Abide in Christ — Cleansed
When we abide in Christ, everything that is in Him is made available to us.
At the same time, everything that we are is connected to Him. This connection provides the necessary power and life to be more than a conquerer. God has made it possible for you to abide in Christ. Consider the miracle of what God has done by pulling you into this blessed relationship and life. The miracle of this is overwhelming when we consider our condition when God made it possible for us to come into this glorious fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ for we were dead in our trespasses and sins. God is making such a dramatic change in us that we are being made the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.
Romans 3:22-24 NIV This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Each of us started from the same place and condition.
The Holy Spirit tells us there is no difference for we were all sinners. We all have fallen short of the glory of God. That is our background. We all come into this new life in Christ purely by the amazing grace and mercy of God. The benefits, blessings, and fruit of abiding in Christ impact every facet and phase of our lives, not only here but also throughout eternity. We have been looking at John 15:1-2. Notice how the Amplified Translation gives this text.
John 15:1-2 AMP I AM the True Vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser. Any branch in Me that does not bear fruit [that stops bearing] He cuts away (trims off, takes away); and He cleanses and repeatedly prunes every branch that continues to bear fruit, to make it bear more and richer and more excellent fruit.
Watch the wisdom and mercy of the Vinedresser. God, our Father, knows the vine and the branch. He knows the new branch and the old branch. He knows what we are and what we have been. God knows that we need His constant care, help cleansing and attention to maintain fellowship with Him.
1 John 1:5–6 NIV84 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.
1 John 1:7–8 NIV84 But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
1 John 1:9 NIV84 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
God has specific requirements for us.
He has made it possible for us to be cleansed from our sins and lifted up into new life and relationship through Jesus Christ. Sin breaks our communion with God, rendering us unproductive and ineffective for Christ’s purposes. If we sin, we must immediately confess and repent over it. Then we must allow Him access to fill our lives with things that are pleasing to Him. For us to truly come into the abundant life that God has planned, we must submit and surrender to His cleansing. Then, we must become saturated with the life that is in Christ. We must become the temple of the Holy Spirit of God. We must become a dwelling place for the Spirit of God to live and work in.
If you are having problems with sin in your life, you need to settle the fact of your salvation.
Do you know that you have you been saved?
When you are truly saved the Bible tells us:
- You are born again.
- You are brought into the family of God.
- All your old sins have been forgiven.
- God has washed and cleansed you from those old sins.
- You were sanctified and set apart to God.
- The Holy Spirit of God has come to live inside you.
- The Holy Spirit immediately started producing His fruit in you.
- You were made a new creature in Christ Jesus.
This is the key for your new life of victory in Christ.
What did not happen when you were saved?
You did not receive a totally new body. That will happen at the rapture of the church. You did not lose the ability to sin. God left you with a free will. You can still chose to disobey God and His Word. You did not lose the flesh. We still have a continued battle with the tendencies of the flesh. The natural man will constantly be with us, with all of its tendencies to weakness and sin, (1 John 1:8).
2 Corinthians 4:7 NIV84 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
Why did God leave us with these weak vessels?
God wants all of us to walk by faith and trust Him to demonstrate His power in us. He is not interested in building self-sufficient, super-human vessels that do not need to trust in the Lord. God wants to make you strong in the Lord Jesus Christ, in the power of His Word and in the Holy Spirit. God wants you to build a strong relationship with Jesus Christ. He wants to make us productive in Christ. God wants your focus to be on Jesus Christ and everything that He has done and is doing in you. Jesus Christ must be the Lord of your life.
1 John 1:7 NIV But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.
Pay attention to how powerful this is in you. When we walk in fellowship with God, positive things are going to happen within us. Almighty God is going to be working in you. He will pull us into closer fellowship with other believers and the blood of Jesus will purify us from all sin.
Romans 8:9 says, “If the Spirit of God indeed dwells in you” He will work in you and produce life and righteousness.
God wants to make you the personification of Christ in this world.
It is God’s plan to grow His joy, peace, faith, hope and love in you. He will develop His grace in you. He will mature and perfect righteousness and holiness in you. He will work in you to cause you to grow and develop.
Do you feel that you are not making progress?
Do you struggle to find joy or peace? Does it feel like your life is out of control? You need to know that God is working in you. You need to recognize His touch and presence. You need to develop a sensitivity to the smallest touch of the Holy Spirit inside of you.
Philippians 2:13 AMP [Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight.
While I was doing research on the grapevine I found that the natural tendency of the branch is to grow downward.
If left unattended the branches will grow wild and will begin sagging to the ground. They will become dirty and moldy and if left unattended they will become sick and die. You need to know that God the Father is the Vinedresser and that He is carefully watching over your life. You can trust the Father’s work in your life. If you recognize that some things need to change and there is room for improvement, listen to the Holy Spirit and surrender and submit to His work and power. He is not ready to cut you off. He is coming with a bucket of water. You have been hanging down too long. You have been impacted by your position. The things you have been in have marked you. The Vinedresser is coming to clean that mud and mildew off you. He will deal with those attitudes and assumptions that hold you back from fruitful living. He will cleanse you and purify you.
Philippians 1:6 NLT And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
God is ready to cleanse you right now. He will wash you with the water of His Word. He will fill you up with His Spirit’s power and life. He will give new joy, peace, and love. He will heal the wounded and bruised part of your life. He will draw you near and show you His grace, mercy and power.
