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.
Jesus forever remains steadily fixed as it were; it is we who are the ones who move. The communion between Christ and the believer never fails on His side. What a glorious promise of Scripture! This is why Jesus gives His disciples – both then and now – the clear and direct instruction He desired for them to receive and adhere – “Remain in me”. “Remain” is a key Word in this verse appearing four times. It is also a key Word in John’s theology appearing eleven times in this chapter alone and forty times in the entire Gospel as well as another twenty-seven times in His epistles. Repetition in Scripture is always given as a red flag for us to pay attention. Lest we forget, it is important for us to be reminded yet again that we can accomplish nothing of eternal value in and of ourselves for Christ – even our very desires to “Remain” in Him comes from Him. He draws all but sadly only the willing come. It is as if He sets before us daily the way of life and the way of death. In the verse following ours for today Jesus tells us what our natural abilities amount to apart from Him to accomplish eternal works as well as to experience the abundance He offers in the here and now and it is not too dissimilar to a blank page:
5 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. John 15:5 (NIV)
“Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you.” Augustine
“The grace of God does not find men fit for salvation, but makes them so.” Augustine
I am reminded of God’s Word through the prophet Jeremiah’s pen:
5 This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD. 6 He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.” 7 “But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. 8 He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” Jer 17:5-8 (NIV)
So what exactly is meant by “Remain” and how are we to go about achieving this sought after state? I enjoyed reading John Charles Ryle’s description of “Remain”:
“Abide in Me. Cling to Me. Stick fast to Me. Live the life of close and intimate communion with Me. Get nearer and nearer to Me. Roll every burden on Me. Cast your whole weight on Me. Never let go your hold on Me for a moment. Be as it were rooted and planted in Me. Do this and I will never fail you. I will ever abide in you.” John Charles Ryle
“Desire only God, and your heart will be satisfied.” Augustine
Is this not the basic Truth of Jesus’ Word to us in Matthew when He woos us all to “Come”? As we are yoked to Him and learn from Him the weariness and drudgery of our life’s burdens and toils are eased. Our loads are lightened as we do everything as unto Him – not for man. It is easy to serve the Master – the One who laid down His life to give us all. His ways are pleasant and precious to His own:
28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matt 11:28-30 (NIV)
King David, the man after God’s own heart, writes the following in 2 Samuel:
31 "As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. 32 For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God? 33 It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. 34 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights. 2 Sam 22:31-34 (NIV)
At the very least, “Remain in me” consists of knowing and applying God’s Word to our lives. Obedience has certainly gotten a bad rap in our day. For a believer in Jesus, obedience equates to life - all else is destined for death. “Remain in me” also consists of communing prayer – we are to be still before the Lord listening as well as pouring out our hearts on behalf of ourselves, our families and our spheres. “Remain in me” boils down to a cleaving to Jesus as our sufficiency and strength, our way and our truth. Jeremiah tells us:
13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity. Jer 29:13-14 (NIV)
“To abide in Christ, who is our righteousness and strength, and not to be moved from him, is the very life and power of Christianity. We do this when our thoughts are going out after him, our hearts cleaving to him, and our minds stayed upon him. Now, to know Christ, and thus to abide in him, as our righteousness, brings peace and joy; which joy in the Lord is certainly followed with strength to overcome sin and the world, which believers renounce the more readily, as they have found something better in Christ. May the Lord give me grace likewise immovably to abide in him.” K. H. Von Bogatzky