Abiding; The Importance of Abiding in Christ.
This is part 4 on growing in the identity of Christ, you can find part 3 here.
As you can already tell from the title, we are going to look at the meaning of Abiding and the importance of abiding in Christ as believers. This will be taken from John 15:1-17.
Let us pray: Heavenly Father, i thank you for being ever faithful to bring forth deeper revelation on who you are. For whoever reading this, may they come to an understanding that it's Christ that lives through them and for those who do not know you as their Lord and personal saviour, may the veil from their eyes be removed and tug their hearts with these words. At the end of this topic, Holy Spirit; will you highlight why it's important to stay connected to the source, which is Jesus and show whoever reading this, ways on how to do so. Convict every heart that is no longer abiding in you Jesus and reconnect them to you as you're the life-giving vine. In Jesus name, Amen.
First and foremost, we shall start with the definition of Abiding:
- Abiding is described as lasting a long time with its synonymous words like remaining, long-lasting, eternal, continuing etc. With this definition, you can describe an abiding relationship as a very intimate relationship.
An aspect of abiding/intimacy is Prayer which we have previously discussed in part 3; we explored how powerful and important prayer is.
Your main takeaway today, should be the Word of God goes together with Prayer. They're just like a PB&J Sandwich.
The goal is, as you mature in Christ; The Word of God and Prayer should organically flow together. You pray his Word, God answers his Word and also he responds with his Word. According to Isaiah 55:10-11 "[10] As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, [11] so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it".
How much time you spend in the Word of God will reflect the great value you place on prayer thereby affecting your prayer life. Please note, i did not say it will be reflected on the length of your prayer (granted, somewhat it will be) and neither am i referring to how many Scriptures you can quote while praying.
Prayer is not from the head; it's done from the heart. We know this because we learned from the previous lesson; It is an ongoing conversation with the Lord and it's the Holy Spirit that intercedes for us and prays according to God's will. The Spirit brings scriptures that you have meditated upon and have been shelved away, he brings it to remembrance during prayer and brings about direction, clarity, encouragement and all-round help.
Apart from exploring the question on how we abide with/in Christ and the effect of doing so, we shall also take a look at what it means to train oneself to abide.
The backdrop to the chapter of our scripture today which is John 15, saw Jesus sharing his last words to his disciples before going to the cross (his last words to his disciples before being arrested and crucified spans across John chapter 12-17). The word/s people say before they die are very important and dear to them; thus, over these chapters before Jesus' crucifixion, were words of great importance which we ought to carefully examine. This is not to say that all other words spoken by Jesus didn't matter.
Jesus starts off in John 15:1-2 by telling his disciples [1] “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. [2] He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear righteousness, he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful”. The topic of who Jesus is, who the Father is, who the Holy Spirit is and who we are; is seen through the illustration of gardening; we are the branch, Jesus is the vine and God the vinedresser. The Spirit is illustrated as the sun or the rain that soaks up into the soil to bring about nutrients for fruit to be produced.
We can straight away see from John 15:2, Jesus doesn't say fruits rather he says fruit. The reason for this is because this so-called fruit can only be produced by the Spirit of God. The fruit of the Spirit. Additionally, with the fruit of the Spirit, you don’t get to pick and choose which one you’d like to have, The Holy Spirit brings all attributes when he indwells in you and he's the only one that can produce this fruit.
Additionally, in the form of gardening, branches (I will explain this term very soon) is likened to us. Those that do not bear fruit, the vinedresser cuts off. Meaning, it's possible for some branches to appear as if they are connected to the main body (trunk of the vine) but truly are not — these branches are dead and will never produce fruit.
I am reminded of Jesus' warning of repentance to the children of Israel through a parable in Luke 13:6-9 which says "[6] Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. [7] So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ [8] “ ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. [9] If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’ The owner of the vineyard is represented as God the Father, the man who took care of it is, Jesus and the tree/vine refusing to produce fruit is God's people (Israel).
In the Old Testament, Israel were meant to be the vine that showcased God's righteousness, but they failed (Isaiah 5:1-7). This is why in the New Testament we see the way being made for the true living Vine, Jesus. He came to be the one to produce the fruit of righteousness in which will birth more fruit to be produced. (I will later elaborate on this).
How can this be applied to us? It's possible for some to attach themselves to the body of Christ but truly are not connected to the life-giving source. A branch that does not bear fruit is detrimental to the health of the tree and only the vinedresser is aware of this, therefore it needs to be cut off.
The branches must be connected to the central trunk, (this is known as the vine, and it is Jesus); which is rooted to the ground/soil. This connection is done to draw out nutrients and produce fruit. Thereby, if a branch is not connected to the vine, it cannot produce fruit; if you are unfamiliar with the very word of God which is his voice and do not co-operate with the work the Holy Spirit is trying to do in you, your life is bound to be fruitless and this is vice-versa for those who are familiar with the voice of God; the end result is a fruitful life.
Remember the Lord's sheep hears his voice and wouldn't follow a stranger's according to John 10:4-5. If you're one that's a true branch, you will go through pruning.
Pruning, I would like to define as a refining stage for believers to become pure. In biblical times, the process of purifying gold was done by fire. The mined gold was melted, which caused the impurities to rise to the surface and for it to be easily removed. Also, think of split ends, hair growth comes by doing away with split ends.
Ask yourself, what part of your life causes you to stumble? identify this as what God wants to cut away.
