Abide In Him

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1 John 2:28–29
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Abiding in Christ
Intimacy with God
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SERMON SERIES: INTIMACY WITH GOD

SERMON TITLE: ABIDE IN HIM

SERMON TEXT: 1 JOHN 2:28-29

SERMON INTRODUCTION

A. Many people wear crosses, but have no connection to the One to whom the cross
refers.

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B. Many people want to be spiritual, but they want to be spiritual on their own terms

1. They claim to have fellowship with God, but they walk in darkness, that is, they live in
continual, unconfused and unrepentant sin.

2. They claim to know God, but they live they way they want, that is, they refuse to keep
His commandments.

3. They claim to abide in Him, that is, they claim to have a close walk with Him, but they
refuse to live as He lived.

4. They claim that they love God, but the love of the world and the things of the world
holds a stronghold in their lives.

5. They claim to have the truth, but they deny that Jesus is the Christ.

C. True spirituality depends on a relation with the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ..

1. What one thinks about Jesus Christ determines the relationship one has with God.

2. One’s dependence on Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord determines the relationship
that one has with God.

3. True spiritual growth depends on abiding in Christ, that at is, remaining consistently in
fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

SERMON LESSON: TRUE, GENUINE, BIBLICAL SPIRITUALITY IS BASED ON

CONSISTENT, PERSONAL FELLOWSHIP WITH THE LIVING LORD JESUS CHRIST.

SERMON OUTLINE: TWO KEY FEATURES MAKE THIS TRUE

I. COMMAND: ABIDE IN HIM

A. THE MEANING OF THE COMMAND TO “ABIDE IN HIM”

1. Some important cross-references

a. John 15:3-4: “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.
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.”

b. John 15:7: “ If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you
desire, and it shall be done for you.”

c. John 15:9,10: “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. 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.

2. The command to “abide in Him” means to maintain a continual, unbroken,

unhindered, and active fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

a. It is a life marked by a living faith that is continually dependent on the Lord

b. It is a life marked by a living faith in the Lord that is continually growing and being
cultivated.

c. It is a life marked by a living faith that is reflected in loving obedience to the

commandments of the Lord.

d. It is a life marked by a living faith that is reflected in a godly life, a godly life that
refuses to be controlled by a life of sinfulness.

3. Note carefully: Only a true believer can abide in the Lord!!

a. Reason #1: A believer is already clean because of the word which had been spoken
to him.
b. Reason #2: Only believers are commanded to abide in the Lord, not the unsaved.

c. Reason #3: An unsaved person needs to receive Christ before he can abide in Christ.

d. Note carefully: The text did not say seek the Lord, it said abide in Him.

4. The problem with abiding in Him.

a. Many who are Christians are either indifferent to spiritual things or distracted by
worldly things.

b. Many who are not Christians think they can live like the devil all week and on
Saturday night, then come to somebody’s church service on Sunday and attempt to
serve the Lord--it doesn’t work that way

B. THE REASON FOR THE COMMAND TO “ABIDE IN HIM”

1. Reason #1: That when He appears, we may have confidence before Him at His
coming.

2. Reason #2: That when He appears we may not be ashamed before Him at His
coming.

3. Problem: Many of us who are Christians do not take the appearing of Christ
seriously!!

a. Fact:Jesus Christ will appear to receive His saints unto Himself

b. Fact: The appearance of Jesus Christ is the incentive for a Christian to live a godly ,
devoted life that is expressed in a close walk with the Lord.

c. Fact: Some Christians will have confidence before Christ at His coming

(1.) Why? Because they stood firm and true to the gospel message and sound biblical
teaching.

(2.) Why? Because they were faithful and committed to Christian fellowship.
(3.) Why? Because they did not love the world or the things in the world.

(4.) Why? Because they loved their Christian brethren

(5.) Why? Because they keep the commandment of Christ

(6.) Why? Because they walk as Christ walked (lived a godly life)

d. Fact: Some Christians will be ashamed before Him at His coming

II. CONVICTION: EVERYONE WHO PRACTICE RIGHTEOUSNESS IS BORN OF HIM

A. FACT #1: IF YOU KNOW THAT HE IS RIGHTEOUS

1. Remember: God is Light and in Him is no darkness at all.

a. Light is used metaphorically to represent moral goodness, truth, righteousness, and

holiness.

b. God is holy, righteous, just, and good in all His thoughts, words, attitudes, and
emotions; in all His ways, His actions, and His reactions; in all His judgments, counsels,
and plans; in what He determines and in what He permits.

c. There is no moral imperfection in God at all.

(1.) God did not one day become holy, He was always holy from eternity past, and will
always be holy in eternity present.

(2.) God does not become more holy, He is infinitely and eternally holy.

(3.) God does not, nor will not, ever decrease in holiness, He does not nor can He ever
get unholy.

d. Point: God in His very nature and character is the standard of holiness.

2. Remember: The Lord Jesus Christ is the true Light of the world.
a. He is of the very essence of God

b. He reveals the very person of God to man

c. He is therefore holy, righteous, just, and good in His nature and character

3. Problem: Many people admit that God is holy, righteous, just, good, faithful, and true,
but they live their lives in ungodliness!!!

B. FACT #2: (THEN) YOU KNOW THAT EVERYONE WHO PRACTICES

RIGHTEOUSNESS IS BORN OF HIM

1. Implication #1: Those who practice unrighteousness are NOT born of God!

a. Just because they know a lot of facts ABOUT God does not mean they KNOW God.

b. Just because they are associated with the people of God does not mean they are in
the family of God.

2. Implication #2: Those who are born of God practice righteousness.

a. Fact: Those who received Him (Christ) by faith have become the children of God.

b. Fact: The children of God are born, not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor of the
will of man, but are born of God.

c. Fact: Those who are children of God are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.

d. Fact: Those who are born of God, who is light and in Him is no darkness at all, do not
live their lives as the unsaved people of the world.

(1.) They walk in the light, as He is in the light

(2.) They keep His commandments: (1) to love God (2) to love one another

(3.) They do not live for the world or the things of the world
(4.) They continue in the truths of the Word of God.

3. Problem: Many people want to claim that they are born of God, that they belong to
God, that they are God’s people, but show by the way that they live that they do not
belong to God at all, nor are they a part of His family!!

SERMON CONCLUSION: Are you in consistent fellowship with the living Lord Jesus
Christ?

