What does it mean to abide in Christ?

Christ, then, was the true Vine; the Father, the Husbandman; the eleven were the branches. They were to abide in Him, which is realised by not thinking to produce any fruit except as in Him, looking to Him first. Christ precedes fruit. It is dependence, practical habitual nearness of heart to Him, and trust in Him, being attached to Him through dependence on Him. In this way Christ in them would be a constant source of strength and of fruit. He would be in them. Out of Him they could do nothing. If, by abiding in Him, they had the strength of His presence, they should bear much fruit. Moreover, "if a man" (He does not say "they"; He knew them as true branches and clean) did not abide in Him, he should be cast forth to be burnt. Again, if they abode in Him (that is, if there was the constant dependence that draws from the source), and if the words of Christ abode in them, directing their hearts and thoughts, they should command the resources of divine power; they should ask what they would, and it should be done. But, further, the Father had loved the Son divinely while He dwelt on earth. Jesus did the same with regard to them. They were to abide in His love. In the former verses it was in Him, here it is in His love. By keeping His Father's commandments, He had abode in His love; by keeping the commandments of Jesus, they should abide in His. Dependence (which implies confidence, and reference to Him on whom we depend for strength, as unable to do anything without Him, and so clinging close to Him) and obedience, are the two great principles of practical life here below. Thus Jesus walked as man: He knew by experience the true path for His disciples. The commandments of His Father were the expression of what the Father was; by keeping them in the spirit of obedience, Jesus had ever walked in the communion of His love; had maintained communion with Himself. The commandments of Jesus when on earth were the expression of what He was, divinely perfect in the path of man. By walking in them, His disciples should be in the communion of His love. The Lord spoke these things to His disciples, in order that His joy should abide in them, and that their joy should be full.

To abide in Christ is to live in nearness to Him, depending on Him in communion, and drawing upon the infinite resources that are in Him where He now is in the Father’s presence. He only abides in us in the measure that we abide in Him, and His abiding in us is seen as we manifest His life. Christ dwelling in our hearts by faith gives Christ His true place in our affections, but it is by faith He dwells there, that is as the eye and heart are engaged with Him where He is so shall He have a dwelling place in our hearts.

To abide in Him, then, supposes not only the practical surrender of our wills, and distrust of ourselves, but clinging to Him in love, depending upon Him in our weakness, and communion with Him in His thoughts as made known in His word.

What then is the secret of living in any little measure the life of Christ? Is it not summed up in the Lord's own words, repeated four times in this passage, "Abide in Me"? This being so, we may ask, What is implied in these words? Do they not suggest a life lived in attachment of heart to Christ; in dependence upon Christ, and in communion with Christ?

Having settled the question as to your vital oneness with Christ, and that it is no mere matter of profession with you, though the subject of the Lord's words is really our responsibility as having professed identification with Him, you must next inquire as to what it is you are thinking about first and most. Is it your fruit-bearing or Christ? If it is your fruit-bearing it is self-occupation, and as a consequence the fruit will be both poor in quantity and quality. But if you have learnt what He means when He says, "Without ME ye can do nothing," and so have turned wholly to Him — the Source of your life, strength and energy — fruit will not be lacking. You abide in Him when you realize that you can't do without Him, and when you know that all you need is in Him. Two words cover it. He is INDISPENSABLE to you, and He is ALL-SUFFICIENT. To abide in Him is to cleave to Him with purpose of heart, as Acts 11:23 says, but it is more than that, for there it is a question of grace from Him, here it is life in Him and the grace which is the strength of that life. In abiding in Him you stay where grace has put you. When you came to Him at first in all your need as a sinner, you turned away from every other hope and helper and from all your own efforts to secure blessing. Then salvation and life for you were in Christ alone; now, "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him" (Col. 2:6-7). Go on as you began; as you found all you needed in Him for salvation, now find all you need in Him for fruit-bearing. Derive from Him, draw upon Him, cleave to Him, so that His life may find expression in you in fruit-bearing.

In John 15 the Lord has given us another condition — "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." (v. 7.) This is sometimes spoken of as a lower kind of prayer, but the slightest examination of the terms our Lord employs will dispel the misconception. True it is asking what we will, but this is preceded by a double condition. The first is, "If ye abide in me." Now abiding in Christ is the constant maintenance in our souls of our dependence upon Him for life, strength, and everything; a dependence as complete as that of the branch on the vine for its power to bear fruit. "Apart from me," He says, "ye can do nothing," anymore than the branch could bear fruit after it was severed from the vine. Whatever of life towards God, service in testimony, fruit-bearing of every kind, that flows out from His people, has its source in Him, and can only flow out through them, as the connection is maintained by abiding in Him, realizing that they are dependent on Him, that in this sense they live, move, and have their being in Him. Then He adds, "And my words abide in you." The two things must go together — abiding in Him and His words abiding in us. The first gives the secret of the power and the second the knowledge of His mind; for when His words abide — dwell in us — they become the source of His thoughts to us; yea, they form His mind, and as a consequence what we will is according to His will. This reveals to us that our prayers — the prayers that have power with God — flow from God's own mind as revealed in the Scriptures. An example of this may be found in the life of David. When the Lord sent Nathan the prophet to tell David that not he, but his son, should build Jehovah's house, and gave him promises concerning his own house, his throne, and kingdom, he went in and sat before the Lord with his heart overflowing with gratitude, and praise, and prayer; and, among others, he used these remarkable words, "Thou, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, hast revealed to thy servant, saying, I will build thee an house: therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee." (2 Samuel 7:27.) That is, David's prayer concerning his house was founded upon and formed by the gracious communications which Jehovah had been pleased to make. So likewise our truest prayers are those which spring from the word of God, the words of Christ, as in John, dwelling in our hearts, because we then pray in communion with, as well as according to, the divine mind, and hence necessarily also in the Holy Ghost.

