We’ve found the secret of living

d. To Be Content through
Him as the Secret
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In Philippians 4:11 Paul says, “Not that I speak according to lack, for I have learned, in whatever circumstances I am, to be content. ” This verse indicates that Paul had learned to be content in all circumstances. The word content means “self-sufficient, satisfied in oneself. ” This is a word used by the Stoics, who taught that a person should be content in all circumstances.

In verse 12 Paul continues, “I know also how to be abased, and I know how to abound; in everything and in all things I have learned the secret both to be filled and to hunger, both to abound and to lack. ” The phrase I have learned the secret is an interpretation of the Greek word which literally means “I have been initiated. ” The metaphor here refers to a person’s being initiated into a secret society with instruction in its rudimentary principles. After Paul was converted to Christ, he was initiated into Christ and the Body of Christ. He then learned the secret of how to take Christ as life, how to live Christ, how to magnify Christ, how to gain Christ, and how to have the church life, all of which things are rudimentary principles. The secret of the Body is to take Christ as our life, to live Christ, to pursue Christ, to gain Christ, to magnify Christ, and to express Christ. These are the basic principles of the church, the Body of Christ. As one who had been initiated into the Body, Paul learned the secret.

Christ is our secret and power. When we live by this secret and power, we can solve whatever matter comes to us. Because we know the secret, we do not care whether we are rich or poor or whether we are abased or abound. Because Christ is our secret, we know how to face any kind of situation. Whether people honor us or despise us, we know the secret and have the power.

Paul learned the secret of sufficiency in Christ. When he was in want and was tempted to worry about his situation, he applied the secret. Then, in his experience, this secret eliminated his worry. Therefore, he could have the boldness to testify that he knew both how to be abased and how to abound. The fact that Paul knew how to be abased indicates that he experienced feelings of abasement. He knew what it was to have worry and anxiety in times of suffering, but at those times he applied the secret of the indwelling Christ. Paul was a person in Christ, and he experienced Christ and applied Him in all his circumstances. Paul could be content because he applied the Christ in whom he lived and in whom he remained. This Christ is real, living, near, available, and prevailing. This Christ became Paul’s secret.

In Philippians, a book that speaks about Paul’s circumstances, we see the secret of the Christian life and the practical way for the church life, that is, the indwelling Christ. No matter what the circumstances are, we have a wonderful person living within us who bears all our burdens. We need to learn to turn to Christ, take Him as our person, and let Him replace us. All our circumstances teach us to learn the secret of living by Christ; all our circumstances force us to give up ourselves and take Christ as our person. This is the main lesson of this Epistle.

The Conclusion of the
New Testament:
Experiencing, Enjoying,
and Expressing Christ
Message 351 (LSM)

I was in the church in Irvine when brother Frank taught us this hymn with the deeper thought of a believer being a branch in the True Vine having divine life and nature imparted when we believed into Jesus Christ. The life of the True Vine is the life-giving as the “life-sap” now flowing in every member of the church, which is His Body on the earth. I still enjoy this hymn as it reminds me just to remain in my spirit, turn back to Him when I sin, and return to abide as a branch in Christ. Praise the Lord!!

Thank you, brother Frank. It always helps to know the background of a hymn.

Dear brothers and sisters. I was so glad to find you had posted this song I wrote in the mid-1980s. Thank you!

Here’s the background on how I came to write this song. I had just visited my parents, who lived in Rochester, NY, and attended a Sunday church service with them. At one point, we sang a song I had never heard before, called Abiding in the Vine. I loved the tune, which was upbeat. But in my view the lyrics were shallow, listing some of the fruits of the Spirit from Galatians 5 22-23, and throwing in “health” and “prosperity” for good measure.

I thought the song deserved better. It should convey the thought that Christ is the vine and the believers are the branches, sharing together in God’s life. It should not be just about displaying Christian virtues. It should be about sharing in God’s life.

So, I wrote the lyrics that are posted here. When I came back to California, I sang the song from memory to our pianist, and she wrote out the piano score. We then taught it to the church in Irvine the following week.

We’ve found the secret of living,
We’ve seen the vision divine:
We are of God in Christ Jesus,
We’re abiding, abiding in the vine.

Hallelujah! We’ve found the secret of living,
We’ve seen the vision divine:
We are of God in Christ Jesus,
We’re abiding, abiding in the vine.

May we daily live a life of abiding in the Lord, dealing with any insulation and limitation to His abiding in us, and may we enjoy His bountiful riches as we abide in Him to bear fruit for His glorification! Praise the Lord 😀

Praise the Lord that we’re abiding in the vine!

By One Offering He has perfected forever those that are sanctified in Christ Jesus! Hallelujah! We are perfect in Him! Mindfulness of our heavenly position. Abiding, abiding in the Real Vine! Amen.

Praise the Lord! Abiding is the way to enjoy the Lord. No more in vain need we struggle.

All the riches of God’s life are mine.