John 15: Abide in me

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine dresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me."

(John 15:1-4)

Having spoken at length about his death, about being the way to the Father, and about the Holy Spirit, Jesus moves on to the 'what next?' of Christian living.  Maybe he is imagining his disciples several months down the line, having witnessed his his death, resurrection and ascension, having received the Holy Spirit who reminded them of the things that Jesus taught them, and through his inspiration finally understanding fully - realising their sins are washed away by Jesus' blood.  

What must they continue to do?  Jesus' answer is simple - 'abide in me'.  

The word abide, (also translated as remain) means to stay, to dwell in and to be held and kept.  It is far more than following Jesus from afar - Jesus promises that we can abide in him and he in us!  Jesus invites us to be part of the everlasting love of the Trinity.  There are no other hoops to jump through to get closer to God - Jesus has already opened the way fully ("Already you are clean because of the word I have spoken to you." (15:4)).  We are not his foster children waiting for adoption - we are his already.  All that follows is to continue in that love - nothing more, nothing less.

What does abiding in his love look like?  It means trusting in the assurance of his promises, it means listening to him through his word and prayer and being willing to let him lead us.  Jesus says "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love" (15:10) and to our ears it sounds incongruous to a gospel of grace, where it is not our works which save us.  However, it is not like that.  It is the attitude of following Jesus and allowing ourselves to be changed by him that constitutes abiding in him and in his love.

And if we do this, the sanctifying work of God will start to become apart.  It is impossible to be saved and not to bear some kind of fruit - i.e. some kind of change in character as we grow more like God.  It is impossible to know him without his character rubbing off on us in some way. Jesus says: "Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit" (15:5), and that fruit is our changed lives.  This is not, as Jesus makes clear, the result of our own efforts or morality, but a consequence of abiding in him.

And so, whatever we do, we must stay in his love.  We need not to look elsewhere - Jesus has brought us into his family, and there we can stay.