Proving Ourselves to Be His Disciples

“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:7-11 ESV)

To abide in Christ is to live in him, and him in us. It is to follow him in his ways and according to his commandments (New Covenant). It is to be in daily fellowship with him, listening to him speak truth to our hearts, and then walking in obedience to what he directs us to do, in his power. It is to believe his words (in the proper context) and to follow them and what they teach us who believe in Jesus with regard to how we are to conduct our lives. And it is to daily depend upon him and his strength and wisdom.

If this is how we are living, and if our lives are truly dependent on the Lord in all that we are and think and do, in practice, then what we wish will be according to the will of God, because he is abiding in us, and his word is abiding in us, and we are adhering to him and to his teachings and to his expressed will and purpose for our lives. For this is definitely not teaching that if we make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ that we can just ask God for anything that we want and that he will give it to us. Just not biblical!

For when we believe in Jesus Christ with God-persuaded faith, we enter into a marriage covenant relationship with our Lord, which is a spiritual union, not a physical one. Now he is our husband and we are his bride, whether we are male or female. Now we submit to him and to his authority over our lives, and we want to do what pleases him. We want to be with him and in fellowship with him and to get to know him, because we love him, because he is our husband, and we appreciate what he did for us, too.

[Matthew 9:14-17; Mark 2:18-22; Matthew 25:1-13; John 3:25-30; John 14:1-3; Ephesians 5:22-33; 2 Corinthians 11:1-4; Revelation 19:6-8; Revelation 21:2-4,9-11; Revelation 22:16-17]

And then notice what immediately followed after he said that we can ask whatever we wish, and it will be done for us. It says, “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” So obviously there is a direct relationship between what we pray for and what prayers God answers and our desire to bear much fruit for his kingdom, and in keeping with repentance, and so prove ourselves to be his disciples.

Now, this says that we prove ourselves to be our Lord’s disciples (followers) when we bear much fruit for his eternal kingdom. And this fruit is the outgrowth or the result of our faith, such as the fruit of the Spirit as is evidenced in our lives, and such as godly and moral and upright character and practices, and such as loving even our enemies and doing good to them and not evil. And this can also be the salvation of human lives because we shared with them the truth of the gospel and ministered to their needs.

But the point here is that we don’t belong to God, to Christ, just on the mere profession of faith in the Lord Jesus. There needs to be evidence in how we live our lives that our faith in him is genuine God-persuaded faith, which is not of our own doing, and that we are bearing fruit for his kingdom by how we live and the things that we do and say in accord with his will and purpose for our lives, and for the good of other human beings. And we can’t just “believe” if we are not his disciples. They go hand-in-hand.

For if we keep (obey, adhere to) his commandments (New Covenant), then we abide in his love, just as Jesus kept his Father’s commandments and abided in his love when he lived on the earth as both man and God – God incarnate. And the love which comes from God is agape love which prefers what God prefers, which is all that is righteous, godly, morally pure, upright, honest, faithful, and obedient to our Lord. If we love with this love we prefer to live through Christ, obeying his will, fulfilling his purpose, in his power.

[Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 9:28; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Luke 9:23-26; Matt 7:21-23]  

Wait! 

 

An Original Work / February 8, 2014

Wait for your Lord. Be of courage.

Be strong, and take heart today.

God is always watching o’er you.

Trust Him with your life always.

Sing of your Lord. Praise His blessings.

Believe in His sovereignty.

He delivered you from your sin;

Gave you life eternally.

Rest in your Lord. Know His promise.

Beneath His wings rest secure.

Your God has a plan and purpose.

Let your faith in Him endure.

Trust in your Lord. He’ll not leave you,

Because He is faithfulness.

He will lead and guide; protect you.

In His love you can find rest. 

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