Abiding in Christ is not a mystical achievement or a spiritual riddle for the diligent to solve. It is the direct result of the Gospel’s announcement: Christ has finished the work, entered into His reward, and now shares His full inheritance with those who believe. This is not a secondary matter. The Gospel does not merely offer us a new way to try harder; it establishes us as sons and heirs, and to deny this is to undermine the very foundation of justification and sonship.
The Gospel: Foundation and Announcement
The Gospel proclaims Christ’s accomplishment—His death, resurrection, and entrance into glory. He has received the inheritance as the Seed to whom all the promises were made (Galatians 3:16). Now, He distributes this inheritance to His brothers, the members of His body. Our position is not earned; it is announced and secured by Christ alone. If you attempt to add to this foundation by your own striving, you do not merely err in method—you forfeit the very ground of your assurance and nullify the grace of God.
Our Position: Joint Heirs with Christ
You are not a servant laboring for a wage, nor a guest hoping for a crumb. By faith, you are a joint heir with Christ (Romans 8:17). The inheritance is not a future wage for the obedient, but a present possession for the justified. The Holy Spirit Himself is the guarantee and the substance of this inheritance. He does not merely visit; He indwells, imparting Christ’s very life to you and multiplying it throughout His body.
This is the settled reality of justification: you have been qualified by God to partake of the inheritance of the saints in light (Colossians 1:12). To suggest that more is required is to trample the blood of Christ and to make the promise of God void. The logic is inescapable—either you stand as a son and heir by faith, or you remain outside, striving for what can never be earned.
The Enjoyment of Christ: The Reality of Service
Sanctification is not a ladder you climb; it is a feast you enjoy. Christ is the bread of life (John 6:35), and the reality of sanctification is your enjoyment of Him as your satisfaction. When you set your mind on the riches secured for you in justification, you are abiding in Him. This is not passivity, but the only ground for true obedience and service.
Obedience and walking as Christ walked are not the means to abiding, but the fruit of it. The Holy Spirit, given on the basis of your union with Christ, enables you to live out your faith and serve God genuinely. This is not a call to self-effort, but to rest in the One who lives in you (Galatians 2:20). The result is fullness of joy and genuine fellowship—outcomes that are not merely desirable, but the intended reality for every believer.
What Is Lost If This Is Denied
If you accept the teaching that abiding is a reward for your effort, or that sanctification is a process of incremental self-improvement, you lose everything the Gospel secures. You exchange your inheritance for a wage, your sonship for servitude, and your assurance for anxiety. The finished work of Christ is eclipsed by your unfinished striving, and the Spirit’s ministry is replaced by the tyranny of your conscience. This is not a minor error—it is a collapse of justification, inheritance, and the very promise of God.
Stand Firm in the Gospel
Abiding in Christ means refusing to be moved from the hope of the Gospel. The Spirit within you testifies to the truth and exposes every attempt to supplement Christ’s work with human tradition or religious effort. Real growth is not found in moving beyond the Gospel, but in sinking deeper into it. The more you behold Christ’s love and sufficiency, the more you enjoy Him—and this enjoyment is the wellspring of all true service.
“For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast…” (1 Corinthians 5:7-8)
You are already complete in Him. The inheritance is yours, the Spirit is yours, and the joy of fellowship is yours. Rest in His finished work, let His life flow through you, and refuse every message that would rob you of your confidence as a son and heir. This is the heart of abiding, and it is the very essence of the Christian life.
