cultivates us. But our cultivating of God does not make him better: our cultivating is that of adoration, not of plowing.… His cultivating of us makes us better.… His cultivating consists in getting rid of all the seeds of wickedness from our hearts, in opening our heart to the plow, as it were, of his word, in sowing in us the seeds of his commandments, and in waiting for the fruits of godliness.

This passage of the Gospel, brethren, where the Lord calls Himself the vine, and His disciples the branches, declares in so many words that the Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, is the head of the Church, and that we are His members. For as the vine and its branches are of one nature, therefore, His own nature as God being different from ours, He became man, that in Him human nature might be the vine, and we who also are men might become branches thereof. What mean, then, the words, "I am the true vine"? Was it to the literal vine, from which that metaphor was drawn, that He intended to point them by the addition of "true"? For it is by similitude, and not by any personal propriety, that He is thus called a vine; just as He is also termed a sheep, a lamb, a lion, a rock, a corner-stone, and other names of a like kind, which are themselves rather the true ones, from which these are drawn as similitudes, not as realities. But when He says, "I am the true vine," it is to distinguish Himself, doubtless, from that vine to which the words are addressed: "How art thou turned into sourness, as a strange vine?" For how could that be a true vine which was expected to bring forth grapes and brought forth thorns?

"I am," He says, "the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, He taketh away; and every one that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit." Are, then, the husbandman and the vine one? Christ is the vine in the same sense as when He said, "The Father is greater than I;" but in that sense wherein He said, "I and my Father are one," He is also the husbandman. And yet not such a one as those, whose whole service is confined to external labor; but such, that He also supplies the increase from within. "For neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase." But Christ is certainly God, for the Word was God; and so He and the Father are one: and if the Word was made flesh, that which He was not before, He nevertheless still remains what He was. And still more, after saying of the Father, as of the husbandman, that He taketh away the fruitless branches, and pruneth the fruitful, that they may bring forth more fruit, He straightway points to Himself as also the purger of the branches, when He says, "Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you." Here, you see, He is also the pruner of the branches, a work which belongs to the husbandman, and not to the vine; and more than that, He maketh the branches His workmen. For although they give not the increase, they afford some help; but not of themselves: "For without me," He says, "ye can do nothing." And listen, also, to their own confession: "What, then, is Apollos, and what is Paul but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man. I have planted, Apollos watered." And this, too, "as the Lord gave to every man;" and so not of themselves. In that, however, which follows, "but God gave the increase," He works not by them, but by Himself; for work like that exceeds the lowly capacity of man, transcends the lofty powers of angels, and rests solely and entirely in the hands of the Triune Husbandman. "Now ye are clean," that is, clean, and yet still further to be cleansed. For, had they not been clean, they could not have borne fruit; and yet every one that beareth fruit is purged by the husbandman, that he may bring forth more fruit. He bears fruit because he is clean; and to bear more, he is cleansed still further. For who in this life is so clean as not to be in need of still further and further cleansing? seeing that, "if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us; but if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness;" to cleanse in very deed the clean, that is, the fruitful, that they may be so much the more fruitful, as they have been made the cleaner.

(Tr. lxxx. 2) He says this as being the Head of the Church, of which we are the members, the Man Christ Jesus; for the vine and the branches are of the same nature. When He says, I am the true vine, He does not mean really a vine; for He is only called so metaphorically, not literally, even as He is called the Lamb, the Sheep, and the like; but He distinguishes Himself from that vine to whom it is said, How art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me. (Jer. 11:21) For how is that a true vine, which when grapes are expected from it, produces only thorns?

(de Verb. Dom. serm. lix) For we cultivate God, and God cultivates us. But our culture of God does not make Him better: our culture is that of adoration, not of ploughing: His culture of us makes us better. His culture consists in extirpating all the seeds of wickedness from our hearts, in opening our heart to the plough, as it were, of His word, in sowing in us the seeds of His commandments, in waiting for the fruits of piety.

(Tr. lxxx. 3) And who is there in this world so clean, that he cannot be more and more changed? Here, if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. (1 John 1:8) He cleanseth then the clean, i. e. the fruitful, that the cleaner they be, the more fruitful they may be. Christ is the vine, in that He saith, My Father is greater than I; but in that He saith, I and My Father are one, He is the husbandman; not like those who carry on an external ministry only; for He giveth increase within. Thus He calls Himself immediately the cleanser of the branches: Now ye are clean through the word, which I have spoken unto you. He performs the part of the husbandman then, as well as of the vine. But why does He not say, ye are clean by reason of the baptism wherewith ye are washed? Because it is the word in the water which cleanseth. Take away the word, and what is the water, but water? Add the word to the element, and you have a sacrament. Whence hath the water such virtue as that by touching the body, it cleanseth the heart, but by the power of the word, not spoken only, but believed? For in the word itself, the passing sound is one thing, the abiding virtue another. This word of faith is of such avail in the Church of God, that by Him who believes, presents, blesses, sprinkles the infant, it cleanseth that infant, though itself is unable to believe.

Second, concerning constancy in true love, three things are set forth.

I am the true vine etc. In the preceding chapter the Lord exhorted his disciples to constancy of faith; in this chapter he exhorts them to proven and true love. And since true love first loves God, then also loves a friend in God and loves and tolerates an enemy for God's sake, therefore he first exhorts the disciples to the love of God; second, to the love of friends, at the passage: This is my commandment, that you love etc.; third, to the love and toleration of enemies, at the passage: If the world hates you, know etc.

First, he exhorts the disciples to the love of God.

He exhorts them first to the love of God: and because "he who abides in charity abides in God," he exhorts them to abide in himself, and he does this in the following order. First, the place of abiding is described; second, the fruit; third, the manner; fourth, the effect.

The place of abiding, therefore, is expressed first as Christ himself, in whom the faithful ought to abide, just as the branch abides in the vine. Therefore he says: I am the true vine, therefore true, because it produces true wine, of which the penultimate chapter of Genesis says: "He shall wash his robe in wine and his garment in the blood of the grape, binding his foal to the vineyard and his donkey to the vine." This vine is not uncultivated; therefore he says: And my Father is the husbandman, not only one who cultivates from without but who gives increase from within; First Corinthians three: "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase," and shortly after: "You are God's husbandry, you are God's building." Therefore the Father is the true husbandman, because he carries out his work.

Question I. But here a question is raised about what he says: I am the true vine.

Augustine objects: If vine is said of Christ, just as lion and stone are said of him, and these are said not properly but by likeness, and those things are called true which are said properly, it does not seem that he should say: I am the true vine, but rather the figurative vine.

And Augustine responds that by adding true, "he distinguishes himself from that vine to which it was said: How have you turned into bitterness, O foreign vine"? Jeremiah two: How have you turned to perversity, O foreign vineyard? Hence it is not called true because it is not said by likeness, but true because it is not foreign.

Nevertheless, it can be said that just as true wine is that which has the operation of wine, so the true vine is that which has the operation of the vine. The vine therefore, literally, is true when it produces wine; not true, that which does not bear fruit. So also a figurative vine is called true which has the activity of the vine; not true, which does not have it. So also Christ, because he truly has the activity of the vine, is the true vine. But not the synagogue, of which Isaiah five says: "He expected it to produce grapes, but it produced thorns."

Question II. But then the question remains: why does the Lord compare himself to the grain of wheat among grains, and to the wood of the vine among woods?

I respond: This is on account of the true body and the mystical body. The true body of Christ is true food, and the true blood is true drink. Because therefore from grains of wheat is made bread that most excellently nourishes, and from the vine wine that most excellently gives drink, he therefore compared himself to the vine and the grain. And hence it is that in these two species the Sacrament of the altar is confected.

Another reason is on account of the mystical body, because just as from the purest grains of wheat and grape berries bread and wine are made, so from pure faithful ones the mystical body of Christ is formed.

Question III. Likewise it is asked, according to which nature Christ is the vine, whether according to the divine or according to the human.

And that it is according to the human nature, Augustine says: "The vine and the branches are of one nature; on account of which, since he was God, of whose nature we are not, he was made man, so that in him the vine would be human nature, of which we too could be branches."

But against this there is: 1. Because insofar as the vine pours sap into the branches: therefore if no one pours the sap of grace except God alone and insofar as He is God, then He is the vine according to the divine nature. 2. Likewise, in this vine all the Saints from Abel to the last just person remained and proceeded; but Christ according to His human nature came after Abel: therefore they were not branches in Him according to His human nature.

I respond: It must be understood that certain things are said of Christ according to the divine nature purely, such that they are said no less even when the human nature is abstracted, as being eternal and impassible: certain things according to the human purely, as being mortal and passible: certain things according to the human insofar as it is united to the divine, or conversely, as being mediator. For if He were only God, He would not be mediator: if only man, He would not be mediator: if God and man, then He is mediator. And according to this He is the vine and the head of the Church insofar as He is mediator. Therefore that He is called the vine is not according to the human nature purely, but insofar as it is joined to the divine in the unity of the hypostasis. And on account of the unity of the hypostasis, Christ is the object of faith according to both natures, whence insofar as we believe Him to be God and man. And because without this faith, whether implicit or explicit, no one was saved, the sap of grace from this vine overflowed into all the Saints.

