[OBW]

You want to discuss abiding? Let us contemplate the grapevine (as the ridiculously long song in the old hymnal starts).

Branches are part of a grapevine. They are not optional items. They do not come and go as they please. The vine has branches. During the growing season, the roots supply nutrients to the rest of the plant, It moves up the system to the parts that use them to extend their own length, and other things, including producing grapes. Except during the winter when nothing is happening, at no time are the branches simply taking in nutrients and doing nothing. We may not be able to discern what is happening because it is not fast or even external. But it is happening. If the branch ever just stops doing, it is probably a sign that it is going to die. Or is in some way ill or diseased.

Based on this understanding, abiding is to be connected and doing what is expected.

And when it comes to fruit, another branch is not fruit. Grapes are the fruit.

And while I know that this appears to counter my arguments about over-milking metaphors, in the NT there are several lists of fruit supplied and none of them resemble the act of preaching the gospel. I am not dissing preaching the gospel, but that is not identified as fruit in any place. Not even in the metaphor of the vine and the branches where branches do not bear more branches as fruit, but actual fruit in the form of grapes.

And when talking about abiding (in the terms of a vine and its branches), sitting and basking in, or soak-up anything that is not immediately turned into activity/work/effort is not part of the discussion.

Unless it is coming from an inner-life teacher. And Lee took it to extremes when he starting teaching to "wait for the dispensing." And while other inner-life teachers may not go at it as strongly as Lee, they generally do it. They go through letters like the two to Corinth, to Galatia, to Colossae, to Phillipi, etc., and focus almost entirely on the spiritual things that Paul used to underpin the fact that they did not need to rely on repeating the Jewish laws. Or for the purpose of making very different persons into one body in Christ. Or why they should not think that one teacher is better than another and fight about it. Or think their gift is better and that they needed to display it in every meeting. And so on.

But the inner-life teachers say that those spiritual things are what should be focused on. That we should consider that we are crucified with Christ, or even work on being crucified with Christ. That it is all about what we are deemed and not what we actually are. They may say that we need to put to death some evil deeds in ourselves. But is a spiritual putting to death, not a practical work to avoid those things. They like to say that Christ does it all and we just benefit from that. They may hint at the struggle that we have, but they are more likely to say that it simply "turns around" like snapping our fingers if we get our head right (in different words).

So what was that third part of the so-called Great Commission? Something about teaching them to obey "all that I have commanded." And yet when you listen to the inner-life teachers, there is no room for acting on a commandment. They are quick to point to the ridiculous extremes of old-school fundamentalism's "do" and "don't" lists and say that is not what it is about. Maybe those lists are correctly ridiculous. But what about righteous living? What about acts of justice (i.e. care for widows, orphans, the alien among us, etc.). What about living as salt and light? Are those cast aside because it's now all about inner life and Christ simply does it all? Where does it say that? Where are we absolved from having works that demonstrate that we actually have faith?

I believe that the correct way to understand all those lists of characteristics of Christ and the application of those to us is that they are true. Paul brings them up as underlying facts that do not need to be drummed up. And because of them, we have what it takes to do what is required. Equally love the Jew and Greek; rich, poor, and slave; and so on. Reject the pursuit of OT ritual and dietary laws to obtain or certify your salvation. Live righteously toward everyone. He didn't tell us those things so we would turn inward and consider our life to be about doing a bunch of spiritual things as much of the time as possible.

If our purpose was (and still is) to bear the image of God, then spending all our time shirking the "works" of righteousness and justice (what shows to the world the image of God) and instead just contemplating, and going to more meetings where we get ourselves excited about more of that is missing the point. It is not to worship God constantly. The example in the garden would seem to hint against that. Having that daily "meeting" with God, setting our minds on the Spirit, and then walking out into the world to fulfill the righteous requirement of the law is the mark.