The Parable of the Olive Tree-New Life Revelation
Care of God in Grafting
Careful of Pride
Careful of Complacency
Careful of God’s Goodness
There once was a brier growing in a ditch when a gardener came along with his spade and dug it up. He dug around it and gently lifted it out of the ground, bringing the brier to ask itself, “What is he doing? Doesn’t he know I’m a worthless brier?” But the gardener took it and placed it in his garden anyway. He planted it among his most prized and beautiful roses, prompting the brier to think once more, “What is this guy doing? What a mistake he’s made.” But then the gardener did an even more unusual thing in the brier’s mind. He came once more and made a slit in the brier with his knife. He grafted it with a rose and when the summer came to close there were lovely flowers blooming from the brier that previously had none. Then the gardener said, “Your beauty is not due to what came out of you, but to what I put in.” “Your beauty is not due to what came out of you, but to what I put in.” Now everyone knows, of course, that plants don’t speak or have minds of their own; but this personified account of a well-known, readily accepted and often practiced procedure called grafting is quite apropos…re: new birth (or…being born again). It’s especially applicable when one considers how many speak of this conversion to Christ or this “being born again” as “their” coming to Christ, “their” decision to follow him. For the new birth is an inner recreation of our fallen human nature by the Holy Spirit. It changes us from lawless, godless self-seekers into those who love and trust. It moves us to repentance for past rebelliousness and unbelief. It works a loving compliance with God’s law and enlightens, liberates and energizes us to serve the Lord. The regenerate man has forever ceased to be the man he was; his old life is over and a new life has begun; he is a new creature in Christ, buried with him out of reach of condemnation and raised with him into a new life of righteousness. Contributed by: Karl Eckhoff
Praise God for New Life revelation it allows us to change that we no longer have to fail at our New Year’s Resolutions…
Care of God in Grafting
And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; Romans 11:17
The olive tree was the most useful, productive, and valuable tree in Israel; it was precious both economically and for the welfare of the nation.
In light of this, Israel’s relationship to God was often pictured as an olive tree.
The natural branches…Israel, and the grafted ...us
The olive tree is a picture of believers to God and a right relationship with HIM.
Some natural branches are broken off and rejected. But, “only some of the branches were broken off.”
Some Israelites accept Christ as the Messiah and maintain a right relationship with God.
“Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof” (Matthew 21:43).
“I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper” (Luke 14:24).
“He shall come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the vineyard to others. And when they heard it, they said, God forbid” (Luke 20:16).
“And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree” (Romans 11:17).
Some wild olive branches were grafted into the tree. Individually grafted in.
The Gentile believer had been a wild olive branch.
We were:
·part of the wilderness and desert, the uncultivated world.
·growing loose and uncontrolled.
·useless and worthless.
·uncared for and unprotected.
·insect-infested, sour and inferior.
The Gentile believer is now grafted into the olive tree.
We are now attached to God, fed and nourished by God.
“And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice” (Genesis 22:18).
“All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee” (Psalm 22:27).
“All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name” (Psalm 86:9).
“The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined” (Isaiah 9:2).
The Gentile believer is grafted into the olive tree with the natural branches.
There is only one real family of God…not two.
But some natural branches are broken off because they did not bear fruit.
“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” (John 15:6).
Are you bearing fruit today???
Careful of Pride
Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. Romans 11:18
We must not be arrogant and prideful over or against God’s “Chosen Nation”.
·we must not treat them as inferior because they deny Christ.
·we must not insult and ridicule them because they differ from us.
·we must not trample them because they refuse to believe like us.
·we must not boast that we know the truth about the Messiah and they do not.
·we must not glory in our knowledge of Christ, conveying the idea that we are better than they.
We have no right to elevate ourselves over anyone.
Remember, we were wild branches.
We did not bear the root (Judaism); the root bore us (Christianity).
If not for Judaism, there would be no Christianity.
Let us never forget “salvation is of the Jews” (John 4:22).
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16).
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:19).
All boasting, arrogance, pride and conceit against the Jews is wrong.
“And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness” (Romans 2:19).
“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up” (James 4:10).
“Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil” (Proverbs 3:7).
“Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues without right” (Proverbs 16:8).
“Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!” (Isaiah 5:21).
Careful of Complacency
Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in. [20] Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: [21] For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. Romans 11:19-21
We need be careful of complacency and unbelief.
The danger of thinking...
·that we are more acceptable to God because they have replaced the Jews as the true followers of God.
·that we are safe and secure in Christianity because Christianity is the religion that acknowledges God’s Son.
We must remember what Scripture says, Israel was not rejected so that we , might be saved, but because of their unbelief.
God accepts a person because they believe on His Son Jesus Christ.
The warning is strong: “Take heed lest He also spare thee not” (Romans 11:21).
If God spared not the Jews because of their unbelief, how much more us…
ÞThe Jews had the godly heritage; we had the wild, ungodly heritage.
ÞThe Jews had the fathers, the followers of the only living and true God; we had heathen, polytheistic fathers, fathers who created humanistic gods to suit their needs.
ÞThe Jews had the Word of God and the Savior; we had neither.
ÞThe Jews had the prophets of God; we had false humanistic prophets and priests of the world.
Let us walk in the fear of God and humility, fearing unbelief lest we too be broken off (Romans 11:17).
“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life: but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36).
“I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins” (John 8:24).
“Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God” (Hebrews 3:12).
Careful of God’s Goodness
Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. Romans 11:22
We need take a sharp look at the goodness and severity of God.
The severity of God is seen in the spiritual fall of Israel.
The word “severity” means abrupt, sharp, rough, cut off.
The Jews...
·developed an attitude of arrogance and boasting, refusing to carry the Word of God to the world around them.
·felt safe and secure, thinking themselves more acceptable than others.
“You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities” (Amos 3:2).
“And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes” (Luke 12:47).
“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” (John 15:6).
“And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible” (Isaiah 13:11).
“But I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings, saith the LORD: and I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof, and it shall devour all things round about it” (Jeremiah 21:14).
“And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The Lord will not do good, neither will he do evil” (Zeph. 1:12).
But remember the severity…knowing the love of God we “continue” in God’s goodness. “Continue” means to remain, be steadfast, persevere, endure.
In both position and relationship.
The believer...
·is positioned in the goodness of God.
·is related to the goodness of God.
We are “good” as we abide in the house of God.
“Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?” (Romans 2:4).
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
“In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace [goodness]” (Ephes. 1:7).
“Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son” (2 John 9).
For want of a nail the shoe was lost; for want of a shoe the horse was lost; and for want of a horse the rider was lost, being overtaken and slain by the enemy; and for want of care about a horseshoe nail. B. Franklin.
Let us accept the blessing of God’s grafting into the “True Vine” and practice care in all that we do, remembering the grace that was given to us who truly did not deserve it.
Is there something that you need to carry before Christ today for a lack of care in your life, failing to continue as God has called you?
Have you accepted Jesus Christ as Lord of your life?
Will you commit to the nurture that the “Grafter” desires to bring to all HIS children today and in the upcoming new year?
