Tuesday, March 15, 2011

God Wants Us to Live in Him

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him,
he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” – John 15:5

It is Jesus’ last night on earth, the eve of the crucifixion.  He has one last night with the disciples.  His disciple making days are down to one.  What does He do?  What are His parting words and actions?  What final thoughts will He give to His disciples?   He has the Passover meal with his disciples. But then what’s this?  An absurdity, the Messiah, creator of all that is, gets up takes off what should be His kingly robes, girds Himself with a towel, pours water into the basin and kneels down to wash their feet.  This disturbs Peter greatly as he knows this is the Messiah (Mt 16:16).  Jesus tells Peter “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”  Dumbfounded, Peter submits.  I imagine the disciples are all feeling a little sheepish.  None of them had seriously considered the task, preferring instead to skip the awkward job rather than to identify with the lowliest slave of the household.  Then another absurdity, Jesus tells them one of them will betray Him.  Now they are concerned and begin to ask Him who it is.  He dips the bread into the dish and gives it to Judas predicting His betrayer.  Judas leaves immediately (John 13:30).  Then He tells them where His is going they cannot come. Now they are reeling.  Peter asks where Jesus is going.  Then yet another absurdity, He tells the disciples they will all fall away and He tells the bold leader, Peter, that he will disown Him three times before the sunrise.  Peter tells Jesus that he would never disown Him and all the other disciples say the same (Mt 26:35, Mk 14:31).  I can imagine fear starting to set in.  He tells them “Do not let your hearts be troubled.  Trust in God; trust also in me” (Jn 14:1).  He begins to speak with them about the Holy Spirit which He will ask the Father to send.  Then they get up from the table and begin the descent first from the upper room, then down the street and across the city, then down the Kidron Valley.  It is here that they may have walked through the vineyard.  Great leafy vines probably brushed up against them from time to time.  Jesus seizes the opportunity to show them the kind of life He wants us all to live.  This is the essential truth he chooses to impart to the disciples on His last night with them.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.  You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.  Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.  If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.  If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.  If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you” John 15:1-7

Remain in me, abide in me.  What does this mean?  The Greek word is menō, which means “to stay” and is translated “abide, continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand, tarry.”1  I was really struggling to understand exactly what this means “remain in me,” until I looked at how this ordinary word is used in other places in the Bible:

“Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.”  Luke 1:56. 
“Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town.”  Luke 9:4.
“nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent.” John 5:38. 
“To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.’” John 8:31 
“Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.” John11:6 
“Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.” John 14:10 
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”  John 14:16-17

So to remain or abide in is to stay (live) with, dwell in, hold to, live in, to be with, and/or to live with.  God is calling us to live IN Him.  He wants us to be “maintaining the habit of constant intimate communion with Christ in order to draw strength from Him.”2  Think about what you do with those who live with you.  You talk to them, regularly.  You listen to them, frequently.  You trust them.  You obey them.  You praise them.  You cry with them.  You laugh with them.  You are in their presence.  God wants us to be like that with Him. Consider the branch without the vine.  It cannot do anything but die.  So are we my friends.  God is showing us that without Him our lives are dead.  He is the provider, we are the reliant.  In Him is the life.  We must stay in relationship to Him.  It is only in close communion with Him, a continual conversation of the soul with God, that our branch stays alive and bears much fruit, fruit that will last [remain, abide – Jn 15:16].  Brother Lawrence puts it well,

“that we might accustom ourselves to a continual conversation with Him, with freedom and in simplicity. That we need only to recognize GOD intimately present with us, to address ourselves to Him every moment, that we may beg His assistance for knowing His will in things doubtful, and for rightly performing those which we plainly see He requires of us, offering them to Him before we do them, and giving Him thanks when we have done.

That in this conversation with GOD, we are also employed in praising, adoring, and loving him incessantly, for His infinite goodness and perfection.”3
God wants us to live in Him, to find our life with Him, to find our joy in Him.  He wants us to talk with Him, listen for Him and be with Him.  He wants us to commune with Him throughout the day.  Let’s not let God be the best friend we rarely talk with.  We need to include Him in our decision making process.  Let us forget Him not.  Let us keep Him primary in our thoughts and communication.  It is only then that we may remain in His love (v 9 & 10) and that His joy may be in you and may be complete (v 11).  Remember it is “Christ in you, the hope of glory” Col 1:27.  Paul wrote that “…Christ lives in me” Gal 2:20.  Jesus said of the Holy Spirit “…you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you  Jn 14:17.  Jesus was imparting to the disciples a vital truth.  I am leaving yet you can remain in me.  My Spirit will dwell [remain, abide] in you and your joy will be complete.  It’s interesting that even in Jesus’ farewell, He welcomes all of us with an invitation to come and remain in Him.

Oh God, our great friend and comforter, help us learn to rely on, live in, remain in, and stay in You.  Help us learn to enter into your rest.  Help us to learn to be utterly dependent on You as the branch is on the vine.  Prune us where we need pruning.  Help us to remember Your Presence in us and to put Your word in us that it may remain in us and our prayers may be effective.  Help us to bear much good fruit, fruit that will last for your Kingdom.  Let us be Your friend as you have been ours. Amen!


Footnotes
1 Strong, James. Strong's Exhaustive Concordance: [with Greek and Hebrew Dictionaries]. Gordonsville, TN: Dugan, 1980. Print.
2 Stamps, Donald C., and John Wesley Adams. "Remain in me [note]." Life in the Spirit Study Bible: New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2003. 1635. Print.
3Meyer, Rick. E-Sword Step Reader. “The Practice of the Presence of God.” Computer software. E-Sword. Vers. 9.0.3. Web. <http://www.e-sword.net>.

References
All Scriptures not specified are quoted from the NIV. New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2003.