And thus it is clear how He was the vine with respect to those who preceded and those who followed; whence both those who went before and those who followed cried out: Hosanna to the Son of David. Whence Christ was most fittingly signified by the cluster of grapes that was brought from the promised land, Numbers thirteen, which they carried on their shoulders, and those who went before carried it but did not see it: those who followed carried it and saw it.

For the vine produces wine, as the Word, produces blood, and both drink for health to men-wine for the body, blood for the spirit.

Know then that I have been admonished that, in offering the cup, the tradition of the Lord must be observed, and that nothing must be done by us but what the Lord first did on our behalf, as that the cup which is offered in remembrance of Him should be offered mingled with wine. For when Christ says, "I am the true vine." the blood of Christ is assuredly not water, but wine; neither can His blood by which we are redeemed and quickened appear to be in the cup, when in the cup there is no wine whereby the blood of Christ is shown forth, which is declared by the sacrament and testimony of all the Scriptures.

He wants to show us how important it is to love, to hold fast to our love toward him and how much we gain from our union with him. This is why he says that he is the vine, by way of illustration. Those united, anchored and rooted in him, who are already partakers in his nature through their participation in the Holy Spirit, are branches. For it is his Holy Spirit who has united us with the Savior Christ since connection with the vine produces a choice of those things that belong to it. And our connection with the vine holds us fast. From a firm resolve in goodness we proceed onward by faith and we become his people, obtaining from him the dignity of sonship.… He says that he is a vine, the mother and nourisher, as it were, of its branches. For we are begotten of him and in him, in the Spirit, to produce the fruits of life.

For it is the function of the vine to nourish the branches, and of the tiller of the soil to tend them. And if we think about this in the right way, we will see that neither the one function if performed apart from the Father, nor the other function if performed apart from the Son or Holy Spirit, could sustain the whole. For everything proceeds from the Father by the Son in the Spirit. And so it is only appropriate now that the Savior called the Father a vinedresser so that no one might think that the Only Begotten is the only one who exercised care over us. This is why he represents God the Father as cooperating with him, calling himself the vine that enlivens his own branches with life and the power to produce, and the Father as the vinedresser, thereby teaching us that providential care over us is a sort of distinct activity of the divine substance.

Now concerning the Thanksgiving (Eucharist), thus give thanks. First, concerning the cup: We thank thee, our Father, for the holy vine of David Thy servant, which Thou madest known to us through Jesus Thy Servant; to Thee be the glory for ever.

The wine of his blood, gathered from the many grapes of the vine planted by him, is pressed out in the winepress of the cross, and of its own power it begins to ferment in the capacious vessels of those who receive it with faithful heart.

In His zeal to do the Father's commandment, He rises and hastens to complete the mystery of His bodily passion. But the next moment He unfolds the mystery of His assumption of flesh. Through this assumption we are in Him, as the branches in the vinestock; and unless He had become the Vine, we could have borne no good fruit. He exhorts us to abide in Himself, through faith in His assumed body, that, since the Word has been made flesh, we may be in the nature of His flesh, as the branches are in the Vine. He separates the form of the Father's majesty from the humiliation of the assumed flesh by calling Himself the Vine, the source of unity for all the branches, and the Father the careful Husbandman, Who prunes away its useless and barren branches to be burnt in the fire.

(ix. de Trin) He rises in haste to perform the sacrament of His final passion in the flesh, (such is His desire to fulfil His Father's commandment:) and therefore takes occasion to unfold the mystery of His assumption of His flesh, whereby He supports us, as the vine doth its branches: I am the true vine.

(ix. de Trin) But He wholly separates this humiliation in the flesh from the form of the Paternal Majesty, by setting forth the Father as the diligent Husbandman of this vine: And My Father is the Husbandman.

"Binding his ass to a vine: "that means that He unites His people of the circumcision with His own calling (vocation). For He was the vine. "And his ass's colt to the vine-tendril: "that denotes the people of the Gentiles, as He calls the circumcision and the uncircumcision unto one faith.

"I am the Vine, ye are the branches." What willeth He to imply by the comparison? That the man who gives no heed to His words can have no life, and that the miracles about to take place, would be wrought by the power of Christ. "My Father is the Husbandman." "How then? Doth the Son need a power working within?" Away with the thought! this example does not signify this. Observe with what exactness He goeth through the comparison. He saith not that the "root" enjoys the care of the Husbandman, but, "the branches." And the root is brought in in this place for no other purpose, but that they may learn that they can work nothing without His power, and that they ought to be united with Him by faith as the branch with the vine.

The sober and joy-producing vine, from whose instructions, as from branches, there joyfully hang down clusters of graces, distilling love, is our Lord Jesus, who says expressly to the apostles. The vine, and that not in a few places, refers to the Lord Himself,

Run through the whole Gospel, and you will find that He whom you believe to be the Father (described as acting for the Father, although you, for your part, forsooth, suppose that "the Father, being the husbandman," must surely have been on earth) is once more recognised by the Son as in heaven, when, "lifting up His eyes thereto," He commended His disciples to the safe-keeping of the Father.

I am the true vine. Drink my joy, the wine I have mixed for you. For my cup is intoxicating for me, intoxicating like the most powerful antidote—like joy against the grief that sprouted in Adam.… I have given you a table, life-giving and joy-creating, that offers in exchange for distress unspeakable joy before those who have envied you. Eat the bread that renews your nature. Drink the wine, the exultation of immortality. Eat the bread that purges away the old bitterness, and drink the wine that eases the pain of the wound. This is the healing of your nature; this is the punishment of the one who did the injury.… I became the true vine in your race, that in me you might bear sweet-smelling fruit.

What mystery does He teach them? "I," He says, "am the vine, that is, the root, and you are the branches, and My Father is the vinedresser." For whom then does the Father care? Surely for the root? No, but for the branches.

1978 In this talk our Lord especially wants to comfort his disciples about two things: one was near, in the present, and this was his passion; the other was what they feared in the future, and this was the troubles which would come upon them. He had said to them about these two things: Let not your hearts be troubled, referring to the first, and neither let them be afraid (14:27), referring to the second.

So now, after comforting them over his leaving (14:1), he strengthens them for the troubles which will come upon them. First, he presents a certain picture; secondly, he moves from this to his intention (15:3). The picture he presents is of a vine and a vinedresser. First, he mentions the vine; secondly, the vinedresser; and thirdly, he approves of the vinedresser's concern for the branches of the vine.

1979 He himself is the vine. So he says, making a comparison, I am the vine; for just like a vine, although it seems to be of small account, nevertheless surpasses all trees in the sweetness of its fruit, so Christ, although he seemed to be despised by the world because he was poor, and seemed of small account and was publicly disgraced, nevertheless produced the sweetest fruit: "His fruit was sweet to my taste" (Song 2:3). And so Christ is a vine producing a wine which interiorly intoxicates us: a wine of sorrow for sin: "You have given us to drink the wine of sorrow" [Ps 60:3]; and a wine which strengthens us, that is, which restores us: "My blood is drink indeed" (6:55). In the same way he compared himself, above, to wheat, for his flesh is truly food.

This is the vine mentioned in Genesis (40:9-10): "There was a vine before me, and on the vine there were three branches," that is Christ, in whom there are three substances: his body, soul and divinity. This is also the vine about which Jacob says: "My son, tie your she-ass," that is, the Church, "to the vine" [Gen 49:11].

1980 This vine is true. Sometimes what is true is distinguished from its likeness, as a man is distinguished from his picture. And sometimes what is true is distinguished from what is deformed or spoiled, as true wine is distinguished from vinegar, which is spoiled wine. When Christ says here, I am the true vine, he is using true in the second sense to distinguish himself from the deformed or spoiled vine, which is the Jewish people. We read about them: "How then have you turned degenerate and become a wild vine" (Jer 2:21). This was because this vine brought forth wild grapes instead of grapes: "When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes?" (Is 5:4).

1981 There are two natures in Christ, the divine and the human. Because of his human nature he is like us and is less than the Father. Because of his divine nature he is like God and above us. Thus he is the true vine insofar as he is the head of the Church, the man Christ Jesus. He implies this when he mentions the vinedresser, who is the Father. He says, and my Father is the vinedresser. If Christ is the vine because of his divine nature, the Father would also be the vine like the Son. But because Christ is the vine by reason of his human nature, the Father is related to him as vinedresser to vine. Indeed, even Christ himself, as God, is a vinedresser.

1982 [The vinedresser cultivates the vine.] Now to cultivate something is to devote one's interest to it. And we can cultivate something in two ways: either to make what is cultivated better, as we cultivate a field or something of that sort, or to make ourselves better by the cultivating, and in this way we cultivate wisdom. God cultivates us to make us better by his work, since he roots out the evil seeds in our hearts. As Augustine says, he opens our hearts with the plow of his words, plants the seeds of the commandments, and harvests the fruit of devotion.

