Abide In Christ John 15:4-5

Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine. No more can you, except you abide in Me. I am the vine and you are the branches. He who abides in Me the same brings forth much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.




Jesus is speaking and His admonition to us is to abide in Him. As we abide in Him, He is able to abide in us. It is our responsibility to respond to His Word and to follow His direction. God gives us the help that we need in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to say no to sin and to follow the Lord’s direction. When we surrender ourselves to the Lord’s leadership, we are like the branch that is attached to the vine and the real meaning of the illustration is the fact that the branch by itself cannot do anything on its own. When the branch comes off, it dies.

Jesus is the vine. Jesus is the single source of life for us. When we are grafted into Him, we have life. When we abide in Him, He is able to give us the life that He came to give to us. He told His disciples, “I am come that you might have life and have it more abundantly.” As we abide in Him, He is able to give us this life. Jesus says, “I am the vine and you are the branches; He who abides in Me the same brings forth much fruit, for without Me you can do nothing.”

When we abide in Christ, we will bear much fruit. This fruit comes in a variety of ways. First of all, our lives will be fruitful to ourselves. When Christ is able to be all in all that we are and all that we do, our lives will reflect His presence and His glory. We will experience peace in our hearts and joy in our walk as God is able to bless us and do what only He can do for us. We will then be fruitful in our witness.

As God molds and shapes our daily walk by influencing our decisions, our witness changes. As our lives take on new meaning and purpose and our priorities change, people will see the difference and it is that difference in our attitudes and our actions that God is able to use to prick the hearts of those that need Him. As we abide in Him, His life flows into us and that life flows out of us to touch all those that come in contact with us.

Life is at its fullest when it is shared with others. Jesus wants us to abide in Him so that He can share Himself with us. He wants us to abide in Him so that He can give us life to share with others as well. Prayer brings God’s presence into our lives. God’s presence in our life gives us life.