Abiding Fruit
A Good Cleansing
Luke 5:14
Then he ordered the man to tell no one, but commanded
him, “Go and show yourself to a priest, and bring the offering
for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
NET
John 15:3-4
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.
The cleansing spoken of here is that of salvation. When we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior and enter into that personal relationship with Him, several things occur. Among these events is our cleansing. We are wiped clean of the filth of sin. Our sins are forgiven. We are regenerated and become a new person in Christ.
Titus 3:5
not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
In Christ is to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior - salvation. At the moment of salvation we all abide in Christ. We are truly one with Him.
As such, when we sin or commit a transgression, we do not need to be saved again. We only need our feet washed. This is the process of reestablishing fellowship with God through the confession of our sins.
1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
This "foot washing" is necessary for, we continually abide in Christ to produce fruit and carry out our duties as a Christian. We must walk by the Spirit. As Jesus tells his disciples here, we must all continue to remain an active part of the vine, the vine of Jesus Christ, if we are to produce fruit.
This may help resolve the dilemma of verse 2. Notice that at this point, Judas has left the group.
John 13:30
Having received the piece of bread, he then went out immediately. And it was night.
This verse says so much. Judas has left to join the world of sin, to walk in the night. The eleven are with Jesus. The faithful Apostles are the audience of this discourse. They are the ones who are clean. The Father has already removed the unproductive branch by removing Judas from the group.
