How can I have a relationship with Jesus?

"I am the way, the truth, and the life." There is no other way to God. The fact of Christ saying He is the way, declares that man has lost the way. What man wanted was a way back to God, to the Father; and Christ says, "I am that way," And He is "the truth" as to everything, the truth in relation to God, in relation to man, in relation to time, in relation to eternity; and if you do not know Christ, you do not know the truth about anything. Your judgment of things in this world is a false judgment if Christ is unknown to you. And is He not "the life" too? He claims these three things for Himself. It was claiming to be a great deal, was it not? Is it too much? Do you admit that Christ is the way, the truth, and the life? and have you proved it for yourself? The great thing is for your souls to be brought into association with it. There is no approach to a difficulty on God's side, but on your side there may be difficulties. There is no difficulty about your forming an acquaintance with Christ now. It is a great thing to be able to say you know a Saviour at God's right hand in heaven, and if you do not know Him, you can go to Him now, as you are, and where you are, and say, "Lord Jesus, I should like to know Thee as my Saviour." The man that sets out for God and Christ in that way may say, "Well, I do not know much about doctrines, but I know I have a soul that must live for ever; and, Lord Jesus, I want to know Thee as my Saviour." The heart of Christ is delighted with every soul that turns aside to Him; and not only at the first moment, but a deepening acquaintance must delight Him and you too. All blessing depends on it. The first thing is to know Christ, to come to Him, to say, "I desire to bow before Thee, to receive Thee as my Saviour." Christ is either inside or outside your hearts; you have opened the door of your heart to Him, or it is shut against Him. Your blessing in this world depends on a deepening acquaintance with Christ. To think that the Son of God in heaven loves to increase the acquaintance of your soul with Him! There is no company Christ so delights in as the company of those for whom He died. And is your answer, "I delight to be with the Lord Jesus Christ?"

Believers now in the Lord Jesus Christ are linked with, yea, united to Him. Peter was learning this truth, slowly I admit, but the necessity and blessedness of it are apparent as, by-and-by, we hear him saying, "To whom coming — as to a living stone, … ye also, as living stones, are built up" — that is, Christ communicates that life which is His to us, and we become an integral part of that house which God is building; and is not being a living stone a very different thing from being a dead sinner? Do you ask, How am I to get this life? You must get into personal contact with Jesus. Andrew brought Peter to Jesus, and Jesus said to him, "Thou art Cephas, which is by interpretation, a stone "you are a living stone, Peter, and you belong to Me from this moment. And will not you, my reader, belong to Him today, will not you trust Him now?

John not only beheld Him as the One who was going to do the work of putting away sin, he saw Him walking again, and his heart was moved as he looked upon that meek and lowly Saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ, the One whom he said came after him, but at the same time took the place of dignity above him. He owned, “He was before me,” whereas he had just said He came “after me.” You will see that John had some inkling as to who this Person was—of the Deity of Jesus! As he gazed upon Him he knew He was not only a Man that came after him, and rightly took a place of dignity and glory above him, but he said “He was before me”! He was not only David’s Son, sprung from him, He was David’s Root, from whom David sprang! It was not only His work but it was Himself who filled his heart with adoration; and so he said the second time, as he stood with two of his disciples, “Behold the Lamb of God!” He said nothing about His work this time, but just about Himself. Oh, when you are put at rest about His work you will be able to look quietly at Himself. He will fill your heart and mind. That expression from the heart of John lost for him two of his best followers! Do you think he was sorry? Not a bit! As he expressed his heart about that Person, off went Andrew and John to follow Jesus, and Jesus invited them to come with Him. He asked, “What seek ye?” and then they inquired of Him where He dwelt, and He said, “Come and see.” My dear friends, you may depend upon it Jesus does not only want us to be saved; He does not only want us to know His work; but He wants us to know Himself, to dwell in His presence, to enjoy even now the company of the Father and the Son.

When Jesus called Peter and Andrew and John and James and they followed Him, as recorded in Matt. 4, it was not the first introduction of these disciples to our Lord. These things happened after John was cast into prison; the things recorded in John 1 happened before that event, and were the very start of that sweet and blessed companionship and communion that was known by these disciples with the Lord Jesus Christ here upon earth. He was set before them by John's remark, "Behold the Lamb of God," and hearing it they left John and followed Jesus. They instinctively discovered that here, not in John the Baptist, great man though he was, but here in the Lord Jesus, the Word become flesh, was the One worthy to be the great attractive centre for all the people of God. They left John, they followed Jesus, and when challenged by Him they said, Lord, our desire is to know where dwellest Thou? He said to them, "Come and see"; they came and saw where He dwelt and abode with Him.

