The Michlaude Discipleship Project

The Vine Is the Path

A Discipleship Essay on Direct Access to God

The vine metaphor of John 15 taken at face value: the branch does not generate its own life, manage its own fruitfulness, or correct its own dryness. It abides.

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Contents

1. Part 1: The Torn Veil as Theological Ground
2. Part 2: Tier 1: Scriptural Foundation
3. Part 3: Tier 2: Patristic Understanding
4. Part 4: Tier 3: Magisterial Claims
5. Part 5: Tier 4: The Reasoned Argument
6. Part 6: The Vine and the Chain: One Reality, Two Languages
7. Part 7: Both Traditions' Blind Spots
8. Part 8: The Real Problem: Misplaced Compassion
9. Part 9: Theosis in the Vine
10. Part 10: What Seeking God's Will Actually Looks Like
11. Part 11: The Patristic Recovery
12. Part 12: The Landing: Post-Reformation Recovery
13. With Gratitude

Companions

Regenerate, Not Degenerate is the diagnostic; The Vine Is the Path is the argument for why the direct access the formation requires is real. The Companion (Section Six) shows how the Spirit enables the abiding.