Abiding In Christ In Context (John 15:1-16:5)

One of the phrases we hear from ministry leaders is the need to abide in Christ.

Typically, they teach that the way to abide in Christ is by practicing the spiritual disciplines.

The teach it is by abiding in Christ through the practice of spiritual disciplines that we bear much fruit.

Not long ago I was having a conversation with a ministry leader who also was an elder in his church.

The conversations centered around the spiritual disciplines.

The spiritual disciplines are a man-made list of daily spiritual practices that people must discipline themselves to do, people are told, if they are to grow spiritually and experience closeness with God.

This list is created from verses taken out of context by ministry leaders and applied to the lives of believers.

These disciplines are:

daily prayer

daily devotions

daily quiet times

daily Bible reading

daily Bible study

daily bible meditation on Scripture

daily journaling

daily physical resting to fulfill the Sabbath

daily dying to self

daily sacrifice

daily solitude

weekly Bible memorization

weekly church attendance

weekly participation in a small group

The spiritual disciplines list goes on and on.

In the conversation, I told this ministry leader that I did not practice the spiritual disciplines.

He then asked me these questions:

“Brad, then how do you abide in Christ?”

“How do you bear spiritual fruit?”

With these questions, it was obvious this ministry leader believed that to abide in Christ is done by practicing the spiritual disciplines, and by doing so, fruit will flow from one’s life.

It is important to know that when Jesus told his disciples to abide in him, he was not talking about practicing the spiritual disciplines.

That is not the context at all.

I explained to my friend that the context of abiding in Christ is found in John 15:1-16:5, and it does not center around practicing spiritual disciplines.

The context is a conversation between Jesus and his disciples as Jesus prepares to go to the cross to establish the new testament of grace in his blood, then ascend into heaven to be with the Father.

Jesus is in the upper room with his disciples (John 13).

While in the upper room, he explained to them that through his body and blood given to them he would establish the new testament (not books but blood) of grace – eternal, full forgiveness of sins and eternal, complete cleansing from sin (Matthew 26:26-28; Luke 22:20).

This is in contrast to the old testament of law of Moses where forgiveness and cleansing from sins was temporal through the sacrifice of animals (see Leviticus).

While with the disciples, Jesus told them that he was the Christ/Messiah – the one sent by the Father.

Additionally, he told them to love one another as he had loved them in giving his life for them to establish the new testament of grace.

In John 15-16:4, Jesus told his disciples that they would be persecuted by the religious leaders of the nation of Israel (hated by the world) because the disciples believed in him as the Christ and because they embraced the new covenant of grace.

Those who believed Jesus was the Christ and embraced the new testament of grace established in his blood, thus leaving behind the old testament of the law of Moses, would be persecuted.

They would be kicked out of the Jewish synagogues.

Some would even be killed by these religious leaders.

Jesus told them these things so that when persecution came from the religious leaders of Israel, they would not fall away from the truth of Jesus being the Christ and the establishment of the new testament is his blood.

This persecution would come from the religious leaders of the nation of Israel who denied Jesus was the Christ and denied that his blood established the new testament of grace.

It is within this setting that Jesus told his disciples to abide in him...to abide in the words he spoke to them about him being the Christ and the new testament he would establish in his blood.

So in context, to abide in Christ was the words Jesus spoke to his disciples to abide in (continue) the truths about Jesus being the Christ and the truths of the new testament of grace established in his blood in the face of the future persecution from the religious leaders of the nation of Israel.

If they continued in these truths, they would bear much fruit.

Eventually, Peter stopped abiding in the truths of the new covenant of grace (See Acts 10 – the vision God gave Peter to leave behind the old testament of law. See Paul’s confrontation of Peter in Galatians 2:11-21).

Out of fear of the religious leaders of Israel, who taught people to live under the law of Moses, Peter abandoned grace (stopped abiding) – Jesus – the one who loved him and gave his life for him.

At this point, Peter stopped bearing fruit.

His decision negatively influenced Barnabas and others to reject grace and return to the law.

Paul confronted him.

The fruit referred to by Jesus in John 15 is fruit that comes from the life of a person who lives by (abides in) the grace of the new testament (not books, but blood) rather than the law of the old testament.

Sadly, many believers have never been taught the context of abiding in Christ.

They are taught that to abide in Christ is to continue to practice the spiritual disciplines.

This is wrong.

To abide in Christ is to continue to believe and walk by faith in the spiritual truths of the identity of Jesus as the Christ and new testament of grace he established in his blood.

Unfortunately, most believer have never been taught about the spiritual truths of the new testament of grace so that they can abide in them.

To learn more about abiding in the new testament of grace, read Brad’s book: Toxic Discipleship

If you would like to learn more about the new testament of grace, check out the Brad’s blogs, as well as the links to Brad’s Podcast and YouTube Channel on this website.