At the very moment that you received Jesus as your Savior and Lord, you stepped across a threshold to begin an exciting adventure. You took the first step in fulfilling the purpose for which you were created — to glorify God by loving Him, doing His will, and enjoying Him forever.
God’s goal is to transform us into the likeness of Jesus so our character reflects the fruit of His Spirit — “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22, 23).
God is glorified as our lives bear this spiritual fruit. The apostle Paul explained, “For we are his creative work, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we can do them” (Ephesians 2:10). As our character takes on the likeness of Christ, we become capable, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to accomplish all God has planned for us.
Shortly before Jesus was to be crucified, He explained to His disciples how they could live victorious fruitful lives after His ascension into Heaven. Jesus used the Parable of the Vine to illustrate the importance of continuing to “abide in Christ.” The word “abide” means “to remain” or “to stay.”
Jesus explained, “I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me—and I in him—bears much fruit, because apart from me you can accomplish nothing” (John 15:1, 4, 5).
It is only by abiding in Christ that we are able to fulfill God’s purpose for our life.
The Parable of the Vine reveals how we, as believers, are to remain in Jesus, vitally connected to Him, in order to accomplish all God intends for us. The branches can only produce fruit as long as they are connected to the vine and receiving nourishment. They live in complete dependence upon the resources the vine provides.
It is the same for followers of Christ. The fruitfulness God expects cannot be produced through our striving and self-effort. God does not want our focus to be doing good things for Him but rather to focus on our connection to Jesus. This will result in our becoming the people He wants us to be and in us doing the things He has designed for us.
Abiding in Christ involves allowing the Bible to transform our thinking so we see life from God’s point of view. Jesus promised, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want, and it will be done for you” (John 15:7). Once our thinking conforms to God’s point of view, we will desire what He desires. And as a result, He will grant our requests.
Abiding in Christ also involves a continual awareness of Christ’s enormous love for us. Jesus told His disciples, “Just as the Father has loved me, I have also loved you; remain in my love” (John 15:9). He went on to explain, “If you obey my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commandments and remain in his love” (John 15:10).
Jesus reveals the result of abiding in Him: “My Father is honored by this, that you bear much fruit and show that you are my disciples….I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be complete” (John 15:8, 11).
In essence, the Parable of the Vine stresses the importance of living in union with Christ with a total dependence upon His empowering Spirit, renewing our minds with the Word of God, and loving Jesus as demonstrated by faithful obedience. That is the only path to the fruitful, fulfilling life for which you were created. Are you abiding in Christ?
Read “Abiding Room“.