Abiding in Christ: The Secret of Continual Fruitfulness with the Holy Spirit — Part 2

# Living in the Spirit

*Continued from Part 1*

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### From Receiving to Abiding

This is where Jesus' teaching in John 15 becomes the continuation of Luke 8.

In Luke 8, the Word is the seed. In John 15, Christ is the vine and we are the branches. In both passages, fruitfulness depends upon what remains.

Jesus says:

*"If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you..." — John 15:7*

Notice that Jesus connects abiding in Him with His words abiding in us.

Abiding is therefore more than a devotional feeling. It is more than having an emotional awareness of God's presence. It is more than reading the Bible every morning.

Abiding means allowing the Word of Christ to remain in us until it governs the way we think, believe, speak and act.

The Word received must become the Word abiding. And the Word abiding produces fruit.

Jesus did not tell the branch to struggle to manufacture fruit. The branch produces because it remains connected to the vine.

In the same way, the believer does not produce the life of Christ through human effort. As we abide in Christ and His Word abides in us, the life of Christ begins to find expression through us.

### Let the Word Dwell Richly

Paul gives us the practical expression of this in Colossians 3:16:

*"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom..."*

The Word is not supposed to make a brief visit to our minds and then leave. It is to dwell. To dwell is to remain.

The Word begins to occupy our thinking. It influences our decisions. It corrects our attitudes. It governs our speech. It changes our responses. It shapes our relationships. It determines how we respond to circumstances.

Eventually, what has been filling the heart begins to come out of the mouth.

Jesus said:

*"For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." — Matthew 12:34*

This is where declaration becomes meaningful.

Biblical declaration is not merely repeating religious words. It is giving expression to a Word that has first been received and believed in the heart. The mouth gives expression to what the heart has become full of.

### From Abiding to Manifestation

There is therefore a progression that we must understand:

The Word is given. The Word is received. The Word is retained. The Word abides. The heart becomes persuaded. The mouth speaks. The believer acts. The Word produces fruit.

This is how the invisible becomes visible.

God does not have to begin the process again every time we need to experience His provision. He has already spoken. Our responsibility is to learn how to receive what He has spoken.

This is why faith is so important. Faith does not persuade God to become faithful. Faith responds to God's faithfulness already revealed in His Word.

And this is also why obedience matters. Acting upon the Word is one of the clearest expressions of abiding in Christ.

James says:

*"But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only..." — James 1:22*

The Word that is truly abiding in us eventually demands expression through our lives.

### Cooperating With the Holy Spirit

This entire process is a work of cooperation with the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit does not replace the Word. He works through the Word. He gives understanding. He brings Scripture to remembrance. He bears witness to the truth. He leads us into obedience. He enables us to respond to the Word rather than merely admire it.

Therefore, when the Holy Spirit brings a Scripture to our attention and we act upon it, we are cooperating with Him. When He reminds us of God's promise in a moment of fear and we choose to believe that promise, we are cooperating with Him. When He brings conviction concerning our words or actions and we submit to the Word, we are cooperating with Him.

The Christian life is therefore not an attempt to manufacture Christ's life by human strength. It is yielding to the Holy Spirit as He works through the Word that has been received and allowed to abide in us.

### The Mature Believer's Language

There is a significant difference between saying "God will do it for me" and understanding "God has already provided for me in Christ what He has revealed in His Word."

The first statement may express dependence upon God, but the second reflects an understanding of the finished work.

The mature believer begins to see that Christianity is not primarily about continually persuading God to do something new. It is about discovering what He has already done, receiving what He has already given, and walking in what He has already revealed.

This does not eliminate prayer. It transforms our prayer.

We ask according to His Word. We receive according to His promise. We believe what He has said. We declare what we have believed. We act upon what He has revealed. And where Christ has given us authority, we exercise that authority according to His Word.

This is the movement from revelation to reality.

### Continual Fruitfulness

Jesus said:

*"Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples." — John 15:8*

The goal is fruit. Not merely knowledge. Not merely Bible reading. Not merely beautiful declarations. Not merely spiritual experiences. Fruit.

The Word that has been received must become the Word that governs us. The Word that governs us produces the life that God intends to see manifested through us.

This is why abiding is the secret of continual fruitfulness.

We do not need to manufacture the life of Christ. We need to remain in Christ. We need to allow His Word to remain in us. We need to cooperate with the Holy Spirit as He takes that Word and makes it operative in our daily lives.

The life of Christ becomes our daily experience as what God has given is received, what is received is allowed to abide, and what abides is lived out.

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**Reflection**

1. Am I approaching God primarily as though I am trying to persuade Him to give me something, or am I learning to receive what He has already provided in Christ? 2. What Word of God am I currently allowing to dwell richly in me?

**Hassan Thomas Nenger** Author, *My Divine Identity as the Righteousness of God* Living in the Spirit Series