"ABIDING IN HIM"
I. THE WHOLE IDEA IS THAT OF BEING FRUITFUL. The primary desire of my life is to
bear good fruit for my Lord. No other accomplishments that I may achieve are as
important as this. One day when I stand before Him to give an account of my life, this is
all that will really matter. What kind of fruit can I offer to Him? Things that we learn from
this passage:
A. If the branch does not bear fruit it is taken away.
1. There is nothing more worthless than a branch that does not bear fruit.
2. Jesus spoke of the tree that did not bear fruit that the husbandman ordered it to be
cut down.
3. Jesus cursed the barren fig tree that it died.
4. God spoke of all that He did for His vineyard that he might enjoy the fruit, and all it
brought forth was wild grapes. God spoke of His judgment that would come upon that
vineyard.
B. Those branches that bear fruit are purged that they may bring forth more fruit.
1. So often you hear this translated pruned.
2. When you go into the Eschol valley in Israel where Joshua and Caleb got the large
bunch of grapes, you will see today the grape vines lying on the ground. They will be
propped up with a rock, but they are lying next to the ground. When the grapes begin to
get ripe, the vinedresser will pick up the large bunches and wash the dirt off of them so
that the grapes that are lying on the ground will not rot.
3. That the word means washed or cleansed is obvious by the next verse, "Now you are
clean through the word that I have spoken unto you."
C. It is the Father's good will that you bring forth much fruit, so the next step in the
process is abiding in Christ, and the result is that you will bring forth much fruit.
1. Herein is the Father glorified as your life bears much fruit.
2. Where would you place yourself today?
a. No fruit
b. Fruit
c. More fruit
d. Much fruit
D. The fruit that the Father desires is that which develops naturally as the result of
relationship.
1. It is not something that is forced.
2. You do not have to struggle to produce it.
3. As you abide in Christ it just develops naturally.
II. THE IMPORTANCE OF ABIDING IN CHRIST.
A. The branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine.
JOH 15:4 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.
1. You are the branch, in and of yourself you cannot bring forth fruit. God is not
interested in the works of our flesh, which we are so often seeking to offer Him. He
desires the fruit of the Spirit.
2. Jesus said, "Apart from Me, you can do nothing."
a. That is nothing of true value in the eyes of the Father.
b. All of our righteous works are as filthy rags in His sight.
3. We must realize that it is the life of Christ flowing through us that produces the kind of
fruit the Father desires.
B. If you do not abide in Christ, you are cast forth as a branch and become withered.
JOH 15:6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and
men gather them, and cast [them] into the fire, and they are burned.
1. The branch has no life within itself.
2. It draws it's life from the vine.
3. Even so we draw our life from Christ and are nothing and have nothing in and of
ourselves.
4. The apple tree at the summer camp.
C. We have power in prayer.
JOH 15:7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it
shall be done unto you.
1. How our prayer life is enhanced and enriched when we abide in Christ.
2. This is a glorious promise, "You shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto
you."
a. This promise is not to just anyone.
b. So many just take this promise and run with it.
c. Let's see, I want a new Mercedes, a 5 carat diamond ring, a house on the bay front, a
yacht moored at my private pier.
d. The promise is to those who are abiding in Christ.
3. If you abide in Christ, you will not be asking for things that are not according to His
will.
4. James said that you ask and receive not because you are asking amiss that you
might consume it on your own lusts.
III. OUR DESIRE IS THAT OUR LIVES PRODUCE LASTING FRUIT.
JOH 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye
should go and bring forth fruit, and [that] your fruit should remain:
A. Jesus declares that the purpose of choosing us is not that we just bring forth fruit. But
that the fruit might remain. That is lasting fruit.
1. As teachers of the word, you need to see yourself as constantly sowing seed in the
fertile hearts of the children.
2. The seed is the word of God, planting God's word in their hearts.
3. God said that His word will not return unto Him void, but will accomplish the purposes
for which it was sent forth.
B. It is the word of God that will bring lasting fruit. I pray that your life might bear fruit for
our Lord. I pray that as you begin to bear fruit, you will bring forth more fruit. I pray that
you might bring forth much fruit to the glory of God. I pray that the fruit might remain.
The key is abiding in Him and in His word
 26. Abiding in the Vine (John 15:1-17)
by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson
Audio (41:39)

John's Gospel is full of rich nuggets of truth that

teach us about our Father, Jesus, salvation,
eternal life, and the Holy Spirit. This lesson helps
us explore the dynamic relationship between a
disciple and his Lord.

Jesus' teaching on the vine and the branches

isn't like most of the parables in the Synoptic
Gospels, which are usually stories with one or
more spiritual points. Here, as in Jesus' discourse
on the Good Shepherd (10:1-18), we see
an extended metaphor. Jesus draws our
attention to a fruitful vine and then provides two
primary applications for us to learn from --
pruning the branches and abiding in the vine.
These 17 verses aren't long, but contain some of
the most important and beloved passages in the
Bible about the disciple's love relationship with
Jesus.

I Am the Vine (15:1) Icon of Christ the True Vine (late 20th century),
Dormition Convent, Parnes, Greece, based on an early
In verse 1, Jesus introduces the metaphor. 15th century by Angelos Akotantos at Malles,
Hierapetra.

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the

gardener." (15:1)

The vine[640] was one of the quintessential plants of Israel representing national peace and
prosperity -- "every man under his vine and fig tree."[641]

Moreover, the vineyard is often used to identify Israel herself, referred to by the prophets
as "my vineyard" (Isaiah 3:14). In the Song of the Vineyard (Isaiah 5:1-7), the vineyard is
the "house of Israel" that yields only the bad fruit of injustice and oppression. But in Day of
the Messiah, this vineyard will flourish:

"In that day--Sing about a fruitful vineyard:

I, the LORD, watch over it;
I water it continually.
I guard it day and night
so that no one may harm it." (Isaiah 27:2-3)

The Psalms, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Hosea, and Micah all use the figure of Israel as the Lord's
vineyard.[642] Jesus himself carried on this identification of Israel as God's vineyard in his
Parable of the Tenants (Matthew 21:33-44; Mark 12:1-12; Luke 20:9-19) and Parable of
the Workers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16).

So for Jesus to say, "I am the true vine" (in the seventh and last of Jesus' "I AM"
sayings"[643]), we see an announcement that, as the Messiah, he now becomes the true
Israel, the true locus for God's people. When you think about it, it is an astounding
revelation!

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener." (15:1)

The nation is epitomized in the nation's true King, Jesus.

If Jesus is the true vine, then his Father is the vinedresser[644], the one who tenderly cares
for the vine, cutting and pruning so that it produces the maximum amount of fruit possible.

Pruning and Cutting (15:2-3)

"2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear
fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of
the word I have spoken to you." (15:2-3)

Since there are

several vineyards
within one quarter
mile of my house,
with the owner a
personal friend, I've
had considerable
opportunity over the
years to observe the
cycles of pruning,
growth, and harvest.

A grapevine consists
of the woody trunk
with one or more
cordons, woody
extensions of the
trunk that remain Grapevine Terminology. Diagram © 2009, VinoDiary.com. Used by permission.
from year to year.
Together, the trunk
and cordons are what Jesus refers to as the "vine." The fruitfulness comes from the canes,
shoots, or spurs that grow from these woody cordons. These canes, shoots, or spurs Jesus
is calling the "branches."[645] The fruit forms from buds on the new canes. The old canes
do not produce again.

Pruning takes experience and skill. After the harvest, winter comes when the leaves fall off
and the vine goes dormant. During this time, before the new buds of spring, the pruning
 takes place. Our text discusses two operations -- (1) removing unfruitful branches, and (2)
pruning the fruitful ones.

The vinedresser looks for any shoots that didn't bear fruit the previous season, due to
disease or damage of one kind or another. These he cuts off[646] entirely so that the
energy of the plant is not wasted on unfruitful or diseased branches, but can go into
branches that do bear fruit.

