Abiding in the Unchanging Christ
As has been said, the Greek word translated “abide” has meaning in several ways: In reference to place, in reference to time, and in reference to state.
Monday and Tuesday we looked at the first two ways in which the Christian may abide in Christ. Today we will look at our abiding in Christ in reference to state…
When we speak of God’s “state” we are speaking of the nature of His properties, attributes, and manner of relations with Creation and with mankind. H2O we know may exist in any of three states: liquid, solid, or vapour. But God is constant. He is the Immutable One, the Unchanging God.
Through Malachi the Lord says, “I am the LORD, I change not” (Mal 3:6). James warns his readers not to be deceived and calls God “the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (James 1:17). The author of Hebrews speaks of God’s promise and oath to Abraham as “two immutable things” (Heb. 6:18) unchanging things, consistent with all the divine attributes. He calls the Holy Spirit “the eternal Spirit” (Heb. 9:14) and says of Jesus, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, forever” (Heb. 13:8).
When we abide in this unchanging God we can be confident of many things. For example…
- He is ever eager to hear from us (1 John 5:14-15).
- If we have sinned He will forgive us (1 John 1:9).
- If we need wisdom He will give it to us (James 1:5).
- If we suffer, He suffers with us (2 Cor. 1:3).
- If we need comfort He will embrace us (Isa. 66:13; Ps. 119:76).
- and always, always, always He will love us. (Eph. 3:18-19; Ps. 36:5-7; John 3:16).
When Jesus says, “Abide,” He says a lot…. AND When Jesus says, “Abide,” He says a enough.
ABIDE in Him at all times.
Press on…
To hear Pastor John’s Sunday message, go to the Facebook page of Lincoln Baptist Church, or link to the livestream from the church website.
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