But let us note particularly the effect produced on the two disciples of John. "They heard him speak and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and says to them, What seek ye? They said to Him, Rabbi — which is to say, being interpreted, Master — where dwellest Thou? He said to them, Come and see. They came and saw where He dwelt, and abode with Him that day; for it was about the tenth hour." Thus the blessed testimony of the Baptist led them to follow Jesus, and as they followed on, fresh light was poured upon their path, and they found themselves at length, in the very abode of that One of whom they had heard their master speak.

How precious is it to see, in our turn, that men upon earth find out the value of this Christ. John, looking upon Jesus as He walked, will say, "Behold the Lamb of God;" and now his two disciples will bid farewell to John and "follow Jesus." Jesus on His part will turn Himself round to them and say, "What seek ye?" and upon the enquiry, "Where dwellest thou?" will give them a hearty welcome as He invites them to "come and see." What new intimacies are here! what new links are being formed by this very One who was awhile ago "with God and was God," but has now brought Himself in a human heart to sinful men, who, at His own request, come and see where He now dwells, and are at home enough with Him and in His presence, to "abide with him that day!" Oh! triumph of divine love, for He who brought "grace and truth" is with those who need it, and they will settle it to perfection in each other's company.

There is first the sense of your need of Him; when you have this you will cleave to Him INSTINCTIVELY as a babe cleaves to its mother's breast, but you will also cleave to Him INTELLIGENTLY as you grow in the knowledge of His resources. But there is more than what He can be for you, there is what He is to you. You will abide in Him HABITUALLY when you know His love as greater than all other loves, Himself better than the brightest and best below. So the 9th verse would answer your question. The secret of constant abiding in Him is simply the knowledge of His love. "As the Father has loved Me" that is the measure of it — "so have I loved you: continue ye in My love."

Fruit bearing is for the pleasure of God, and the Lord Jesus, before leaving His disciples, taught them how fruit, can be borne. He said, "Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abide in the vine, thus neither (can) ye unless ye abide in Me." To abide in Him is simply to continue in dependence and communion with the Lord, drawing from Him the heavenly supplies needed by the soul; and this produces the matured expression of the life we have from Christ. Every babe in Christ has received His life. and this life is evinced in such: but at first it will necessarily be in an immature way, just as the bud on the branch manifests its life. As the saint grows in communion with Christ the rich fragrance of the blossom of the heavenly life will come; and then the fruits, so delightful to God, will be produced. Here, we learn that the fruit is to be borne in every good work; the good works that were found in their perfection in the Lord Jesus.

The secret of true fruit-bearing (the manifestation of the new nature in our life) is abiding in Christ and Christ in us. "He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk as He walked." The vine reproduces itself in the branch. And abiding in Christ means to walk in communion with Him and in utter dependence on Himself.

In what way would the disciples be able to bear fruit while he was absent from them? Let us look at verse 4 of our chapter. 'Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.' The word 'abide' is used by John very frequently. It is rendered in different ways. Sometimes it is 'remain' and at other times it is 'continue', but all having the same basic meaning.

The Lord Jesus begins by alluding to the actual vine. There can be no fruit produced unless the branch abides in the vine. If the branch is severed from the tree there is no life or vitality and therefore no fruit. He then turns from the illustration from nature to the real spiritual meaning for the disciples. Fruitfulness is promoted by abiding in Christ. What does it really mean to do this? It may be more easily understood if we say, 'Keep close to the Lord! Draw all resource from Him.' In the book of Acts 11: 23 one of the Lord's servants, Barnabas by name, exhorted the saints 'that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.' The word 'cleave' is also the same word as 'abide' in the original. Verse 5 carries on the same theme. 'I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing'. The matter of abiding is two way, 'abideth in me and I in him'. Two very important truths come out here. Firstly, it speaks of communion and intimacy. Secondly, 'I in him' suggests that Christ is expressed practically in life. Verse 6 refers to a branch with no vital connection with the vine; we would say in our day, a professor.