The fruitful branches are pruned back to the first two nodes on the old shoot to form new
canes for next year's growth. Without pruning, the fruit for the new season will be
dramatically diminished, and the vine will begin to grow wild, producing some grapes, but
making it hard for the plant to get enough light and making it difficult to harvest what few
grapes are produced. Pruning shocks the plant, to be sure, but in the hands of a skillful
vinedresser, the vine remains healthy and produces maximum fruit year after year.

What does "cutting off every branch in me that bears no fruit (15:2a)" refer to? Since Jesus
the True Vine represents true Israel, the Father is pruning off those who rebel against the
Messiah. We see this expressed in the Parable of the Tenants who refused to pay rent to the
owner of the vineyard. Jesus concludes the parable with the words:

"Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a
people who will produce its fruit." (Matthew 21:43)

After getting rid of the dead wood, the vinedresser gets down to the exacting work of
pruning each shoot or branch. The purposes of pruning are to:

 Stimulate growth,
 Allow the vinedresser to shape the vine,
 Produce maximum yield without breaking the branches with too many clusters for them to
bear,
 Protect against mildew,
 Produce better quality wine, with more highly concentrated and flavorful grapes.

Of course, the Father does pruning in our lives, too, so that you and I will become healthy
and bear much spiritual fruit. When I had an Internet marketing business, I tried to practice
the principle to cut off each year the least cost-effective part of my business, the bottom
10%, so I could free up time and resources for new opportunities.

You may be spending lots of time in activities that are fruitless. I can remember God telling
me when I was in college to throw away my cherished notebook of folk music so I could
concentrate on music that honored him. Sometimes we suffer losses and grieve about them,
but find that God is redirecting and healing us. We can trust the Vinedresser and must be
obedient, if we want his skill to make us whole and fruitful.

Churches, too, need pruning. How many activities are continued because "we've always
done that," long past the time when they are effective in advancing the Kingdom?
Sometimes people need to be removed from leadership and others moved into leadership.
Some churches suffer severe injury because they tolerate the unspiritual control and
direction of "big givers," but are too weak to say, "No." Pruning is needed. Some churches
experience a painful time when a number of members leave over some issue. But when this
loss is surrendered to God and forgiveness is sought, this "pruning" can become the
impetus for new growth. Trust the Vinedresser and be obedient. Don't prune rashly, but
seek his season and his way.

Q1. (John 15:2) How does judicious pruning benefit a grapevine? What happens to
productivity and health when a vine is left unpruned? What does God use to prune
our lives? What does God use to prune our congregations? Why do we resist
pruning? What can we do so that the eventual pruning isn't as severe?
http://www.joyfulheart.com/forums/topic/1507-q1-benefits-of-pruning/

Cleansed by the Word (15:3)

Now we come to a curious verse.

"2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear
fruit he prunes (katharizō) so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean
(katharizō) because of the word I have spoken to you." (15:2-3)

Notice that the Greek word katharizō, "to clean, cleanse," can also be translated "prune" (NIV, NRSV,
ESV), "purge" (KJV), that is, cleanse the vine. Jesus' Word is a cause of that moral and spiritual
cleansing.[647]

Jesus is speaking to his disciples. The effect of obedience and "holding to" Jesus' teaching is freedom
from the slavery to sin, and separation from evil (8:31-34). God's Word, when received, has a washing,
cleansing, pruning, faith-producing effect on us:

"Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her
by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a
radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless."
(Ephesians 5:25b-27)
"Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth." (John 17:17)
"Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have
sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have
been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and
enduring word of God." (1 Peter 1:22-23)
"He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of
firstfruits of all he created." (James 1:18)

Q2. (John 15:2b) How are we pruned or cleansed by exposure to and obedience to
Jesus' words? According to John 8:31-32, how does obeying Jesus' teaching bring
cleansing and freedom from sin?
http://www.joyfulheart.com/forums/topic/1508-q2-cleansed-by-the-word/
Remaining, Abiding in the Vine (15:4-5)
Jesus has considered the metaphor of pruning the vine. Now he looks at the metaphor of abiding in the
vine.

"4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must
remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5 I am the vine;
you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart
from me you can do nothing." (15:4-5)

"Remain" (NIV), "abide" (NRSV, ESV, KJV) is menō, "remain, stay." It can be used of a location, "stay,"
often in the special sense of "to live, dwell, lodge." Here, it is in the transferred sense of someone who
does not leave a certain realm or sphere: "remain, continue, abide."[648] We observed this word
previously --

"If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and
the truth will set you free." (8:31-32, ESV)

To "abide" means that we "hold to" (NIV) or "continue in" (NRSV, KJV) Jesus' teaching (cf. John 5:38; 2
John 9). This is the opposite of running hot for a short period of time, and then coasting. Those who
abide in Jesus' word don't give up under persecution or allow their fruitfulness to be choked by the
"weeds" of worldly pressures (to use the vocabulary of Jesus' Parable of the Sower, Matthew 13:1-8, 18-
23). Rather they produce a harvest of 30-fold, 60-fold, or 100-fold. Jesus taught that believers will
continue in the faith (Matthew 24:13; Mark 13:3; Luke 8:15). The Apostle Paul also taught that salvation
is contingent upon believers continuing or persevering in their faith (Colossians 1:23, epimenō[649]; 1
Corinthians 15:2, katechō[650], 2 Timothy 3:14, menō; see Hebrews 3:6; cf. 10:39).

I. Howard Marshall says:

"The element of trust and commitment in faith is particularly emphasized and expressed
in John by the use of the verb 'to abide' (menō), which might almost be said to be the
Johannine equivalent for 'to persevere.'"[651]

Wayne Grudem begins his statement of the doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints in this way:

"The perseverance of the saints means that all those who are truly born again will be
kept by God's power and will persevere as Christians until the end of their lives...."[652]

But "abiding" extends beyond continuing in faith. In this metaphor of the vine and the branches,
"abiding" refers to being intimately connected to and receiving nourishment from the vine. Look at the
passage again.

"4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must
remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5 I am the vine;
you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart
from me you can do nothing." (15:4-5)

What, then does "abiding" entail? We're not talking about belief as intellectual assent, but belief as
embracing, clinging to, and continuing to receive spiritual sustenance from. As we've seen in John
(14:15, 21-25) and see later in this lesson (15:9-10) discipleship also involves obedience as an expression
of our love for him.

In the face of the clear teaching of John 15, some Christians have an extremely sloppy understanding of
the doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints, asserting that saving faith need not be an enduring faith,
one that perseveres.[653] You'll find further discussion of the doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints
in 10:28 (Lesson 19) and 17:11-15 (Lesson 29).

Mutual Indwelling (15:5b)

Abiding also involves a person who

"... remains (menō) in me and I in him." (15:5b)

This phrase intrigues me, since Jesus also speaks about his relationship with the Father the same
way in a number of places in John's Gospel:

"Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains (menō) in me, and I in him."
(6:56)
"Believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me,
and I in the Father." (10:38)
"Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I
say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his
work." (14:10)
"On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in
you." (14:20)
"If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will
come to him and make our home (monē) with him." (14:23)
"... that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.... I
have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in
them and you in me." (17:21-23)
"... that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them."
(17:26)

This mutual indwelling is part of the Father's relationship with the Son. The Father and Son are the
exemplars of what our relationship is to be with Jesus -- constant living together, sharing a deepening
relationship of love and (on our part) obedience.

