Thread

J
Greetings to all, Out of the four gospels (five if you want to count Acts), John is the one that has blessed me the most. I have mentioned in the past that John Chapter 15 in my favorite chapter in the entire Bible. And if I were to pick just one single verse in Chapter 15, it would have to be John 15:5. Apart from Christ, I can do nothing! Chapter 15 is part of a section that begins in Chapter 13 and goes through Chapter 17. In this section, we read about the Lord’s private teachings for the disciples. What a great section! The last week of the Lord's life, right before He died, after He made His entrance into Jerusalem, He spent hours upon hours with His disciples. It’s like the Lord having a one-on-one with you and I, not public, just a one-on-one teaching with us and what it means to be a disciple and to share His message in the Gospel and His love with us. I find that there’s a very special word that is used and is key to this entire section. It is the word “abide” which means to remain, or to dwell. And from my understanding, it denotes permanency. This is a major word, not only in John's gospel, but also in 1 John as he presents the fact that the person who has the Spirit of God dwelling in them, that person belongs to Christ. It seems as though this was one of his favorite words because it was an issue of emphasis in the early church as many people who professed to be believers were not believers in the truest Biblical sense of the word. John, as well as Peter and others presented the fact (as well as Paul) that Christ must dwell in you in the person of the Holy Spirit for you to belong to Christ. A person must experience a Spiritual birth. It’s not just someone's doctrine or believing the truth about Jesus. It is being born of His Spirit and having His Spirit dwell in you. So, abide is a very special word. Chapters 13 through 17 are all one dialogue. But it changes physical locations, as first we read that they are in the upper room at the Passover meal, and then the Lord is going to pass down through the side of the temple area alongside of the vineyards. I find it fascinating that they would be alongside the vineyards when the Lord speaks to them about the vine and the branches in John Chapter 15. I have been spending some time in Chapter 15 and would like to share some things that have blessed me in hope that it might bless others also. Unless the Lord has other plans, I will go through the entire chapter a little at a time (perhaps starting this evening) and share some things that I find to be important in understanding the message Jesus is presenting to His disciples. God Bless!!!
C
Thank you brother Jesse! The other day I wrote elsewhere, John literally put his head on the Savior's breast on earth and was the first of the Disciples to see Jesus resurrected and became an Apostle. And yet still it was revealed to John from Heaven the testimony of Jesus Christ. I too feel blessed by these meditations of John.
J
Brother Carlton, You are welcome and thank you for your encouraging words. You must have been writing about John 13:23, the disciple whom Jesus loved. If Jesus were to have a favorite, it would be John for sure. John had a very intimate relationship with our Lord. John, Peter, and James seemed to be the “inner circle” of the disciples of Jesus and spent many special times with the Lord (Matthew 17:1; and Matthew 26:37). God Bless!!!