But we cultivate God, not by plowing but by adoring, in order that we may be made better by him: "If any one is a worshiper," that is, a cultivator, "of God and does his will, God listens to him" (9:31). And so the Father is the vinedresser of this vine for the good of others. For he plants: "I planted you a choice vine, wholly of pure seed" (Jer 2:21), and makes it grow: I planted, Apollos can make one grow from within and produce fruit, no matter how much others cooperate on the exterior. And God guards and preserves, for we read that he built a watchtower in the vineyard, and put a hedge around it (Mt 21:33; Is 5:2).

Every branch in me not bearing fruit, he shall take away: Matthew three: "The axe is laid to the root of the tree: every tree that does not bear good fruit shall be cut down and cast into the fire." And every one that bears fruit, he shall purge it, that it may bring forth more fruit. He shall purge, through penitence; whence First John one: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, to forgive us all our sins and to cleanse us from all iniquity." He also purges through patience: whence in the Psalm: "For you have proved us, O God: you have tried us by fire, as silver is tried; you have brought us into the snare," etc. In this vine, therefore, the clean branches are best placed; therefore he exhorts the Apostles, already clean, to abide in himself.

Question V. The question is raised concerning what He says: The Father will take away every branch not bearing fruit.

Either he will take away from the vine, or he will take away from life. From the vine, no, because the Father separates no one from his Son; or if he takes away, how does he take away from the vine? Because he who does not work good is by that very fact separated from the vine, Christ, because he does not have grace, but rather loses it. If from life; this is false, because the wicked live longer than the good, as we see. Likewise, he also takes the good from bodily life just as he does the wicked.

I respond: It must be said that the branches draw from Christ not the life of nature, but the life of grace and the life of glory. A branch is said to be taken away or separated from this vine not through the death of nature, but through the death of sin, or of final damnation. Hence unfruitful branches and those who receive the grace of God in vain are separated from the vine by the merit of their sin through the judgment of divine justice; hence Revelation 3: Because you are lukewarm, I will begin to vomit you out; because by just judgment God does not bestow grace upon them. By the judgment of final damnation they will be taken away and cast into the fire, when the time of meriting is closed off; hence he says: he will take away, not because he removes immediately, since he grants a place for repentance.

The Lord clearly reveals himself when describing figuratively his many and various ways of service.… For the vine that is not pruned grows to wood. It is the same way with humankind. The Word—the knife—clears away the wanton shoots, compelling the impulses of the soul to become fruitful, not to indulge in lust. Now, reproof addressed to sinners has their salvation for its aim, the word being harmoniously adjusted to each one's conduct, now with tightened, now with relaxed cords.

If we demonstrate what kind of union we have by only a mere barren confession of faith—without sealing the bond of our union by the good works that proceed from love—we will be branches indeed, but still dead and without fruit. Faith without works is dead, as the saint says. Accordingly, if the branch hangs fruitlessly, so to speak, from the trunk of the vine, know that such a person will encounter the pruning knife of the husbandman. He will entirely cut it off and burn it as worthless rubbish.

God works with those who have chosen to live the best and most perfect life and to do good works as far as they are able, having elected to seek perfection as citizens of God. God uses the working power of the Spirit as a pruning hook, sometimes circumcising in them the pleasures that are always calling us to fleshly lusts and bodily passions. Other times, God circumcises all those temptations that are likely to assail the souls of people, defiling the mind by diverse kinds of evils. We say that this circumcision is not the work of hands but is truly that of the Spirit. … If the branches of the vine suffer any purging, that purging cannot take place, I suppose, without suffering. For it is painful insofar as wood can suffer pain.… For our God who loves virtue instructs us by pain and tribulation.… But while divine wrath will bring about the complete severance of the barren branches that are consigned to punishment, a [less severe] judgment—one that is out of consideration and mercy—will purge those who bear fruit, bringing only a little pain while accelerating their fertility and occasioning a greater number of blossoms springing up.… Therefore let the fervor that shows itself in works be combined with the confession of the faith, and let it unite action with the doctrines concerning God. For then we shall be with Christ and experience the secure and safe power of fellowship with him, escaping the peril that results from being cut off from him.

The sons of truth grow large on this Branch of Truth; they have been perfected and have become fruits fit for the kingdom. But, although the Branch is living, on it are also dead fruits that only seem to blossom. The wind tested them and shook down the wild grapes. Blessed is he who crowned by [the Spirit] those who held fast in him!…

Jesus, bend down to us your love that we may grasp this Branch that bent down her fruits for the ungrateful; they ate and were satisfied, yet they demeaned her who had bent down as far as Adam in Sheol. She ascended and lifted him up and with him returned to Eden. Blessed is he who bent her down toward us that we might seize her and ascend on her. Who indeed will not weep that although the Branch is great, the weakness of one unwill ing to seize her greatness maintains that she is a feeble branch— she who has conquered all kings and cast a shadow upon the entire world! By suffering her power has increased. Blessed is he who made her greater than that vine from Egypt! Who will not hold fast to this Branch of Truth. She bore the true ones; she shed the false. Not because they were too heavy for her did she shed them. For our sake she tested them in the breeze; it shook down the shriveled; it ripened the firm.

(ix. de Trin) The useless and deceitful branches He cuts down for burning.

Further, also, concerning Jerusalem and the Lord, they venture to assert that, if it had been "the city of the great King," it would not have been deserted. This is just as if any one should say, that if straw were a creation of God, it would never part company with the wheat; and that the vine twigs, if made by God, never would be lopped away and deprived of the clusters. But as these [vine twigs] have not been originally made for their own sake, but for that of the fruit growing upon them, which being come to maturity and taken away, they are left behind, and those which do not conduce to fructification are lopped off altogether; so also [was it with] Jerusalem, which had in herself borne the yoke of bondage (under which man was reduced, who in former times was not subject to God when death was reigning, and being subdued, became a fit subject for liberty), when the fruit of liberty had come, and reached maturity, and been reaped and stored in the barn, and when those which had the power to produce fruit had been carried away from her [i.e., from Jerusalem], and scattered throughout all the world. Even as Esaias saith, "The children of Jacob shall strike root, and Israel shall flourish, and the whole world shall be filled with his fruit." The fruit, therefore, having been sown throughout all the world, she (Jerusalem) was deservedly forsaken, and those things which had formerly brought forth fruit abundantly were taken away; for from these, according to the flesh, were Christ and the apostles enabled to bring forth fruit. But now these are no longer useful for bringing forth fruit. For all things which have a beginning in time must of course have an end in time also.

"Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit the Father taketh away." Here He alludeth to the manner of life, showing that without works it is not possible to be in Him. "And every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it." That is, "causeth it to enjoy great care." Yet the root requires care rather than the branches, in being dug about, and cleared, yet about this He saith nothing here, but all about the branches. Showing that He is sufficient to Himself, and that the disciples need much help from the Husbandman, although they be very excellent. Wherefore He saith, "that which beareth fruit, He purgeth it." The one branch, because it is fruitless, cannot even remain in the Vine, but for the other, because it beareth fruit, He rendereth it more fruitful. This, some one might assert, was said with relation also to the persecutions then coming upon them. For the "purgeth it," is "pruneth," which makes the branch bear better. Whence it is shown, that persecutions rather make men stronger.

Now it is evident that no one can terrify or subdue us who have believed in Jesus over all the world. For it is plain that, though beheaded, and crucified, and thrown to wild beasts, and chains, and fire, and all other kinds of torture, we do not give up our confession; but the more such things happen, the more do others and in larger numbers become faithful, and worshippers of God through the name of Jesus. For Just as if one should cut away the fruit-bearing parts of a vine, it grows up again, and yields other branches flourishing and fruitful; even so the same thing happens with us. For the vine planted by God and Christ the Saviour is His people.

For, He says, "every branch not bearing fruit, He cuts off," that is, every person who through faith has become part of the root, has been united with the Lord and made a member of His body, must also bear fruit, that is, lead a virtuous life, so that if someone has only a mere profession of faith, but does not bear fruit through the keeping of the commandments, he becomes a dead branch; for "faith, if it has no works, is dead" (James 2:17). So then, every believer remains in Christ as long as he believes. "For," He says, "every branch that is in Me, if it does not bear fruit, the Father 'cuts off,' that is, deprives it of communion with the Son, 'but the one that bears fruit He cleanses.'" From this we learn that even a very virtuous person still needs the care of God. For a fruitless branch cannot remain on the vine, while the fruitful one the Father makes even more fruitful. Understand these words also concerning the tribulations of the disciples. Since tribulations are similar to what gardeners call pruning, the Lord shows the disciples that through tribulations they will become more fruitful, just as branches become through pruning. For through trials they proved to be stronger and stronger.

1983 The vinedresser is concerned about two things: the vine and its branches. Now the vine considered here was perfect, and did not need care by the vinedresser. And so the entire care of the vinedresser will be directed to the branches. He says, every branch of mine and so forth. The branches of a vine, however, have the nature of the vine; and so those united to Christ are branches of this vine: "The vine brought forth branches" [Ez 17:6]. He mentions two things about the branches: first, the attitude of the vinedresser to the bad branches; his interest in the good branches.

