Secrets of the Vine CD : Breaking Through to Abundance (The Breakthrough Series)

Rating:
Summary: Secrets of Intimacy with God
Review: "Secrets of the Vine" offers readers another uplifting dose of Bruce Wilkinson's positive preaching. You come away from "Secrets" and "Jabez" invigorated by God's grand vision for your life, desiring to do more for God and be more in God. This is a wonderful gift Wilkinson offers to readers, both Christian and others.

I have some major theological critiques of "Secrets" when placed beside the Greek text of John 15:1-17, the portion of John's Gospel from which Wilkinson draws his secrets of the vine.

1) Wilkinson empasizes a distinction throughout the book between "discipline" and "pruning". This distinction is not found in the Greek text of John 15. Raymond Brown, the great John scholar writes in his definitive commentary on John, "Verse 2 describes two different actions of the vinedresser. The first, that of cutting off branches that cannot bear fruit, takes place in February-March. Sometimes the vines are so completely cut back that one sees in the vineyards only the stalks bereft of branches. Later (August), when the vine has put forth leaves, comes the second stage of pruning, as the vinedresser pinches off the little shoots so that the main fruit-bearing branches get all the nourishment" (The Gospel According to John, Vol.II, pg.675). Both verbs describe pruning activities of the vinedresser.

2) The imperative (command) word in the Greek text is NOT "Bear Fruit!" Wilkinson places his major emphasis for our lives upon bearing more and more fruit, upon producing. This emphasis is not in the Greek. The word, "abide" or "remain" (Gk:menein) is found 10 times in the Greek. Fruit is found 7 times. Twice the word for abide is a command, "meinate"! Here is the true emphasis of Jesus' teaching: not upon production of more and more fruit (good works according to Wilkinson), but upon simply abiding in the Vine (intimacy with Christ) and having the Vine abide in us. You must read through 88 pages before this central teaching on abiding from John 15 is found in Wilkinson's writing. I would recommend readers to skip over pages 1-88 and go directly to "More with God" on page 89. Fruit is a by-product of remaining in Jesus and having Jesus remain in us, not the goal of our lives.

3) I don't know where the 4 baskets come from. They are not found in the Greek text of John 15. There is enough in John 15 to interpret without adding in more imagery to distract readers from Jesus' teaching.

4) Fruit for Wilkinson equals "good works", both outward and inward. The context of John does not favor this understanding of fruit. John's gospel emphasizes the fruit of Christlikeness, eternal life and being filled with grace and glory, NOT mere good works.

5) Even in Wilkinson's teaching on "Abiding" there are some disconcerting human-centered viewpoints which are not found in the Greek text of John 15. He writes on page 95, "In abiding, it's always our move!" No. Both Christ and Christian can move. In fact, Jesus emphasizes his choice and appointment towards the end of his parable when he says, "It was not you who chose me; it was I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will remain" (John 15:16). Wilkinson also offers a dangerous understanding of "abiding" on page 122 when he states, "If you are in a season of abiding..." Abiding is never a mere "season" in the life of a follower of Jesus Christ but the vital relationship which keeps us alive and growing. Wilkinson envisions three seasons in the believers' life: a season of discipline, a season of pruning and a season of abiding. This is a forced interpretation of the Greek text. Abiding is a lifelong, intimate, growing relationship with Jesus, the Word become flesh, full of grace and truth.

Apart from these textual concerns, I found "Secrets of the Vine" a refreshing, uplifting sermon on fruitful living in Christ. I'm delighted to see millions rediscovering the life-changing person of Jesus Christ through such writers as Bruce Wilkinson.

For two more books on the life-changing person of Christ and fruitful living for parents, look into "The Family Cloister: Benedictine Wisdom for the Home" (New York, Crossroad, 2000) and "The Christian Family Toolbox: 52 Benedictine Activities for the Home" (New York: Crossroad, 2001), both by David Robinson.

Rating:
Summary: ABUNDANCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THE SECRET
Review: Building on the power and privilege of Prayer, the author takes
the next step and elaborates on Jesus's teaching of His vineyard.
To live the truly abundant Kingdom life of love, peace, joy and the fruit of the Spirit, one must be abiding in the vine of
Christ where the flow of the Holy Spirit can fill the life of
the believer.

This book makes living in the Spirit very practical and gives
powerful illustrations about cultivating and harvesting grapes
from healthy vines in the lives of those who follow Jesus' vineyard principles.

Important concepts like Planting, Pruning, Perseverence, and
Purity flesh out the secrets of the vine. When we realize our
Heavenly Father is the Gardener/Caretaker, Christ is the Vine
and we are but branches, we realize the Lord will flow the life
sap of the Spirit through us to produce abundant quality and
quantity fruit to His Glory as we remain in His Word.
Blessed are they who hear the Word of God and keep it!
Do not be filled with spirits, but be being filled with the Spirit!

Rating:
Summary: Good Lessons; Questionable Exegesis
Review: I first heard the substance of this book in several video lectures by Wilkinson about seven years ago. At the time, it was very impactful for me. I was especially blessed by seeing the difference between chastening and pruning.

