“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. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned” (John 15:4–6).
In examining this passage and keeping other Scriptures in view, here are some basic concepts related to “abiding in Christ.”
#1: Abiding denotes a sense of relationship
A branch cannot live and bear fruit on its own; therefore a branch is dependent on the vine for the power for life and growth. It is the same for us, we can only be spiritually alive and bear fruit by the power of Christ. Hence, Jesus says, “[W]ithout Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5b). We are completely dependent on Christ for all of our spiritual needs, and this is a dependency rooted in faith. Faith is what brings us into this vital relationship with Christ (Jn. 6:47; Eph. 2:8).
#2: Abiding signifies perseverance
“The word ‘abide’ means to remain.”[1] Jesus said, “If you abide [continue, remain] in My word, you are My disciples indeed” (Jn. 8:31b). True disciples are those who continue to listen to and follow His word. And just as we must abide in His word, we must abide, or remain in our relationship of dependent faith in Him. There is a sense in which we are responsible to endure. The writer of Hebrews says, “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin” (Heb. 3:12–13). And further on, “Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise” (Heb. 10:35–36). We are encouraged and warned to persevere in our faith; these are admonitions we must respond to. However, this does not mean that salvation can be lost, as other Scriptures indicate. For example, the writer of Hebrews says, “For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end” (Heb. 3:14). We do not become partakers after we persevere; rather, perseverance shows that we have already become partakers of Christ. Salvation is dependent on God and cannot be lost, but salvation is characterized by a persevering faith. Abiding in Christ is a phrase signifying this perseverance.
#3: Abiding determines outcome
Those who abide in Christ will bear fruit. All true disciples will bear the fruit of “continuance of service to Him and in His teaching.”[2] Those who do not abide do not have the life giving power of the true vine and will be thrown into the fire and burned (Jn. 15:6). They will face judgment.
Therefore, we must abide in Christ: have a relationship with Him by faith, remain in that faith, and bear fruit through that relationship. Those who don’t will be judged.
My dear Father-in-law used to say, "They preach all these things to us but nobody tells us how to do it." There is a very simple 'how-to' to this abiding. It is simply exchanging my life for His...a place of complete rest where I yield Him my body to live His life out through. A good example would be like unplugging from a battery that runs down and plugging in to an electric source of power. "It is not longer I that live, But Christ that liveth in me."
ReplyDeleteAmen!
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