ABIDING IN THE VINE II
Series on John 15 pt. 7
John 15:4
1/28/07
We have all heard the expression that “home is where the heart is”. In other words your true home is in the place that you love the most. The place where you desire most to be. There is certainly a lot of truth to that saying. Both in the physical sense and in the spiritual sense.
Last week we began talking about what it means to abide in Christ. We started out last week by reading John 15:4 which states, “"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.”
I pointed out The Greek word in John 15:4 for abide is “MENO”. It means to “to remain” or “dwell”, to “stay in a certain place”. I would say that it has a sense of living somewhere.
We must understand that we all abide somewhere, not just physically but spiritually speaking as well. By your very existence means you dwell somewhere. And I would say that spiritually speaking, “home is where the heart is”. If your heart is with Christ, if He is what you desire in your live, you will dwell with Him, you will abide with Him. If your heart is not a heart for Christ, then you will not abide with Him. You will abide with the world.
As I stated last week as Christians we are great at throwing around phrases like “we must abide in Christ”. But so often time we do not want to take the time to dig deeper into the Word of God, and see what exactly that means. And not so much what it means, but perhaps more important “How do I do it?” How do I abide in Christ in my life? What things exist in my life that indeed show that I am abiding in Christ? What are some practical practices that I can apply to my life?
Last week we began to look at some of these practical applications. We looked at what is it to abide in Christ in John 15. Just to review very briefly;
We saw from John 15:5 that to abide in Christ means to bear fruit for Christ. To abide in Christ means to bear fruit to and for the glory of God.
We saw from John 15:9 that to abide in Christ means abiding in His love. That perfect, holy love. To abide in Christ is to live in that love, remain in it. To meditate on it. To let the love of Christ dictate how you live and how you act. To abide in Christ’s love is to enjoy the peace and assurance that only His love can bring.
Finally we say in John 15:10 that to abide in Christ means to obey His commandments. To abide in Christ means to live with Christ as Saviour and Lord. To submit to Him. To obey His commands.
Today I want us to look at a couple other passage of scripture in our search to see how is it that we abide in Christ. What marks do we have in your lives that show we are indeed abiding in Him.
So please turn with me to our first passage today which is 1 John 4:11-16. That will be page 1056 in your pew bibles.
“Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.”
I want us to see what it is to abide in Christ according to these verses.
The first way we see is that to abide in Christ, and thus for Christ to abide in us, (keep in mind that those aspects of the Christian walk cannot be separated), is that we must love one another. Notice what the passage states; “If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.”
Let’s unpack this. Look at what we are being told; “If we love one another, God abides in us…” If we have the love for one another like we should have then God abide in us. Keep in mind what we have been saying. That you cannot abide in Christ and not have Christ abide in you, and you cannot have Christ abide in you and you not abide in Him. These are connected. We see that in verse 6, “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.”
We are further told that “His love has been perfected in us.” How is His love perfected in us? By us loving one another.
John goes on to say, “By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us…” The phrase “by this” refers back to what John just said.
So by what do we know that we abide in Christ and the He abide in us… by seeing the love of God perfected in us by loving one another.
We can further ask the question how do I know that, How do I know I love by brothers and sisters in Christ as I should? How do I know that when I do that God’s love is perfected? How do I know He abides in me and I in Him?
The answer is right there; “…because He has given us of His Spirit.”
This points back to what we touched on last week. That is whatever work, whatever service, whatever obedience that we offer to God, whatever love we have to offer be it to God or one another, it can only come through the power of God at work in us.
Remember Phil. 2:12-13; which tells us “…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”
That same principle is what we see here. We can love one another, we can know that we are abiding in Christ through that love, how? Through the power of God’s Holy Spirit in our lives.
I want us to understand the priority that Jesus put on us having the love for one another that we ought to have.
Back in John 13: 14-15 Jesus has these words for us; “"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."”
We learn two great truths here. First we are love one another as Christ loved us. Remember back in John 15:9 the love Christ loves us with was the love that the Father loved Him with. So we must love each other with the love the Father has for the Son, which is the same love the Son has for us.
The second truth is that it is by this love that others will know we are disciples of Christ. Think about that. It only makes sense. If we love each other like Christ loves us, which is the love the Father has for the Son, then we in fact reflect the love of God, thus others will know that we disciples of Christ. Makes sense to me!
Another passage I want to point is 1 John 3:14; “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death.”
I stated at the beginning of my sermon that by your existence you have to dwell or abide somewhere. Here we are told where we dwell if we do not abide in Christ. When we love one another with the love of God, we abide in Christ, we have seen that from the Scripture. That abiding is seen in that we have passed from death to life. We know that because we are loving one another as we should.
So logically he who does not love his brother or sister, does not abide in Christ, and if you do not abide in Christ guess were you abide? In death. That is spiritual death.
