1 John 4:14-15 (NKJV) - "Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And
we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love,
and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him."
In our present musings, we are considering what it means to abide in Christ. There are a number of items that the Scriptures give as ways to see that we are abiding in Christ. Each day I want us to spend time together musing over these points. It is vital that we dwell in Christ to have complete fellowship with Him. I want to help us understand that I am not talking about salvation, I am talking about fellowship and fruitfulness. No man can abide in Christ unless he first belongs to Him.
John in his letter to believers (1 John) tells us that abiding in Christ means that a person confesses that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. By this John means that we must be saved to even begin to abide in Christ. For a person to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, first they must believe that He is who He says He is. One must believe that Jesus is God, He was in all eternity past, He is in eternity present, and He will always be in eternity future. One must believe that Jesus took human flesh and dwelt upon this earth. One must believe that Jesus Christ went to the Cross for them, to pay the penalty of their sin. They must believe that Jesus rose on the third day- victorious over sin, death, and Hell.
And then, they must take that knowledge 18 inches - from their head to their heart. They must come to Him, confess they are a sinner, and receive the free gift of forgiveness, the gift of having the penalty paid and making them free. They must see that God now comes and lives inside of them - they have exchanged their sinfulness for the righteousness of Jesus - and therefore can stand clean and pure before the Holy and Righteous Creator.
So, muse over the teaching that for one to abide in Christ, it means that they confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
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