“I am the vine, and ye are the branches: He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.” John 15:5
As the words of Christ reveal to us, abiding in Him is essential if we, by the Spirit, should bring forth fruit, or believe Him to be in and through us all that He desires to be. It must first be established in the minds of believers that the matter of abiding is an essential act, attitude, and commitment to Christ, to derive all from Him by deliberate faith. How can we understand what abiding means, see the importance of it, and grasp something of the possibilities and results of it in the life?
The Lord Jesus gives us first an illustration, which reveals a very important truth. He declares that He is the Vine, the only true Vine, there being no other. True believers in Christ who have been born of the Spirit, by virtue of the Father placing them IN Christ when they believed, have been placed in an inseparable spiritual union with Christ. The believer is a new creation in Christ by virtue of the fact that Christ has now become His Life, His eternal Life. The Apostle Paul affirms this when he writes to the Philippians, “…For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Phil. 1:21) He goes on to elaborate on this relationship with Christ by writing to the Colossians: “…When Christ, who IS our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory.” (3:4) Before one’s conversion to Christ, one was detached, separated from the Vine, having NO life eternal, “…dead in sins,” (Eph. 2:5), “…having no hope, and without God in the world.” (Eph. 2:12) But, when the Father placed the believing, saved sinner into Christ, in living union with Him, He grafted him into the living Vine, from there receiving every resource from Christ, to glorify Him by the doing of His will, and the fulfilling of his calling. All fruit, or the manifestation of the indwelling Christ by the Spirit, revealed and shown forth from the life is now certainly that of Christ for His glory and honor. The question then becomes, “How are we to abide consistently in Christ?” It is one thing to know the truth of one’s union with Christ, but quite another to live in the reality of it, knowing the blessing of God upon the life.
Throughout Scripture there are many examples of believers who, whether facing a battle with adversaries, or seeking God earnestly in times of great need, plant their feet, take their position, either prostrate before God, or standing resolutely to hear what He will say to them, and respond accordingly. They do set themselves steadfastly to believe God to meet them, and He does. The same is true of abiding, for the believer must take his stand by faith upon the written word of God concerning his union with Christ. Baptized into Jesus Christ, the believer has been sealed in Him, to live by and for Him.
As to the outworking of abiding, it is both an act of faith, and an attitude to be maintained. Through Paul’s letters, God reveals to us what He taught Paul concerning this matter of consistently walking with Him. Paul wrote to the Philippians, and also to the Thessalonians basically the same thing. To master what he declares, which is the word of God, is to learn to abide consistently in Christ. He writes: “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.” (4:4) The delight of the soul is to be in Christ, our affection always to be upon Him, finding our joy fully in Him. Secondly, we are to have a good disposition towards all men, the Lord being our example, and enablement. Thirdly, we are to be anxious for nothing, but prayerful, in all things praying, giving Christ access to every need. Lastly, we are to live in peace, being led by God’s peace, His word abiding in us.
Dear Father, Strengthen us to abide. In Jesus’ name, Amen.