This idea, of course, of being indwelt by Jesus and his Spirit is found throughout the New Testament.
Jesus promises:

"I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:20)

Paul says the same thing, but in more theological language. Here are just three examples:
 "For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given
fullness in Christ...." (Colossians 2:9-10)
"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I
live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for
me." (Galatians 2:20)
"You, however, are controlled ... by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives[654] in you. And
if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ." (Romans 8:9)

What are we to make of this? What are we do about it? Let's not take for granted that the Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit live within us -- and we in them. This is your opportunity and mine to really get to know
God intimately, to become his Friend. We talk about a "personal relationship with Jesus Christ." What
can you and I do to develop this relationship in a personal, on-going manner? To know God! To abide in
Him!

Q3. (John 15:4-5) What does it mean "to abide"? What is the doctrine of the
Perseverance of the Saints? How do these verses support it? What does abiding
have to do with "mutual indwelling," of a "personal relationship"? How well are
you abiding?
http://www.joyfulheart.com/forums/topic/1509-q3-abiding-and-indwelling/

Apart from Me You Can Do Nothing (15:4-6)

Abiding also involves utter dependence upon Jesus the Vine. If we branches don't continue intimately
connected to the vine, our "sap" is cut off. We wither and whatever fruit might have been in the process
of ripening becomes like dry raisins rather than lush grapes full of juice.

"4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must
remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5 I am the vine;
you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit;
apart[655] from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a
branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the
fire and burned." (15:4-6)

Jesus observes that the branch must remain connected to the vine to produce any fruit. But we've seen
this kind of language before. Jesus taught this truth again and again to his disciples:

"I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his
Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does." (5:19)
"By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek
not to please myself but him who sent me." (5:30)
"I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me." (8:28b)
"I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to
say and how to say it." (12:49)
"It is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work." (14:10b)

The truth is underscored by the man healed from blindness:

 "If this man were not from God, he could do nothing." (9:33)

There's something that perhaps we don't like about this. It diminishes Jesus' independence, we think.
And perhaps we resent the statement, "apart from me you can do nothing," because it diminishes
our own sense of independence. Part of our old nature loves the lines in William Ernest Henley's poem
"Invictus" that read:

"I am the master of my fate,

I am the captain of my soul."

Something in our old nature wants to cry: I will be dependent upon no man -- nor upon God!

But the path of the Master is a different path than self-determination. It is a path of listening and
obeying, of observing and following. Jesus walked this path before us, doing exactly what he saw the
Father doing. Now he beckons us to follow him in this same way. It is the path of a disciple following a
Master, a Son following a Father. And it requires from us a humility that fully believes that apart from
him we can do nothing.

Oh, we can do things by ourselves. We expend great human effort in doing so. But the things that last,
that count for eternity, these we cannot do without his leading and his power. The older and wiser man
or woman knows something that the young do not always grasp. Paul put it this way:

"His work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be
revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has
built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself
will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames." (1 Corinthians 3:13-15)

Do you want your life to count for something? Then live your life abiding with Jesus, and with
his direction and power accomplish something that lasts. Paul wrote:

"I can do everything through him who gives me strength." (Philippians 4:13)
"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I
live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for
me." (Galatians 2:20)

Q4. (John 15:4-6) Unbelievers can do many things. So what does Jesus mean
when he says, "Apart from me you can do nothing"? What is the value of things
done without Christ? What is the final end of things done without Christ?
http://www.joyfulheart.com/forums/topic/1510-q4-do-nothing-alone/

Withered Branches (15:6)

Jesus returns to the analogy of the vine as he describes withered branches.

"If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and
withers[656]; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned." (15:6)

I live on a property with hundreds of trees. Not infrequently, as I walk around the property, I'll
see a tree with a branch that is dry and brown. It may be diseased. It may have broken from high
wind. Its vital connection with the trunk, however, has been severed, and the life from the sap no
longer flows into the branch, bringing life. The leaves turn brown, the wood becomes brittle. It is
dead. When I get around to it, I need to pull it into a pile and burn it -- or grind it into wood chips
with a chipper.

Jesus uses this analogy to impress on us the vital importance of staying connected to him, of abiding,
continuing in him. To remain, to abide is a command (verse 4), not just an automatic condition. That
means that we must do something to obey the command -- not a work of righteousness in order to be
saved, but active faith.

"The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." (6:29)

When Jesus talks here about withered branches being burned, is he talking about backslidden Christians
or apostate Christians? Probably not directly. I think he is talking about the Jewish nation, God's
vineyard, whose leaders had rejected their Messiah, the True Vine.

Bearing Much Fruit (15:7-8)

Jesus has explained the negative consequence of not abiding in him (verse 6). Now he points to the
positive benefits of abiding (verses 7 and 8).

"7 If you remain (menō) in me and my words remain (menō) in you, ask whatever you
wish, and it will be given you. 8 This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit,
showing[657] yourselves to be my disciples." (15:7-8)

"My words abide in you" means that we continue to obey his teachings and therefore receive Christ's
wisdom.

"If you hold to (menō) my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the
truth, and the truth will set you free." (8:31b-32)

If we abide in Christ and in obedience to his teachings, they we can ask anything in prayer and
he'll give it to us. Why? Because we'll be praying according to his will and leading! We'll be
requesting things that will expand his kingdom, not just selfish requests.

"Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and
receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases
him." (1 John 3:21-22)
"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to
his will, he hears us." (1 John 5:14)

As he gives us answers to our prayers, that is where the fruit-bearing will take place. Notice
another indicator here of being a disciple of Jesus. True disciples bear fruit -- much fruit, "fruit
that will last" (15:16c). And this abundance of fruit brings glory to God the Father. As Jesus says
in Matthew:

"Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your
Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)
What Fruit Does Jesus Expect from Us?
So what exactly does Jesus mean by "bear much fruit"? The word karposmeans fruit, then, "result,
outcome, product."[658] To find out what this result is we can do a brief survey of karpos in the New
Testament. Fruit applies to a new way of life, one's actions, to a way of living.

Fruit can be positive or negative (Romans 6:21-22). False prophets can be identified by their "fruit"
(Matthew 7:15b-16a). Both Jesus and John the Baptist demanded repentance. John the Baptist
commanded the Pharisees and Sadducees who came to his meetings, "Produce fruit in keeping with
repentance" (Matthew 3:8). Concerning the whole Jewish nation that rejected him, Jesus said, "I tell you
that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit"
(Matthew 21:43).

A number of verses identify fruit with righteous living (Philippians 1:11; James 3:18; Hebrews 12:11).
Some passages spell out what this kind of living looks like:

"Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness
and truth)." (Ephesians 5:8b-9)
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control." (Galatians 5:22-23a)
"But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving,
considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere." (James
3:17)

This kind of righteous living is what grows on a tree watered by the Holy Spirit.

