◄ What Does 1 John 2:6 Mean? ►

The ultimate fruit of the Spirit towards which all Christians are pressing, is to be like Christ in His humanity: To live as He did, in total dependence upon His heavenly Father. To walk as He did; in spirit and in truth. To make decisions as He did, doing only those things that He heard from the Father. And for us, to live as God desires us to live, is to learn in all things to rejoice and say: "My bread is to do the will of My Father," so that no matter what we face in life we can say with Jesus: "Thy will not mine be done."

We are first called to abide in Christ, for He is our heavenly Vine and we are the branches. It is only as we draw our life from the one Who is the true and living Vine, that we can say and do those things that are pleasing to the Father. Jesus is the one and only life-giving artery by Whom our new born-again life is energised.

God knows the importance of our abiding in Christ, for without Him we can do nothing. Without His life flowing through us we are powerless to do anything that is of eternal value to the glory of God. And so, before we can walk in His ways by faith and respond to His call to walk in spirit and truth, we are to abide in Him and He in us.

Every believer is positioned in Christ and we are all a part of His Body and accepted in the Beloved. Our salvation is by grace through faith in Him, but not every Christian abides in Christ, which results in a carnal walk, a fleshly lifestyle, and a wasted life that is influenced by the old sin nature rather than being enlivened by the new life in Christ.

A Christian that fails to abide in Christ becomes a worldly believer who lives a barren, unfruitful life and is of little value in the greater plans and purposes of God. Every Christian knows that we are called to abide in Christ: "And the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as Jesus walked." Sadly, not all Christians walk in spirit and truth but instead they live a barren, fleshly existence.

It is only as we abide in Him, rest in His love, trust His Word, and look to Him in all things, that we can walk in His ways and bring forth much fruit to His praise and glory. It is only as we abide in Christ that we can walk as Jesus did. He lived his life looking to the Father moment by moment, just as we are called to keep our eye looking to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith.

The beauty of the inner abiding in Christ as we surrender to His will, reflect on His Word, and hearken to the inner guidance of His Holy Spirit, is that we will walk in His way and receive the power to live as He lived. As we abide in Him, we will be empowered by His Spirit to walk as He walked, and become an outward expression of the indwelling Spirit of Christ.

Heavenly Father, how wonderful to know that Christ’s example is one that we can all follow. I long to walk as He walked, in dependence on You, only saying and doing those things that are pleasing in Your sight. I know that to do this, I need to abide in Christ so that His life may empower me to bring forth much fruit. In Jesus' name. AMEN.