Wait. There is a world of articles, books, and information out there when it comes to Christianity, but we are mostly stuck with rhetoric and double talk when it comes to our relationship with the Lord, our new identity as believers, and the security and finality of the work of Christ. Are you getting everything you need spiritually from your church? Or do you find yourself feeling hungry for more? Join Lenny as he unpacks what Scripture really taught about our Lord Jesus Christ in context and why this matters to you. Wake up, wake up, wake up to grace.

I imagine there are Christians out there who have never asked themselves this question. I'm also certain there are many who have been taught something about this topic that is less than accurate and even damaging to their walk with the Lord. The truth about abiding in Christ will set you free. It will allow you to stand before Yahweh confidently in Christ. The truth will place you in a perfect fellowship with God, where you know you can come to Him at all times and in all things. On the other side, the error about abiding in Christ will put you in bondage to your sin and cause you to cower before the Lord in shame. In another way, it may cause you to stand in false humility. The error will attempt to rip perfect fellowship out of your grasp and replace it with a burden that you were never intended to bear. Which of these do you want for yourself? I think most of us who love the Lord are going to choose standing confidently before Him in truth. So let's talk about that, shall we? Today's passage reads like this I am the true vine, and my father is the vine dresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers, and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. According to Strong's, the original Greek word translated as abide here is a primary verb, and it can be defined as to stay, to continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand. The context of this passage shows us that Yeshua was speaking to his disciples. If we can figure out how the disciples were to abide and become fruitful branches, then we should also be able to answer the question, what is abiding in Christ? Before we get too far along, we should determine some things about the timing of our passage. We know that it was during the time that Yeshua was here on earth with his disciples. Being that this is so certainly true, what had not yet taken place at this time? Yeshua had not finished his work on the cross or defeated death through his resurrection yet, had he? No, he definitely had not. In turn, what else had not happened yet? No person had received the indwelling spirit of God, had they? No, they hadn't. That was yet to come. Yeshua said to them, Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. That was John fifteen verses three through four. Being considered clean probably referred to them being saved by faith. But whatever he meant about being clean did not apply to them being reconciled to the Lord. Until the Spirit of God came to dwell within the believer, there was no reconciliation in regards to sin. There was a promise of salvation, but sin was getting in the way of fellowship since Adam and Eve's fall in the garden. All around this passage, Christ Yeshua describes to them the coming of the Holy Spirit and the work it would be actively doing in them. Based on this, we must ask, could the disciples abide at the time of this statement, or was Christ Yeshua speaking of a time that would soon be upon them? The wonderful part about this question is that we have the privilege of reading about abiding after the cross from the same writer of the Gospel of John that is taking place before the cross. The commands of Christ Yeshua in John's Gospel are echoed by John in his first epistle. After receiving the Holy Spirit, John explains to us what Christ Yeshua meant by what he said. This helps us to better understand its application to us today as Christians. The disciples would have had no clue what the Lord meant when he spoke to them before receiving the Holy Spirit. It was after receiving the Spirit that these truths were understood. So we'll compare and contrast the words of Christ in John's Gospel with the words of John in his first epistle to gain a proper understanding of Yeshua's words in John 15, verses 1 through 6. This should allow us to answer the most important question we're faced with here. What is abiding in Christ? We'll start with passages from John's Gospel, and then we'll head into his first epistle. Then they said to him, What must we do to be doing the works of God? Jesus answered them, This is the work of God, that you believe in him who he has sent. That's John 6.28. Truly, truly I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. And that's John 6.47. In these passages we're assured by Christ that the work of God is to believe, and this alone grants us eternal life. But when would anyone truly benefit or be able to have a complete understanding of this simple truth? We read, So Jesus said to them, When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me, and He who has sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him. As he was saying these things, many believed in him. So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, If you abide in my words, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. And here Yeshua clearly states that we will know he is the Lord when he is lifted up. What do you think he means by lifted up? It sounds like he's talking about the cross, doesn't it? That's when they lifted him up. It's interesting to consider that Yeshua seems to imply that there were no true disciples yet. This fact causes a lot of trouble in the discipleship doctrines of our day. I talk on these things in episode 37 and episode 38. Any way we look at this, it would follow that the disciples did not yet know the truth, and in turn had not yet been set free. Though they did have faith and believe, sin had not been dealt with, therefore there was no freedom from sin. Later in John's gospel, Yeshua says, A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have loved for one another. In this passage, Christ gives his disciples a new commandment, and that's John thirteen, thirty four. It's very different from his words at the Sermon on the Mount, or in the Lord's Prayer, where he says, And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For if ye forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if ye do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. That's Matthew six, twelve. And yes, it is very different indeed. Yeshua is no longer teaching in the context of law or to point out hypocrisy, but is preparing his disciples