In other words because you do love the brethren, you do not abide in Christ, and therefore Christ does not abide in you, and if Christ does not abide in you, you cannot abide in Him, therefore the only other place to dwell is death. Spiritual separation from God.
I believe what we can see is the priority that God places on our loving each other.
Before we move on let me briefly give to you a couple of concepts on how to love another, and thereby abide in Christ.
To love one another means that we are there for one another in all circumstance. Listen to Romans 12:15 “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.” When someone in this church is rejoicing over some blessing, let us rejoice with them. Not with envy or jealousy, but let us truly be happy for one another during those times of joy.
When one of us is sorrowful, when one of us is going through a trial or struggle. Let us weep with that person. Let us show we care. Let us come along side with compassion. Speaking words of encouragement.
Another passage to consider; Gal. 6:1-2 “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
Two items here. Restoring a brother or sister who as fallen in to temptation. This does not mean that we ignore the sin or wrong. It means that we help them to see what they are doing is sin, and guide them to repent and seek forgiveness from God. We must do that as the Scripture states in the spirit of gentleness. Do in the spirit of humility lest we too fall into that temptation.
We also see here that we are to bear one another’s burdens. The word bear literally means to “carry”. No one in the church should have to carry their burdens on their own. We to carry each others burdens. We are to go through trials and struggles together.
But notice what else it states; “and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
What is this law of Christ. Part of it is this new commandment He has given to us, that we love one another. To love one another then, is to carry one another’s burdens.
So to abide in Christ is to love one another. Loving one another with the love of Christ, which is the love which the Father has for the Son. A love which is demonstrated by our actions and not just our words.
Let us look back to our passage for the second way which we are told we are to abide in Christ. Once more 1 John 4:11-16 focusing on the last three verses;
“Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.”
In verse 14 John declares that the Father has sent the Son to be Saviour of the world. That is to say that it is through the shed blood of Christ, through His death and resurrection that we have eternal life.
Notice verse 15; “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.” So then, whoever confesses that Jesus Christ is indeed the Son of God, then God abide in Him and they in fact abide in God.
I want to point out a couple of things here. First the word confesses is the Greek word HOMOLOGEO it means, “to say the same thing as another”, or “to agree with”. So John is saying that whoever agrees with the fact that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that is to say agrees that Jesus is in fact the Saviour of the world, sent by the Father, then God does indeed abide in that person, and again, if God abides in us we will abide in Him.
You see the point is that you cannot confess that Jesus is the Son of God apart from God abiding in you. You cannot agree with the statement that Jesus is your Saviour unless God abides in you.
Let me put it to you this way. Romans 8:8 Tells us this; “So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”
To be in the flesh is another way of saying that you are spiritually dead. So if you are spiritually dead you cannot please God, in fact a spiritually dead person does not even care about pleasing God, they are simply not interested.
So a spiritually dead person, who cannot please God, does not have God abiding in them, and therefore they do not abide in Christ. Because if they did abide in Christ, that would in fact please God so therefore they would not be spiritually dead.
Are you with me so far?
So how then does one become spiritually alive? Lets look at the Scripture; John 6:63 "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.”
You see what that tells us? The Spirit of God is what gives us life, because the flesh will not do us any good. It has to be the Spirit of God abiding in us or dwelling in us. That is what makes us a live in Christ, nothing we do, but it is a work of God.
So when we read vs. 15 “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.” We understand it to mean that just by the very fact one would confess Jesus as the Son of God shows that God is abiding in that person, and that person is abiding in Christ.
However we must understand with what we have seen up to this point that confessing Jesus as the Son of God, which I would say entails more then just saying He is Saviour, but also confessing that He is Lord, means more then just saying the words “I believe that Jesus is the Son of God.” It entails all those things that we have stated abiding in Christ means.
Now look at vs. 16; “And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.”
This continues the thought that John is presenting. What is the love that God has for us that we know and believe? That Jesus Christ is our Saviour, that He is the Son of God, and as the Son of God all authority has been given to Him. Then John repeats what He has just said, “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.”
That love of God, the love the Father has for the Son, that the Son has for us, that we ought to have for one another, demonstrates that God abides in us, and we abide in Him.
So the second way in which we are to abide in Christ that we see in 1 John 4:11-16 is that we must demonstrate that God abides in us. How? By confessing that Jesus Christ is indeed the Son of God.
For it is by the confession that we demonstrate the we have spiritual life, given to us by the Holy Spirit of God.
As we rap this up we have seen two distinct ways, practical ways I believe in which we are told to abide in Christ in 1 John 4. We are to love one another, and we are to confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
In closing listen to Romans 10:8-10; “But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Let me ask each of you here today. Do you believe the word of faith which has been preached here today. Will you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and Saviour? That He died for your sins. Will you believe in your heart that God has raised from the dead?
If you confess that, if you believe that, you will be saved! You will have eternal life, you will have salvation.
My prayer is that each person here has called upon the name of Jesus. For as Rom. 10:11 states For "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved."
LET US PRAY