1984 The vinedresser's interest in the bad branches is to cut them off the vine. Thus he says, every branch, that is, every believer, of mine that bears no fruit, that is, bears no fruit on the vine, which is me, without whom nothing can bear fruit, he takes away from the vine. It is clear from this that not only are some cut off from Christ for doing evil, but also because they neglect to do good: "We entreat you not to accept the grace of God in vain" (2 Cor 6:1). Thus the Apostle said about himself: "By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain" (1 Cor 15:10). We read in Matthew (25:28) that the money was taken away from the servant who did not bear fruit with it, but hid it instead; and our Lord ordered the unfruitful fig tree to be cut down (Lk 13:7).

1985 His interest in the good branches is to help them so they can bear more fruit. So he says, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Considering the literal sense, we see that a natural vine with branches that have many shoots bears less fruit, because the sap is spread out through all the shoots. Thus the vinedresser prunes away the extra shoots so that the vine can bear more fruit. It is the same with us. For if we are well-disposed and united to God, yet scatter our love over many things, our virtue becomes weak and we become less able to do good. This is why God, in order that we may bear fruit, will frequently remove such obstacles and prune us by sending troubles and temptations, which make us stronger. Accordingly, he says, he prunes, even though one may be clean, for in this life no one is so clean that he does not need to be cleansed more and more: "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 Jn 1:8). And he does this so that it may bear more fruit, that is, grow in virtue, so that the more pruned or cleansed the more fruitful one is: "Let the just still be justified, and the holy still be sanctified" [Rev 22:11]; "The Gospel is bearing fruit and growing" (Col 1:6); "They go from strength to strength" (Ps 84:7).

"Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you." Why does He not say, Ye are clean through the baptism wherewith ye have been washed, but "through the word which I have spoken unto you," save only that in the water also it is the word that cleanseth? Take away the word, and the water is neither more nor less than water. The word is added to the element, and there results the Sacrament, as if itself also a kind of visible word. For He had said also to the same effect, when washing the disciples' feet, "He that is washed needeth not, save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit." And whence has water so great an efficacy, as in touching the body to cleanse the soul, save by the operation of the word; and that not because it is uttered, but because it is believed? For even in the word itself the passing sound is one thing, the abiding efficacy another. "This is the word of faith which we preach," says the apostle, "that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth that Jesus is the Lord, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shall be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Accordingly, we read in the Acts of the Apostles, "Purifying their hearts by faith;" and, says the blessed Peter in his epistle, "Even as baptism doth also now save us, not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience." "This is the word of faith which we preach," whereby baptism, doubtless, is also consecrated, in order to its possession of the power to cleanse. For Christ, who is the vine with us, and the husbandman with the Father, "loved the Church, and gave Himself for it." And then read the apostle, and see what he adds: "That He might sanctify it, cleansing it with the washing of water by the word." The cleansing, therefore, would on no account be attributed to the fleeting and perishable element, were it not for that which is added, "by the word." This word of faith possesses such virtue in the Church of God, that through the medium of him who in faith presents, and blesses, and sprinkles it, He cleanseth even the tiny infant, although itself unable as yet with the heart to believe unto righteousness, and to make confession with the mouth unto salvation. All this is done by means of the word, whereof the Lord saith, "Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you."

The world, that is, life enslaved by the affections of the flesh, can no more receive the grace of the Spirit than a weak eye the light of a sunbeam. But the Lord, who by his teaching bore witness to purity of life, gives to his disciples the power of now both beholding and contemplating the Spirit. For "now," he says, "you are clean through the word that I have spoken to you," wherefore "the world cannot receive him, because it does not see him … but you know him. For he dwells with you." And this is what Isaiah says, "He who spread forth the earth and that which comes out of it; he who gives breath to the people on it, and Spirit to them that trample on it." For those who trample down earthly things and rise above them are shown to be as worthy of the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Already you are clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. This was the word of faith, which purifies believers: Acts fifteen: "Purifying their hearts by faith."

Question IV. Likewise Augustine asks concerning what He says: You are clean because of the word which I have spoken to you: because the word is exterior, cleanliness is interior. How then can an exterior word cleanse interiorly?

I respond: It must be said that this is either on account of faith, or on account of the Sacrament of faith: on account of faith, because faith comes from hearing, which purifies the heart: on account of the Sacrament of faith, which is baptism. Whence Augustine says: "In the water the word cleanses: take away the word, what is water but water? The word comes to the element, and it becomes a Sacrament." But this word of faith and of the Sacrament, even though it is exterior, nevertheless cleanses, as Augustine says, "not because it is spoken, but because it is believed; Romans ten: If you confess with your mouth that the Lord has ascended into heaven, and in your heart you believe that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved".

He makes his disciples a palpable and convincing demonstration of the art of the purifier of their souls. For already, he says, they are purged not by participating in anything else but merely by the word spoken to them, that is, the divine guidance of the gospel. And this word proceeds from Christ. What man or woman of sense, then, can any longer call into question that the Father has, as it were, a pruning knife and hand through whose instrumentality everything exists, that is, the Son, fulfilling the activity of that husbandry in us which he attributes to the person of the Father, teaching us that all things proceed from the Father by the instrumentality of the Son? For it is the Word of the Savior that purges us; the husbandry of our souls is attributed to God the Father. For this is his living Word, sharp as a sword, "piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart." For, reaching into the depths of each person's inmost soul and having every person's hidden purpose revealed before it as God, it brings its keen edge to bear on our vain pursuits by the working of the Spirit. For this is what our purification consists in, I suppose. And all things that are for our profit in the attainment of virtue it increases and multiplies to bear the fruit that is conceived in righteousness.

"Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you." Seest thou how He introduceth Himself as tending the branches? "I have cleansed you," He saith; yet above He declareth that the Father doth this. But there is no separation between the Father and the Son.

Then, lest they ask, "About whom are You saying this?", He says, "You are already clean through the word which I have preached to you." Look, above He said that the Father cleanses, but now He presents Himself as the one caring for the branches. Thus, the Father and the Son have one activity. "I," He says, "have cleansed you through My teaching: now it is necessary that you too show in deed what is required on your part." Therefore He also adds:

1986 Now he passes from this picture to his main intention. Two things were noticed in the above picture when comparing the branches to the vine: the union of the branches to the vine, and the pruning of the branches. First, he considers the union of the branches with the vine; secondly, their pruning (v 18). As to the first, he advises the disciples to cling to the vine; secondly, he gives the reason for this (v 4b); thirdly, he describes this union (v 9). He does two things concerning the first: he reminds them of a benefit already received; secondly, he tells them to abide in him (4a).

1987 The benefit they had already received was that of being cleansed. He says, you are already made clean. It is like saying: I have said certain things about branches; and you are branches ready to be pruned so as to bear fruit. And you are clean by the word which I have spoken to you.

The word of Christ, in the first place, cleanses us from error by teaching us: "He must hold firm to the sure word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine" (Tit 1:9). This is because there is no falsity in the words of God: "All my words are right" [Prv 8:8]. He says, you are already made clean from the errors of the Jews. Secondly, the word of Christ cleanses our hearts from earthly affections by inflaming them toward heavenly things. For the word of God by its power moves our hearts, weighed down by earthly things, and sets them on fire: "Is not my word fire?" (Jer 23:29). Thirdly when God is invoked in baptism, his word cleanses us from sin. For we are cleansed in baptism because the word cleanses with the water. As Augustine says: "Take away the word and what is the water but only water? The word accompanies the element and a sacrament is formed." Thus it is the word which makes the water touch the body and wash the heart. The word, I say, not because it is spoken, but because it is believed. For this word of faith is so strong in the Church that it even cleanses infants, although they themselves cannot believe, when it is proclaimed from the faith of those who believe, offer, bless and touch the infants, "baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Mt 28:19). Fourthly, the word of Christ cleanses by the power of faith: God "cleansed their hearts by faith" (Acts 15:9).

Thus he says to them, you already instructed, moved, baptized, strengthened in faith, are already made clean by the word which I have spoken to you. "You are clean, but not all" (13:10). Since he had said above that the work of a vinedresser was to prune, he clearly shows that he is a vinedresser when he says that his word cleanses. And indeed, Christ, as God, is a vinedresser and prunes the branches.

