Welcome to Buoy, a Life in Deeper Water podcast.

Episode 63. The Perfect Gift to Give for Christmas (Part 2 – abiding in Jesus is a Spirit thing)

Hello human.

Episode 63 is Part 2 of a three-episode journey toward celebrating the birth of a baby boy in Bethlehem.

A journey driven by this question:  how do I give to others in this season? How does my witness motivate me, and motivate you, to love your way through this season, with spiritual zest.

James reminds us of the origin of a perfect gift.

James 1:17

 

17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

 

My affirmations about this season from episode 62, Part 1:

It is about giving to others what has been given to me.

Jesus.

The love of Jesus enabled by the Holy Spirit.

The fruit of the Spirit.

An abundance of all of it.

And that is where I am today. This is the BUOY I am sunning on, human. Thanks for being here with me. Because spiritual transformation brings all the goodness to the table, in abundance. It makes giving the perfect gift every time… possible.

Paul tells us.

Galatians 5:22-23

 

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

 

I learned that the word for “fruit” is singular (karpos) and as I said before, it matters to me. In fact, it is critical to accepting the power of the spiritual transformation we receive in Christ, when we believe. The nine attributes Paul names in Gal 5:22-23 characterize what?

How we act when we walk in the full character of Christ.

The Fruit of the Spirit Represents Unity

Because the fruit of the Spirit represent the fullness of the character of Christ.

As reminder, Vine’s Expository Dictionary tells us that the definition of “fruit” in Galatians 5:22 is in the singular form suggesting the unity of the character of the Lord as reproduced in them.

I pray that Jesus’ will bury this “fruit” deep into my subconscious thought (my intellect) for when I feel like parceling out pieces of the Spirit within me.

Jesus is never “in part.”  We don’t get a little of Him. We get all of Him.

The fruit of the Spirit is NOT a fruit of our personality or our upbringing or our chromosomes. We aren’t made in our image; we are made in His image. The fruit comes from the Holy Spirit.

The Spiritual Altitude of Knowing the Fruit

It is the fruit of the Holy Spirit working in our attitudes, actions and what I like to think of as spiritual altitude. Not the distance above sea level. Rather the distance above humanity. Divinity. Jesus living in us through the Holy Spirit.

The Greek definitions of the fruit provide wisdom to how Jesus walked a perfectly righteous path on earth. I am reviewing the fruit to embrace them as the fullness of Jesus’ character. I am sharing here what resonated with me. I encourage you to do this exercise on your own, read the Greek words and embrace what has a place in your heart.

Love – unconditional, seeking the highest good in others, in God’s image, love by choice, sustained by will, not the heart.

Joy – sourced by status (as a child of God), circumstances prompt us to justify works of the flesh, so others reap the consequences of our frustration, joy endures.

Peace – the state of being complete, in a state of what I think of as heart-rest. Harmony, security, and salvation. A state of wholeness.

Forbearance – that I don’t bring justification into the relationship, that I don’t wave a banner of entitlement. Patient endurance, having the power to exercise revenge but instead exercise restraint.

Kindness – my reserve, my compassion is full, unconditional and never-ending. Repaying evil with good.Kindness is acting for the good of people, regardless of their actions, and expecting nothing in return.

Goodness – wanting for others what Jesus has given me, showing mercy to sinners, moral excellence, or virtue; the best part of anything.

Faithfulness – divine persuasion received from God. Sometimes I am in a space to deeply understand it to be reflecting God’s faithfulness. As if a mirror of His image.

Gentleness – spiritual sensitivity, not using my own strength for ill gain, or self-promotion; Nonviolence; gentleness or meekness, is “a divinely-balanced virtue that can only operate through faith.” Balanced in spirit.

Self-control – everything is already resolved for my story; it is not up to me to make it all work out. Described as strength and mastering one’s thoughts and behavior.

Doing this exercise has brought me to a new state of mind and heart with three words that join all these attributes together: unconditional, unlimited, defended by Christ’s sacrifice. I will return to this. It spiritually counters thinking of this as a list, with a specific order, or any need to segment each attribute. It is “the fruit” because it is sustained by the same vine.

It simplifies everything because grace does that.

My verbs right now?

I am reflecting on the fruit for the purpose of knowing it.

And believing the fruit will grow.

But how?

Abiding in Jesus Yields the Fruit

I shared 1 Corinthians 13, the love chapter, and that Paul wrote of the love he had come to know. It is deeply personal to him. And, about how the love of Jesus changes each of us. And that love bears the fruit of the Spirit, empowering us to give His love to others.

His character changes how we love.

So, I am seeking to understand the power of unity, the power of completeness—how all the attributes of God’s character represent His love.

That loving Him is about the power of His Nature.

I seek in this giving season to love others in the fullness of Christ’s character, to “give” the fruit of His Spirit to others as we celebrate the birth of Jesus… how I bring the fruit of the Spirit in my life to their lives in the fullness of His image.

The fruit is His character. John 15:4-5

This fruit can only be produced by the Spirit when we abide in Christ. Jesus addresses this in John 15:1-8.

 

The True Vine NKJV

 

15 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

 

5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you[b] will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

What does “remain in me, abide in me” mean?

• not to depart
• to continue to be present
• to be held, kept, continually
• to remain as one, not to become another or different 

Ephesians 4:13

 

13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

The Vine is complete. We are the branches. When we abide, we glorify the Father (John 15:8).

Abiding in Him is a Solo Act, the Eternal Promise

Abiding in Him is a solo act, the eternal promise. John returns to the power of abiding in Jesus.

1 John 2:27 NKJV

 

But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.

I want to share a simple prayer I found:

Prayer, Teach Me To Abide In You

(Knowing Jesus, https://prayer.knowing-jesus.com/prayer/teach-me-to-abide-in-you-87)

Oh, thank You Lord Jesus, my heavenly Vine, for the fullness of Your blessing towards me. I want to know and understand more and more of what it means to simply rest in You. May I abide in You, in sweet union with my Saviour and remain in blessed communion with You in ever closer intimacy.

Teach me, Lord, and train me to rest in Your love. Guard me and guide under the shelter of Your canopy, and reveal more and more of Yourself to me I pray,

Amen. 

The Dove, the Holy Spirit and You

Abiding in Jesus is a Spirit thing.

John 1:32

John the Baptist testified saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him.

So, here is the spiritual chronology running through my head about Jesus abiding in my life. I am thinking about verbs.

God loved man so much He decided to send His beloved Son.

Jesus is born on earth.

Jesus is baptized.

The dove descends on Him, the Holy Spirit.

His Heavenly Father, claims Him, “this is my Son, in whom I am well pleased”

Jesus dies on the cross to answer to the fall of man with a perfect, righteous life on earth.

Jesus is resurrected.

Jesus knocks.

We answer.

Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit.

And with the Holy Spirit, we abide in Him.

And the chronology continues:

The Holy Spirit works through our faith.

And with this divine faith, we love others.

When we abide in Jesus, we are preparing to give others on our Christmas path the “good and perfect gift from above.”

How do I abide in Jesus’ love? How do I give “good and perfect” to others? What does this have to do with celebrating His birth?

God shows us why. Jesus shows us how. Episode 64 For God so loved. I so love.