for living by grace. He now prepares them for the ministry to come. The ministry that Paul called the ministry of reconciliation in 2 Corinthians 5.18. Love one another as I have loved you, he tells them. This was how Christ will actively reveal himself through his people, through his love. This tells us that if we're lacking in this love for our brothers and sisters in Christ, something is wrong. Continuing our study, Yeshua then declares, If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. John 15 7. Many take this to make Christ our own personal genie in a bottle. When we make anyone but Christ Yeshua the initiator of spiritual works, we go down a dark road. We're responders, not initiators when it comes to the Holy Spirit. If we're to see this passage in light of our role as responders and not initiators, we might learn something valuable. It may be relevant to consider that when we pray and request things according to His will, those things will be done. In other words, if we see prayers getting answered in our lives, maybe this is our counselor, the Holy Spirit, telling us we're on the right track. What if this is a means of guidance hidden away in words that on the surface seem to indicate otherwise? I think this fits quite well in the context of our role in all of this, and is another example of spiritual understanding versus worldly understanding. Everyone knows how to ask for what they want from the world, but how many have the discipline to pray for what they need spiritually? I also see this passage as a foretelling of the indwelling spirit of God that would give the disciples everything they needed for their journey to come, just as declared by Peter. His divine power is granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence. So now we can take a look at John's first epistle, where he explains the words of Christ Yeshua in his new covenant view on abiding. Here we essentially get the interpretation of the words written and read in his gospel. No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that he made to us, eternal life. I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. That's first John 2 23. Now this can begin to get confusing really quickly. John seems to be telling his audience to let belief abide in them, does he not? He also adds in an if that would seem to tell us that there's a chance that it won't happen. Those who were trying to deceive them did not believe the gospel. They denied Christ. I go over 1 John in several messages and from different angles. If you want further context, you can look those up. My more recent discussion can be found in message number 51. But if we examine what is being said here, John declares belief in the truth about Christ as what they heard from the beginning. He then says, If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. We could paraphrase this by saying, If you believe the truth about Christ Yeshua, then you will abide in him. The if part is not really a question of will a believer abide, but John rather states that if we believe, we will abide, because only a believer can abide, and only a believer can receive eternal life. John continues, Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God, and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him, and this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He has commanded us. Whoever keeps His commandments abides in God, and God in Him, and by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us. What would cause our heart to condemn us? Would unbelief qualify as an answer here? How about denying the one who saves us from sin, Christ Yeshua? And how might we have confidence before God? Would it not be through the reconciling blood of Christ? John then makes the same statement as Christ, which leads many to the genie in a bottle approach to prayer. But let's compare the two statements and see if we can find anything interesting. Yeshua said, If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. John 15 7. And John said, Whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as he has commanded us. That's 1 John 3 22. From my view, we further confirm here that abiding is believing. And keeping commandments like these is like keeping a treasured possession. They're given to us for us to keep. One of the major benefits of abiding is that we can ask for anything of our Lord now, and sin will no longer be blocking us from receiving a response. And as Peter said, we have been given all things already through the Holy Spirit. I see the statement as magnifying these facts. John upholds the command given by Christ to love one another as well. This new Christ-like love comes through the Holy Spirit and becomes as evidence of our belief. Genuine love for one another can only be produced by Christ through our depending on Him. Just as belief is a work of God, genuine love also is a work of God. We don't produce these things. We can bear them if we depend on the Lord to produce them. Loving our brothers and sisters in Christ is made equal to loving Christ Himself in these words. It sounds pretty important, doesn't it? This command gives us the sense of unity in Christ that we all share and displays how truly important love is in our walk. This love encourages ourselves and others as it's working in our lives. We end with John saying, Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us by the Spirit whom he has given. And in his second epistle, we receive a powerful confirmation of the eternal security we have in our abiding in Christ, the elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all who know the truth, because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever. So what is abiding in Christ but belief itself? We have now been told that we know we abide because the Holy Spirit has been given to us. We have been promised he will never take it away. We are even told what the work of the Holy Spirit will be in our lives so that we can be confident that he is working within us. How do we become the branch that is pruned that it may continue to bear more fruit? We have to believe. There is still much more to discuss about this passage, though. One major issue presents itself in the words Yeshua uses to open his analogy. In describing fruit-bearing branches as well as branches thrown into the fire, Yeshua seems to declare both of these types of branches as in him. What are we to make of this? Some say this is God chastising believers. Others say these believers have become useless to the Lord by bearing no fruit. Some even say Yeshua speaks of Christians losing their salvation. What do you believe about these branches? I say we have to figure out what's going on.