Therefore, the vine has clearly indicated itself as an example to be drawn upon for the establishment of our way of life, which is first said to bud when warmed by the temperature of spring: then to produce fruit from the very joints of its branches, from which the budding grape is formed, and gradually growing, it retains the bitterness of its immature offspring, and can only become sweet when fully ripe and cooked. Meanwhile, the vine is covered with flourishing tendrils, which provide considerable support against the cold and protect it from the heat of the sun. But what is more pleasing to me, or more delightful than a spectacle, than to see wreaths hanging like beautiful rural necklaces, to pluck grapes shining with a golden or purple color? You think the hyacinths and other gems sparkle, the Indian gems flash, and the grace of the white ones gleam. Do not overlook the warning in these, O man, lest your final days find your fruits premature, or the time of a full life make your unfinished works disgraceful. For bitter fruit tends to be more unpleasant; and it cannot be sweet unless it has reached the maturity of perfection. To this perfect man, neither the cold of dreaded death nor the sun of iniquity usually does harm because he is overshadowed by spiritual grace and extinguishes the fires of all worldly desires and bodily lusts. Let all who behold you praise you, and let the ranks of the Church marvel at you like a garland of palm branches. Let each one behold the beautiful necklaces of the faithful souls; let them delight in the maturity of prudence, the splendor of faith, the beauty of confession, the loveliness of justice, and the abundance of mercy, so that it may be said to you: Your wife is like a fruitful vine on the sides of your house (Ps. 127:3); because you imitate the abundance of a fruitful vine and the bountiful gift of generosity.

Jesus called Himself the vine, and His disciples the branches, and His Father the husbandman; whereon we have already discoursed as we were able. But in the present passage, while still speaking of Himself as the vine, and of His branches, or, in other words, of the disciples, He said, "Abide in me, and I in you." They are not in Him in the same kind of way that He is in them. And yet both ways tend to their advantage, and not to His. For the relation of the branches to the vine is such that they contribute nothing to the vine, but from it derive their own means of life; while that of the vine to the branches is such that it supplies their vital nourishment, and receives nothing from them. And so their having Christ abiding in them, and abiding themselves in Christ, are in both respects advantageous, not to Christ, but to the disciples. For when the branch is cut off, another may spring up from the living root; but that which is cut off cannot live apart from the root.

And then He proceeds to say: "As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me." A great encomium on grace, my brethren, one that will instruct the souls of the humble, and stop the mouths of the proud. Let those now answer it, if they dare, who, ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. Let the self-complacent answer it, who think they have no need of God for the performance of good works. Fight they not against such a truth, those men of corrupt mind, reprobate concerning the faith, whose reply is only full of impious talk, when they say: It is of God that we have our existence as men, but it is of ourselves that we are righteous? What is it you say, you who deceive yourselves, and, instead of establishing freewill, cast it headlong down from the heights of its self-elevation through the empty regions of presumption into the depths of an ocean grave? Why, your assertion that man of himself worketh righteousness, that is the height of your self-elation. But the Truth contradicts you, and declares, "The branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine." Away with you now over your giddy precipices, and, without a spot whereon to take your stand, vapor away at your windy talk. These are the empty regions of your presumption. But look well at what is tracking your steps, and, if you have any sense remaining, let your hair stand on end. For whoever imagines that he is bearing fruit of himself is not in the vine, and he that is not in the vine is not in Christ, and he that is not in Christ is not a Christian. Such are the ocean depths into which you have plunged.

(Tract. lxxxi. 1) Abide in Me, and I in you: not they in Him, as He in them; for both are for the profit not of Him, but them. The branches do not confer any advantage upon the vine, but receive their support from it: the vine supplies nourishment to the branches, takes none from them: so that the abiding in Christ, and the having Christ abiding in them, are both for the profit of the disciples, not of Christ; according to what follows, As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can ye, except ye abide in Me. Great display of grace! He strengtheneth the hearts of the humble, stoppeth the mouth of the proud. They who hold that God is not necessary for the doing of good works, the subverters, not the assertors, of free will, contradict this truth. For he who thinks that he bears fruit of himself, is not in the vine; he who is not in the vine, is not in Christ; he who is not in Christ, is not a Christian.

Abide in me, as in the vine, and I in you, as in a temple: on this, First John 4: "He who abides in charity abides in God, and God in him." Therefore the abiding is mutual, because the love is mutual: above, chapter fourteen: "He who loves me shall be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will manifest myself to him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him."

As the branch etc. He touched upon the place of abiding; here he touches secondly upon the fruit of abiding, which the branch has, not apart from the vine, but in the vine. Therefore he shows that the fruit from the branch has its origin from the vine, first by the opposite, namely through separation, second by the proposition, through abiding. On account of which he says: As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in me. And therefore, if they wish to bear fruit, it is necessary that they abide in him from whom the fruit has its origin: Ephesians 1: "He gave him as head over the whole Church, which is his body and his fullness, who has fulfilled all things in all"; John 1: "Of his fullness we have all received grace for grace." Therefore you cannot bear fruit unless you abide in me; but in me you can.

We shall know then, by an accurate investigation of the words before us, that the being received of Christ through faith pure and true is the first work of that zeal which is requisite and dear to God. For this is the |385 meaning of being numbered among the branches, which cling to the true Vine, I mean Christ. But the fruit of our second meditation is by no means less in importance than our first, but it has, indeed, an even more pregnant meaning: the loving to be united to God, and to lay fast hold on Him, through a love exhibited in works, which has the fulfilment of the holy and Divine command. For this causes us inseparably to inhere in, and to be closely united to, Him, as the Psalmist expresses it: My soul has been joined unto Thee. The being received then as it were into the rank of branches will not be sufficient for complete joy of heart, or for the sanctification which, as it were, exhibits Christ sanctifying us. But I maintain that the following Him purely through love perfect and unfailing is also necessary. For by this means, the power of union or intimate conjunction with the Father may be best maintained and preserved. When therefore Christ said to His disciples, Already ye are clean because of the word which I have spoken unto you; lest any one of those who have once been purified should be considered incapable of falling away, even though he should bestow no care to remain in a state of grace, He adds this useful injunction----that it is necessary to abide in Him. And what will this be? Nothing else, as I think, but quite obviously that which Paul well expresses: Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. For a thousand backslidings befall those who think that they are firmly fixed, and who do not take great precautions not to lose the place which they have obtained; and I think that we require the utmost modesty and sobriety, even though a man think himself firmly fixed by the progress he has already made towards establishing himself in righteousness. He then has shown the nature and extent of the punishment of him who has, as it were, been cut off from intimate union with God, through slipping back from negligence into what is wrong, in the statement, As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, so neither can ye, except ye abide in Me. For unless the branch had supplied to it from its mother the vine the life-producing sap, how would it bear grapes, or what fruit will it bring forth, and from what source? You will perceive that the language of Christ has an application by analogy to ourselves. For no fruit of virtue will spring up anew in us, who have once fallen away from intimate union with Christ. To those, however, who are joined to Him Who is able to strengthen them, and Who nourishes in righteousness, the capacity of bearing fruit will readily be added by the provision and grace of the Spirit, as by life-producing water. And knowing this, the Only-begotten said in the Gospels: If any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink. And to this, the Evangelist, inspired by the Spirit, has testified, when in his excellent explanation he says: But this spake He of the Spirit, Which they that believe on Him were to receive. And the blessed David, speaking as though to God the Father, thus addressed Him: With Thee is the fountain of life, and Thou shalt give them to drink of the river of blessedness. For by the fountain of Divine and spiritual life and of the fulness of blessedness, who else could be meant but the Son, Who fattens and waters our souls in the position of branches clinging to Him by faith and love, with the quickening and joy-giving grace of the Spirit.

Unless the branch is provided with the life-producing sap from its mother the vine, how will it bear grapes or what fruit will it bring forth—and from what source?… For no fruit of virtue will spring up anew in those of us who have fallen away from intimate union with Christ. To those, however, who are joined to the one who is able to strengthen them and who nourishes them in righteousness, the capacity to bear fruit will readily be added by the provision and grace of the Spirit, which is like a life-producing water.

Just as the root of the vine administers and distributes to the branches the benefit of its own natural and inherent qualities, so too the only-begotten Word of God imparts to the saints, as it were, a likeness to his own nature and the nature of God the Father by giving them the Spirit, insomuch as they have been united with him through faith and perfect holiness. Christ nourishes them in piety and works in them the knowledge of all virtue and good works.

"As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine, so neither can he who abideth not in Me." For that they might not be separated from Him by timidity, He fasteneth and glueth to Himself their souls slackened through fear, and holdeth out to them good hopes for the future. For the root remains, but to be taken away, or to be left, belongs to the branches. Then having urged them on in both ways, by things pleasant and things painful, He requireth first what is to be done on our side.

"I," He says, "have cleansed you through My word and teaching, and on My part nothing has been left unfulfilled. Now your own work must begin." "Abide in Me." Lest they should separate from Him out of fear, He strengthens their weakened soul, joins them to Himself, and now gives them good hope: "Whatever you ask, you will receive, if you abide in Me" (Jn. 15:7).

1988 Here he urges them to persevere. He is saying in effect: Because you are now cleansed and have received such a great benefit, you should remain this way. He says, Abide in me, by charity: "He who abides in love abides in God" (1 Jn 4:16); and by means of the sacraments: "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me" (6:56). He says, Abide in me, by receiving grace, and I in you, by helping you.

1989 Next (v 4b), he gives four reasons for being united to Christ. First, it sanctifies those who are united to him; secondly, those not united are punished (v 6); thirdly, those who are united to him have their desires satisfied (v 7); fourthly, it glorifies God (v 8). In regard to the first, he shows that being united to Christ is necessary in order to bear fruit; secondly that this is efficacious (v 5).

