How to Remain in Christ
How to Remain in Christ
Remain in Christ Word Study, Lesson 3
Last week, we looked at what it means to remain in Christ. We discovered that remaining in Christ means remaining in God’s love, following God’s commands, and doing the work of the Father. Specifically, God’s commands include believing in Christ and loving each other, and if we believe in Christ and love each other, we will want to do the work of the Father, which is to share the gospel with the world.
All of this sounds really easy on the surface, but in real life, it can be hard to love other people and share our faith with them. What gives us the strength we need to remain in Christ? In this lesson, we’ll look at three tools that God gives us to help us remain in him: Christ’s teachings, the Holy Spirit, and Communion.
Christ’s teachings
One of the most fundamental tools we have to remain in Christ is to know and understand his teachings.
John 8:31-32: 31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
1 John 2:24: 24 As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father.
In 1 John 2:24, what they had “heard from the beginning” were the teachings of Christ. If we hold on to Christ’s teachings—if we know them and apply them to our lives—then we remain in him.
There are two ways that we can know Christ’s teachings today: by reading Scripture and by having fellowship with other believers.
2 Timothy 3:14-17: 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Scripture is an essential tool to help us remain in Christ, because this is the most fundamental way we can know Christ and understand his commands. Scripture teaches us and trains us to be more like Christ. If we remain in God’s word, then his word will remain in us:
1 John 2:14b: I write to you, young men,
because you are strong,
and the word of God lives in you,
and you have overcome the evil one.
As we learned last week, Christ’s teachings command us to love one another and do the work of the Father. One key way we can encourage each other to do this is by meeting together in fellowship with other believers:
Hebrews 10:24-25: 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Being in fellowship with other believers is essential for us to be encouraged to remain in Christ, even when circumstances are hard and we might be tempted to go our own way.
Holy Spirit
Another tool that we have to remain in Christ is the Holy Spirit. When Jesus began his ministry, he was baptized by John the Baptist. His baptism is recorded in all four gospels (Matthew 3, Mark 1, Luke 3, John 1), but John specifically uses the word we are interested in, meno, to describe the Holy Spirit coming to rest on Jesus:
John 1:32-34: 32 Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him [Jesus]. 33 And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”
Jesus promised his disciples that if they keep his commands, one of the essential components of remaining in Christ, then he would also give them the Holy Spirit.
John 14:15-17: 15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
Just like the Holy Spirit remained on Jesus after his baptism, the Holy Spirit remains on those who believe in him. Not only Jesus’ disciples but all Christians are promised the gift of the Holy Spirit:
Acts 2:38: Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
One of the functions of the Holy Spirit is to teach us how to remain in Christ:
1 John 2:27: As for you, the anointing you received from him [the Holy Spirit] remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.
If we believe in Christ, he will give us the Holy Spirit, who will teach us how to remain in Christ.
Communion
The third tool that we have to remain in Christ is communion, or the Lord’s Supper. In a passage that really threw the Jewish leaders for a loop, Jesus talked about eating his flesh and drinking his blood:
John 6:53-58: 53 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”
Did Jesus mean we were supposed to become cannibals and actually eat his human flesh and drink his human blood? No. But just a few verses earlier, he talked about being the bread of life:
John 6:35-40: 35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37 All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”
Jesus is the bread of life. In order to receive eternal life, we must partake of the gift he has given—his body, crucified on the cross; his blood, spilled to pay the penalty for our sin. We do this by believing in him—another key component of remaining in Christ—and we are reminded of this gift regularly when we celebrate communion together with other believers.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26: 23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
As we take communion, we remember the sacrifice Christ made on our behalf, which keeps us connected to him and grateful to him for this amazing gift. It helps us remember to remain in him in our daily lives.
Conclusion
God has given us three key tools to remain in him—Christ’s teachings, contained in Scripture; the Holy Spirit, which we receive when we believe in Christ; and communion, our reminder of the sacrifice he made on the cross for our sins. These are the things that will help us remain in God’s love, obey his commands, and love other people.