Abiding (II)

Last time we noted that Jesus was seeing some apparent success in winning souls in Jerusalem, but on closer inspection the faith was superficial. As Jesus continued to teach and explain the nature of true discipleship, the conflict with the Jews picked up again. Jesus was explaining that true discipleship demands abiding in His word. In 14:10 Jesus speaks of the same truth. "Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works." If we follow Jesus' train of thought we see that abiding in His words is closely related with the intimate relationship He had with His Father, and the fruit or works that result. For Jesus abiding in His word is not merely academic study, but a relational and experiential walk. Jesus expands this further in 14:17 when He introduces the Holy Spirit as one who abides with his disciples. The Helper is the Spirit of truth. The Spirit abides with and in the disciple because the disciple knows and receives Him (Compare Acts 19:1ff). In this Jesus connects the Spirit and the Word, not as the same thing, but as working together in the life of a disciple. It must be stressed that "abiding in His word" is not merely daily Bible study, but I cannot see how we can neglect daily Bible study and truly abide in His word. In 14:25 Jesus says He personally spoke these things while abiding with the disciples. The abiding gives opportunity for the speaking.

Of course John 15, regarding the vine and the branches, provides a rich study of this concept. The idea is simple to grasp. Just as a branch must stay attached (abide) to the vine, so we must stay attached to Jesus. Detached branches die. Detached disciples die. Attached branches bear fruit. Attached disciples bear fruit. Simple. But, on a practical level it may not be simple to understand daily how to do this. One way to look at it has to do with the word "student" which is what disciple means. In our world, if you say you are a student it means that you are enrolled in a school, and being enrolled means you have some responsibilities to study by attending classes and doing homework, and in some cases completing practical projects that pertain to what you are learning. Just as "student" implies that you are actually enrolled in a school and are actively doing what students do, so it is with us as disciples of Christ. When a parent asks their child, "What did you learn in school today?" and they say, "Nothing," it makes you wonder if they are truly a student or merely sitting in a classroom impersonating one. The same thing could be said of a disciple of Jesus. "What are you learning from Jesus?" If a "disciple" cannot answer that question, then it could be they are either not enrolled in school or they are not paying attention. Some things just naturally flow from the reality of the matter. A branch that is attached to a healthy vine (and Jesus is a very healthy vine) will naturally bear fruit. So if there is no evidence of fruit, then the branch must not be attached to the vine.

By the nature of the case "abiding" is essential to true discipleship. It does not happen merely because a person believes Jesus or even believes in Jesus. If this faith does not produce some fruit (work) then it is a dead faith (Jas.2). It is a faith that does not abide. It is near the vine but not attached to the vine. In 15:7 four truths come together. True disciples must 1) abide in Jesus; 2) abide in His word; 3) have Jesus abiding in him; 4) have the word abiding in him. If this is not the case, then a person is not a real disciple of Jesus.