IV. The Ingrafting Process:
IV. The Ingrafting Process:
How the Branches Are Transplanted to the New Stock
Now the individual is grafted into Jesus Christ. Just as the law, in the hands of the Holy Spirit, was the instrument used to sever the person from their natural foundation, so the Gospel, guided by the same Spirit, is the instrument employed to graft them into the supernatural foundation (1 John 1:3; see Isaiah 61:1-3). The Gospel is the silver cord sent down from heaven to rescue perishing sinners. Although the preaching of the law prepares the way for the Lord, it is through the word of the Gospel that Christ and a sinner meet. In the spiritual grafting process, just as in the natural one, the individual is united with Christ, becoming one with Him (Philippians 3:12).
First, Christ, through His Spirit, captures the sinner and draws them close (1 Corinthians 12:13). The same Spirit that resides in the Mediator is shared with the chosen at the appropriate time, never leaving them but remaining as a source of life. Now in the hands of the Lord of life and filled with the Spirit of life, the soul cannot help but live. The individual gains a captivating view of Christ's excellence through the lens of the Gospel, recognizing Him as a complete, fitting, and willing Saviour. They are given a heart to accept Christ as the ultimate substitute. The Spirit of faith provides the means to approach and receive Christ. What was once impossible by nature, they can now achieve through grace, as the Holy Spirit powerfully works within them to develop their faith.
Secondly, the sinner, once captured, grasps Christ through faith and unites with the blessed foundation (Ephesians 3:17). The soul that previously tried many escape routes but failed now looks with the eye of faith, which provides healing. Just as Aaron's rod, stored in the tabernacle, sprouted and produced buds (Numbers 17:8), the lifeless individual, captured by the Lord of life and joined to the glorious, life-giving foundation through the Spirit of life, blossoms in actual belief in Jesus Christ. This union is then completed. "Having the same Spirit of faith, we believe" (2 Corinthians 4:13). In this way, the foundation and the graft are united, Christ and the believer are married, with faith being the soul's acceptance of the spiritual marriage covenant. This covenant, proposed in the Gospel to all sinners indiscriminately, is demonstrated, confirmed, and personally brought to the individual by the Holy Spirit. Thus, they are joined to the Lord and become one spirit with Him.
Through this union, believers live in and for Christ, and Christ lives in and for the believer (Galatians 2:20). The bonds of this blessed union are the Spirit on Christ's part and faith on the believer's part.
Both the souls and bodies of believers are united with Christ. "Whoever is united with the Lord becomes one with him in spirit" (1 Corinthians 6:17). The bodies of believers are honoured as "the temple of the Holy Spirit" (verse 19) and "the members of Christ" (verse 15). When they sleep in the dust, they sleep in Jesus (1 Thessalonians 4:14), and it is through this union that they will be resurrected from the dust (Romans 8:11). In recognition of this mystical union, the church of believers is called by the name of its Head and Husband (1 Corinthians 12:12).
From what is said, we may draw the following conclusions:
The preaching of the law is essential. Whoever wants to graft must use a pruning knife. Sinners have many ways to keep them from Christ and many things by which they maintain their connection to the natural foundation. Therefore, they need to be closely pursued and driven out of their hiding places and refuges of lies.
However, it is the Gospel that completes the work. "The law makes nothing perfect." The law exposes the wound, but it is the Gospel that heals it. The law "strips a person, wounds them, and leaves them half dead," while the Gospel "binds up their wounds, pouring in wine and oil" to heal them. The law breaks us off, but it is through the Gospel that we are taken up and implanted in Christ.
"If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to him" (Romans 8:9). We are told of a natural anomaly, having two bodies with different emotions, but so united that they were served by the same limbs. Similarly, people may cling to Christ, "calling themselves citizens of the holy city and relying on the God of Israel" (Isaiah 48:2), and may be bound as branches in him (John 15:2) through the outward ties of sacraments. However, if the Spirit dwelling in Christ does not dwell in them, they are not one with him. There is a significant difference between adhesion and grafting. The ivy wraps and twists around the oak, but it is not one with it, as it continues to grow on its own root. Similarly, as Isaiah 4:1 suggests, many believers "take hold" of Christ, "eating their own bread and wearing their own clothes, only they are called by his name." They rely on him but grow on their own root; they turn to him for support, but their desires lie elsewhere.
The union between Christ and his mystical members is strong and unbreakable. If it were the case that the believer only grasped Christ, but Christ did not grasp them, we could promise little about the stability of such a union; it might quickly dissolve. But as the believer grasps Christ by faith, Christ grasps them by his Spirit, and no one shall take them from his hand. If a child only held onto their caregiver, they might eventually grow weary, let go, and fall away. However, if the caregiver has their arms around the child, there is no risk of falling away, even if the child is not actively holding on. So, whatever sinful interruptions may occur in the exercise of faith, the union remains secure due to the constant indwelling of the Spirit. Blessed Jesus! "All your saints are in your hand" (Deuteronomy 33:3). It is observed by some that the word "Abba" is the same whether read forwards or backwards; whatever the believer's situation, the Lord is still their Abba, Father.
Those who have not been grasped by Christ through his Spirit have an unstable connection to him. Many half-hearted relationships exist, where the soul grasps Christ, but is not grasped by him. Consequently, many fall away and never rise again; they lose their grip on Christ, and when that is gone, everything is lost. These are "the branches in Christ that do not bear fruit, which the gardener removes" (John 15:2). Question: How can that be? Answer: These branches are attached to the foundation through a profession or an insincere, hypocritical faith; they are tied to it through the external use of the sacraments, but they never truly unite with the foundation, and therefore cannot bear fruit. They do not need to be cut off or broken off; they are merely removed, or as the primary meaning of the word suggests, lifted up and taken away because there is nothing holding them; they are indeed tied to the foundation but were never united with it.
Question: How can I know if I am grasped by Christ? Answer: You can find satisfaction in this inquiry if you consider and apply these two things:
When Jesus seeks sinners to join him, they are resistant and stubborn, not engaging with him until he has wounded them, made them captives, and bound them with the cords of death. Once this is done, he comes to them and wins their hearts. The Lord tells us (Hosea 2:16-20) that chosen Israel will be married to him. To win the bride's consent, he will first bring her into the wilderness, as he did with the Israelites when he brought them out of Egypt (verse 14). There, she will face hardships, thirst, and snake bites before he comforts her, speaking to her heart. The sinner is first driven and then drawn to Christ. This is similar to Noah's dove, which returned to the ark as it had nowhere else to rest. It would have remained outside the ark if Noah had not pulled it in (Genesis 8:9). The Lord sends his avenger of blood to pursue the criminal, who, with a heavy heart, leaves their city and parts with old friends because they cannot stay with them. They flee for their life to the city of refuge. This choice is not entirely their own, as necessity takes precedence. However, upon arriving at the gates and seeing the beauty and loveliness of the place, they are charmed and enter willingly, declaring, "This is my rest, and here I will stay." In another context, it was said, "I would have perished if I hadn't perished."