“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.” Jesus*
Sometimes we miss a powerful truth because we complicate a simple concept. The “abiding” that Jesus spoke of **might be an example.
So How Does It Work?
God – – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – – is Spirit in nature. Man also consists of three parts, i.e. body, soul and spirit, and it was his spirit that connected with God’s spirit in the Garden. God is truth, light, freedom and everything good, and the Life that He intends for man flowed to Adam and Eve as they related to Him spirit to Spirit.
However, when they sinned, they were driven out of the Garden where God ruled. Their spirit connection to Him was broken and they came under Satan’s authority in the world that he ruled. He, “the prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2); “the ruler of this world” (John 14:30, I John 5:19); is a liar and the father of lies. He is darkness, bondage and everything evil.
A God by Default or by Choice
By creation design man must have a god who is a spirit and whom he looks to for his identity. We are born innocent, but having reached the age of accountability we are under Satan’s rule by default unless we hear the Gospel and choose to repent; be born of the Spirit; surrender to the rule of God; and enter the spirit life of His Kingdom through Jesus. (John 3:5-8, Col. 1:13, Acts 26:18)
Our life then reveals the god we serve (God or Satan) and portrays the culture of the kingdom they rule over. A bakery and a pig barn each have their aroma and people can tell where you’ve been. In Part 2 we’ll talk about what it means to abide, and how to remain in the aroma of the One Who is the Bread of Life. It leads to more of the Life of the Garden that most of us dare to believe.
* John 15:4 nasb
** John 15:4-11
Ken Stoltzfus
Kidron, Ohio USA
June 29, 2021
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