1990 He does two things about the first: first, he presents an illustration; and secondly shows that it is apt. As to the first he says, I say that you should abide in me so that you can bear fruit, because just as the branch literally, a material branch, cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, from whose roots sap ascends to give life to the branches, so neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in me. Thus, being united to Christ is the reason why someone bears fruit. And so of those who are not united to Christ we read: "What return [fruit] did you get from the things of which you are now ashamed?" (Rom 6:21); "The company of the godless is barren" (Job 15:34).

His example is apt because I am the vine, you are the branches. It is like saying: The relation between you and me is like that of branches to the vine. We read of these branches: "It sent out its branches to the sea" [Ps 80:11].

All the fruit of good works proceeds from this root. He who hath delivered us by His grace, also carries us onward by his help, so that we bring forth more fruit. Wherefore He repeats, and explains what He has said: I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in Me, by believing, obeying, persevering, and I in Him, by enlightening, assisting, giving perseverance, the same, and none other, bringeth forth much fruit.

This is beautiful, but much more beautiful is the vine branch that signifies the spiritual, of which we are the branch, and we can bear fruit if we abide in the vine; but if not, we are cut off.

The holy patriarch Nephthalim was an abundant vine. Hence Moses says: Nephthalim will receive satisfaction, and will be filled with the blessing of the Lord, possessing the sea and the south wind (Deut. 33:23). Moses explains this what Jacob had said, what it means to have a lax vine, that is, freed from the bonds of death through the grace of faith: in which the people of God are signified as being called to the freedom of faith, and the abundance of grace spread throughout the whole world, who may willingly bear the yoke of Christ with good fruit, and surround themselves with the true branches of that vine, that is, the mysteries of the Lord's cross, and not fear the danger of confessing it, but rather even glory in the name of Christ even in persecutions.

Ponder again and again what the Truth has still further to say: "I am the vine," He adds, "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." For just to keep any from supposing that the branch can bear at least some little fruit of itself, after saying, "the same bringeth forth much fruit," His next words are not, Without me ye can do but little, but "ye can do nothing." Whether then it be little or much, without Him it is impracticable; for without Him nothing can be done. For although, when the branch beareth little fruit, the husbandman purgeth it that it may bring forth more; yet if it abide not in the vine, and draw its life from the root, it can bear no fruit whatever of itself. And although Christ would not have been the vine had He not been man, yet He could not have supplied such grace to the branches had He not also been God. And just because such grace is so essential to life, that even death itself ceases to be at the disposal of free-will, He adds, "If any one abide not in me, he shall be cast forth as a branch, and wither; and they shall gather him, and cast him into the fire, and he is burned." The wood of the vine, therefore, is in the same proportion the more contemptible if it abide not in the vine, as it is glorious while so abiding; in fine, as the Lord likewise says of them in the prophet Ezekiel, when cut off, they are of no use for any purpose of the husbandman, and can be applied to no labor of the mechanic. The branch is suitable only for one of two things, either the vine or the fire: if it is not in the vine, its place will be in the fire; and that it may escape the latter, may it have its place in the vine.

(Tract. lxxxi. 3) But lest any should suppose that a branch could bring forth a little fruit of itself, He adds, For without Me ye can do nothing. He does not say, ye can do little. Unless the branch abides in the vine, and lives from the root, it can bear no fruit whatever. Christ, though He would not be the vine, except He were man, yet could not give this grace to the branches, except He were God.

I am the vine, and you are the branches: and therefore he who abides in me, he bears much fruit. And therefore abide in me as in the origin of fruit: because without me you can do nothing; Isaiah 26: "All our works you have wrought in us, O Lord."

Good things as well as bad, you know, are caught by a kind of infection. If you want to get warm you must stand near the fire: if you want to be wet you must get into the water. If you want joy, power, peace, eternal life, you must get close to, or even into, the thing that has them. They are not a sort of prize which God could, if He chose, just hand out to anyone. They are a great fountain of energy and beauty spurting up at the very centre of reality. If you are close to it, the spray will wet you: if you are not, you will remain dry. Once a man is united to God, how could he not live forever? Once a man is separated from God, what can he do but wither and die?

He is not merely a new man, one specimen of the species, but the new man. He is the origin and centre and life of all the new men. He came into the created universe, of His own will, bringing with Him the Zoe, the new life. (I mean new to us, of course: in its own place Zoe has existed for ever and ever.) And He transmits it not by heredity but by what I have called 'good infection'. Everyone who gets it gets it by personal contact with Him. Other men become 'new' by being 'in Him'.

People will tell you, for instance, that theology became elaborate because it was dead. Believe me, if it had been dead it would never have become elaborate; it is only the live tree that grows too many branches.

"He that abideth in Me, and I in him." Seest thou that the Son contributeth not less than the Father towards the care of the disciples? The Father purgeth, but He keepeth them in Himself. The abiding in the root is that which maketh the branches to be fruit-bearing. For that which is not purged, if it remain on the root, bears fruit, though perhaps not so much as it ought; but that which remains not, bears none at all. But still the "purging" also hath been shown to belong to the Son, and the "abiding in the root," to the Father, who also begat the Root. Seest thou how all is common, both the "purging," and the enjoying the virtue which is from the root?

When you have done something good, remember the words, "without me you can do nothing."

The Lord told us, "Outside of me you can do nothing." This is because our weakness, when moved to do good things, is unable to bring anything to completion without the giver of good things. The one who has come to understand the weakness of human nature has had experience of the divine power. And such a person who because of divine power has succeeded in some things and is eager to succeed in others never looks down on anyone. For he knows that in the same way that God has helped him and freed him from many passions and hardships, so can he help everyone when he wishes, especially those who are striving for his sake.

Hope is not in the fading flower of the field. For just as no one is able to eat the fruit of the branch Unless the branch remains in the vine which brings Sap to the leaves from the root and fills the grapes with must— So also those who are barren in virtue and without fruit Shall be fuel for the perpetual fire: those who leave the vine Dare to put their faith in the immoderate liberty of the leaves, So that their fruitfulness is not dependent on the fruitfulness of Christ: And even more, they believe they are able to excel on their own, As if God is not the author of the virtues that please him.… [But] why would they be ashamed, especially in this valley of tears, If their power came from God, that they have a minimum of mortal works, When it is nothing but sin which has destroyed Liberty to which alone evil deeds recur? And yet, when we focus the mind on holy acts, When a chaste mind refuses carnal desires, When we do not give in to temptations, and through harsh Vexing punishments, we remain in our hearts unyielding; Then we are acting freely; but with a freedom redeemed, And over which God is ruler as light from the highest light, [there is] Life, health, virtue, wisdom: It is the grace of Christ By which freedom runs, rejoices, endures, takes care, chooses, stands, Believes, hopes, loves, is cleansed and is justified. For if we are right in anything we do, Lord, we do it only with your help; You move hearts, you command prayers—those you want to grant you bestow, bestowing Lavishly and producing merit from merits and enriching the gifts of your crown. But this does not mean I should diminish my care and become lax in the pursuit of virtue, or Become complacent by letting mental apathy hold sway, Because the good works of the saints are yours, And whatever in them is pure or strong, depends on you: So that none of the actions of human beings is seen as occurring entirely apart from your will: For without you what is achieved by the will except to be exiled far away from you? The paths are always precipitous and the ways twisting When advancing alone: When our will is exhausted, you are kind; when feeble You lift it up, you carry it back, you keep it warm, you watch over it and provide it with dignity. Then it will make rapid progress, its eyes actually seeing, its freedom free, its wisdom wise, Its justice just, its virtue strong and its senses healed.

Just as the branches are of the same substance as the vine and [come] from it, so we, who have the same kind of body as the Lord's body, receive from his fullness and have it as a root for resurrection and salvation. And the Father is called the vinedresser, because through the Word he took care of the vine, which is the Lord's body.

By the example of the branch He clearly represents to us that from Him are bestowed strength and life to those who are well-pleasing to Him. For just as that branch bears fruit which abides on the vine and receives from it the assistance for life, so you also, if you abide in Me through the keeping of the commandments, will bear more fruit.

1991 Here he shows that being united to Christ is efficacious: first, he shows that it is efficacious; secondly, the reason for this efficacy (v 5b).

1992 First he says: I say that it is not only necessary for a person to abide in me in order to bear fruit, it is also efficacious, because he who abides in me, by believing, obeying and persevering, and I in him, by giving enlightenment, help and perseverance, he it is and not another, that bears much fruit.

Such persons bear a threefold fruit in this life. The first is that they avoid sin. Secondly, they are eager to accomplish works of holiness: "the return you get is sanctification" (Rom 6:22). Thirdly, they are eager for the progress of others: "The earth will be filled with the fruit of your works" [Ps 104:13]. They also produce a fourth fruit, but in eternal life: "He gathers fruit for eternal life" (4:36). Eternal life is the last and perfect fruit of our labors: "The fruit of good works is glorious" [Wis 3:15].

