In John 15:1-9, Jesus describes Himself as the true vine and instructs His disciples to abide in Him. When we come to Jesus in faith, we turn from our sins and are baptized into Him (Rom. 6:3; Gal. 3:27). We must continue to live and abide in Him. Jesus said, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). Paul exhorted, “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving” (Col. 2:6, 7).
Abiding in Christ means we hold firmly to His teaching. Jesus said to those who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (Jn 8:31, 32). Our fellowship with God is contingent on our abiding in the doctrine of Christ, “Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son” (2 John 9). First John 2:24 states, “Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.” Paul told Timothy to “continue in the things which you have learned” (2 Tim. 3:14). Paul highlighted the danger of leaving true doctrine for false doctrine; he dispatched Timothy to Ephesus to charge some to teach no other doctrine (1 Tim. 1:3). In his second epistle, he charged Timothy to preach the word, warning of a time when people would not endure sound doctrine but would instead gather false teachers to scratch their itching ears (2 Tim. 4:2-4). Doctrine matters. What we believe matters greatly.
Furthermore, abiding in Christ is more than an intellectual exercise. Our entire lives are to be transformed to be more like Him. We are to abide in Him, the true vine, and bear much fruit as His disciples (Jn. 15:8). We keep His commandments and abide in His love (Jn. 15:10). Consider how the apostle John further explains this in his first epistle:
Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked. (1 John 2:3-6).
James instructs us to not merely be hearers of the word, but doers (James 1:22-25). The foolish man who built his house on the sand heard the words of Jesus; his destruction came because he did not put them into practice (Mt. 7:26).
The most vital relationship we will ever have is our union to Christ, the true vine. We are dependent on Him for producing fruit and having eternal life. Without Him, we can do nothing (Jn. 15:5). Don’t let anyone or anything tear you away from Him.
