“Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father… Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and that the Father is in Me? The words I say are not My own. Rather, it is the Father, living in Me, who is doing His work. Believe Me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me…” (John 14:9-11)
Just as Jesus attributed everything good to His Father, so we are to attribute everything good to Jesus. Joy, peace, love, self-control, kindness… any fruit evident in our lives comes from above. Such thinking perhaps sounds boastful, but our boasting is in the Lord. When we know we cannot generate godliness on our own, we can honestly say: “What you see is Jesus!”
Perhaps it should be normal for believers to give testimonies and explanations that give all credit to the Father, Son, and Spirit:
I do not reflect Him perfectly, but if you knew me before, you would see there has been a change of heart. That’s what God does… He gives us a new heart. Jesus lives in me. I cannot explain this fully, but it is the mysterious way God has chosen to work: “Christ in us – the hope of glory.”
Jesus taught that a disciple could do nothing apart from Him. So the secret for the believer is simply to be a branch who abides in the perfect Vine. “Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the Vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me. I am the Vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in Him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.”
Don’t you see? Anything good is because of Christ. Jesus not only forgives us; He changes us! The “old me” is dead, but I am now truly alive. “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
He gave Himself for you too! He gave Himself for the whole world so that every person could have a relationship with our Father in Heaven. This is God’s heart of love: He gave the most precious gift – His Son – so that anyone who puts faith in Him will be saved. I just wish everyone could understand this good news.
“We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.” I Corinthians 2:12
“It is because of Him (God) that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God – that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: ‘Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.’” I Corinthians 1:30-31