In addition to speaking of the fruit of righteousness, Paul speaks of fruit as people won to Christ on his
mission (Romans 1:13; 15:28; Philippians 1:22). Especially in the case of people with an apostolic or
evangelistic gift, such as his Twelve Apostles, one's righteous character would also be accompanied by
people being won to Christ. The same might be true of a person with the spiritual gift of teaching. The
fruit would be people who learn the gospel from this teaching. Using our God-given gifts will produce
results!

Abiding in Christ produces the fruit of righteous character -- especially of love -- and influence of this
character that brings glory to God.

Q5. (John 15:7-8) The fruit from branches connected to a vine is the grape. What
is the nature of the fruit that comes from being connected to Jesus? Is it accurate
to define fruit as "souls saved"? What is the danger in this definition?
http://www.joyfulheart.com/forums/topic/1511-q5-fruit/

Obeying and Abiding in Jesus' Love (15:9-11)

John has a way of weaving themes in and out of Jesus' discourses -- both in John's Gospel and in the First
Epistle of John. So we shouldn't be surprised that this discourse on abiding should come back to the love
and obedience that we saw earlier.
 "9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain (menō) in my love. 10 If
you obey my commands, you will remain (menō) in my love, just as I have obeyed my
Father's commands and remain (menō) in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy
may be in you and that your joy may be complete." (15:9-11)

The key verb is "obey" (NIV), "keep" (NRSV, ESV, KJV), tēreō, "keep watch over, guard," here with the
extended sense, "to persist in obedience, keep, observe, fulfill, pay attention to," especially of law and
teaching.[659] The key noun, translated "what I command" (NIV), "commandments" (NRSV, ESV, KJV)
is entolē, "a mandate or ordinance, command."[660] This theme tying love and obedience is found
throughout the Johannine books of the Bible,[661] and occasionally in the Synoptic Gospels.[662] Earlier
we read:

"If you love me, you will obey what I command." (14:15, also 14:21-25)

Some Christians have confused obedience with a kind of legalism that moves away from God's grace, his
unmerited favor, to a place of earning favor with God by strict obedience as the Pharisees tried to do.
This isn't what Jesus is saying. Rather, he is explaining that obedience is the natural result of love. If you
love someone, you try to do what pleases that person.

Think of a disobedient child. Perhaps he loves his parents, but he has a poor way of showing it. They love
him, but instead of being able to relax with him, they always have to maintain discipline. Only with
children who are obedient can the parents relax in their joy with them. And this joy is what Jesus wants
us to experience.

"I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete."
(15:11)

As we'll see in verses 14 and 15, Jesus desires to move his disciples from the place of servants, who obey
because they have to, to friends, who obey because they want to.

Obedience from the heart, the cessation of rebellion, enables free-flowing fellowship. As John says in his
First Epistle:

"If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and
the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin." (1 John 1:7)

Q6. (John 15:9-11) How are obedience and joy linked? Is obedience an obstacle to
a joyful relationship between you and the Lord?
http://www.joyfulheart.com/forums/topic/1512-q6-obedience-and-joy/

Friends of Jesus (15:12-15)

Jesus comes back to his themes of love (13:34-35) and laying down one's life for the sheep (10:11, 15b),
and then introduces the idea of friendship.

"12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one
than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." (15:12-13)
"Friends" is philos, which we saw in 11:11 regarding Lazarus. It means, "pertaining to having a special
interest in someone, beloved, dear, loving, kindly disposed, devoted," then as a substantive, "one who is
on intimate terms or in close association with another, friend."[663] In a general sense, Jesus is called "a
friend of tax collectors and sinners" (Luke 7:34b). In another place he refers to his disciples as "my
friends" (Luke 12:4a).

Jesus shows his ultimate love by laying down his life for those loves. Amazingly, Paul reminds us, "While
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

Now Jesus takes this concept of friendship a step further.

"14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants,
because a servant does not know his master's business.[664] Instead, I have called you
friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you."
(15:14-15)

Don't take verse 14 like you can earn friendship by being good. That's not the point. Jesus is saying that
you doing what he commands is an indication that you love him. Servants obey because they have to.
Friends obey because they want to.

If you go to work at a shoe store, you are taught how to fit shoes to people's feet. But if you are the
owner's son, then you are taught every aspect of the shoe business. And, dear friends, Jesus' family
business is the Kingdom of God.

Jesus' friends have the privilege of sitting down with the Master and understanding his Kingdom. Yes, he
is King, but he is inviting them to share in his Kingdom, to be part of his administration, to "rule and
reign with Christ" (2 Timothy 2:12; Revelation 5:10; 20:4). The Twelve became the foundation for the
Church that mushroomed in the first century and beyond.

In teaching his disciples all about his Kingdom over three years, Jesus is explaining the inner workings,
the philosophy behind his Kingdom, how to heal, how to pray, how to trust, how to undergo and
understand persecution. Jesus spoke in parables to the crowds, which included his enemies, "but when
he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything" (Mark 4:34).

You are Jesus' friend. You get to share in his joy and plans for the future. You get to be a participant in
advancing his kingdom. What a wonderful privilege. Value it!

Q7. (John 15:12-15) What is required to be counted a "friend of Jesus"? What

privileges do "friends" enjoy according to verse 15? What happens when we take
for granted this privilege?
http://www.joyfulheart.com/forums/topic/1513-q7-friends-of-jesus/

Chosen and Appointed to Bear Fruit (15:16-17)

Now, as he concludes this part of the Farewell Discourses, Jesus reminds his disciples that they didn't
become Friends by their own choice or hard work. He chose them!
 "16 You did not choose[665] me, but I chose you and appointed[666]you to go and bear
fruit -- fruit that will last (menō). Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my
name.
17 This is my command: Love each other." (15:16-17)

Jesus sums up in verses 16-17. He reminds them of answered prayer (15:17; 16:23, 26) and his
command to love one another (13:34; 15:12), which he had developed earlier in the Farewell
Discourses. In Lesson 28(16:25-28), we'll discuss Jesus' comment here that the Father will answer prayer
made in Jesus' name.

Notice that Jesus adds the element of election in verse 16 -- God's choice and God's appointment.
Popular evangelical terminology tends to cloud this point of election. We speak of "accepting Christ," of
"receiving Christ," of "being born again," as if it were our choice. We come back here to the mystery of
predestination that we discussed at 6:37-44 (Lesson 14). Surely we must "accept" Christ, we must
"receive" him, and we must be "born again." But we don't initiate this. He does. And we must respond
to our destiny, unless we are fools who resist Christ and finally turn from him.

Certainly, Jesus chose, commissioned, and appointed the Twelve. But the Great Commission extends not
just to them, but to all whom they lead to the Master, to the third and fourth generation of Christ
followers, on and on until Christ returns. Until then you and I are appointed to "go and bear fruit -- fruit
that will last."

Come soon, Lord Jesus!

