Abide With Me # 1

Abide With Me # 1

"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine - neither can you, unless you abide in Me" (John 15:4).

Union with Christ is one of the greatest privileges of the believer; and to be one with Christ is the privilege of every believer. Nor ought anyone who professes religion to be satisfied without knowing, and daily realizing - that he is one with Christ. Our comfort, our stability, and our usefulness, very much depend on this.

The union between Christ and His people is represented by Himself by the figure of a vine and its branches; teaching us that our union with Him is as real, as close, and as necessary - as the union of the branch with its parent stem. O what a glorious privilege to be one with Christ! Thus receiving  all our supplies from Christ, partaking of the nature of Christ, bearing fruit like Christ, being absolutely dependent on Christ for all our spiritual life, vigor, and strength. Being one with Christ, our Beloved Lord gives us this gracious and necessary direction, "Abide with Me."

Let us make this the great object of our lives, and keep it constantly before our minds. And in order that we may be enabled and encouraged to abide in Jesus - let us consider what it supposes, what it requires, and  what it secures.

Holy Spirit, as the glorifier of Jesus - be our teacher: unfold the truth to our understandings, apply it to our hearts, and write it in large characters upon our memories.

What does abiding in Christ suppose? Of course, that we are engrafted into Him by a true and living faith, and that we rest alone on Him for our acceptance with God; for unless we are in union with Christ - we cannot abide in Him. But being in Christ, in order to our actual and experimental abiding in Him - we must daily feel our need of Him. One great part of the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart is to empty us, strip us of self, lead us to feel our own weakness, and bring us as poor sinners to look to Jesus alone, as our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.

And just in proportion as we feel our need of Christ, and realize our absolute nothingness without Christ - shall we prize Him, enjoy Him, and exercise dependence upon Him.

As we must daily feel our need of Christ - so also we must have a scriptural knowledge of Christ. Just in proportion as we know Christ - shall we make use of Him, cleave to Him, and rejoice in Him. Well did the Apostle know how necessary the knowledge of Christ was, and therefore he prayed for the Ephesians, who knew so much of Christ already, "that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory, would give unto them the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him." And giving expression to the desire of his own soul, he exclaimed, "That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death."

O how little do many of us know of Christ, and therefore it is that we make so little use of Christ, receive so little from Christ, and do so little for Christ!

Our sense of our need of Christ, if it is deep and increasing - will lead us to seek to know more of Christ; and knowing more of Christ, we shall daily come to Christ for all our supplies.

This is the next prerequisite to our abiding in Christ, we must come to Him. We come to Him first - as poor, lost, helpless sinners, that we may be saved by His merit and mercy. And as believers, we must continually come to Him with all our burdens - that He may bear them; with all our cares - that He may manage them; with all our sorrows - that He may sanctify them; with all our sins - that He may cleanse them; and with all our needs - that He may supply them.

All that we need is in Christ - and it is in Christ, for us. Our deep necessity fits us for Christ - and His infinite fullness fits Him for us! Our trials, troubles, temptations, disappointments, and vexations - are to teach us our need of Christ; and what we receive from Christ is to make all these things blessings to us.

~James Smith~

(continued with # 2)