NAMES & TITLES OF OUR LORD, sponsored by the Anglican Orthodox Communion Worldwide.
28 May 2025 by Jerry Ogles
Today’s Title is that of the Branch
(TRANSCRIPT OF VIDEO)
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Zechariah 6:12 – “Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD.”
To whom does this verse refer? It is to the Lord Jesus Christ who is a Branch from His Father in Heaven. Though the earthly Temple at Jerusalem was destroyed, as was the Temple of our Lord’s Body, He rebuilt that Temple in three days (referring to Himself).
Now, in the Gospel of St John, we are told that we, the elect of God, are the branches. How is this so? Christ is the Branch that emerged from the Father, and we are the lower branches that the great Branch produced as the Vine of the Lord. The spiritual nutrition for the branches come solely through the Vine just as all our good works come from God and not of our own doing. The branches are powerless of producing any fruit except by the provision of that spiritual energy that the True Vine provides. If cast off from the vine, the branch is immediately dead to life and to fruit.
In the Gospel of St John 15:1-6, we find: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.”
Just as in the case of tares among the good seed, false vines among the good can form near the Vine called shoots. They produce no fruit at all and, in fact, starve the nutrition which the Vine provides to the branches. If the union of the branches to the Vine is severed, the branches will wilt and die. They have no life to sustain them. These breaches are caused by false preachers and idle workers of the vineyard – men who deceive and corrupt the Word of God. Their influence on the branches causes them to become sterile of good fruit. They will be removed and burned as useless under brush.
The smaller branches must remain productive. To guarantee their productive nature, the husbandman of the vineyard must trim excess foliage from the branch. When Christians become too comfortable in their station, they may need pruning as does the branches of the Vine.
The great Branch, or Vine, itself must remain above the dirt and grind of the earth. It is pure and untouched by evil influences just as is our Lord. The fruit produced, too, must remain separated from earthly contact, else it will rot and die.
As Christian believers, we must produce good fruit through works worthy of the name, Christian. We are not to while away our days in idle leisure, but labor as good servants of the owner of the Vineyard – our Lord Jesus Christ – our Branch!
It is my prayer that each branch in the church be watered and hedged about to produce the rich and wholesome food of the soul for all generations.
Until we meet again, God bless and keep you in His love and grace.
Goodbye.