Lessons for Disciples

This has been a very rich passage, replete with important lessons for Jesus'
disciples:

1. Messiah Jesus becomes the New Israel, the true vine from which all
believers draw their life (15:1).
2. God's "pruning" or correction/discipline is necessary so that our lives
become more like Christ's and bear the fruit of his character (15:2).
Entire study is
3. Listening to and obeying Jesus' words has a cleansing effect on our lives available inpaperback,
(15:3). Kindle, and PDF
formats.
4. An intimate and continuing connection of faith in and obedience to Jesus
is necessary so that our lives bear fruit in his character (15:4).
5. We dwell in Christ and he dwells in us -- a mutual indwelling. We are not alone! (15:5).
6. When we try to accomplish spiritual work in our own strength the result is small. We can do
nothing that has a lasting result without relying on Jesus' strength through us. We must
practice dependence on him, not independence from him (15:5a).
7. One of the blessings of abiding in Christ and letting his words and character infuse us, is
answered prayer, since we'll be much more likely to be praying according to his will (15:7).
8. The fruit Jesus grows in us consists of godly character, as well as effectiveness of whatever
mission he calls us to (15:8).
9. Abiding in Christ means loving him, which results in willing obedience to his commands
(15:10).
10. Jesus doesn't want us to operate as unthinking servants, but as friends, willing and
knowledgeable participants in growing his Kingdom (15:14-15).
11. We've been chosen by God and appointed to produce lasting fruit for his Kingdom (15:16).

Prayer

Father, thank you for including us in your vine. Help us to accept your pruning with trust. Help us to rely
on Jesus so that we bear his fruit and so glorify you. Thank you for the immense privilege of being Jesus'
friends. In his holy name, we pray. Amen.

Key Verses

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener." (John 15:1, NIV)
"He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear
fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful." (John 15:2, NIV)
"Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must
remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me." (John 15:4,
NIV)
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear
much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is
like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into
the fire and burned." (John 15:5-6, NIV)
"If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be
given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to
be my disciples." (John 15:7-8, NIV)
"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than
this, that he lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:12-13, NIV)
"You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a
servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for
everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you." (John 15:14-15,
NIV)
"You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit -- fruit
that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name." (John 15:16,
NIV)
Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
John 15:4

John 15:3 John 15 John 15:5

"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it
abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.
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Adam Clarke Commentary

Abide in me - Hold fast faith and a good conscience; and let no trials turn you aside from the truth. And I
will abide in you - ye shall receive every help and influence from me that your souls can require, in order
to preserve and save them to eternal life.

These two things are absolutely necessary to our salvation:

1. That we continue closely united to Christ by faith and love, and live in and to him.

2. That we continually receive from him the power to do good; for as the branch, however good in itself,
cannot bear fruit from itself, through its own juice, which it has already derived from the tree, and can be
no longer supported than it continues in union with the parent stock, neither can ye, unless ye abide in
me. As the branch partakes of the nature of the tree, is nourished by its juice, and lives by its life, so ye
must be made partakers of my Divine nature, be wise in my wisdom, powerful in my might, and pure
through my holiness.

Copyright Statement
These files are public domain.

Bibliography
Clarke, Adam. "Commentary on John 15:4". "The Adam Clarke Commentary". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/acc/john-
15.html. 1832.

return to 'Jump List'

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

Abide in me - Remain united to me by a living faith. Live a life of dependence on me, and obey my
doctrines, imitate my example, and constantly exercise faith in me.

And I in you - That is, if you remain attached to me, I will remain with you, and will teach, guide, and
comfort you. This he proceeds to illustrate by a reference to the vine. If the branch should be cut off an
instant, it would die and be fruitless. As long as it is in the vine, “from the nature of the case,” the parent
stock imparts its juices, and furnishes a constant circulation of sap adapted to the growth and fruitfulness
of the branch. So our piety, if we should be separate from Christ, or if we cease to feel our union to him
and dependence on him, withers and droops. While we are united to him by a living faith, from the nature
of the case, strength flows from him to us, and we receive help as we need. Piety then, manifested in
good works, in love, and self-denial, is as natural, as easy, as unconstrained. and as lovely as the vine
covered with fruitful branches is at once useful and enticing.

Copyright Statement
These files are public domain.

Bibliography
Barnes, Albert. "Commentary on John 15:4". "Barnes' Notes on the New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bnb/john-15.html. 1870.

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The Biblical Illustrator
John 15:4
Abide in Me, and I in you

Abiding in Christ

I.
TO WHOM THE COMMAND IS GIVEN. To those who are already in Him.

1. We are at first in nature, possessed merely of the powers of nature, as understanding, will,
affections; but we must be in grace, which raises us above nature, purifies all our faculties, and
directs them to a proper end.
2. We are naturally in the flesh influenced and governed by the body, its appetites, and senses
(Genesis 6:5; John 3:5-6). We must be in the Spirit under the influence and government of His
motions and graces.
3. We are naturally in Belial (Ephesians 2:2; 1 John 5:18); inspired, deceived, deluded, corrupted by
him; but we must be in Christ.
4. How?

II. WHAT THIS COMMAND IMPLIES.

1. It implies that we are to retain this knowledge, faith, love, interest, union with Christ; which may be
lost (Colossians 1:23; John 15:9-10; Romans 11:22; Hebrews 10:38). Now, we retain these
2. To illustrate this: we must abide in Christ, as a branch in a tree, which is supported by it, adheres to
it, grows in it, and becomes verdant and fruitful by the virtue derived from it; as a hand in a body,
from which it receives its warmth, life, activity, and usefulness; as a man slayer in the city of
refuge, for he would be safe only while abiding in the consecrated city; so we are in danger of
being overtaken by the curse and wrath of God, unless we have fled to Christ and continue in
Him; as a besieged citizen in a garrison, for we are surrounded and attacked by various enemies;
as passengers in a ship, for we are on the sea of this world, tossed with the winds and waves,
proceeding on our voyage for the port of eternal bliss, and our safety depends on being in the
ship.

III. THE PROMISE MADE TO THOSE THAT KEEP IT AND THE ADVANTAGES RESULTING
THEREFROM.

1. Christ will abide in us

2. Hence we shall have pardon, acceptance, adoption, safety, access. All our prayers shall be heard
(John 15:7; Mark 11:24). We shall abound in the fruits of righteousness (John 15:5-6; 2
Corinthians 9:8).

IV. HOW WE MAY BE ENABLED TO KEEP THE COMMAND.

 1. By abiding in a belief of His word, and holding fast all the doctrines, precepts, promises, and
threatenings of the Scripture. By continuing to attend the ordinances, public, domestic, social, and
private.
2. By guarding against hypocrisy, formality, and lukewarmness, in the use of all ordinances, and
maintaining sincerity, spirituality, and fervour therein.
3. By conscientiously keeping His commandments, carefully shunning sins of commission and
omission, and whatever is calculated to grieve His Spirit.
4. By guarding against an evil heart of unbelief (Hebrews 3:12), and “holding fast our confidence.” By
guarding against the love of this present world. (J. Benson.)

Christ the True Vine

“I am the True Vine.”

I. Christ sets forth the GENUINENESS of His union with His disciples.

II. In the REALITY AND COMPLETENESS of His life-giving power Christ infinitely excels all His
forerunners and types.

III. This relationship is much NEARER than that of the shepherd with the sheep.

IV. This union is COMPREHENSIVE, embracing many besides those who are usually recognized as
believers. “Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit.”

