Abide in Me and Have Full Joy [John 15]

¹"I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. ²"Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.

³"You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.  ⁴"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.
⁵"I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.  ⁶"If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. ⁷"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.  ⁸"My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.

⁹"Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. ¹⁰"If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.

 ¹¹"These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.

 

What is Jesus calling us to when He invites us to abide in Him? Abide the same way a branch abides in the vine to bear fruit.  The branch cannot bear fruit by itself. It has to be connected to the vine which has a root system. Jesus is the vine in which He is calling us to abide (remain, sojourn).

John has been weaving this them throughout the book.  He has been showing the idea that Jesus and the Father are one.  They do everything together. "For God sent Him and He speaks God's words" John 3:34. "I do nothing on my own" John 8:28.  Now He is inviting us to be part of that union - remaining in the One who produces fruit "because you can do nothing without Me."

 

Learning to be a sheep with a good Shepherd was first but now He moves us to a new position.  That of a child with a loving, devoted Father.  This move grows our intimacy with Him.  His words, His love, His joy, His Spirit - They are a part of us as we remain in Him. 

abide in Me

My words abide in you

abide in My love, abide in My Father's love

My joy in you - your joy is overflowing

Jesus, we praise You that You are calling us to sojourn with You and that You have provided the way for that to happen.  We want to respond to Your invitation to stay connected to You, through Your Spirit ministering Your words to us. Cause us to remain in your love so that Your love can spring out of us as fruit springs forth from the branch.

Encouraging God’s People to:

know God intimately – trust God completely – embrace His grace – reflect His heart