“You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.” John 15:3
In order for us, the Branch, to be of and in the Vine, there is cleansing that has to happen. You know, getting rid of the “old man” or the natural self with its selfish ways and sinful desires. That sucker has to die. We have to be cleansed from it.
Here Jesus said that we are clean because of His word. What word?
- The Word He spoke when He said He was the Son of God and whoever believed that would be saved.
- The Word He spoke over them when He washed their feet.
- The Word of Truth He spoke when He claimed to be I AM!
That Word. That Truth. That is the pruning knife in all of us-- His mighty Word.
Hebrews 4:12 says that the Word of God is living and active. It says it’s sharper than any doubled-edged sword and that it penetrates us soul and spirit, joints and marrow and judges our thoughts and attitudes of our hearts. This Word is what we hold up next to us as a mirror that allows the Holy Spirit to cleanse that which is not like Him.
Not only does His Word cleanse us, but it protects us, warns us, strengthens us, provides for us, and changes us. The Word is the power of the Spirit in us. That mighty power extending through us as the Branch to bring out the best fruit that only the Spirit of Christ can bring forth.
The cleansing of the Word must be a daily part of our lives. It doesn’t have to be large portions of the Bible, but I encourage you to be in the Word asking the Holy Spirit to enlarge Christ in your spirit so that you can be cleansed by His righteousness and made more ready for His calling.
What is more, you’ll find a new level of relationship with Him!
“It is as the soul gives up its own thoughts and men’s thoughts of what is religion and yields itself heartily, humbly, patiently, to the teaching of the Word by the Spirit, that the Father will do His blessed work of pruning and cleansing away all of nature and self that mixes with our work and hinders His Spirit.” Andrew Murray, The True Vine
3 comments:
I remember one morning getting up to read. The night before I had woken up and had to get a drink of water. When I walked through the living room, I saw someone right outside my bedroom door. I wasn't frightened. But I knew it was a spiritual thing.
When I read the next morning, I was in Genesis. I said, "Lord, there's no way anything in Genesis can speak to me and make sense of what I saw last night."
But it did.
Cain/Abel story - "Sin crouches at your door. It desires to have you. But you can master it."
Immediately the Lord brought something to my mind He had been trying to help me with. . .
Yeah. The Word is cleansing. Big. Time.
The Word is cleansing also in that He reminds us He is the One that is greater than us, has thoughts that we cannot fathom, and has plans that we cannot begin to even dream in our wildest imagination. Indeed we are cleansed, protected warned, strengthened, provided and changed by His Word spoken so that our lives do not have to be flailing, wandering and confused. God is our Firm Foundation, our Rock, and our Redeemer. I cannot imagine being the only hope for myself because that in itself would give me no hope at all.
Oooh I love your phrasing "be in the Word asking the Holy Spirit to enlarge Christ in your spirit".
So often we pray for the Lord to enlarge our territory. This is asking the Lord to enlarge His territory...in our hearts and spirits!
So right on!
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