1993 The reason for this efficacy is because apart from me you can do nothing. With these words he instructs the hearts of the humble and silences the mouths of the proud, especially of the Pelagians, who say that they can do by themselves, without the help of God, the good works of the virtues and of the law. And although they were trying to maintain our free will, they really undermined it.

Look at what our Lord says here! He says that without him we cannot do anything great, nor anything small, indeed, we cannot do anything at all. This is not surprising because neither does God do anything without him: "Without him was not anything made that was made" (1:3). For our works are either from the power of nature or from divine grace. If they are from the power of nature, then, since every action of nature is from the Word of God, no nature can act to do anything without him. If our works are from the power of grace, then, since he is the author of grace - "grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (1:17) - it is obvious that no meritorious work can be done without him: "Not that we are capable of thinking anything of ourselves as originating from ourselves; our capability is from God" [2 Cor 3:5]. Therefore, if we cannot even think without it coming from God, much less can we do anything else.

And men gather them, i. e. the reapers, the Angels, and cast them into the fire, everlasting fire, and they are burned.

(Tract. lxxxi. 3) For the branches of the vine are as contemptible, if they abide not in the vine, as they are glorious, if they abide. One of the two the branch must be in, either the vine, or the fire: if it is not in the vine, it will be in the fire.

And that they can do nothing without him, he shows through a similitude: If anyone does not abide in me, he shall be cast forth as a branch, namely separated from the vine. He is cast outside the vineyard through separation from the unity of the Church; Apocalypse, last chapter: "Outside are dogs and sorcerers and the unchaste" etc. And he will not bear fruit, whence he will wither, through the loss of the moisture of grace; and they will gather him and cast him into the fire, and he burns, because he will burn through the infliction of punishment.

Whence four evils follow: first, that he is cast out; Matthew 15: "Every plant which my heavenly Father has not planted shall be uprooted."

Second, he will wither: Matthew 21, the Lord said to the fig tree, in which he found nothing but leaves: "Let no fruit ever be born from you forever. And immediately it withered"; Psalm: "My strength has dried up like a potsherd."

Third, he is gathered by the angelic ministry: whence Matthew 13: "They shall gather out of his kingdom all scandals."

Fourth, he is burned with fire: Ezekiel 15: "Son of man, what shall become of the wood of the vine?" And it follows: "Behold, it is given to the fire for fuel."

Our Lord Jesus Christ openly says that He has been called the Vine for this reason, and this reason only, that we may clearly understand, and not merely perceive with the eyes of the body, as by a palpable, sensible, and most visible figure, that to those who are eager to be closely |387 joined to Him, and who choose to enjoy a close union with His nature, will be added the capacity and the conditions requisite for the production of virtue and spiritual fruit-bearing; since they are evidently provided, from its source, as from the vine their mother, with a potential and an actual force. In those however who have as it were been torn away or cut off from their hold on Him, by turning to what is wrong and to conduct displeasing to God, not merely will no capacity of a fitness for virtue, or of being able to show the fruits that spring from goodness be seen, but the doom of being consumed by all-devouring fire, as by an inevitable necessity, will await them. For that which is useless for righteousness seems fit to pay the penalty, just as the withered branches will be only useful for the fire.

You would find an indisputable and true proof of what we have said, not by perusing the chapters of the saints of old, but rather by applying your attention to the study of the holy Apostles themselves. For they, by neglecting in no way love towards Christ, but abiding in Him, and considering that nothing whatever should be set before righteousness towards Him, have become known throughout the world. And they exhibited through the world the fruit of their virtue, and showing themselves a pattern of a God-loving state, as a bright image to all under the sun, they wreathed for themselves the fadeless crown of glory with God. But he, who by a few pieces of silver was entrapped into the net of destruction, I mean the base and most mercenary Judas, was cut off from the true Vine, that is Christ, and withered away in a certain sense, and lost together his position of discipleship and the quickening quality of the Spirit. For he was cast outside, according to the saying of the Saviour. For he became alienated from Christ, and was given over like rubbish to him that chastises with fire. Pertinently then does our Lord Jesus Christ set forth to His hearers the joy of heart that springs from the desire of intimate union with Him, and on the other hand place before them the |388 punishment resulting from severance, thus conceiving a twofold method of salvation. For either by an aim which looks forward to glory and life, or our dread of the chastisement by fire, we shall lay hold more earnestly, with all the strength of our mind, on intimate union with Him.

But He calls the Father Husbandman, attributing to His Divine Nature the watchful care over us, as also we have previously shown at length. For He will be found doing the work of a hand to the Husbandman, Who uses no other hand, according to His Consubstantiality both from Him, and in Him; as is really the case, and as it is in our power to see in the following way. For as a proof that all things are done by the Son, as by the hand of the Father, listen to what the Father Himself says respecting His creatures: My hand made all these things; whereas all things were made by the Son, according to the holy writings.

We must observe that the divine Paul figures darkly to us the true cutting, even though it be not that of a vine, when he says: Behold then the goodness and severity of God: toward them that fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in His goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

"He is cast forth," He saith. No longer enjoying the benefit of the husbandman's hand. "And is withered." That is, if he had aught of the root, he loses it; if any grace, he is stripped of this, and is bereft of the help and life which proceed from it. And what the end? "He is cast into the fire." Not such he who abideth with Him.

The Father is like the vinedresser, for, if he sees some who do not love me, he cuts them off like fruitless branches and sends them off to the fire, but if he sees the opposite, he takes care of them so that they may bring forth even more fruit through the spiritual gifts he gives.

And whoever does not abide will "wither," that is, he loses what he had from the root, and if he received any spiritual grace, he is deprived of it and of the help and life communicated from it. And what then in the end? "They are thrown into the fire, and they burn." With these same words He also gives them no small consolation, showing that those who plot against Him, such as Judas, will be burned, while they who abide in Him will bear fruit. For without the power and life-giving energy that are supplied from Him, they will be able to do nothing.

1994 Here he mentions the second reason for remaining united to Christ, which is the threat of punishment, for unless we abide in him, we will not escape punishment. He mentions five things which describe this punishment. Some of these belong to the punishment of loss, that is to say, the exclusion from glory; so he says, he is cast forth. Sometimes on a natural vine we see a branch which remains by some sort of an external connection without sharing any of the sap. In this way also some remain connected to Christ only by faith, yet they do not share the sap of the vine because they do not have charity. Thus, such persons will be cast out, that is, separated from fellowship with the good.

The second punishment of loss is a withering; he says, and withers, for if such a person once took anything at all from the root, he will lose it when deprived of its help and life. Even bad Christians seem to have some kind of a freshness, but when they are separated from the saints and from Christ their dried up condition will be apparent: "My strength is dried up like a potsherd" (Ps 22:16).

The third punishment is association with those who are evil; he says, and he is gathered, by the reaping angels, to be with the wicked. This is a very great punishment. For if it is a great punishment to be with the wicked for only a little while, how much greater it is to be with the most evil men and devils forever: "They will be gathered together as prisoners in a pit" (Is 24:22); "Gather the weeds first and bind them into bundles to be burned" (Mt 13:30).

The fourth punishment is that of sense; he says, thrown into the fire, which is eternal: "What will be done with the wood of the vine?... Look, it is given to the fire for fuel" [Ez 15:2]. If the wood of the vine does not remain united to it, it is more worthless than other woods; but if it abides on the vine it is more beautiful than the others. Thus Augustine says: "A branch is fit for two things: either the vine or the fire. If it is not on the vine, it will be in the fire." "Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire" (Mt 25:41). The fifth punishment is the unending experience of fire, he says, and burned, without end: "And they will go away into eternal punishment" (Mt 25:46).

"If ye abide in me," He says, "and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." For abiding thus in Christ, is there aught they can wish but what will be agreeable to Christ? So abiding in the Saviour, can they wish anything that is inconsistent with salvation? Some things, indeed, we wish because we are in Christ, and other things we desire because still in this world. For at times, in connection with this our present abode, we are inwardly prompted to ask what we know not it would be inexpedient for us to receive. But God forbid that such should be given us if we abide in Christ, who, when we ask, only does what will be for our advantage. Abiding, therefore, ourselves in Him, when His words abide in us we shall ask what we will, and it shall be done unto us. For if we ask, and the doing follows not, what we ask is not connected with our abiding in Him, nor with His words which abide in us, but with that craving and infirmity of the flesh which are not in Him, and have not His words abiding in them. For to His words, at all events, belongs that prayer which He taught, and in which we say, "Our Father, who art in heaven." Let us only not fall away from the words and meaning of this prayer in our petitions, and whatever we ask, it shall be done unto us. For then only may His words be said to abide in us, when we do what He has commanded us, and love what He has promised. But when His words abide only in the memory, and have no place in the life, the branch is not to be accounted as in the vine, because it draws not its life from the root. It is to this distinction that the word of Scripture has respect, "and to those that remember His commandments to do them." For many retain them in their memory only to treat them with contempt, or even to mock at and assail them. It is not in such as have only some kind of contact, but no connection, that the words of Christ abide; and to them, therefore, they will not be a blessing, but a testimony against them; and because they are present in them without abiding in them, they are held fast by them for the very purpose of being judged according to them at last.

