“Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me” (John 15:4 NIV). We have called our mission “FifteenFive”; this name is based on John 15:5. Now we have arrived at the “doorway” to that great verse. It should be obvious that Jesus took time to set forth the truth of the believer’s union with him, slowly stating it to let it sink in and permeate our understanding. Let’s invest some time to consider what our Lord and Savior says to us.
First of all, consider that he remains in us. Every believer has a vital, organic connection with the Lord of glory. While many think about the benefits that believers gain from Christ, the Lord Jesus is saying more than that. We are truly joined to him. He continues in us at all times. This is truly astounding! The matchless, infinite, all-powerful, holy Lord remains in us. His presence provides confident expectation (hope) to us, regardless of the circumstances. He continues with us to provide spiritual nourishment and strength to act for his glory and to resist evil.
Second, Jesus tells us to remain in him in the same way that he remains in us. Union with Christ demands communion with him. This is a clear responsibility. It is also a high responsibility: “as I also remain in you” (cf. John 13:34). A command likes this requires that we draw strength from the Vine simply to fulfill it. But the point here is that we sense our responsibility. Spiritual vitality does not simply happen. Nor does it happen by the mere performance of some so-called spiritual disciplines. It happens only as we remain in him as he remains in us. (Some of this repetition of phraseology sounds cumbersome, but I fear we too often lose track of the point, as I have learned from years of teaching the word.) Our commitment to Christ is to mirror his commitment to him.
Third, Jesus wants us to realize that branches cannot bear fruit by themselves. Each branch must remain in the Vine (fellowship with him). Why do we not see spiritual fruitfulness? I think we can retrace our failures back to a lack of personal, persistent contact with the Lord. We cannot bear fruit unless we remain in him. We need to share our lives with him consciously and daily. Prior attainments do not provide present, fresh relationships.
So then, we all need to examine our continuance in the Vine. We must fix our thoughts upon Jesus (Hebrews 12:2; Colossians 2:6). This happens as we listen attentively to the Lord’s voice in the word, and as we talk with him in prayer. Remain in him as he remains in you!