What is discipleship? III. An Abiding Relationship
“Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.”
John 15:4 NRSV
Relationship with God exists in an abiding relationship with Jesus Christ. John Stott has said, "Apart from Jesus Christ … the chasm between God and us is impassable. It is our human finitude on the one hand, and our self-centred rebellion on the other. By ourselves we can neither know God nor reach him."
Donald Bloesch, in Jesus Christ: Savior and Lord unpacks the purpose and impact of Christ’s incarnation.
1. to save us from death and corruptibility and to unite us in the divine nature.
2. to prepare the way for the reunion of the soul with God.
3. to save us from sin and divine judgment.
4. to reconcile and unite sinful humanity to God.
5. to save us from the demonic powers of darkness; and
6. to demonstrate and reveal God’s love for us (148).
All of the above allude to the relational purpose of Christ’s becoming flesh and dwelling among us. This is incarnation.
“The Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth.”
John 1:14 NRSV
Jesus Christ establishes relationship with us so that we can enjoy relationship with God.
Christ’s atoning work on the cross insures it. Our appropriation of this gift makes it living and active in our lives.
Through the cross of Christ our bondage to death, corruptibility, sin, divine judgment, and the demonic powers of darkness is broken and defeated. The destruction of these strongholds or relationships enables us to establish a new relationship now with God.
Christ is our means to relationship with God. However, this metaphor can lead to thinking that knowing Christ is only a stop on the way to knowing God. Rather, knowing Christ is knowing God. “God’s self revelation in Jesus Christ” is “the dynamic center of biblical and apostolic faith (Bloesch).
In John 14, Jesus said, "If you had known Me, you would have known my Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him. ’Philip said to Him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father (14:7-9).''"
And in Thomas Kelly’s A Testament of Devotion, "Deep within us all there is an amazing inner sanctuary of the soul, a holy place, a Divine Center, a speaking Voice, to which we may continuously return. Eternity is at our hearts, pressing upon our time-torn lives, warning us with intimations of an astounding destiny, calling us home unto Itself. Yielding to these persuasions, gladly committing ourselves in body and soul, utterly and completely, to the Light Within, is the beginning of true life. It is a dynamic center, a creative Life that presses to birth within us. It is a Light Within which illumines the face of God and casts new shadows and new glories upon the face of men. It is a seed stirring to life if we do not choke it. It is the Shekinah of the soul, the Presence in the midst. Here is the Slumbering Christ, stirring to be awakened. (Kelly 3)
Christ’s importance cannot be excluded or diminished. He is not only central to our fellowship with God, but also central to our successfully living the Christian life. “Christianity is Christ," said Stott. Its more than formulas, habits of behavior, even Bible reading or prayer, all these things are rooted in a relationship with Jesus Christ, God’s Son. “Christianity is a relation to a person," (John Oden). He is the dynamic center.
Do you have a favorite place to just sit with Jesus?
On a hill under a starry sky? At the manger when you realize it represents your heart? Your morning devotional chair?
Learn the art of finding Jesus and stay right there.
Questions for Reflection
Have you felt your inner sanctuary calling you home?
How might your life look different if you dared to yield to your soul’s longing and to follow Jesus’s Light within?
John 15:4 NRSV
Relationship with God exists in an abiding relationship with Jesus Christ. John Stott has said, "Apart from Jesus Christ … the chasm between God and us is impassable. It is our human finitude on the one hand, and our self-centred rebellion on the other. By ourselves we can neither know God nor reach him."
Donald Bloesch, in Jesus Christ: Savior and Lord unpacks the purpose and impact of Christ’s incarnation.
1. to save us from death and corruptibility and to unite us in the divine nature.
2. to prepare the way for the reunion of the soul with God.
3. to save us from sin and divine judgment.
4. to reconcile and unite sinful humanity to God.
5. to save us from the demonic powers of darkness; and
6. to demonstrate and reveal God’s love for us (148).
All of the above allude to the relational purpose of Christ’s becoming flesh and dwelling among us. This is incarnation.
“The Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth.”
John 1:14 NRSV
Jesus Christ establishes relationship with us so that we can enjoy relationship with God.
Christ’s atoning work on the cross insures it. Our appropriation of this gift makes it living and active in our lives.
Through the cross of Christ our bondage to death, corruptibility, sin, divine judgment, and the demonic powers of darkness is broken and defeated. The destruction of these strongholds or relationships enables us to establish a new relationship now with God.
Christ is our means to relationship with God. However, this metaphor can lead to thinking that knowing Christ is only a stop on the way to knowing God. Rather, knowing Christ is knowing God. “God’s self revelation in Jesus Christ” is “the dynamic center of biblical and apostolic faith (Bloesch).
In John 14, Jesus said, "If you had known Me, you would have known my Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him. ’Philip said to Him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father (14:7-9).''"
And in Thomas Kelly’s A Testament of Devotion, "Deep within us all there is an amazing inner sanctuary of the soul, a holy place, a Divine Center, a speaking Voice, to which we may continuously return. Eternity is at our hearts, pressing upon our time-torn lives, warning us with intimations of an astounding destiny, calling us home unto Itself. Yielding to these persuasions, gladly committing ourselves in body and soul, utterly and completely, to the Light Within, is the beginning of true life. It is a dynamic center, a creative Life that presses to birth within us. It is a Light Within which illumines the face of God and casts new shadows and new glories upon the face of men. It is a seed stirring to life if we do not choke it. It is the Shekinah of the soul, the Presence in the midst. Here is the Slumbering Christ, stirring to be awakened. (Kelly 3)
Christ’s importance cannot be excluded or diminished. He is not only central to our fellowship with God, but also central to our successfully living the Christian life. “Christianity is Christ," said Stott. Its more than formulas, habits of behavior, even Bible reading or prayer, all these things are rooted in a relationship with Jesus Christ, God’s Son. “Christianity is a relation to a person," (John Oden). He is the dynamic center.
Do you have a favorite place to just sit with Jesus?
On a hill under a starry sky? At the manger when you realize it represents your heart? Your morning devotional chair?
Learn the art of finding Jesus and stay right there.
Questions for Reflection
Have you felt your inner sanctuary calling you home?
How might your life look different if you dared to yield to your soul’s longing and to follow Jesus’s Light within?