Ezek. 15: The Vine Tree

And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, What is the vine tree more than any tree, or than a branch which is among the trees of the forest? (Ezekiel 15:1 and 2)

I want to again clarify something here that I’ve said a couple of other times: in a sense, these judgments that the Lord is going to allow to come upon His church will be subjective. In other words, there are multitudes of good, honest, devoted followers of Jesus who are doing their best to obey Him, and who acknowledge Him as Lord and King. At the same time, there are many others who are pseudo-Christians. They put forth an outward appearance, but inwardly they’re far from Him. What Paul said about the natural Jews also goes for the spiritual Jews.

For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God. (Romans 2:28 and 29)

It seems to me that far too many Christians don’t think about it, but Paul wouldn’t have written that unless it was applicable to the church in his day, as well as the fact that it’s applicable to the church today. Beside that, Paul was writing under the guidance of the Holy Spirit; so that was actually God saying it. Thus, there were those in the early church who were seeking to mix grace with the law. They couldn’t fathom that God, Who had always required sacrifices from His people, would suddenly change (as they perceived it) and require faith and faith alone to become one of His children. Additionally, many Jews were taken aback when the Gentiles, who were regarded as nothing more than dogs, were accepted into the church. Even Peter had to be corrected by God concerning the coming of Cornelius and his men, all Gentiles, where we read: “What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common” (Acts 10:15).

So, just as God had asked Ezekiel, “What is the vine tree more than any tree?”, those whom He’ll send into the church will ask them, “Who are you more than any others?”. This will be a pointed inquiry and will elicit a variety of responses. Some will take great offense, knowing the intent of the question, and will lash out in a number of ways; while others will turn a deaf ear, not understanding that they’ll be ignoring the Holy Spirit. And actually, their reactions will justify the reason for the question and the subsequent declarations. Remember this portion of Scripture?

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. 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. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. (Matthew 7:15 to 23)

What I’ve just brought out is a little longer, but it’s pertinent to what I’m writing; and it has to do with those to whom the Lord will send His messengers. You see, the Lord was making the comparison between a grapevine and the other trees; and the reason is that His people, the church, should be bringing forth fruit which feeds and refreshes. When they do so, God is the One Who will build them. However, in the account in Ezekiel, it appears that they were comparing themselves to others who were building their own kingdoms. That’s something that we can see in Christianity, from its inception until today. As I’ve just said, many are walking faithfully and are manifesting good fruit; but there are others who are seeking to build kingdoms for themselves. These are the corrupt trees bringing forth evil fruit; and the Lord spoke about them, both in Ezekiel and in Matthew. In the first He told the prophet that “when it was whole, it was meet for no work: how much less shall it be meet ye for any work, when the fire hath devoured it, and it is burned” (Ezekiel 15:5); whereas, in Matthew, Jesus said, “Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire” (Matthew 7:19).

Something which I believe far too many Christians have either overlooked or have no awareness of is the fact that we’re in a covenant with God. We haven’t been saved just to make heaven our home and to avoid hell. His purpose for us goes far beyond that. He wants us to manifest Him to all nations; but He can’t do that through believers who fail to allow Him to bring them into His likeness. Paul wrote:

For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. (2 Corinthians 5:14 and 15)

That’s the gist of the covenant. We’ve been saved to live unto Jesus in every aspect. He can’t really work through those who are trying to maintain a spiritual life and a secular one. If we can’t give every part of our lives to Him then we aren’t sold out to Him; and He’s looking for complete dedication. Where would we be if Jesus had not been totally devoted to the Father? But we read:

For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. (Romans 8:29)

Did you notice how Paul didn’t say that Jesus would be the firstborn among every believer; but he said it would be many. Many doesn’t mean all, no matter what preachers and teachers are saying; rather, it means those who have dedicated themselves to Him. That dedication, however, requires work and obedience. Nearly all of it will be inglorious. Yet, no matter what is required, it’s the eternal opportunity to enter into a place in His Kingdom that the majority will miss.