Daily Devotions
John
John 15:1-17 "THE DEEP CONCEPT OF ABIDING IN JESUS"
Day 217 – John 15
THE DEEP CONCEPT OF ABIDING IN JESUS
The concept of abiding in Jesus was deep! It was essentially linked with the doctrine of salvation. It was also related to the issue of bearing fruit in life and ministry. The idea of abiding in Christ was so important that Jesus spoke about the problem of not abiding in Him! He who does not abide would not only be fruitless but would also be cast out as a dead and withered branch!
Jesus went on to teach His Disciples about what it meant to abide in Him in the following statement.
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you,
you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.”
John 15:7
Obviously, Jesus did not want His Disciples to think that the concept of abiding in Him was something shallow or superficial. The doctrine of abiding in Him was as deep as all the other profound teachings that Jesus had taught them.
MANY WAYS OF CHECKING THINGS OUT
It is not difficult to proclaim that one is abiding in Christ! Wherein is the proof of that statement? We have a number of ways to check things out:
1. Fruitfulness in life and ministry
If a person is truly abiding in Christ, he will bear fruit in his life. This point was stressed again and again. There is no getting around this thought! Nobody can offer greater proof of abiding in Christ than to point to a life of great fruitfulness – both in life and ministry.
The Apostle Paul wrote about how a person will manifest the fruit of the Spirit in due time, if he were to abide in Christ.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, self-control…”
Galatians 5:22-23
Paul could also point to his very fruitful ministry as proof of his abiding in Christ. He wrote,
“Truly the signs of an apostle
were accomplished among you
with all perseverance,
in signs and wonders and mighty deeds.”
2 Corinthians 12:12
2. Presence of Jesus
If a person is truly abiding in Christ, then he will see Jesus making His Presence felt and known in his life. This was what Jesus promised. He fulfilled His promise to His Disciples time and again after His resurrection. The Spirit of God then took over where He left off. The Presence and Ministry of the Holy Spirit does not take away the significance of the word of promise given by Jesus but only confirms it.
3. The Teachings of Jesus
A third way of checking whether a person was truly abiding in Jesus has to do with the way in which the believer regarded His word. Jesus emphasized again and again that the Word He proclaimed was not just His, but also the Father’s.
One of the most telling statements Jesus made concerning the Word that He proclaimed is found in this text.
“And the Father Himself, who sent Me,
has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice
at any time, nor seen His form.
But you do not have His Word abiding in you,
because whom He sent, you do not believe.
You search the Scriptures, for in them you think
you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.”
John 5:37-39
There was an essential link between the Word preached by Jesus, the written Scriptures, and the Father Himself. If a person spoke of abiding in Jesus, then he must also be able to speak of abiding in His Word as well!
4. Answered Prayer
One of the most significant promises that Jesus made to His Disciples was with reference to answered prayer! He had already spoken to His Disciples on this subject
(John 14:13-14). Once again Jesus spoke about how prayers will be answered – in direct relationship to abiding in Him this time.
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you,
you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you”
John 15:7
Once again, we need to be reminded that this statement must not be taken out of context. We cannot read just the second part of the text without first making reference to the first portion. The promise of answered prayer must be seen in its full and proper context. It has to do with fruit bearing. It is related to abiding in Christ and His Word.
If there are wrong thoughts and desires, the Father reserves the right and the prerogative to prune our lives of that which are wrong. And only when we are truly abiding in Christ and cleansed from all sorts of sinful thoughts and desires, would our prayers be answered. This teaching concerning answered prayer is not emaciated in any way, though it would probably go against popular belief and application of the text.
A GREAT NEED TO CHECK THINGS OUT
Are we truly abiding in Jesus? This is an important doctrine that we need to check out carefully! Our very life and ministry are linked inextricably to this doctrine.