Jesus said: Remain (abide, dwell, continue) 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. I am the vine. You are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit. Apart from Me you can do nothing… As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Now remain in My love. If you keep My commands, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commands and remain in His love. (John 15:4-10, excerpts)
The Life-giving Vine
Jesus’ words above are part of His Upper Room Discourse, the longest continuous block of Christ’s teaching in the whole Bible, recorded in John’s Gospel, chapters 13-17. The Lord said this on the night before He died for our sins on the cross. These were some of Christ’s last words, so He was speaking about super important things! Let’s listen.
Jesus was coming to the end of His time on Earth, and in these chapters, He was talking about leaving. He knew that His disciples were sad and confused, so He gave them many encouragements, prayed for them, and taught them and us how to remain in contact with Him after His death, resurrection, and ascension back to Heaven. He also instituted the Lord’s Supper that night, so the Vine-branches imagery ties into the bread and wine symbols of His body and blood, given for us on the cross.
Old Testament Israel was a land full of vineyards, and sometimes God called His people His vine. But Israel failed to be fruitful for the Lord. They neglected to love God with their heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love their neighbors rightly. Instead, they started acting just like the pagan world around them.1 That’s why God the Father sent Jesus, His Son, to begin again and inaugurate the new covenant (relationship agreement).2 Christ wanted His followers (then and now) to stay connected to Him, and He used this agricultural illustration to make the point.
In John 15, God the Father is the Gardener; Jesus is the central Grapevine; His believers are the branches; and Christ-like living is the fruit He produces in us.
What is Abiding in Jesus?
The ESV translates John 15:4 as “Abide in Me, and I in you,” and a form of this verb abide appears eleven times in verses 4-10. The NIV translates it as “Remain in Me.” It’s the Greek word meno, and can also be translated as continue, live, lodge, or dwell. Biblical scholar F. Dale Bruner notes that abide (a similar word to abode) gives us a sense of family and home. So Bruner translates Jesus’ words, “Stay at home in Me.”
Our God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast, He’s our eternal home.
Jesus, our Home
The Christian’s home is a Person (God the Father, Son, and Spirit), not a place.
The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are His everlasting arms… Lord, You have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or You brought forth the world, from everlasting to everlasting You are God… Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. The Lord is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust. (Deuteronomy 33:27; Psalm 90:1-2, 91:1-2)
If we don’t know and remember our true home, we’re tempted to roam, searching for goodness, love, purpose, and meaning in all the wrong places. True Life with a capital L is only found in Christ. Jesus used the vine-branches illustration, meaning that to stay active and alive to God, we must stay attached to Christ. Since the Lord commands us to remain and abide in Him eleven times, it’s not automatic. It requires ongoing, deliberate deciding to live by faith in and faithfulness to Christ.
We Often Wander
A great place to have communion with Jesus is Psalm 119. This is Scripture’s longest chapter, an acrostic poem celebrating the perfection and power of God’s Word, the Bible. It teaches us that meditating on, praying over, and obeying Scripture brings true wisdom, spiritual protection, and deep joy in good and hard times. J. I. Packer wrote, “God the Father is the Giver of the Holy Scripture; God the Son is the Message of Holy Scripture; and God the Spirit is the Author, Authenticator, and Interpreter of Scripture.”
Pastor Philip Henry (1631–1696) advised his children to use a verse of Psalm 119 every morning for meditation, going over this Psalm twice in a year. Henry promised that this discipline would bring us to love all the rest of Scripture and Jesus, the Bible’s main character.
Realistically, Psalm 119 closes with verse 176, “I have gone astray like a lost sheep. Seek Your servant, for I do not forget Your commandments.” Let’s not be naive, dear ones. Satan, the world that is hostile to God, and our own selfish desires pull us away from the Lord. Old and New Testament believers drifted from God, and so has every single Christian since Bible times, myself included. James 3:2 says, “We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.”
No wonder Jesus keeps calling us to remain and abide in Him, and in His love, and in His commands.
One pastor prays, “Jesus, I like to roam. I’m pulled in all kinds of directions. But I want to stay at home with You. You are my life. Help me to abide in You. Amen.”3
We Need Christ’s Help
People joke about men’s unwillingness to ask for help, but is it really true? Psychologists Addis and Mahalik found numerous studies over the past 30 years that confirm the stereotype. Men don’t seek medical help as frequently and ask fewer health questions than women. The same holds for psychological services. Many depressed men report that they are unwilling to seek help, whether professional counseling or informal advice from friends. Addis and Mahalik warn that resistance to seeking help has negative consequences. Men are more likely to abuse alcohol and drugs and men in the U.S. die, on average, 7 years younger than women and have higher rates of 15 leading causes of death.4
This is the universal human condition. Scripture says that all of us desperately need God’s help through this life and into the world to come. The Psalmist humbly confessed, “My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”5 Jesus warned us, “Apart from Me, you can do nothing.” Let’s be honest that we need the Holy Spirit’s help daily to stay connected to and follow Christ.
J.C. Ryle says that Abiding in Christ means to keep up a habit of constant communion with Him, always leaning and resting on Him. We pour out our hearts to Jesus in prayer and come to Him as our Fountain of life and strength. Abiding means keeping up fellowship with Christ as our chief Companion and best Friend. It means having God’s words remain in us, keeping His sayings and precepts continually before our minds, and using them to guide of our actions and rule our daily conduct and behavior.6
Prayer
For the sun to rise, for my sleep at night, I depend on You.
You’re the way, the truth, and the life. You’re the well that never runs dry.
I’m the branch, and You are the vine. Draw me close and teach me to abide.
Where the Spirit leads, as I’m following, I depend on You.
For the victories, still in front of mе, I depend on You.
I am Yours, forever You’re mine. Draw me close and teach me to abide. 7
Notes (various Bible translations used): 1 Isa 5:1-17; Jer 2:21; see also Luke 20:9-17. 2 Jer 31:31-34. 3 Winn Collier, Our Daily Bread, Apr 4, 2023. 4 Michael E. Addis and James R. Mahalik, “Men, Masculinity and the Context of Seeking Help,” American Psychologist, Jan 2003. 5 Psalm 121:2. 6 Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Volume 4, p. 104. 7 Aaron Williams, “Abide,” Oct 7, 2025.