I.　The organic increase and universal spreading of the church is the multi?plication of Christ in the fruit-bearing of the branches of Christ, the true vine in the universe, as the organism of the Triune God in the economy of God—John 15:1-2, 4-5, 8, 16.

II.　As the true vine, Christ is the center of God's operation in the universe—v. 1; Col. 1:15-18; 2:9; 3:4, 11:

A.　The entire universe is a vineyard, and centered in this vineyard is the true vine, which is Christ the Son; everything that God the Father is and has is for this center, is embodied in this center, and is expressed through this center—John 15:1; 1:18; 3:35; 16:15; 17:10.

B.　The true vine—the center of God's operation in the universe—is for the propa?gation and multiplication of life—15:5, 8, 16:

1.　To propagate life is to spread life widely, and to multiply life is to repro?duce life—10:10; 12:24; 15:16.

2.　This propagation and multiplication of life is to express life for the glorifi?cation of the Father—v. 8.

C.　The vine and the branches are an organism to glorify the Father, to have the intent, the content, the inner life, and the inner riches released and expressed from within—vv. 1, 4-5, 8:

1.　In verse 8 the word glorified means to have the intent, the content, the inner life, and the inner riches released and expressed.

2.　When the life of the vine is expressed through the branches in its propa?ga?tion and multiplication, the Father is glorified, because what the Father is in the riches of His life is expressed in the propagation and multiplication of the vine; this is the glorification of the Father—vv. 4-5, 8.

D.　As the organism of the Triune God in the economy of God, the true vine is for the multiplication and spread of the processed and consummated Triune God in millions of His chosen ones—17:20-21; Acts 2:42, 47; 5:14; 6:7; 9:31; 16:5.

III.　We need to be brought into a full realization of the fact that we all are branches of the universal vine—John 15:2, 4-5:

A.　We have become branches of the vine, members of Christ, by the branching out of the vine; when we believed in the Lord Jesus, He branched into us—3:15.

B.　For us to be a branch means that Christ has become our life—Col. 3:4.

C.　Christ as the vine does everything through His believers as the branches; without Him we can do nothing, and without us He can do nothing; we need Him, and He needs us—John 15:4-5.

D.　As branches of the vine, we need to abide in the vine—v. 4:

1.　What we are, what we have, and what we do must be in the Lord and by the Lord in us—Phil. 4:13; 2 Tim. 2:1.

2.　If we would abide in the vine, we must first see the fact that we are branches in the vine, and then we need to maintain the fellowship between us and the Lord—John 15:2; 1 Cor. 1:9, 30; 1 John 1:7; 4:15.

E.　Our destiny as branches of the universal vine is to bear fruit for the glorifi?cation of the Father; this God-appointed destiny is fulfilled by the practice of the God-ordained way to carry out God's New Testament economy—John 15:16.

IV.　When we abide in Christ as the universal vine, we have the church life—vv. 12, 16-17; 1 Cor. 1:2, 9, 30; 6:17; 12:27:

A.　The branches are one with the vine and with one another—John 17:11, 21-23.

B.　The church life, the Body, is a life of loving one another; we need to love one another in the life of Christ, in the love of Christ, and in the commission of Christ—15:12, 16-17.

C.　When we abide in Christ, we participate in the wonderful fellowship among the co-branches—vv. 4-5; 1 John 1:3-7:

1.　The inner life of all the branches is one, and this life should continually circulate through all the branches—vv. 2-3.

2.　The church life is the fellowship, the communion, the co-participation, the mutual enjoyment of Christ—1 Cor. 1:2, 9; 12:27.

3.　All the local churches should remain in this unique fellowship—the fellow?ship of the Body—Acts 2:42; 1 Cor. 10:16; 1 John 1:3.

4.　Because we are in this one flow, we cannot be separated by space; no matter where we may be, we are all in the one fellowship—1 Cor. 1:9.

V.　For the universal spreading of Christ as the true vine, we need to have effective prayers for fruit-bearing—John 15:7, 16:

A.　Prayer is man cooperating and co-working with God, allowing God to express Himself through man and thus accomplish His purpose—Rom. 8:26-27; James 5:17:

1.　A praying one will cooperate with God, work together with God, and allow God to express Himself and His desire from within him and through him.

2.　Real prayers cause our being to be wholly mingled with God, causing us to become a person of two parties—God mingled with man—1 Cor. 6:17.

B.　We need to pray in the Lord's name as the issue of our abiding in the Lord and of His words abiding in us—John 15:7, 16:

1.　When we abide in the Lord and let His words abide in us, we actually are one with Him, and He works within us, and there will be a desire in us that comes out of His words, and His desire will become our desire—v. 7:

a.　When we ask in prayer for what we will, it is not only we who are praying, for He is praying in our praying.

b.　The Lord will answer this kind of prayer, because it issues from our abiding in the Lord and from His words abiding in us.

2.　To ask in the Lord's name requires us to abide in the Lord and allow Him and His words to abide in us so that we may actually be one with Him—v. 16:

a.　When we ask, He asks in our asking.

b.　This kind of asking is related to fruit-bearing and will surely be answered by the Father—vv. 7, 16.