Tag: <span>remaining in Christ</span>

In the matter of salvation, historically there has always been a tension between works and grace. But the Bible makes it clear that we are saved purely by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Salvation is a gift of God for which we cannot work. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

That passage continues, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10) And this is where we get confused. Once we have been saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus, what is our role in the process of our sanctification (becoming more like Jesus) and living out the Christian life?

Paul explains in Colossians 2:6-7, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” We received Christ by faith, and we continue living in Him by faith.

As followers of Jesus, we are totally and utterly dependent on Him. Jesus made that clear in the vine-and-branches metaphor in John 15. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.”

Our confusion lies in what our role is in living out the Christian life, for we recognize that we are not passive in this relationship. To many, it feels like there is tension between our dependence on Christ and our diligence in pursuing Him.

If we err on the side of dependence, we’re in danger of passivity and laxity. It’s a let-go-and-let-God mindset, as if we no longer play any part in what God wants to do in and through us. But if we err on the side of diligence, we’re in danger of legalism and trying to live by strict rules and standards, making it all about us.

I don’t think the answer is in trying to keep a balance between dependence and diligence either. Instead, I believe Scripture teaches that we are 100% dependent on Christ in living a life as His disciple. And that we are to be 100% diligent in pursuing Him. Notice I did not say “diligent in keeping rules and standards.” We call this duo dependent/diligence.

We see this duo in the vine-and-branches passage. We can do nothing apart from Jesus, but He urges us to “abide in” or “remain in” Him. We do have an active role, but it’s to constantly place ourselves in dependence upon Him.

When we understand this dependent/diligence relationship, we begin seeing it all over Scripture. In 2 Peter 1:3, for instance, we see the dependent element, “By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know Him, the one who called us to Himself by means of His marvelous glory and excellence.” (NLT)

Then, a few verses later, we see the diligent element, “In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brother affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.” (2 Peter 1:5-7 NLT)

But we understand that we don’t muster these Christlike character traits on our own. Rather, we are totally dependent on Christ for this, for these character traits come from Him.

When we spend time with Jesus, we never go away the same. For in His presence, we cannot remain unchanged. We are totally and utterly dependent on Him, and we must be diligent to pursue Him, spending time in His presence.

And by “spending time in His presence” I’m not merely referring to a “quiet time.” In our dependence on Him, we must live out our role as a branch and cling to the Vine moment by moment every day. This is what Paul means when he talks about “walking by the Spirit,” “being led by the Spirit,” “living by the Spirit,” and “keeping in step with the Spirit” in Galatians 5.

Notice when we diligently keep in step with the Spirit, He produces His “fruit” in us: “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23)

We see then, that we are completely dependent on Christ, so we must be diligent in following Him and living in Him. That’s dependent/diligence.

“Dependency” is typically an ugly word in our culture. We think of drug and alcohol dependency, and capable people who are dependent on society, and so on. We’re taught that dependency breeds inaction, lack of productivity, lethargy, and laziness; and generally, that’s true.

But there’s a kind of dependency that promotes productivity. In fact, apart from this sort of dependency, Jesus says, “You can do nothing.” Of course, I’m talking about our dependency on Him.

In John 15, Jesus said:

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:1-2, 4-5)

Think about the relationship between the branches and their grape vine. A branch cannot exist apart from the vine, much less produce fruit. A branch gets its support, nourishment and DNA from the vine. A grape branch always produces grapes—not apricots, or lemons.

In the same way, we are utterly dependent on Jesus for our support, nourishment and the ability to take on His character. Without Him, we can do nothing—not “less,” or “a little bit,” but nothing, nada, nichts!

What Does this Dependency Look Like?

We acknowledge that Jesus alone is the “true vine.” There is no substitute, or alternative for Jesus.
We recognize and acknowledge that all we are, have and accomplish comes from Him.
Dependency on Jesus means living in (abiding in, remaining in) Him and trusting Him for everything.
The Father’s pruning in our lives is a loving act that makes us more fruitful. (See Hebrews 12:7-13.)
Dependence on Christ is not passive, lazy, or idle. There is a diligence to our dependence on Him. We are to be diligent in abiding or remaining in Him. We choose to trust Him. This dependence in Christ is active and requires effort. (See 2 Peter 1:3-9.)

What Fruit Does Christ-Dependence Yield?

Jesus said, “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” (John 15:8) God loves it when we’re fruitful. The fruitfulness that stems from our dependence on Him produces much fruit and the kind of fruit that glorifies the Father.

Here are some examples of the “fruit” we bear when we’re dependent on Christ:

We experience answered prayers – John 15:7
We show ourselves to be His disciples—John 15:8
We experience assurance of Christ’s love—John 15:9
We exude Christ’s character—John 15:10
We experience Christ’s joy within us—John 15:11
We love each other as Christ loves us—John 15:12
We experience deeper intimacy with Christ—John 15:14-15

How Do We Remain in or Abide in Christ?

Just like the metaphor of the vine and branches, so our dependent relationship with Jesus is very organic. There’s no mystery or secret to it. Simply trust Him. Spend time with Him daily. Talk to Him and let Him talk to you, both from His Word and through His Spirit. Live in relationship with Him.

Take all your cares and concerns to Him. Involve Him in all aspects of your life. Acknowledge your great need of Him and seek to continually grow in Him becoming more and more fruitful. Remember to lean into Him especially during times of suffering or trial. Let your faith roots grow deep and drink deeply from Him.

“Such a person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.” (Psalm 1:3)

Dependent Diligence

The Only Dependency that Promotes Productivity

remaining in Christ

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