Solomon Lecture Series, Lecture 16: Biblical exposition: How to abide in Christ

The following post contains some highlights from the sixteenth lecture in the Solomon Lecture Series, presented by Dr. Phil Jones. The entire lecture series is available, here, at Grace Fellowship International.

In this lesson, Dr. Jones examines John 15:1-5 in order to determine what it means to abide in Christ. Here are some salient points that he made in his lecture.

-       Dr. Jones says we as believers exist to glorify God, and we do that by bearing fruit. And we bear fruit by abiding in Christ.

-       The branches are those that savingly believe in Christ. The purpose of a branch is to bear fruit, not produce it. We are simply “fruit hangers.”

-       Dr. Jones believes that all true branches bear at least some fruit, where fruit is the outflow of the manifestation of Christ’s life through us.

-       “Fruit” may be making disciples, living a holy life, doing good works, and offering up thanksgiving and praise. Fruit is also Holy Spirit produced Christ-like character. Dr. Jones notes that Jesus’ character is described quite well by the fruits of the Spirit.

-       Dr. Jones believes that counseling is simply directed discipleship.

-       The Father prepares us to bear more fruit (matures us) in two ways. First, He lifts us up when we are beaten down. Secondly, he prunes us. Our counselees are being pruned by God through trials and heartaches. The trials are never pleasant but they are necessary to bear more fruit. Pruning also means to cleanse “from the dirt of the world.”

-       Dr. Jones warns not to go to the extreme end of the spectrum when defining what “abiding in Christ” means. He states that abiding is not simply sitting back and doing nothing. In 1 Corinthians 15:10, Paul says, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them – yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.” Dr. Jones emphatically and enthusiastically stated that “when you work ‘resting in Jesus,’ you sweat.”

-       What does it mean to abide in Jesus? Dr. Jones believes that “to abide in Christ” means to be constantly available and constantly conscious of my total dependence on Him in order for me to live as Christ. John Piper once said, “Abiding in Jesus means staying vitally connected hour by hour to the One alone who produces everything in our life He demands.” Dr. Jones believes that’s what Paul means in Philippians 1:21 when he writes, “For to me, to live is Christ.”

-       Dr. Jones believes that, in counseling, we need to ask the client, “are you truly in the vine and are you abiding in the vine.”