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The Way To Life

Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you, if what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise he made to us, eternal Life.*

This is an amazing verse, and it answers the question; how do I have Life? John writes that Life is abiding in what they heard from the beginning. So we need to understand what it means to abide in that heard from the beginning. What they heard is the Word of Life, "...concerning the Word of Life, this Life was revealed and beholding and witnessing and proclaiming to you, the one Eternal Life."* Jesus is the Son, and the Vine, and the Word, which gives Life, so to bear fruit of Life we must be connected to the Word of Life and remain or abide in the Word of Life and the one abiding in the Son abides in the Father also. So the question becomes how do we abide? John gives us the answer, "let what you heard from the beginning abide in you, if what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you abide in the Son and in the Father." To have Life one must abide in the Word of Life.* 

That which existed from the beginning which hearing, which seeing, which looking upon and our hands touched, concerning the Word of Life, this Life was revealed and beholding and witnessing and proclaiming to you, the one Eternal Life.*

They heard the words of Jesus, the Word of God who was in the beginning, who was God, who created all things. The Word of Life has been proclaimed to us, and when we hear the Word of Life and receive we become a new creation, or we are connected to the Vine. "You are also in Him, hearing the Word of Truth, the good news of your salvation, in Him also believing, being marked with the promised Holy Spirit, the one whom is a guarantee of our inheritance..."* Jesus gives us the Helper, the Spirit of Truth who abides in us.* The Spirit is our helper and teacher who guides us into truth, Jesus, teaching us to abide in Him.* And so we have testimony of Spirit and blood, and have fellowship with each other, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin.

Now, you are clean because of the word spoken to you, abide in me and I also in you, just as the branch has no power to bear fruit by itself, unless abiding in the Vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.*

Abide is a state that begins and continues, seen in this analogy Jesus gives us, a branch must be connected to and remain in the Vine to bear fruit. We have seen the testimony of Spirit and blood, the helper and the blood of Jesus cleansing us from all sin, but what of the third testimony of water? what of the cleansing of the word? We know we are connected to Christ, we are "in Christ" existing a new creation, because we heard and did receive or abide in the Word of Life and the Spirit of Life now abides in us. But the branch must abide, must remain, must continue in the Word of Life to bear fruit. Sanctify them in truth Jesus prayed to the Father, your words are truth. We have the answer to Life, it comes through abiding in His words.

Jesus therefore said to those Jews that had believed him, if you abide in that my word, you exist truly my disciples, and you know the truth and the truth your Liberty.*  

Jesus is the Word, the Way, Truth, and the Life, no one comes to the Father except through Him.* John writes he is the Word of Life. Jesus said we must feed on this food that endures into Life. So do we not see how to abide in Life and in the Son and in the Father? "if what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you abide in the Son and in the Father." We abide in the words of Jesus, the Word of Life, and such is abiding in Truth and Life and Love and Light. That which they heard, saw, touched, the Light, they proclaim to us so that we might have fellowship also. Life is not in the scriptures, not in the words of Moses, not in the words written down as proverbs, not in the psalms of David, these all are a shadow of things to come pointing to the Light, Jesus the Word of Life. "if what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise he made to us, eternal Life." 

If anyone not abiding in me, those branches are thrown away and wither, men gather them and throw into the fire to be burned.* 

It is important to understand Jesus is the Word of Life, and we must look at all scriptures in context of the Light, and the new covenant established in his blood. Here the disciples are not yet under the new covenant but are under the Law thus they must obey every bit, until a new covenant is fulfilled, he promises to send them the Spirit to abide in them. One must abide in the Vine, thus those under the Law who did not believe in Jesus these become branches broken off. By the good pleasure of His will and by oath of His Word, God establishes a new covenant whereby we receive the gift of righteousness by faith, and the Spirit is Life because of righteousness, and it is according to grace, as grace reigns through righteousness, and in order that we walk in newness of Life not in the old letter of the law. The fruit we get leads to sanctification and its end is Life, therefore fulfilling God's promise of inheritance and His righteous requirements. Its an amazing thing to abide in Life.

just as the Father loves me I have also loved you; abide in my love...*

To abide in the Vine is to abide in the Word of Life, in the words of Jesus. To abide in Him is to abide in truth and in Love thus we see the concept of truth in love. Faith is increased in Him, by abiding in the truth, and abiding is in love so we see the concept that faith is active in love. In this is fellowship with the Son and Father, we see the concepts of unity of faith, love, and Spirit. "If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask that whatever you will and it becomes you. My Father is gloried in this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples, just as the Father loves me I have also loved you; abide in my love..."* To abide in Him is to walk as Jesus walked, in Truth, Love, Spirit and it is walking in the Light as He is in the Light. In fellowship we see the bond of peace; the blood of Jesus cleansing us from all sin. We have such confidence to approach His throne. And the world will know that He is from the Father because we have such fellowship and that we are His disciples because we abide in love, loving one another. If the Word of Life abides in you, "then you abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise he made to us, eternal Life."*

Your Word

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