V. Our union with Christ should be CONSTANT. Twelve times in this allegory the word “abide” is used.
They were in danger of unfaithfulness and apostasy. Christ sought to fortify them. He assured them that
He would keep them if they would trust Him.

VI. This communion is one of LOVE (John 15:9-16). “As the Father hath loved Me, even so have I
loved you.” “Abide in My love.” The believer lives in the love of Christ. Christ loves all men; but He
manifests His love in a peculiar manner to those whose hearts are given to Him. If we love God, we will
delight in His character, we will be drawn by those Divine attributes which Jesus reveals. Love of a holy
Being implies hatred of sin. The Spirit convicts the loving heart of sin. Is my fruit recognized as Divine
fruit, such fruit as Christ bore?

1. One of the fruits of union with Christ according to this lesson is patience under discipline (John
15:1-3). “My Father is the Husbandman.” “He purgeth it,” etc. “Ye are clean through the Word,”
etc. The lot of Jesus was one of severe trial.” He was made “perfect through suffering.” Those
who become Christ-like must expect Christ-like trials. The believer can maintain his union with
Christ only by uncompromising opposition to every form of evil.
2. Another result of this union is the spirit of dependence on Christ (John 15:4-5). “Apart from Me ye
can do nothing.” This sense of dependence on Christ, instead of paralyzing human energy,
becomes the source of its power. It enables the soul to look up and confidently exclaim with the
apostle, “I can do all things in Him that strengtheneth Me.”
 3. This suggest another fruit of union with Christ, namely, life (John 15:6-8). “If a man abide not in Me,
he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered.” Christ came that we might have life. All the vital juices of the
branch and its power to bear fruit come from the vine. So, for every good desire we ever formed, or good
word we ever spoke, or good deed we ever did, evidencing a renewed life in us, we are indebted to
Christ. He “is our life.” (G. H.Cheney.)

Abiding in Christ

“Believe on Christ” is the gospel to the world. “Abide in Christ” is the gospel to the Church. We cannot
think too much of Christ for us, but we may think far too little of Christ in us; yet for perfect salvation we
need both. Notice that this is

I. A CALL TO CONSCIOUS VITAL UNION WITH OUR LORD. This implies

1. A realization that of ourselves we can do nothing, that we are mere dead branches apart from Him!
We live too much as though we were trees, as though by our own power we were to do God’s
will, and we have striven, and then groaned over the inevitable failure. Now, says Christ, be
satisfied to be a branch.
2. An assurance that the fulness of Christ is ours. That is involved in the figure, and is stated in the
chapter. He goes on to say (as its consequence) that what He has, they share. They are to share
3. A surrender of ourselves to Christ for His purposes. For the branch exists for the tree.

II. THE FIGURE OF THE VINE SUGGESTS HOW THIS CALL MAY BE FULFILLED. The words show
that the responsibility is with us. Christ can only bless according to our willingness; and willingness is
proved by readiness to seek the blessing. “Abide in Me, and I in you” is a command; it is ours, therefore,
to fulfil it. And we ask How? Remember there are degrees in this union; some are more closely joined to
Christ than others, and receive more of His life; and this is due to their growth into Him, they have struck
the fibres of their spiritual being deeper and yet deeper into His being, and thus are close knit to Him.

1. We need the cords of meditation and prayer to bind us to Him more firmly. The formal prayer, the
ill-studied Bible, the almost deserted closet, are the destruction of the hopes held out in the text.
The weather soon loosens the old cords, and through perpetual communion they must be
perpetually renewed.
2. We need the putting away of whatever would come between Christ and us. Sin hinders Christ
giving, for He will not give to sin. Sin weakens our desire and faith, that is, our power of receiving.
So everything in any degree contrary to Christ must be put away.
3. We need the ceaseless drawing by faith on His fulness.

III. FROM THIS WOULD COME THAT SPIRITUAL FRUIT BEARING WHICH IS GOD’S WILL. There
would be

1. The natural growth of personal holiness. It is a common thought that before Christ can enter into us
we must put out evil. That is not the order. Let Christ in and He will put out the evil, as light puts
out darkness.
 2. A heart at rest. The poverty of our resources is our perpetual fear; loneliness and care are with
some a perpetual grief. But would not that be altered if we consciously abode in Christ?
3. Christ’s power working through us. Think of being the channel for the will of Jesus. (C. New.)

Mutual abiding

I. THE DUTY ENJOINED.

1. Abide in Me. It has been justly said, that the command is not abide with Me--near Me--or under Me;
but, in Me. The fruit-bearing branch is not only in the same place with the vine--near it, under its
shadow--it is in it, and it abides in it. The ideas suggested are, residence and continuance. It is as
if he had said, “Think as I think; feel as I feel; will as I will; choose as I choose; and let My views
of all objects and all events be yours, because they are Mine; let My feelings, My volitions, My
choices, all be yours, and let them be yours because they are Mine. Prosecute My ends--use My
means--rely on Me, entirely on Me. Let My wisdom be your wisdom--My righteousness your
righteousness--My strength your strength. Come out of yourselves. Come out of the creature.
Come into Me.” It is faith that thus unites us to the Saviour, and it is continued faith which keeps
us thus united to the Saviour.
2. Let Me abide in you. What is meant by Christ’s abiding in His people? The best answer is at the
seventh verse, and 1 John 3:24. Christ abides in His people, by continuously making them,
through the agency of the Holy Spirit, and the instrumentality of His word, understood and
believed under His influence, think along with Him--feel, choose, enjoy along with
Him. Christ is so “formed in them” that it is not so much they who live, as Christ who lives in them.
2. What is the import of the injunction, “Let Me dwell in you”? Christ never does come into any man,
so as to dwell in him, against the man’s will Were the thing possible, it would be to degrade man
into a mere machine, and involve the incongruity, than which none can be greater, that He who of
old inhabited His own eternity, and has heaven for His throne and earth for His footstool, should,
as if in want of a house, force an entrance where He was not desired. But His language is,
“Behold, I stand at the door,” etc.
3. The two parts of the injunction are closely connected. Christians will abide in Christ just in the
degree in which they let Christ abide in them.

II. THE MOTIVES BY WHICH THE INJUNCTION IS ENFORCED.

1. Compliance with the injunction is necessary to prevent unfruitfulness and its fearful consequences.
A vine branch by itself can bring forth nothing, not even blossoms or leaves. All men are naturally
unholy and unprofitable. There is no way in which they can be made fruitful, except by being cut
off from their original stock, the first Adam, and being grafted into Him who is the True Vine.
When men are awakened to a sense of the dangers of a state of spiritual barrenness, they often
endeavour to become “fruitful of themselves.” They go about to make themselves holy by the
works of the law: but the thing is impossible. There is no good fruit but what is the product of
Divine influence; and no channel for Divine influence to flow into the human heart, but the
mediation of Jesus Christ. It is not, “Without Me ye can do little”; it is, “Without Me ye can do
nothing.” It is not, “Without Me ye will do nothing”--that is true too--but it is, “Without Me ye can do
 nothing.” It is not, “Without Me you can accomplish--finish--nothing”; it is, “Without Me ye can do
nothing.”
2. Compliance with this injunction alone can, and certainly will, secure fruitfulness, with all its blessed
results. No stream without a fountain; no fountain, unless obstructed, without a stream. Three
effects are mentioned by our Lord

Branches not mechanically in the vine

It is, of course, possible to attach a bough or branch either to the stem of a vine or the trunk of any
other tree by artificial means, and so to secure a kind of external union therewith. A length of cord or iron
wire may accomplish a poor and pitiful result like that; but the stem knows it not and the branch is
withered, however painfully and skilfully art may struggle to endorse the lie. In the same way we may be
mechanically and externally united to the visible Church of Christ. That is entirely an affair of contrivance,
a mere matter of ligature or glue. It is altogether and at most a concern of nomination, register or
ceremonial. But let it be remembered that this is in itself stark naught. Never a rotten branch on the floor
of a forest, a branch that breaks and crackles beneath the foot of a passer-by, is more dead than we are,
if the hasp and staple of Church membership, if the hook and eye of registration, if the glue of mere
sectarian adhesion, if the paint of mere external profession are all that holds us on to the Christ of God.
(J. J.Wray.)