In what way would the disciples be able to bear fruit while he was absent from them? Let us look at verse 4 of our chapter. '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.' The word 'abide' is used by John very frequently. It is rendered in different ways. Sometimes it is 'remain' and at other times it is 'continue', but all having the same basic meaning.

The Lord Jesus begins by alluding to the actual vine. There can be no fruit produced unless the branch abides in the vine. If the branch is severed from the tree there is no life or vitality and therefore no fruit. He then turns from the illustration from nature to the real spiritual meaning for the disciples. Fruitfulness is promoted by abiding in Christ. What does it really mean to do this? It may be more easily understood if we say, 'Keep close to the Lord! Draw all resource from Him.' In the book of Acts 11: 23 one of the Lord's servants, Barnabas by name, exhorted the saints 'that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.' The word 'cleave' is also the same word as 'abide' in the original. Verse 5 carries on the same theme. 'I am the vine, 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'. The matter of abiding is two way, 'abideth in me and I in him'. Two very important truths come out here. Firstly, it speaks of communion and intimacy. Secondly, 'I in him' suggests that Christ is expressed practically in life. Verse 6 refers to a branch with no vital connection with the vine; we would say in our day, a professor.

Following on to verse 7, the subject of the vine, which in a particular way, related to Israel, is discontinued. The theme is very simply that of 'abiding in Christ' into which we may fit as Christians. Also another theme is introduced here. 'If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.' 'my words' is a very important addition. The expression used does not mean the whole Word, but rather the Lord's words which are applicable to a particular situation. The subject of our praying comes in here. That which the Lord says is very striking, 'ye shall ask what ye will'. Of course if His words are abiding in us our asking will be according to His will. It is because of this that we have the assurance that 'it shall be done unto you'. Verse 8 completes this section of John 15. Bearing fruit glorifies the Father. When the Lord Jesus was here, He glorified the Father in every way. All the Father was in nature and character was seen in Him. The concept is very wonderful: if we are living Christ-like lives then the Father is glorified. This marks us out as Christ's disciples. Our words are so poor, the Scripture is so much better, 'Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples' (v. 8).

But here the Lord insists on more — the necessity and the importance of dependence on Him, of intimacy with Himself. This is to abide in Christ; and His word is, "Abide in Me, and I in you." It is not sovereign grace to the sinner, but His call to the disciple; and hence His abiding in us, as a matter of daily communion, depends on our abiding in Him. "As the branch cannot bear fruit from itself unless it abide in the vine, so neither (can) ye, unless ye abide in Me." Nothing simpler than the fact outwardly, nothing surer in our experience than that so it is inwardly. He, and He only, is the dwelling-place for the soul in this world of snare and danger, in this desert where no water is. Make Him the resource, make Him the object; and the sap, as it were, flows without hindrance, and fruit is borne. Without Him no teaching avails, and all religious excitement fails; bring Him in, confide in Him, and, no matter what the difficulty or the pain or the shame, no matter what the opposition or the detraction, He sustains the heart, and fruit-bearing follows.286 Apart from Him we can do nothing; with Him, all things. So said one who had learnt it well, "I have strength for all things in Him that giveth me power" (Phil. 4:13).

It seems scarcely needful to remark that the relation of head and body serves quite another purpose in Scripture, and must be kept wholly distinct. Heavenly grace forms that one body by the one Spirit united to the glorified Head; and therein we do not hear of rending, maiming, or cutting off. It is the church viewed as the object of Christ's unfailing love, till He present it to Himself in glory. Responsibility on earth under Divine government is another thing; and this, not the unfailing heavenly relationship of the Church, is taught by the Vine and its branches. Hence Calvinistic devices are as uncalled for as the Arminian assaults they are meant to avert. No one doubts that profession may fail. Life is eternal for all that; and in Christ there is nothing short of eternal life; but this is not the teaching of the Vine, any more than the unity of the body. It is a pity that learned commentators do not read with faith and care the Scriptures they essay to comment on.

In view of His impending departure to the Father, He would bind them together with the cords of Divine love. He says to them: “As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you: continue in My love.” Here it is in His love we are to abide. It is not only that we who have no resources in ourselves are to cling to Him in whom all fullness dwells, but we are to abide in the deep realization of the love that He has to us; and the way in which we are to do this is by walking in obedience. He says: “If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His love.” If we walk in disobedience we have a condemning heart, and the Holy Spirit is grieved, and therefore are we occupied with our own failures and not the love of Christ. But if we walk in obedience, intimacy with Him is maintained, and our confidence in Him remains unbroken. An obedient child walks in happy intimacy with his father and in the enjoyment of the love that belongs to the relationship of a son with a father, while a child walking in disobedience, though not without the knowledge of his father’s affection for him, is not in the enjoyment of that intimacy that is the privilege of every obedient child with a benevolent parent.

Being in Him, we are to "abide in Him;" which means, as we understand it, abide in the consciousness and power of being in Him. Now it is easy for any of us to say, "I abide in Him," but if so we must produce that which proves the claim to be real. Such an one "ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked." If we are in His life, and also in the power and enjoyment of it, that life is bound to express itself in our ways and activities just as it did in Him. The grace and power of our walk, compared with His, will be poor and feeble; yet it will be walk of the same order. The difference will not be in kind but only in degree.