Have I existed so long of time with you Philip and still you do not know me?*
Can one be so long with Him but still not know Him? Can we go to church, tithe, give, do many mighty works in His name and still not know Him? Why do we not believe? What is the key to knowing Him? "Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?" The answer is that we do not abide in Him, if we have fellowship in His words we have fellowship with the Son, and the Father. His children have the Spirit to guide them to His presence. Every one who abides in Him knows Him, and this is the promise; Life. Those who abide in Him will bear much fruit.
Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!*
Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!*
Be still and know Him. How does one know God? "Jesus said, I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life, no one can come to the Father except through me, if you know me, you know my Father also, and from now on you know Him and see Him."* All nations and all people who believe in Jesus are blessed. Before we go to all nations we need to be "in Christ." How does one be still? The devil often distracts us from abiding, through the mind not renewed that can't easily discern God's will. So we believe lies, like the idea we need to go and do, so we spend much resources on doing at the expense of knowing and abiding. The promise of abiding is that if we abide in Him we will bear much fruit, thus the promise is not conditional on going and doing, but on abiding. When we learn to abide we will bear fruit where we are at and where He sends us.
Every branch in me bearing no fruit is taken up, and every branch bearing fruit he prunes, so to bear more fruit.*
Without being connected to the Vine, the fruit of good works is nothing. Abiding in the Vine is abiding in truth and love, so without abiding in truth in love, it is nothing. What good is it that we give away our earthly goods and go to give our body to be burned if we do not know Him and how can we know Him if we do not abide in Him? "Have I existed so long of time with you Philip and still you do not know me?"* The American church spends billions each year, but is growing less than 1%. Why? If the fruit comes from abiding then, surely, it is a problem of doing and not abiding. What profit is our good works if we are not abiding? what profit is it to the world if we are not His workmanship? Life is not found in the doing, helping others, Life is in abiding in the Word of Life. Therefore to fulfill the law of Christ, to help bear the burden of another, is only accomplished through abiding in Christ.
If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.*
John writes that the path to Life is to abide in the word of Life. If we abide in Him he will give us anything to accomplish this goal, that we bear much fruit. If abiding is the path to Life then is it not how we give Life to others? by existing, being like Christ? If we must abide in the Vine to bear fruit then the fruit of Life is given through abiding. If we must abide for fruit then to reap the harvest we must abide. Therefore, if we want to reach the world we will only do so by the fruit of abiding. Or others come to Christ because we abide in Him. Abiding is fellowship with the Son and Father and Jesus said the world will know He is from God because of our fellowship. Fellowship is abiding in truth and love thus by our love for one another the world knows that we are His disciples. So we see the fruit of evangelism comes as we abide in Christ, not through the good works but in that we exist His workmanship.
Abide in me and I will abide in you, just as the branch has no power to bear fruit by itself, unless abiding in the vine, so neither can you unless abiding in me.
Jesus said to those who had believed him, "if you abide in that my word, you exist truly my disciples..."* Abide is a state that begins and continues, which is seen in the analogy Jesus gives us, a branch must be connected to and remain in the Vine to bear fruit. Johns writes abiding in His words is Life as he is the Word of Life, "If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise he made to us, eternal Life."*
Stay and be, before you go and do. Abide in Him and you will bear much fruit.