“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will 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 a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.Verse 4: Remain in me, and I will 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.
In other versions, the word abide is used instead of remain, but they essentially mean the same thing: to continue to be present. Visiting is not the same as abiding. Abiding is staying put, lingering, waiting. Abide in Christ and He will abide in you. In verse 10 we are told how to remain in Christ: Obey His commands.
Another way to understand that verse is instead of the word "obey" use the word "keep," which means to guard, to attend to carefully or take care of. Yes, we are called to obey His commands, but perhaps when we put pressure on ourselves to always to be perfect, when that's not possible. Instead, let us remember how valuable God's word is, and desire to keep His commandments, because we love Him, and want to bring Him honor - not because we want to prove how good we are.
Let us take great care of the commandments of Jesus: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these." ~ Mark 12:30-31. That is, let us show God and others how precious His word is to us, by doing what it says.
The more we desire to glorify God, the more we want to obey Christ, the more time we spend with Him, the more time He spends with us (James 4:8a: Come near to God and he will come near to you.). And the cycle repeats.
No branch can bear fruit by itself. Grapes only grow on a branch because the branch is connected to the vine. It is impossible for fruit to spontaneous appear on a random branch on the ground. The same is true of us. We cannot expect to bear fruit if we are not connected to Jesus. It all seems so simple. So why do so many "Christians" struggle with this concept?
It seems like so many people do all sorts of things in Christ's Name, but they never learned how to abide in Him. Just because a person goes to church does not mean he is abiding in Christ and obeying His commands. If you think church attendance is all that's required to get into heaven, you should consider Matthew 7:21-23.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’If you want Jesus to recognize you, then you have to remain in Him and His word. Obey His commands. Live in a way that glorifies Christ.
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