Wilkinson uses John 15 and the analogy of the Vine and Branches to develop three basic principles for Christian living, which he names "Secrets of the Vine." Starting with the premise that there are four levels of fruit-bearing in the lives of all Christians (barrenness, fruit, more fruit, and much fruit), coupled with the presupposition that every branch spoken of in John 15 is a true believer, Wilkinson teaches:

1. If your life consistently bears no fruit, God will intervene to DISCIPLINE you.

2. If your life bears some fruit, God will intervene to PRUNE you.

3. If your life bears a lot of fruit, God will invite you to ABIDE more deeply with him.

The book is pretty much built around these three concepts: disciplining (chastening), pruning, and abiding. There is no doubt that there is much truth here. God DOES discipline his sinning children who for a season may not bear fruit, as Hebrews 12 makes clear. (But I am not absolutely convinced that this is what John 15:2 is describing.) Again, God DOES prune (or purge) his children, as the text makes clear. And Wilkinson does well in drawing distinctions between chastening and pruning. They are not the same. It is also true that we have a command to "abide" in Christ. But I think all Christians will do this to some degree, whereas Wilkinson seems to think that many, if not most, Christians never attain to "abiding." I think he may go wrong here, not in his description of Christian experience(for it is without dispute that there can be vastly different degrees of closeness in people's relationships with the Lord), but in his interpretation of this particular passage.

There are some subtle theological beliefs which seem to be underlying this book, which I think are dangerous. Wilkinson seems to believe that it is possible to have Jesus as Savior, but not as Lord,and that perseverance in faith is not essential to eternal security (hence, the author's denial that John 15:6 refers to hell), and that there are "levels" in the Christian life (the old higher/deeper/fuller Christian life myth popularized by Keswick).

For a balance check out: D. A. Carson's Commentary on John: he gives a better interpretation of these verses. See also John MacArthur in "The Gospel According to Jesus" chapter 15. And to combat the Keswick-type deeper-life teaching, see Packer's "Keep In Step With the Spirit." I think the teaching in these books is more true to Scripture.

HOWEVER, (to be fair) I will say (though I was quite surprised to see it) that A. W. Pink takes essentially the same interpretation that Wilkinson does. But Pink's Exposition of John was written in the early portion of his ministry and may reflect a position which he eventually discarded.

Anyway, with all of that said, I enjoyed my reading of this book. It has some very good lessons for us. I just wish Wilkinson had grounded it in a more accurate exegesis of Scripture.

Rating:
Summary: "Better than Jabez, but not quite "With Joseph..."
Review: I will not attempt to replicate the troubling points in this work. I will say that most of the negative comments are overstated, and there is much to like in this book.

Wilkinson notes with insight the disciplining ways of God, and while the author does take a few liberties with interpretation, his points are cogent and helpful to the suffering Christian. Without question, this book is more scripturally sound that the Jabez book.

While this work is in the same genre, but not in the same class as "With Joseph in the University of Adversity", or "God Meant it for Good", it furnishes help to the hurting soul in time of need.

Rating:
Summary: Finding our purpose in life...
Review: In the first book: The Prayer of Jabez, Dr. Bruce H. Wilkinson explains how we can have an abundant life by knowing how to pray to God. In this second book of the BreakThrough Series, he takes the verses in John 15 and explores the four levels of "fruit bearing" in order to show you how God works in your life to answer your prayer.

This is the message Jesus gave to his disciples on the night he was betrayed. As he was about to defeat sin, he was explaining how his followers could also defeat sin and live an abundant life.

"The disciples knew grapes like an Englishman knows tea." pg. 59

So, it is no wonder the story of vines would have made complete sense to the disciples and be perhaps a bit of a secret to those of us who have never been taught how to grow grapes. Dr. Wilkinson brings the story alive as he tells of how the disciples followed Jesus to a vineyard. There he teaches them about how he is the true vine and his father is the vinedresser/husbandman (gardener). The fruit God desires of us is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. When God works through you, others will see these qualities in your life and want to know who God is and perhaps become Christians themselves.

When a Christian does not bear any fruit, it is often thought that perhaps they are not a Christian after all. Jesus says that if a branch does not bear fruit he takes it away. Dr. Wilkinson delves into the Greek translation to bring more understanding to the words used. He brings a new meaning to the word "airo" and explains how it could mean "take up" instead of "cut off." This was enlightening in many regards and is an explanation of this verse as I have never heard it before. You will never read John 15 in the same way again! I recommend this book for pages 34-35 alone. There are also three main secrets of the vine that are revealed in this book.

The Bible has such beautiful messages for our souls and Dr. Wilkinson expands on that beauty and helps us to have a deeper understanding. I enjoyed reading this devotional even more than the first one. You will come away with a renewed sense of love for God and a deeper understanding of what your purpose is in this life.

"These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy may might be full." John 15:11

I wish you joy and hope you will also look for The Prayer of Jabez, which is the first book in the series. I look forward to reading each book as they are published. If you enjoy reading companions to the Bible, The Complete Bible Handbook by John Bowker is one I have enjoyed reading. The New Open Bible Study Edition is also extreemly helpful if you want to study the Bible.

Rating:
Summary: Three Seasons
Review: This book is a sequel to THE PRAYER OF JABEZ which shows Christians how to ask for a life of abundance in service for God. SECRETS OF THE VINE instructs us how God works in our lives to give us that life of abundance if we cooperate with Him to make it happen.

We can expect to go through three seasons. In the first one God disciplines us to remove sin and in the next season God does some pruning to allow us to better order our priorities. In the third one we will be invited by God to abide more deeply with Him.

The author shows us how to recognize which season we are presently in and how to get the most out of it. The lessons of the book are easy to understand but the prescriptions for growth appear quite difficult to complete. It is important to remember that most worthwhile goals in life are not easy to reach. I recommend this book as a follow-up to THE PRAYER OF JABEZ - especially if you are serious about your walk with Christ.