Union with Christ the means of salvation

Of the precise origin of the late civil war in America I am not quite sure; but I am told it was a perverse
misunderstanding on the subject of slavery. The North was against the slave trade, the South for it; and
so both parties appealed to arms. But be that as it may, one thing is clear: not many months passed
before the question of slavery was swallowed up in the most important question of the Union--the Union
of the States. Who is for or against the slave? There the conflict began. Who is for or against the Union?
There it finished. Neither am I quite certain of the first cause of the prolonged controversy between earth
and heaven, man and God. A rumour was afloat in my native neighbourhood that it all began in a slight
misunderstanding touching a certain apple tree in the garden of Eden. But be that as it may, the question
of the apple tree has been long ago swallowed up in the more important question of the union--the union
with the Son. Salvation hinges not on such questions as what was the first sin, or who is the greatest
sinner? but upon the simple straightforward question--Who is for or against the union with Jesus Christ?
Do you believe in the only-begotten Son? (J. C. Jones, D. D.)

Union with Christ and fruitfulness

The villages in Persia may be derided into two classes: those of the plains, treeless, sterile and poor;
and those of the mountains, where the springs and torrents encourage the growth of plane, mulberry,
poplar trees, and orchards, and allow channels for the nourishment of plantations. Elevation means
fertility here. (H. O.Mackey.)

The reciprocities of personal salvation

I. CHRIST IN THE BELIEVER.

 1. How.
2. When.
3. Why.

II. THE BELIEVER IN CHRIST.

1. How.
2. When.
3. Why. (S. S. Times.)

Union with Christ

1. A spiritual union (1 Corinthians 6:17; 1Co_12:13; 1 John 3:24; 1Jn_4:13).

2. A vital union (John 14:19; Galatians 2:20).
3. It embraces our entire persons, our bodies through our spirits (1 Corinthians 6:15; 1Co_6:19).
4. It is a legal or federal union, so that all of our legal or covenant responsibilities rest upon Christ,
and all of His legal or covenant merits accrue to us …
5. This union is between the believer and the person of the God-man in His office as mediator (John
14:23; Joh_17:21; Joh_17:23). (A. A. Hodge.)

Abide in Christ

Be like Milton’s angel, who lived in the sun. Abide in Christ, and let His words abide in you. Closer,
closer, closer, this is the way to spiritual wealth. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

The entire dependence of sanctity on Christ

1. “Without Me,” in John 15:5, should rather be rendered, “Apart from Me,” “separate from Me,” “in
state of independence on Me.” “Without” the assistance of a strong person, a weak one cannot lift
a heavy weight; but the dependence of the weak on the strong in order to lift the weight, is not the
dependence which the word here employed indicates. “Apart from” the soul the body is
motionless, and cannot stir a finger. This is the sort of dependence indicated here.
2. The subject brought before us is, that the sanctification of the Christian, like his justification, is
entirely dependent upon our Lord. As regards our justification, this is clearly seen (at least in the
Reformed Churches) and generally admitted. But it is thought that, unlike justification (which is
something that passes on the sinner externally to him, a sentence of acquittal in consideration of
Our Lord’s merits), sanctification is an achievement mastered--much as a lesson is mastered--by
a variety of exercises, prayers, almsdeeds, sacraments, etc., and when mastered, a sort of
permanent acquisition, which goes on increasing as the stock of these spiritual exercises
accumulates. It is not regarded in its true light as a momentary receiving out of Christ’s fulness
grace for grace, as the result of His inworking in a heart, which finds the task of self-renewal
hopeless, and makes itself over to Him, to be moulded by Him.
3. Let us take two illustrations
 I. Take heed, first, that YE ABIDE IN ME. This is done by faith. As we first consciously entered into
fellowship with Christ by faith, so there is no other way to abide in Him, than by repeated exercises of the
same faith. The faith which enables the soul to abide in Christ is nothing else than an assured trust and
confidence that, as He has already wrought out for us our acceptance with God, so He will work in us
every gracious disposition which is necessary to qualify us for glory. It is not enough to supplicate these
graces; we must lean upon Him for them, and fix the eye of expectation upon the promise of His new
covenant: “I will put My laws into their mind,” etc. And as without holiness no man shall (or can) see the
Lord, must not Christ be much more earnestly anxious to make us holy, than we can be to be made so? If
we do not believe in this earnest anxiety of His, do we believe in His love at all? Ah! what if these
struggles to be holy should themselves be in a certain sense a token of unbelief? What if the poor bird
imprisoned in the cage should be thinking that, if it is ever to gain its liberty, it must be by its own
exertions, and by vigorous and frequent strokes of its wings against the bars? If it did so, it would ere long
fall back breathless and exhausted, faint and sore, and despairing. And the soul will have a similar
experience, which thinks that Christ has indeed won pardon and acceptance for her, but that
sanctification she must win for herself, and under this delusion beats herself sore in vain efforts to correct
the propensities of a heart which the Word of God pronounces to be “desperately” wicked. That heart,--
you can make nothing of it yourself;--leave it to Christ, in quiet dependence upon His grace. Suffer Him
toopen the prison doors for you, and then you shall fly out and hide yourself in your Lord’s bosom, and
there find rest.

II. LET ME ABIDE IN YOU. Christ thus teaches us that ordinances, as well as faith, form part of His
religion. In order to fruitfulness the sap must rise from the vine stock, and pass into the branch, this is the
abiding of the vine in the branch. Similarly Christ must continually send up into our heart a current of holy
inspirations, new loves, good impulses, devout hopes--i.e., communicate Himself to the soul by the
continual influx of the Holy Ghost. And this is made specially in the Supper of the Lord. Of course the
Divine allegory quite precludes the supposition that without faith in the recipient the Holy Supper will avail
anything. The vine stock may push upwards its sap in strong current, at the first outburst of the genial
spring; but what will that avail the branch, which does not hold closely to the tree, which is half broken off
from the stem, and the fracture filled up with dust, or corroded by insects? Christ may offer Himself to us
in the Lord’s Supper; but, if the soul cleaves not to Him, if the avenues of the heart are not open towards
Him, how can He enter? (Dean Goulburn.)