Abiding in Christ in the New Year

Introduction-growing up around orange groves, learned a lot about how fruit grows but never once heard a tree grunt.

I Am the True Vine

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 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. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. (ESV)

I. What does it mean to abide in Christ?

A. Abiding is about remaining connected to Jesus.

1. Because of His great sacrifice that we now stand in as we grow in our depth and understanding of what it means

a. to be loved by Jesus the way the Father loves him

b. to have an deepening appreciation of our union with Christ

c. J.C. Ryle said it this way:

To abide in Christ means to keep up a habit of constant close communion with Him, to be always leaning on Him, resting on Him, pouring out our hearts to Him, and using Him as our Fountain of life and strength, as our chief Companion and best Friend. To have His words abiding in us, is to keep His sayings and precepts continually before our memories and minds, and to make them the guide of our actions, and the rule of our daily conduct and behavior.

Phillips, R. D. (2014). John. (R. D. Phillips, P. G. Ryken, & D. M. Doriani, Eds.) (1st ed., Vol. 2, p. 292). Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing.

B. We are to remain connected to Jesus as the true vine.

C. We cannot do this on our own. Fruit does not attach itself to a tree. We can do many things in this life but the things that God intends for His people: to love Him with all they are, to love their neighbor as themselves, to love and pray for their enemies and those that persecute you. These are not things that come naturally or consistently to us without outside intervention.

D. This is why Jesus says that apart from Him we can do nothing. It is not that we are physically incapable. We are spiritually incapable of bearing fruit that glorifies God, assures us of our standing before Him, or brings deep and lasting joy. We need the life giving work of Jesus in an ongoing basis.

Transtition-So what will motivate us to stay connected to Christ in an ongoing fashion? The text gives us five good reasons to abide in Christ. Let’s look at each of them individually and see what we can do with them.

II. What are the results of abiding in Christ?

A. #1 Abiding in Christ delivers us from judgment.

Jesus uses very familiar imagery to the people of God when talking about vineyards. In the Old Testament, God’s people were often referred to as His choice vine that He planted.

Ezekiel 15:1–6 ESV

And the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, how does the wood of the vine surpass any wood, the vine branch that is among the trees of the forest? Is wood taken from it to make anything? Do people take a peg from it to hang any vessel on it? Behold, it is given to the fire for fuel. When the fire has consumed both ends of it, and the middle of it is charred, is it useful for anything? Behold, when it was whole, it was used for nothing. How much less, when the fire has consumed it and it is charred, can it ever be used for anything! Therefore thus says the Lord God: Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so have I given up the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

-He uses a negative example first to show what false believers or people with only a superficial, self-focused, or temporary relationship with Him.

-Fire is a normal picture of judgment and destruction for sin from throughout Scripture.

But there is a clear implication for all who would hear Jesus teaching here, that to not remain connected to Jesus, as the true vine and source for all of our spiritual life and growth, death would result.

For us that means in the here and now, a growing lack of spiritual vibrancy and joy. For eternity, it definitely hints at judgement. Bare minimum, it speaks to the uselessness of branches, or people that don’t stay connected to the true vine of Jesus. But scholars agree that to not abide in Christ portends bad things and most likely judgement.

-so in contrast to the negative example, abiding in Christ leads to deliverance from God’s judgement. But this may often involve pruning or cleaning of dead or weak branches or even for the long term strengthening of branches to bear more and better fruit. This is not to be confused with judgment.

-this is what true saving faith looks like: coming to Christ and then remaining in Christ for all eternity; through all the difficulty of pruning and growing and waiting on fruit, we abide in Christ.

B. #2 Abiding in Christ leads to power in prayer.

If we abide or remain connected to Jesus, His Word will be in us, changing us and helping us pray rightly.

-for the right things-big, life changing things.

B. It is key for assuring who we are in Christ.

-with great zeal and patience

John, Volumes 1 & 2 Abiding in Christ Leads to Power in Prayer

F. B. Meyer writes: “If you abide in Christ in daily fellowship, it will not be difficult to pray aright, for He has promised to abide in those who abide in Him; and the sap of the Holy Ghost securing for you fellowship with your unseen Lord, will produce in you, as fruit, desires and petitions similar to those which He unceasingly presents to His Father.”