(Tract. lxxxi. 4) For then may His words be said to abide in us, when we do what He has commanded, and love what He has promised. But when His words abide in the memory, and are not found in the life, the branch is not accounted to be in the vine, because it derives no life from its root. So far as we abide in the Saviour we cannot will any thing that is foreign to our salvation. We have one will, in so far as we are in Christ, another, in so far as we are in this world. And by reason of our abode in this world, it sometimes happens that we ask for that which is not expedient, through ignorance. But never, if we abide in Christ, will He grant it us, Who does not grant except what is expedient for us. And here we are directed to the prayer, Our Father. Let us adhere to the words and the meaning of this prayer in our petitions, and whatever we ask will be done for us.

If you abide in me. Above he showed that he is the origin of fruit through the opposite of abiding; but here he shows through abiding itself, which gives fruit both with respect to yourself and with respect to your neighbor. With respect to yourself: If you abide in me, and my words abide in you: not like those of whom Luke 8 says: "They believe for a time, and in the time of temptation they fall away"; but like those of whom the Psalm says: "Who keep his covenant and are mindful of his commandments, to do them"; whatever you will, you shall ask, and it shall be done for you; above in chapter nine: "If anyone does the will of God, he hears him." Not only is there fruit with respect to oneself, but also with respect to one's neighbor, to be converted to the glory of God.

He who has the almighty God, the Word, lacks nothing and never is in dire straits for what he needs. For the Word is a possession that lacks nothing and is the cause of all abundance. If someone says that he has often seen the righteous person in need of food, this is rare, and it happens only where there is not another righteous person. Notwithstanding, let him read what follows: "For the righteous one shall not live by bread alone but by the word of the Lord," who is the true bread, the bread of the heavens. The good person, then, can never be in difficulties so long as he keeps intact his confession toward God. For it belongs to him to ask and to receive whatever he requires from the Father of all and to enjoy what is his own if he keeps the Son. And he also should feel that he lacks nothing.

He says that the love of unbroken union with Him, and the keeping in mind as a Divine and spiritual treasure entrusted to them the pure treasure of the lessons of the Gospel, and the true instruction of the doctrines of the faith, established also by unerring interpretations, will be the root of the most perfect goodness. For the whole discourse of the Saviour would convey this meaning to us, if we consider the aim set forth in the Gospels. For in the promise of Christ that He will continually give what is good to those who ask Him, how shall we deny that a very clear pledge of this is given to us? I suppose it is necessary to inquire what in addition is the accurate meaning of the words: If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask whatsoever ye will, and it shall be done unto you. For can any one say that to abide in Christ can be attained without keeping in oneself also His words? Now to this question men of sense will doubtless answer "No." For our hearer must remember, that when inquiring into the kind of love towards Christ, and investigating what it was, and how it could exist in perfection, we said that there are two methods given; I mean that through faith which is wholly blameless, and that again which projects itself in actuality, which enters secretly by pure love. And if we trust our Saviour's words that this is so with us, it follows that they adopt a dangerous and intolerable explanation of the relationship, in admitting the bare faith, which consists in words only, but not receiving the love which is moulded by right actions to perfection. They indeed abide in Christ in the sense of the relationship that results from belief, and so far as they do not adopt another religious worship; but when they no longer have His words in themselves they will be condemned. And we do not go so far as to say that, burying the preaching of the Gospels in oblivion, they are altogether unmindful of the words of the Saviour, submitting everything to their own pleasures, and directing their unbridled impulse to the consideration of earthly things alone, and, on account of this, carry themselves away from the true Vine, and, despising the favour of intimate relationship with Him, by their own passions, they deem the citizenship that is in Christ of no account. Now concerning every such person Christ Himself says: Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doeth the will of My Father Which is in heaven. And that faith which is alone, and by itself, and which does not obtain the assistance of the light that proceeds from works, will not suffice to secure an intimate relationship with God, the disciple of Christ also proves, saying: Thou believest that God is one; the devils also believe and shudder. Shall one then say to those who think that a faith bare and alone will be sufficient to enable them to get possession of the fellowship that is from above,----will even the band of demons rise to fellowship with God, since they acknowledge His Unity, and have believed in His Existence? How could this be? For the mere knowledge that the Creator and Producer of all things is One God is useless. But I think it necessary that the confession of piety towards Him should accompany faith. For such a man abideth in Christ, and will be seen to possess His words, according to the text in the Book of Psalms: I have kept Thy saying in my heart, that I may not sin against Thee. Just as if any one should place into a brazen vessel the element of fire, he will make the vessel entirely the sharer of the warmth arising from it, so also the mind which in soul and heart is wholly possessed by the Divine and heavenly doctrine, by striving up to every kind of virtue is always thereby inflamed towards it. For it is written: Thy word is very pure: therefore Thy servant loveth it.

" Let him therefore," He says, "who establishes himself therein, and has attained to this high honour, so as to remain in Me, and to have My words in him, go boldly on, and with complete confidence ask for whatever tendeth to bliss, and without delay it shall be given him. For," He says, "I will grant it." "Well then," says our opponent," if any one should ask for what is wrong, will He take more fully of this, and will He that loves virtue allot him such a portion as this?" Get thee behind me, thou man of evil counsel! For God will provide nothing that is opposed to His own Nature, nor any of those things which are numbered among evil things. But my view seems more appropriate: does it not appear right and just? It is clear then that He who abides in Christ, and has His words in him, knows, by the very fact of his goodness and righteousness, how to think only those things which are acceptable to God. For it is clear that He has permitted to those who have His Word in their hearts to ask whatsoever they may reasonably wish; well knowing that they only aim at a participation in blessings of a spiritual and Divine nature. As then our Saviour Christ has excellently defined, in these words, the character of the man who prays and asks to receive whatever he wills from God, let us mould our own condition into conformity with this ideal, if we desire to obtain the heavenly blessing. But if you know that you are yourself not such an one as Christ has just indicated to us, take it not ill if you stumble, but if the effort seems burdensome to you, uniting with your faith the glory which proceeds from good works, (for this is abiding in Christ), and, having in yourself His words, go forward in confidence, and yourself receive without delay whatever you request from God.

Shall we say that faith bare and alone is sufficient for one to attain the fellowship that is from above—will even the band of demons rise up to fellowship with God, since they acknowledge God's unity and have believed that God exists? How could this be? For the mere knowledge that the one God is the creator and producer of all things is useless. But I think it necessary that the confession of piety toward God should accompany faith. For one who does this abides in Christ and will be seen to possess his words, according to the text in the book of Psalms, "I have laid up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you."

Then He showeth what it is to "abide," and saith, "If My words abide in you." Seest thou that with reason I said above, that He seeketh the proof by works? For when He had said, "Whatsoever ye shall ask I will do it," He added, "If ye love Me, ye will keep My commandments." And here, "If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you."

"Ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." This He said to show that they who plotted against Him should be burnt up, but that they should bear fruit.

Here the Lord explains to us what the words "if you abide in Me" mean. Namely: if you keep My commandments. For the words "if My words abide in you" mean that He desires union with them through deeds. For each one who lives in a God-pleasing way abides on the Vine by his own will, being united with It through love and the keeping of the commandments and cleaving to It in spirit; just as, conversely, the one who ceases to keep the commandments voluntarily alienates himself from the Lord.

1995 Now we have the third reason for abiding in Christ: our prayers become effective. He is saying, in effect, If you abide in me, you will obtain this fruit, that is, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.

Note that when before he urged them to remain united to him, he mentioned two things; and he repeats them here. First, he said before, Abide in me, and he repeats it here by saying, If you abide in me. Secondly, he said before, and I in you, in place of which he now says, and my words abide in you. Because Christ is the Word of the Father, all words of wisdom are from him: "The source of wisdom is God's Word in the highest heaven" (Sir 1:5). Thus it is clear that Christ is in us when the words of his wisdom are in us: "You do not have his word abiding in you" (5:38).

Thus he says, and my words abide in you, in four ways: by your loving them, believing them, meditating on them and accomplishing them: "My son, be attentive to my words," by believing them; "incline your ear to my sayings," by obeying or accomplishing them; "let them not escape from your sight," because you meditate on them; but "keep them within your heart," by loving them (Prv 4:20). "Your words were found and I ate them" (Jer 15:16).

Therefore, the words of Christ are in us when we do as he commands and love what he promises. And from this it follows that they teach us what we ought to pray for: "We do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words" (Rom 8:26). For this reason Christ taught us to pray with his own words (Mt 6:9; Lk 11:2). And so the words of God, when believed and meditated upon, teach us to ask for the things necessary for our salvation; and these words of God when loved and accomplished help us to merit it. So he adds, ask, with sound judgment and perseverance, whatever you will, and it shall be done for you: "If you ask anything of the Father in my name he will give it to you" [16:23].