Daily Bread - 04/30/07

1 John 2:6 - He that says he abides in Him ought himself to walk also just as He walks.

The gospel message of "being in Him" is one of the most important in the New Testament. The two phrases "to be in" (Gr- "einai en") and "to abide in" (Gr- "menein en") are for the most part interchangeable as in John 14:10. The importance of being "in Him" is highlighted by scriptures such as "If any man be in Christ Jesus he is a new creature", 2 Corinthians 5:17, also John 15:4,5,7,10; 2 Cor. 5:21; Eph. 1:4; Php 3:9; Col 2:6, 7, 10; 1 John 2:27, 28; 3:5,6,24; 4:16; 5:20.

The ability to behave just like Jesus comes to us by the anointing that we have received from Him. In fact "abiding in Him" and having "the anointing" are inseparably linked. The promise that God gave to anyone who would believe was that we would be born of the Spirit and subsequently Jesus would baptize us with the Holy Spirit (John 3:5; 1 John 2:27; Acts 1:8; Acts 8:15-16). He promised us the same Spirit and the same anointing that He was baptized with (Luke 4:18).

The idea of abiding in Him is communicated in a unique way in John 15 to help us understand how the supply of this divine ability flows into our lives. We learn that we can depend on Jesus for everything that we need and that without Him we can do nothing. As we grow in this relationship we discover an ever increasing supernatural flow of the grace of God into our lives. Even the love and trust that we have for Him grows and increases reaching beyond that which we find in ourselves as it flows into our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5; Ephesians 3:19; 1 Thessalonians 3:12). As we grow in grace we discover that there is an inseparable union between us and the Lord Jesus even as a vine and a branch, (John 15:1-6;1 John 3:23; 2 Peter 3:18).

Be blessed!

Pastor Mark Spitsbergen
abidingplace.org