Life in Christ

MEMORY VERSE: “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.” —John 14:6

JOHN 15:1-11

WHAT does it mean to be “in Christ”? The Scriptures use a number of illustrations to help us grasp the answer to this question. For example, the Bible speaks of Jesus as being the “Head” of the “church,” which is his body. Being “in Christ” in this illustration implies the acceptance of the headship of Christ in our lives. It is a very positive relationship, in that the head of a body contains the thought-directing apparatus of the body which we call the brain. So Jesus’ thoughts control us, or should do so, as members of his body. It is this thought which is contained in the illustration of being baptized or buried into Christ. Our will is submerged, and his will becomes the ruling factor in our lives.—vss. 1-6

Another illustration pictures Jesus as the “Captain of our salvation” Here we are the soldiers under his banner, suffering and dying with him. We are provided with a “helmet of salvation,” a “shield of faith,” a “breastplate of righteousness,” the “sword of the Spirit,” and our feet are shod “with the preparation of the Gospel of peace” Thus prepared, we go forth under Christ our Captain to “fight the good fight of faith.”—Heb. 2:10; Eph. 6:13-17; I Tim. 6:12

There are other illustrations of our being “in Christ,” the particular one for today’s lesson being the Vine and the branches. In this illustration Christ is the “Vine,” and we, as his disciples, are the branches. Here the purpose served is the bearing of fruit. There is no place in this Vine for branches which do not bear fruit, just as there is no place in the “body” for those who do not obey the dictates of the Head; and to remain under the leadership of our Captain each of us must be willing to “endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ”—vs. 2; II Tim. 2:3

There is also a vital lesson for those branches in the Vine which do bear fruit. These are “purged,” or “pruned,” that “they may bear more fruit” This “pruning” is done by the “Husbandman,” or Vinedresser who, as Jesus explains, is the Heavenly Father. The pruning suggests discipline, or training, and the experiences which accomplish this work in the Christian’s heart are usually not pleasant. But to know what is happening should give us comfort and assurance in the fact that our Heavenly Father is dealing with us as his own, and that we are pleasing to him and thus being allowed to remain a branch in the vine.—vss. 1,2

Jesus admonishes us to abide in him, thus suggesting that through our own laxity we might be found unworthy to abide in the Vine. The fruits are very important in this illustration, and we cannot bear fruit unless we abide in the Vine; hence the importance of yielding humbly and obediently to the pruning experiences that we may continue, not only to bear fruit, but to bear “more fruit.” Jesus said, “Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.”—vs. 8

Several times in the lesson Jesus stresses the necessity of “abiding” in him. This is not a short term arrangement. It is only as we “abide” in Christ all the way, and always, that we can expect to bear fruit at all. If we do not abide in him we are severed from the Vine and destroyed as a branch.

What the world would call a “side benefit” is mentioned by Jesus for those who abide in him. “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” What a wonderful promise this is! But to abide in Christ, and to have his Word abide in us, means that the only things we will ask for are those things which are in harmony with the divine will.

Jesus said, “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you; continue ye in my love.” And as Jesus explained, we continue in divine love by keeping the Father’s commandments, which are also Jesus’ commandments—one of which is to lay down our lives for one another.—vss. 9-12

What is the fruit which the faithful Christian bears? There is, of course, the present fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, etc. And later, during the thousand years of Christ’s kingdom, when the church, the promised “seed of Abraham,” is complete, there will be the fruits of righteousness and everlasting life which will be dispensed to a sin-sick and dying world.

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