Abiding In Christ

1 Abiding in Christ – John 15:1-8 Vs-2 Vs-3 Vs-7 Vs-8

False professors of faith with no understanding of their personal union. True Christians are already cleansed because there is union. Remaining means to understand contrition, grace, and forgiveness. Bearing fruit is not the cause of salvation but rather the effect of it.

The vital union takes place between Christ and the believing soul. For this to happen self must be laid in ruins. This is the reason why we pass through such extreme trials, perplexities, conflicts, suffering, and temptation. Not only does the Spirit cut us off from ourselves but He gives us union with Jesus. How will we know we have received this blessing: When we know we are poor and destitute in spirit When we mourn over our personal sin. When it grieves us. When we live in humble submission to God. When we hunger and thirst for a righteousness not our own. The living union springs out of the vital union. It is through faith that we have a living and vital union First the Spirit is please to raise up faith. Then the Spirit nurtures His own grace in the soul. Then He draws it into a living act and exercise – He makes it living and active. The living union is nurtured by the Spirit through the Word of God - John 15:3. The Spirit applies the Word Some times the Word arrives as a dead letter and there is no joy. Other times the Word arrives and by God’s mercy becomes beautiful. Some passages drop in on the soul and make way for themselves. They take root and grow in our hearts. They bear fruit in our lives. They become precious to us in their use. Jeremiah 15:16 says; “Your words were found, and I ate them; and Your Word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart.” The living union is nurtured through prayer, as the Spirit is pleased to make use of it. He intercedes for us with groanings, which cannot be uttered. He stirs us up and enables us to pour out our hearts at the footstool of grace. He gives us the ability to wrestle with God as Jacob did when he said; I will not let You go but that you give me a blessing.” As the Spirit stirs up longing within he strengthens faith in the heart The Spirit also makes use of fellowship with others in the Lord’s family. Malachi 3:16 shows us that those who feared the Lord spoke often to one another. Our own text today shows this as well when Jesus tell us that his command is that we love one another.

2 So, by His Spirit, Christ abides in us and shows us that our eternal union springs from the knowledge of the living union that we have with Him and the faith and trust in our hearts is strengthened as our hope in Him is increased. The effect of Christ’s abiding in you comes from the system of internal checks that are in place. Psalm 73:1-3, 21-26 This happens through the presence of the Spirit. When you turn to your idols (and you will turn to your idols) He proves that He is abiding by not giving you up to a reprobate mind and by not allowing you to harden your heart against Him. These two questions are critical for your life and for you to be established in. 1) Has the Holy Spirit made Christ known to your soul? Have you embraced Him? 2) Do you abide in Christ and show the result of the presence of the Spirit? If so then you cannot be happy with your idolatry – it must pain your conscience. You will not take pleasure in doing what pagans do without guilt. Psalm 139:23-24 Search me, Oh God, and know my heart, Test me and know my anxious thoughts and see if there is any offensive way in me and lead in the way everlasting. What will be your evidence that you are abiding in Christ and He is abiding in you? If there is no evidence then the union is only apparent and you need to ask Him into your heart. God’s purpose in dealing with you is to bring out the fruit of faith in His abiding in your heart. 1. There is the fruit of humility (Read Philippians 2:5-8) Reference to the Beatitudes. 2. There is sincerity and Godly simplicity. Are you led by ambition, pride, self-interest, greed, covetousness, love of reputation? Our hearts are deceitful by nature and we need to be continually repenting. We need to continually come back with the singleness of purpose for God’s glory. 3. There is a Godly fear – a conscience made tender by Him that both loves and reverse Him. 4. There will be faith in His name and that His promises in Christ are effective for us. 5. There will be a love towards Jesus Christ as we see the beauty of His sacrifice. 6. There will be a hope that you have in the redemptive work of Christ on your behalf. 7. There will be prayerfulness, watchfulness, self-denial, brokenness of heart, contrition over personal sin, a panting or a longing after the manifest presence of God – you will want more of him in your life. There will be a crucifixion of self. These are the inward fruits. These results in our heart and in the actions of our lives spring from one source and that is the vital union we have with Christ as He lives in our hearts. “Do not forget this. It is not my doing this or that because I may do a thousand things for God, and yet all the things I do, which I think are good, may spring from selfish motives.

3 But if the Lord is pleased to lead me, the poor ruined wretch, the guilty, needy sinner, to the footstool of His mercy seat, and there opens up the eyes of my heart to the redemptive love and sacrifice of the Lamb for me, gives me union with Jesus, and maintains communion with Him, then every grace and fruit of the Holy Spirit will be found in me, just in the same way as the strength of the stem is made strong by the strength of the branch, and the strength of the branch is made strong by the strength of the vine. You may be tried so much that you bear so little fruit. You look into your own heart, and see so little, or no, fruit there, you look to your lives and see no fruit there. But perhaps you are mistaken as to the way that fruit is developed. You read, you pray, you strive, you do your best, and yet you always fail; and you will fail to the end because the engine of your own righteousness is so small. And a blessed thing it is to fail; for all these failures are meant to bring you into a fleeing away from self-righteousness in all its shapes and forms and to cause you to cling to the cross of Jesus Christ. You are told by the Lord in His Word to have no faith in yourself, no hope in your inherent abilities, and no patience with yourself; but that the Lord may work in you to will and to do according to His own good pleasure, and to bring out those things in you that are pleasing to His sight. You are to cling to Christ by trusting in His promises to you. Clinging to His mercy. Clinging to His promises of forgiveness. Believing in His intersession. Trusting in His Spirit to work in your hearts. Pleading with Him and waiting for Him to give you guidance and deliverance. There is no other way whereby fruit can be brought forth for our good, and God’s glory. And this moving towards the Lord in faith is to be a constant ongoing activity of the heart. Because in our hearts we will convince ourselves that “now we have arrived” and in so doing will come to believe – even though we do not say it – that we don’t need Jesus for the normal stuff in life. Sure, we know we need Him for salvation but we will refuse to see just how self-righteous we really are. And so God allows you and I to fail. This brings us back to Christ who invites us into His graces with this invitation: “Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon your shoulders and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

4 Please join me as I pray: Dear Jehovah Adoni – I can only tell You that You know I long for nothing but You and Your holiness. You have given me these desires and You alone can give me the thing desired. My soul longs for communion with You and for the death of inward corruption. How precious it is to have a tender sense of the clear apprehension of the mystery of the Gospel! What a blessing it is to be like You as much as it is possible for the creature to be like the Creator Give me more of Your likeness and enlarge my soul to contain the fullness of holiness. Empower me to live more for You and to desire to glorify You with my thoughts and actions. Help me to be less pleased with my spiritual experiences, and when I feel at ease after sweet fellowship with You, teach me that it is far too little that I know about You and Your grace. Blessed Lord, let me climb up near you and love, and long, and plead, and wrestle with You. And plead for deliverance from the body of sin, for my heart is wandering and lifeless, And my soul mourns to think that it could ever loose sight of its beloved. Wrap my life in divine love, and keep me ever desiring You, always humble and resigned to Your will, more fixed upon Yourself, that I may be more fitting for doing and suffering. I pray these things in the name of Jesus Christ my Lord and savior. Amen