What part do you need more growing in (in terms of the fruit of the Spirit)? God prunes so you can bear better fruit.
In addition, we see Jesus' reassurance to his disciples; also to us in verse 3 which says John 15:3, [3] “You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you”. Regarding being made clean, we remain clean due to sanctification. Sanctification is linked to discerning the voice of God and following in his ways and this is done by abiding in him (it's not a one-off thing but it is constant).
Re-emphasising the latter part of verse 2, “while every branch that does bear righteousness, he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful”. I am reminded of 1 Peter 4:12-13 which says ‘Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice in as much as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed’.
When I think of Jesus' glory revealed, it can be the full Glory revealed in us at the day of Christ just as Romans 8:18-23 describes. However, it can also be likened to the conforming/moulding to the image of Christ that takes place as a result of our justification by him; which allows for us to go from glory to glory as written by Paul in 2 Corinthians 3:16-18.
On the topic of seeing Christ as the whole tree here, to further explain John 15:3.
I shall start by asking this question, how does one grow a grape tree?
The answer as you might have guessed is, you first need a seed then you bury it in the soil and water it.
Well, think of this seed that grows into a grape tree as Christ that died and was buried to produce the fruit of righteousness; believers being the fruit he has produced. Even if seeds of the fruit are taken from this tree (Christ) to be planted as individual tree; this doesn't stop it from originating from the first tree, as it has the same characteristics of the first.
Therefore, what we see here is the process of replication. How does this help our understanding? we have already been made clean because of Salvation. In John 12:23-24 [23] Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. [24] Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Jesus has died to replicate himself thus we must remember we are unable to produce fruit alone, which is why we must obey the very words he says in John 15:4 '[4] Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me'.
The word remain is mentioned 11 times throughout verses 4-10 of John 15.
This highlights the importance of this very word. Well, how do we remain in Jesus? To put simply, by seeking a constant intimacy with him which brings about obedience to his commands. John 14:23-24 says '[23] Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. [24] Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me'. To be obedient to God is to do as he asks and obey the teachings of Christ; this shows whether you truly love him like you say or are guilty of giving him lip service.
I want to zero in on the last part of John 15:5 ' “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. I liken the 'apart from me you can do nothing' as you can't live without me. Ask any devout disciples of Jesus Christ about the time they tried to live without him even when they gave their lives to him and they would tell you, it was a mess.
John 15:6 says '[6] “If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned”. These are the consequences of walking out of faith or living a faithless life (a branch that falls from a tree is disconnect to its source, it shall be stepped on and rendered useless, its only use is in the fire; even then it is burned to ashes). Hebrews 6:1-8 further explains this.
This brings me to the question, have you ever tried to live your Christian life without the help of the Holy Spirit? The answer is you most probably experienced Exhaustion or Burn out. The reason being your flesh is futile. There must be connection to the vine, and this is by prayer and understanding that, you are not the Vine. Quit trying to play the role of the Vine.
John 15:7-8 says '[7] If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. [8] This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples'. We must link this to the previous topic on prayer and how to pray effectively. The whatever you wish spoken here by Jesus in verse 7 is in the bounds of God's will. This is the very reason he said remain in me and my words in you first before he included "ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you".
If you remain in Christ and the word of God remains in you; then you should be able to have great discernment of what you should be asking for. The Holy Spirit reveals this to you. The whatever you wish are not genie wishes.
Furthermore, I do not believe it's coincidental for Jesus to mention his words then bring up love in the next few verses of John 15:9-17. The reason for this; it being the very core of his message/words, his love displayed. It was the Father's will for his Son to die, out of his love for humanity and the Son never objected to this but willingly laid his life (not by force but out of love). In order, for humanity to be restored back into the presence of God.
We are reminded of John 3:16 'For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life'. Also, Hebrews 12:1-2 'Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. In addition, John 15:9-10 and 13 says '[9] “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. [10] If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commands and remain in his love. [13] Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends'.
Therefore, if Christ has chosen to love us before we chose him as John 15:16 has lovely stated '[16] You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This begs the question of "who are we?" to disregard the greatest command Jesus will ever give to us which was stated twice, both in John 15:12 and 17 '[12] My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you'. '[17] This is my command: Love each other'. From this we know God does not waste words and it shows how important both verses are; as this message is emphasised in John 13:34-35 [34] “A new command i give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. [35] By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Our greatest testimony and the greatest way the church can evangelise to the world is by the way we fiercely love each other as Christ loves us; this was the foundation of the first church (the book of Acts displays this). Love shows our unity with each other; it reflects the character of God himself. This is how we bear fruit that last, which is emphasised in the latter part of verse 16 '[16] You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you'.
We are meant to reflect God's character just as Christ did with God the Father (John 15:10, he remained in the Father's love), failure to do so taints the name of God. Don't be like the children of Israel who were guilty of not bringing Glory to God's name and being susceptible to pagan influences.
They knew better but didn't act right. We as believers must know better so let us act right even when it's hard. We must remember, we are pleasing an audience of one not multiple. Remember the wiles of the enemy has always been disunity, divide and conquer; from pitting Adam and Eve against each other to them being against God.
Finally, we must recognise there are blessings attached to following this command of remaining in love because it says in John 15:11 '[11] I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete'. This means there must be a thing like incomplete joy because it's only when you do according to what Christ has commanded you, then you get his joy, and his joy is what completes us. Amen.
Please find the next topic here.