Effective Word

You do not have His word (the Father's) abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent. You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life. (John 5:38-40)

In this verse I see another major theme of the book of John being introduced. As far as I can remember I have not noticed yet this idea of 'abiding' talked about up to this point in the book. But in chapter 15 Jesus greatly expands on this concept and it becomes one of the most vital truths presented by Him for anyone serious about salvation.

What is interesting to me in this verse is the link made here between abiding and belief, one of the other major subjects of this book and one of the main reasons I am spending so much time studying this book. I want to experience belief, the saving, transforming kind of belief that is pictured in these stories. There is too much confusion and surface teachings about belief and I want to cut through all of that and get to the real deal for myself.

So, what I am finding here is that to believe in Jesus – which is pretty much what this verse is talking about – involves having God's word abiding in me. And intertwined in all of this is the issue of testimonies as is referred to all throughout this section of the chapter.

These Jews evidently had the same idea that many people around me have, at least that many did when I was growing up. They believed that if you memorized the Bible enough and crammed enough information about the Word of God into your brain that surely with all that religious exposure God would be impressed enough to let you into heaven, or something along that line. Jesus explicitly states here that the Jews were searching the Scriptures precisely because they were quite sure that they could have eternal life by doing so.

Now please don't get me wrong – I have nothing at all against getting into the Word intensely. I am nearly an addict when it comes to Bible study, but I can't say that this has been the case much of my life. I was raised in religious schools and a home where I was taught the Word incessantly and required to memorize verses and quotations for many years. I also inherited the habit of daily Bible reading for myself simply because that is what my parents insisted on every day I was in the home, even long after I had grown and was just visiting. But I would have to admit that much of that Bible reading was more from a sense of obligation and duty rather than enjoyment or for deepening a relationship with Jesus.

But those were not completely wasted events in my life, though they could have been much more fruitful if I had not had such fearful internal views of God. My intellect has certainly been primed with years worth of Bible exposure that has served to build up a very valuable internal library of knowledge that has been very helpful since I began to really study the Word with a different motive in mind. Now I am extremely keen on encouraging people to get into the Word for themselves, but not for the purpose of trying to prove that some doctrine is correct or that some teacher they heard is wrong. That is the kind of study that I suspect these Jews were used to and is most often the case with many today who study the Bible. What I am promoting is a very different kind of study.

I really don't believe for a moment that Jesus was trying to dissuade anyone from studying the Scriptures. In fact, He noted in this same verse that those very Scriptures were one of the witnesses that He was utilizing to verify His own importance and identity; so He certainly would not be trying to move people away from getting into the very Word that He Himself had inspired to be written in the first place. The Scriptures, correctly perceived, are indeed one of the best ways to get to know Jesus and the real truth about God. But ironically, a focus on those very same Scriptures can become a stumbling block for many people because they fail to come to that study in the right spirit and for the right purpose.

If we elevate Bible study above a personal, ongoing experience and interaction with Jesus Christ by communicating with Him through our spirit, then Bible study can even become a false god for us eclipsing the real truth just as it did for those Jews in Jesus' day. We may be ever so skilled and knowledgeable about the Scriptures or even have multiple degrees and teach in a Bible seminary somewhere, but all of this is to no avail if we are not fully submitted and connected to God through a humble, intimate, life-producing connection with Him.

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. 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. 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. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. (John 15:4-9)

Jesus spoke about these Jews in John 5 in a way that is very similar to the branches described here as the ones who don't produce fruit. They were drying up and found it impossible to produce the kind of fruit that God is looking for. And the very same thing too often takes place in our lives when we get so caught up in trying to be religious that we miss what it really means to believe and abide in Jesus on an ongoing basis.

How can Jesus' words abide in me? Does that involve getting into the Word of God and listening to His Spirit speaking to me personally and directly as I expose myself to that inspired Word?

It is only as the Holy Spirit is involved very directly in my study of the Word can it really come alive for me and really take on its intended purpose and function in my life. Otherwise I will find myself in the very same trap as these Jews, seeking to achieve eternal life by ever learning about the Word of God but never coming to a real knowledge of the real truth itself which can only found in an abiding, transformational connection with Jesus Christ.