31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31 – 32, English Standard Version)
Theme: Discipleship
Context:
Thank you for your participation last week! Our Group Bible Study set the stage for our journey this year. First, the focus on the disciples in the opening chapter of John signals the importance of discipleship in God’s economy. Second, we saw that after believing the trinitarian Gospel the disciples did three things: 1) they saw (experienced Jesus), 2) they stayed (demonstrated commitment by spending time with Jesus), and 3) they shared (pointed others to Jesus by sharing the gospel). Third, we saw some differences in the call of the disciples in John 1 that serve as a caution against being too formulaic in describing the discipleship experience. While we want to avoid drawing conclusions about discipleship that are not supported by Scripture, there are some conclusions that are clearly evident. One such axiom is that a disciple of Jesus is a student of Scripture. Over the next two weeks we are going to delve deeply into the relationship between Scripture and discipleship.
Bible Study Passage:
In our Scripture passage today, Jesus states a criterion for being his disciple. Please review the passage and answer the following question.
Questions:
Jesus told the Jews who believed him that if they abide in His word they are truly His disciples. What does abiding in Jesus’ word mean to you?
Sharing your thoughts could be a big help to someone else. Please leave a comment on the blog.
February 19, 2024 at 4:00 am
I believe abiding in Jesus’ word means acting in accordance with and closely studying the scriptures.
February 19, 2024 at 5:39 am
I think abiding in Jesus’ word means not only reading it, but reading it, applying what you’ve read to your life, and sharing it with others.
February 19, 2024 at 6:47 am
Abiding in His Word means hearing it, mulling it over to understanding, acting on it to the point of making it your character.
February 19, 2024 at 9:33 am
To me, abiding in his word means reflecting on Jesus’ teaching and applying it in my life. Following Jesus also means having faith that makes a difference in my life and that should be visible in the way I live.
February 19, 2024 at 10:50 am
Abiding to me, means it’s something I need to do. It’s my responsibility to read His Word, know what it means, making those Words ingrained in my thoughts & actions, ( with the help of the Holy Spirit), to stay connected to Jesus, believing and trusting Him.
February 19, 2024 at 11:10 am
Abiding to me means, it becomes the very essence of who you are, it infiltrates your very being, it’s becomes like air to your life.
February 19, 2024 at 9:40 pm
To me, “abiding” means daily holding yourself accountable in accordance with the Word. It’s your responsibility to make sure that you are submersed in the Word to know what the actual truth is. That way, you can live out the truth.
February 22, 2024 at 11:32 pm
I have learned to understand Abideth from the other words translated from the original Greek (ie continue; remaineth;). This informs us that abideth means a stay/stick with Jesus no matter what attitude seeking to pursue a forever, in length, relationship and a growing in depth relationship.