Be rooted in the Lord John 15:4-5; 1John 2:6 & Mark 4:17-18

The command to remain in Christ is justly said, is not abide with Me -

near Me – or under Me but in Me. The fruit bearing branch is not

only in the same place with the vine – near it, under its shadow – but

it is in it & it abides in it. The ideas suggested are residence &

extension; that is, Jesus is saying “think as I think; feel as I feel; will as

I will; choose as I choose & let My views of all objects & all events be

yours because they are mine. ‘Let My feelings; My decisions; My

choices, all be yours & let them be yours because they are mine’.

Impeach my ends – use my means – rely on me; entirely on me. Let

my wisdom be your wisdom – my righteousness, your righteousness

– my strength your strength. In all this Jesus is simply saying to us

“come out of yourselves; come out of your creation; come into me”

this means, our coming is in faith. I.e. our faith in His words unites us

to the Saviour & it is continued faith which keeps us united to the

Saviour. We remain because we are His flesh & bones, His body (Eph

5:30). The fruits & flower are seen on the branches; so we are the

fruit bearers of the branches. In order words, been a branch means

believers are the limbs, Christ use to win souls.

Jesus Christ is the divinely appointed Root & Stem upon which the

branches depend; We are dependent upon Christ; He is not

dependent upon us. The vine in itself is a suitable Emblem of Christ;

i.e. its beauty as planted; it trained or trellised; its grateful shade; its

fruits; whether fresh, delicious or dried; its wine that maketh glad

the heart of men, all render it not only interesting but suitable to set

forth in symbol the excellence of our Redeemer.

The tree supplies nutrients to the branches for it to bear good fruits,

which is why a branch that cannot bear good fruits is worthless &

only good for fuel. If believers don’t remain in Christ especially in

difficult days that is to come, such too will be worthless on that great

day of the Lord. God is so much interested in the fruits of our Spirits

not of our flesh which is why He asks us to remain in Him so that

through The Holy Ghost we can endure hardship, persecutions and

not to fall away before His great harvest.

We can see the vineyard as this earth, the chief Gardener is Christ

who plants and care for the garden; the plants are human-beings. His

words are the manure for which the plants feed on to become good

trees that produce good harvest for the Gardener. So, if we don’t

feed on the word of God, we would be on shaky –ground-with roots

not deep enough to become a healthy plant. The word of God

purifies & cleans a human-heart. (John 15:3).

John tells us of the mystery saying ‘Christ is in us’ (John 14:20); that is

why Christ urges us to remain in Him because apart from Him we can

do nothing. If one does not abide in Christ, such a person might be

cast forth as a branch and such a one will become withered i.e.

target for the devil and in the end that one will be thrown to the fire

with his master the devil.

Abiding means staying very close or being in a close relationship with

Christ, though the Holy Ghost who resides in us; we need to stir-up

the power of the Spirit that is in us. Because a close & vital union

joins the branches to the vine and believers to the Lord; the life

which is naturally Christ’ becomes ours through our union by faith

with Him.

The branches are concave to the vine for their fruitfulness; so are

believers to the Lord. The branches of the living vine exhibit the life

& health of the plant first by their vigour, freshness, lavishness and

beauty; the signs of spiritual life are manifested in the body of Christ;

by the peace, cheerfulness & spiritual prosperity. But the great aim

of the husbandman’s care & culture is that fruit may be yield in

abundance.

How to Abide or Remain in Christ

1) By the knowledge of Him through His words (Rom 15:4; phi

3:8); (2) By us putting our faith in Him through His Spirit (Rom

8:15; Gal 5:22-23). (3) We should love Him by the efficiency of

His body & blood (John 6:56-57). & (4) our interest in Him (Phi

3:9) and as our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and

Redemption (1 Cor 1:30).

Abiding implies that we are to retain the knowledge, faith, love,

interest & union with Christ which ought to last (Col 1:23; John 15:9-

10; Rom11:22 & Heb 10:38). The illustration of remaining in Christ is

a branch in a tree, the branch is supported by the tree, and it

adheres to it, grows in it & becomes fertile and fruitful by the virtue

derived from it; as a hand in the body from which it receives its

warmth, life, and activity.

Verse 5 says ‘Apart of Me’ or ‘Separate from Me’; Is a state of

independence on Me; without the soul the body is motionless &

cannot stir a finger. This is saying that our sanctification &

justification is entirely dependent upon our Lord. A believer’s

justification is a sentence of acquittal in consideration of our Lord’s

merits; and sanctification is an achievement mastered- i.e. by variety

of exercises, prayers, sacraments etc. and when mastered, a sort of

permanent gaining, which goes on increasing as the stock of these

spiritual exercises accumulates.

A disciple is nothing without his Master; the servant is nothing

without his lord, the soldier is nothing without his commander, the

hand is nothing without the head so too are believers nothing

without Christ.

Now since the bible is warning us that due to the troubles ahead,

‘some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and

doctrines of devils’ (1Tim 4:1). This means brothers and sisters that

we can’t afford not to abide in Christ and remain in Him. You see the

more we abide i.e. stay in His words, the more we will be rooted and

be grounded in the Holy Ghost, who will help us to navigate no

matter the difficulties.

We must make up our mind to remain in Christ because Christ does

not want us to keep coming and going but, that we make-up our

mind to remain in Him so that He can abide in us through our

fellowship in His union; and as we pray to and through Him He

releases His wisdom, grace and peace that we would need to focus

and stay on course. Is only through Him that our fruitfulness is sure;

We must remain or abide in Christ because our union in Him is that,

fellowship, prayer & fruitfulness works together (John 14:10-3).

Without Christ my beloved brethren, one has no prospect of entering

the Kingdom of God. Remember if we are willing, we will abide in the

strength of Christ who is in us ‘the hope of glory’. Amen.