Behaviors

John 5:22-23; John 15:10

John 5:22-23,

‘For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.’

Our role is to ‘honor the Son’, that is, Jesus Christ.

How do we honor the Son?

By believing in Jesus Christ. John 12:44,

‘And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me.”‘

Please refer to B2, Relationship with God/  Love God, keep his word.

We have to obey the commandments laid down by Jesus.

John 15:4-8; 1 John 2:28; 1 John 3:6

John 15:4-5 says,

‘Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.’

Our role is to ‘abide in Christ’, that is, stay attached to him.

How do we abide in Christ?

The secret lies in the next few verses also in John 15:

1. Allow God’s words to abide in us (John 15:7),
2. Keep the commandments that Christ have given to us (John 15:10), and
3. Love one another (John 15:12).

Bearing fruit will come naturally.

John 14:27; John 16:33; Phil 4:7; Gal 5:22;

John 14:27,

‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.’

The Lord promised us peace, but a different sort of peace from that propagated by the world.

Then, in John 16:33, Jesus explained a bit more by saying that it was in him that we ‘may have peace’.

It is an inner peace. It is, as how Phil 4:7 explains, ‘a peace that surpasses all understanding’; a peace that remains while the world is in chaos and upheaval.

To get that peace, the Lord’s mandate for us is to remain in Christ or to stay close to Christ.

John 4:40

‘When the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days’ – John 4:40.

This was after the woman who had five husbands testified to her people what Jesus told her through a word of knowledge.

This was completely different from Mark 5:1-20 when Jesus cast out many demons out of one man. During that moment, Jesus allowed these demons to enter a herd of around two thousand pigs in the vicinity. Even though the man was made well, the town came out and begged Jesus to depart from the region.

Jesus Christ needs to be pursued. He comes and invites us to fellowship with him. But ultimately, it is for us whether to accept or not. And then it is up to us to pursue him – to search for him with our heart.

Jeremiah 29:13 explains,

‘You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.’