The Preeminence of Christ

“I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”   John 15:5

The primary Core Value of CBMC is the Preeminence of Christ - Intimacy with Christ is paramount, and all we do must emanate from our life in Him and His life in us. 

A picture of that intimacy is seen in John 15:1-17, where Jesus tells His disciples that He is the vine, and they are the branches.  The life of the vine is transferred to the branches, and that life produces the fruit.  Each part is important, but the branches and the fruit are dependent on the life of the vine.  Our job as branches is to display the fruit.

We are totally dependent upon Christ for the work we do in CBMC.  Evangelism is about sharing God’s love with other businessmen, telling them about Jesus Christ’s death on the cross for their sins, and his resurrection, so they can experience eternal life.  We have no control over a man’s decision, and it is only through the power of the Holy Spirit operating in his heart that will bring him to Christ.

Discipleship certainly requires the faithfulness, availability, and teachability of each of us, as a Paul, and of our Timothys, but it doesn’t work unless Christ is living His life through us.

The other Core Values, Life-on-Life Relationships, Teams, and Generational Spiritual Reproduction, all emanate from the power we receive through our closeness with Jesus.

These Core Values are the fruit that Jesus talks about when He says we must abide in Him, and He in us.  Abiding is about living in harmony with each other, for a long period of time.  If we are attached, as vine and branch, we will be in the same place, at the same time, for eternity.

While we are still on earth, we have the responsibility to live out our portion of that relationship.  We do that by setting aside daily time to focus on God’s Word, meditate on it, apply it in our lives, and allow it to transform us into new creatures in Christ, 2 Cor 5:17.

It means dying to self, Gal 2:20, allowing Christ to live His life through us.

It means loving one another, John 15:17.

John 15:10 - “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

The Apostle Paul talks about the goal of being conformed to the image of Christ:  For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;…  Rom 8:29

This means that we take on His character, shown to us in Exodus 34:6.

Abiding requires effort on our part.  Ministry is the overflow of our intimacy with Christ.

-Eldon Kibbey