-by remaining close and connected to Christ, our desires will be changed having been molded by His Word and the Spirit’s illumination.

-we might pray for safe travels but safety might not be what the Lord wants in all situations. So by spending time with Jesus in His Word and asking for His help, we may come to realize that we should pray for God’s mercy over those traveling. We know that God delights to be merciful even if it’s a hard mercy.

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C. #3 Abiding in Christ produces fruitful living.

-this is the purpose we are created for: to bear fruit for the glory of God. Any branch that just hangs out on a tree is either immature, sick, or dead. Healthy branches bear fruit in a healthy cycle.

Christ produces fruitful living.

The fruit that Jesus is hear speaking of can be seen as many things.

Professor and theologian Scott Kellum says it this way:

“My simple definition of fruit is as follows: anything beneficial that God produces in us and through us. This may be the fruit of the Spirit (), converts (), or the fruit of righteousness () among other spiritual things.”

-so the fruit you bear may be growing in Christlikeness, or love for God and others, or sharing Christ with or leading others toward faith in Christ. These are all things that God intends and delights in for His people.

-but what is also clear is that this is not speaking to some super class of Christian: this is for all who trust Christ! This is God’s gracious expectation of those who truly love and follow Him.

-But even Jesus knew that some people would see different levels of fruitfulness even in different seasons for the same person.

Mark 4:3–9 ESV

“Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Matthew 4:3–9 ESV

And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “ ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ” Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”

Mark

-so it is not that we all should bear the same kinds or the same amount of fruit. But God expects us to be fruitful.

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And we don’t bear fruit by trying harder. We bear fruit that glorifies God by remaining connected to God-abide in Christ.

D. #4 Abiding in Christ glorifies the Father.

-Our dependence on and continuing in the Son honors the Father by demonstrating how we treasure and love the Son. If you go to a great restaurant once and tell others about it but never go again, it doesn’t prove a high level of enjoyment and value you place on that spot. When we love something or someone we spend time with them enjoying them.

In the same way as loving and continuing to go to a favorite restaurant, this fruit glorifies God in the proof of His transforming power to any who believe His Gospel and hold fast their confession.

-A healthy, growing Christian lives in this cycle: abide in Christ, bear fruit that glorifies God and brings them true and lasting joy.

-Fruit that glorifies God makes much of His work not ours. It is not how good and fruitful we are, but how nourishing and satisfying God’s Word and the Holy Spirit are.

-it is a chance to point to Christ and His all satisfying love and powerful grace that not only changes at the beginning but continues to conform us to the image of Christ.

And this is what we are made for! We are made to make much of Jesus and to spread the fame of God and His Son to cover the earth!

Isaiah 43:6–7 ESV

I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”

-This fruit glorifies God in the proof of His transforming power to any who believe His Gospel and hold fast their confession. God glorifying fruit is what He produces through our dependence and connection to His Son. This proves to the world and the disciple that they really are His.

E. #5 Abiding in Christ fills us with joy.

-The world insists that to turn from sin and self and follow Jesus would remove all joy from life. In fact the opposite is true: the way to possess true and lasting joy is to abide in Christ.

-When we are super busy or distracted we miss out on or lose our joy when we sense a break in fellowship with God. When we know deep down that we have been or are living in our own strength with little thought toward or love for God or anyone else, our joy seeps away like a rotting branch on the ground under a fruit tree.

-We all long for joy-real, deep and lasting joy. What is amazing here is that Jesus longs for and grants his very joy to those that abide in Him. Jesus calls us to himself and then promises that those who stick around by His grace, will have ever deepening joy in him.

-they will know more and more the riches of His grace and the glory that has been revealed through the person and work of Jesus.

-They will exult/revel that they are fully known and completely loved by the King of Kings!

John, Volumes 1 & 2 Abiding in Christ Fills Us with Joy

Leon Morris comments: “It is not cheerless, barren existence that Jesus plans for his people. But the joy of which he speaks comes only as they are wholehearted in their obedience to his commands.”

