The Gospel Of John Chapter 15 Pt. 5 Abiding In Christ & God's Word Abiding In Us

Jesus is expounding unto His disciples (and by extension to all Christians), what it means that He is the true vine, and we are branches connected to Him.

What we have seen so far is that Jesus Christ is the true vine, who remained faithful to the Father throughout His earthly ministry. 

We also learned that the Father is like a landowner/gardener who takes care of the vine. 

Dead wood (Unbelievers) is taken away and the living branches (Christians) are lovingly pruned, so that we bring forth more fruit for the kingdom of God.

Pruning involves cutting away useless "suckers" that consume resources but never bear fruit. 

What "suckers" are present in our lives that the Father wants to prune and remove? Worldliness, fleshly lusts, pleasure seeking, and pride would certainly be things He wants to prune.

The "fruit" refers to unbelievers who are converted to Jesus Christ, as we share the gospel with them. 

Those who abide in Christ are truly blessed!

John 15:5-7  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. 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. 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. 

Jesus Christ is the true vine and each believer is grafted into God's vine. 

Nine times in this chapter, Jesus speaks of our need to "abide" in Him because He is the true vine. 

"Abiding" describes permanently remaining or staying in a spiritual relationship with Jesus Christ. 

We must "abide" in Christ, which means we have an enduring faith that does not waver. It means we have chosen to be a disciple of Jesus for the rest of our lives. 

There is a great blessing for us when we abide in Christ. We will bring forth much fruit. 

We encounter problems if we do not abide in Christ. We abide in Him through Bible reading, meditating on His truth, praying to Him and loving Him with our whole being.

Without abiding in Christ, we can do nothing. We cannot do what is right in the sight of God. We cannot advance His kingdom purposes. 

A person who does not abide in Christ, with a believing, loving, obedient spirit is cut off from Jesus, the vine. 

This is a description of the fearful state of hypocrites who are not in Christ, and of unbelievers who never have abided in Christ.

A person who does not abide in Christ withers and is deprived of all the influences of God’s grace and Spirit. He becomes indifferent, cold, and dead to every holy and spiritual word and work.

A person who does not abide in Christ is gathered through the judgment of God.  He is cast into the fire, separated from God’s people, from God himself, and from the glory of his power. 

He is burned and  eternally tormented with the devil and his angels, and with all those who died in their iniquity. 

Jesus brings this before all Christians, to remind us that the reason He saved us, is to do the Great Commission work of evangelizing the lost. 

God is not willing that any should perish. He wants all people to hear the gospel of Christ, learn of their sins, see the wretched condition of their soul. 

They must hear this before they hear the good news about Jesus Christ, our Savior. Then they may turn to Jesus Christ with repentant faith (See 1 Timothy 2:1-6; 2 Peter 3:9). 

Abiding in Christ means having the Word of God abide in us. 

John 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.  

Jesus emphasizes that the Word of God must abide in us, because that is a key for us to abide in Him.

Jesus knew all of the Old Testament scriptures, and He certainly knew every aspect of why we need to have, the Word of God abiding in our soul.

He connects having a fervent, effective prayer life with the scriptures abiding in us. We cannot pray properly and according to the will of God, if His Word is not in our heart. 

Consider a few verses from Psalm 119 which is the longest chapter in the Bible. This Psalm directly references the scriptures 168 times in 176 verses! 

Reasons why we must have the scriptures abide in us. 

Psalm 119:11  Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

The Word of God helps restrain us from sinning.  

Psalm 119:16  I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word. 

The Word of God brings great delight to our soul.

Psalm 119:25  DALETH. My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word. 

The Word of God has reviving, life giving power to raise us up when we are weary in well doing.

Psalm 119:72  The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver. 

The Word of God is better for us than any precious thing on earth. 

Psalm 119:105  NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

The Word of God shows us the dangers of sin in our path, so that we can avoid falling. It shows us the path that God wants us to walk on, so that we can live a holy life. 

Psalm 119:114  Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word. 

The Word of God teaches us that Jehovah is our hiding place, a shelter in the time of storm. He fills us with great hope from His Word. 

Psalm 119:127  Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold. 

The Word of God strengthens our love for God and others, and builds our commitment to love and serve Him with all our being. 

Psalm 119:130  The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple. 

The Word of God can break through the darkest human soul, with life giving light from God. 

Psalm 119:133  Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me. 

It is right to ask God to order or guide our steps as we read and study His Word. 

Psalm 119:156  Great are thy tender mercies, O LORD: quicken me according to thy judgments. 

The Word of God tells us about the tender mercies God has for those who put their faith in Him.

Psalm 119:160  Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever. 

The Word of God declares truth from God. It is pure, wholesome, unadulterated truth that we can fully trust. 

Having the scriptures abide in us is key to bearing fruit for God. 

John 15:8  Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

When we abide in Jesus Christ the true vine, and His Word abides in us, we can be productive Christians. God can and will use us to advance His kingdom purposes.

Abiding in Christ and having His Word abide in us brings honor and glory to our heavenly Father.  

Thoughts to Ponder...

How wonderful it is when we abide in Christ and His Word abides in us. This union with the Father through His Son, Jesus Christ, is precious and life changing.

God saved us and He has expectations on how we should live. He gives very clear and understandable commandments to guide us.

Thus, we are not to love the world, because any man who loves the world does not have the love of the Father in him (See 1 John 2:15-17).

Ephesians 2:8-10  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9)  Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10)  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. 

Paul tells us about being saved by the wonderful grace of God, through repentant faith in Christ. 

Our salvation is entirely a grace work of God, and we cannot earn it by any works that we might do.

However, God saved us in order to tell us how we should live for His glory. 

This connects with Jesus telling us to abide in Him and His Word in us, so that we might be fruit producing Christians. 

We must abide in Christ because God saved us, so that we might do the good things He planned for us to do, in Christ. 

God's Word must abide in us, as this impacts every facet of our spiritual life and our walk with the Lord.

May the Spirit of God grant us a full understanding of these wonderful truths, and may He empower us to live it out.

Bob