Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. (ESV) John 15:4
Everything in the Kingdom of God flows to us through our intimacy with Jesus or our relationship with Jesus. We need to abide in him and he in us. In this intimacy, there is a great union between us and him. It refers to the oneness between Jesus and us. We need to be rooted and grounded in Christ. Our heart or spirit should be a tabernacle where Jesus indwells with glory. Yes, Christ dwells in our secret chambers of tabernacle of heart. This is why, we will not be able to build up an intimate relationship with Him without having a vulnerability with him. Ready to expose our heart before him – the secret thoughts, feelings and everything which we hide from others. As we become vulnerable to God, we meet him very intimately in our heart. It changes us and transforms us. As we grow in this experience, we will just confirm ourselves with Christ in a greater measure on a daily basis. As a result, our flesh will just wither away and Christ will live and manifest in us in His fulness. Intimacy brings fruitfulness. The deep relationship with Christ brings fruitfulness in our lives. Therefore, we do not go after blessings or gifts rather we need to go after Christ and building an intimacy with him. Abide in Him, let him abide in you; so that you will be fruitful.
Photo credit: Shaira Dela Peña Commentary on 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 Literary context, features, and issues 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 (a) There is a debate among the scholars whether chapter 13 is prose or hymn. [1] (b) There are literary parallels for chapter 13 in Greek and Hellenistic Jewish literature. [2] (c) It is often suggested that chapter 13 interrupted the flow of Pauline discussion on the spiritual gifts [3] and this chapter used stylistic forms. [4] Consequently, scholars think that chapter 13 is out of place or it is a non-Pauline interpolation and literary critics even questioned the authorship of this chapter. [5] It is also suggested that Chapter 13 is a digression. [6] It has been recognized as an epideictic showpiece that is used to exhort Corinthians to keep love as their guiding principles of life in the community. [7] Commentary of 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 The need to have love (1 Corinthians 13:1-3) Agape is used 18 times in LXX a...