Transition-Those are incredible truths to encourage and challenge each of us to stay connected or abide in Christ in the next year and beyond. But how do we do that when life gets back to normal and we lose sight of these truths? Here are 3 big ideas on how to apply this in the new year.

III. How do we abide in Christ in the new year (and beyond)?

A. Abide in His Word

John 8:31 ESV

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,

1 John 4

Make a plan

So many people know they need to be in the Word more and even want to, but they set huge goals or make strong resolutions that end up being self defeating. That being said, we do need a plan.

Think about what works for your schedule and availability.

Think also about what sacrifices you could make and sustain throughout the whole year.

So a little test: how many pages are in your Bible? If it’s a study Bible it’s a lot more than the rest of them. But most Bibles are between 1000 and 2000 pages. If you read 12 pages a day you can read through your Bible at least once but in most cases twice and in a few even 3 times!

So if you want something manageable to help you abide in God’s Word this year, you can try that or any other plan that will help you soak in God’s Word and grow in your love and understandings this year.

Abiding in God’s Word will help us remember who God is and His great love and sacrifice for His children.

B. Abide in His love.

We are to remind ourselves through every season that God really does love his children. And if we are his child, we are to know deeply and continue to be full of his love.

1 John 4:16 ESV

So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

1 John 4 ESV

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is 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 his Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

This is important especially in seasons of pruning. Any vine that bears fruit in ever increasing fashion must be pruned so that it can be stronger and better fruit. We desperately need to know that God loves us for times of pruning. We could be tempted to think that God doesn’t love me because this is difficult.

1 John 4

If you want to be full of and continue in God’s love, it will take the help of others. You will need faithful people in your life that challenge and encourage you to walk in love knowing how deep, how high, how long, and how wide the love of God is for His people in Christ. You will need community!

But this text in also gives clear instruction that if we keep his commandments we abide in Jesus’ love. It hearkens back to the previous chapter where Jesus said, “If you love me you will keep my commandments.”

B. Abide in His Word

We don’t keep laws to get Jesus to love us, we remind ourselves that his love is better than life. Through Scripture and other godly people we will be reminded that what He wants for us is better and honoring Him is better.

John 8:31 ESV

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,

We are following Jesus example . But this abiding in God’s love should always have practical expression. This is where our obedience comes in. But it is not mere rule following, the command is to love God and love others.

John 8:

Specifically, God with all we are.

But also other believers as Christ loves us.

Also our enemies.

As you reflect on this past year, do you see growth in your love for God and others? In what ways can you grow in your Gospel understandings and the overflow of God’s love through you to others?

We will need divine help to accomplish this just like all fruit bearing exercises that glorify God. This leads to the third application.

C. Abide in His Spirit

13 sBy this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of hisSpirit.

a. Whatever God commands or calls His people to, he empowers and equips them to fulfill it! This is great news for weak people like me and you!

b. And what God gives us is His very presence to “cheer and to guide.” The Holy Spirit is working in us to cause us to understand the Word, to bear fruit for God’s glory, to pray and ask God for great things, and to have full and lasting joy.

c. Without His help, we can do nothing! But with His help we can do great things!

d. This is not to say that the Spirit of God is always working in explosive ways. Many if not most times it is in quiet applications or changing/deepening of affections for Christ, His Word, the church, or the lost.

e. But in all things, the Holy Spirit is working and is in us to remind us that we really do belong to God! says that the Spirit is given as a pledge or downpayment of our great inheritance!

f. We can walk by the Spirit if we have the Spirit of God in us by faith in the Son. And we do this by God’s Word-Sword of the Spirit and by God’s Spirit indwelt people-community.

So today I hope you have been reminded of and encouraged to remain connected to Christ through His people, His Word, and His Spirit so you can bear fruit that glorifies God, assures you of your standing, leads to powerful prayer, and supplies Jesus’ great joy.

We all need reminders from time to time about what really matters. This is why we do communion every week. We can drift from the truth of God’s Word that has encouraged us and think that we are on our own. The Lord’s Supper/Communion reminds us otherwise.

Benediction

Jude 24–25 ESV

Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.