In the beginning, God created a world where God and man walked together – they were in relationship with each other, and man’s identity was defined by his creator. There were no barriers between them. But God also gave man the ability to choose, to decide for himself if he wanted to remain in that relationship.
We all know the story – Adam and Eve sinned and the curse, which included physical death, was the result. Sin caused a separation in the relationship between God and man, and God responded by showing grace to all and sent Jesus to the cross to die for us. And from Adam and Eve till now, God has been calling mankind back into relationship with Him.
In a sense, God gives us a choice of identifying with Adam, or identifying with Jesus. Identifying with Adam represents rebellion and refusing to trust God, which results in separation from Him. On the other hand, when we choose to identify with Jesus, we choose to obey and trust God.
We are now “In Christ”
When you read through John 15:1-17, you begin to see that “in Christ” is like being grafted into the root, which provides the power to survive and thrive. Abiding or remaining in Christ is to remember who he is. Because of who he is, I can have peace no matter what the worlds throws at me. So often we will “abide” – spend time with – a news program and it leaves us angry or afraid, or we abide in something that is unreliable and it leaves us shaken and insecure. These are things of “Adam” – they are the things that we cling to when we aren’t getting our identity from Christ. When we abide in the wrong thing, we get the wrong kind of spiritual fruit. Abiding in Christ gives us stability and hope.
Identifying with or being “In Adam” means:
- My sin nature still controls and reigns in my life.
- I will be judged by my sin apart from Christ.
Identifying with or being “In Christ” means:
- The Holy Spirit lives in me and changes my heart
- I am no longer a slave to sin, but I still struggle with the presence of sin.
We are given a New Identity:
We are given a new identity “in Christ” when we choose Jesus as he has chosen us, and God identifies us with Christ too. Jesus took what we deserved and we got what Jesus deserved.
Abiding with Jesus daily, gives us time to spiritually sit at Jesus’ feet and learn His way of thinking and doing. Abiding doesn’t just mean we learn His commands so we can obey them, it also means we are doing life with Jesus and He helps us build out the plans He gives us. Jesus helps us evaluate our work as we do it via prayer. His Holy Spirit speaks in a quiet voice and we must stop to hear it, rather than try to discern it with all the noise of life going on. Abiding (spending time with Jesus) allows the Lord to correct us and encourage us as we build.
The truth is, Jesus doesn’t want to send us out apart from Him to do anything. He wants us to walk and talk with Him, just like we did in the beginning.
To find more on this topic, go to thedisciplesjourney.org
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