1 Peter 1:22-25,
22 Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, 23 for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and abiding word of God. 24 For,
“ALL FLESH IS LIKE GRASS,
AND ALL ITS GLORY LIKE THE FLOWER OF GRASS.
THE GRASS WITHERS,
AND THE FLOWER FALLS OFF,
25 BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD ABIDES FOREVER.”
And this is the word which was preached to you.
John 15:1-6,
1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it, that it may bear more fruit. 3 “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing. 6 “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch, and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
We have been born again through the living and abiding word of God, which is characterized as an imperishable seed in 1 Peter 1:23. The word of God abides forever, therefore the seed is imperishable.
Having been born of the imperishable seed of the word of God, we are characterized as branches on a vine in John 15:1-6. The vine is Jesus and God is the vinedresser. If we abide in the vine, that is, Jesus, we will bear fruit. Apart from Him we can do nothing, and are therefore thrown away as a branch, and we dry up; after which we will be gathered up and thrown into the fire.
In summation:
A Christian is one in whose heart the Holy Spirit has planted the imperishable seed of the word of God. And from there it sprouts as a branch on the vine, which is Jesus. If it was planted in good soil, it will bear fruit.
The Father prunes every branch that bears fruit; that is, He trims and shapes it, cutting away all imperfections. He does this by training us each day in the way we should go, that we might not depart from it. We are the children of God, for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.
Proverbs 3:11-12,
11 My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD, Or loathe His reproof,
12 For whom the LORD loves He reproves, Even as a father, the son in whom he delights. (See also Hebrews 12:4-8)
Abide in Jesus.
Jon David Banks, God’s most unworthy servant
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org
jondavidbanks.com 