Abiding in Christ

By S. Lewis Johnson, Jr. [1]

An Exposition of John 15:1–17

Introduction

Our passage in this study contains the last of our Lord’s “I am” statements. That is quite fitting, since abiding in Christ is the divinely intended everyday experience of the enjoyment of eternal life in our bodies of flesh. And, after all, is that not John’s purpose in the writing of the book? He would like for all his readers to come to the knowledge of Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God, and in that knowledge to the possession of eternal life. And surely it is important for the recipients of eternal life to know the joyous experience of it in the here and now, as well as in the then and thereafter.

In the course of developing the theme of abiding in Himself, and in that the theme of eternal life, our Lord lays to rest some unsatisfactory emphases in the Christian life. Thomas à Kempis wrote a famous book many years ago, entitled The Imitation of Christ. Now let it be said immediately that it is a biblical injunction that we be imitators of Christ in our Christian living (cf. 1 Cor. 11:1; 1 Pet. 2:21). However, it is the express teaching of our Lord in this passage, as well as the teaching of the Apostle Paul in many passages, that the Christian life is not only an imitation of Christ, it is a participation in Him (cf. Phil. 1:21). “For me to live is Christ” is Paul’s description of his life, and the relation that he sets out between the Lord and himself is a far deeper one than simple imitation.

It was Jowett who said, “There are some people who visit Christ. There are others who abide in Him.” [2] The latter is the thrust of this paragraph.

The theme of the selection, it seems to me, is fruit-bearing. Abiding is a term that relates to that concept, not to the concept of vine-planting (cf. 14:16; 15:6). The word fruit occurs about eight times in verses one through sixteen, and only two times elsewhere in John. That gives us a clue to the theme of the passage.

It is not easy to trace our Lord’s flow of thought through the section. The Greeks loved connecting conjunctions to indicate the flow of thought in their writing, and ordinarily the New Testament authors followed suit. In the Johannine literature there is some absence of reliance upon such connectives in verses one through seventeen of chapter fifteen. The connection of thought rests, then, largely on the development of concepts in the section. We shall try to trace the thought, but it is not as easy as it is in some other sections of the book and of the New Testament.

The New Position in Union Introduced

The Context

Our Lord, leaving the upper room, as is clear from chapter fourteen and verse thirty-one, where He says, “Arise, let us go hence,” speaks the words of chapter fifteen in the court of the house, it seems (cf. 18:1).

The Figure (15:1)

I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

It is possible, some think, that the use of the figure of the vine is related to the golden vine that was on the temple gates.

The opening words of the extended metaphor of the vine and the branches are, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman” (15:1). The figure of the vine portrays union, one of the major points of the preceding words in chapter fourteen (cf. 14:16–24, especially vv. 17, 20, 23).

The figure also points on to the result of union, or fruitfulness, which is the result, not of human achievement or works, but of abiding in the vine. Morris has caught the meaning of the figure quite well. He writes:

There seems little doubt that Jesus has in mind passages in the Old Testament which regard Israel as the vine (Ps. 80:8–16; Isa. 5:1–7; Jer. 2:21; Ezek. 15; 19:10; Hos. 10:1). Indeed in time the vine became a symbol of Israel, and it is found, for example, on coins of the Maccabees. Interestingly all the Old Testament passages which use this symbol appear to regard Israel as faithless or as the object of severe punishment. Jesus’ description of Himself as the “true” vine is to be seen against this background. The passage is the Johannine counterpart of the Pauline view of the church as the body of Christ and of believers as “in” Christ. Both are ways of bringing out the vital connection that exists between Christ and His own. [3]

Let me summarize, then. First, the figure teaches that fruit, spiritual fruit in the reality, is not the product of human achievement. It comes from union with the divine Savior, the Christ, the Son of God. Second, the figure, as used by our Lord, is intended to remind Israel of their past failures by the Old Testament associations of the figure, as well as to indicate that He is the one faithful Israelite, the “true vine,” ultimately the One to whom the promises of the covenants pertain. And, finally, in Paul’s usage of the concept of “in Christ” is the full explanation of the meaning of the figure.

The New Position in Union Described

The Outline of It (John 15:2-3)

After having stated the figure that He intends to discuss, Jesus now proceeds to develop the figure. His words are:

Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you (15:2–3).

The Removal of Fruitless Branches

It is not easy to know with certainty the sense of the Lord’s words in verse two. It seems that He is saying that fruit on the branches of the vine is dependent upon two things: the removal of the non-abiding branches (cf. v. 6) and the pruning, or cleansing, of the fruit-bearing branches, that they may bear more fruit. Cf. 11:39. The removal of the branches would be explained by the fuller reference in verse six.

The Interpretation

From the doctrinal standpoint there are two ways to understand His teaching, although one must be careful not to build more upon a figure than it can stand.

Interpretation 1: It refers to salvation truth. First, it is possible to understand our Lord to be referring to salvation truth, that is, salvation from the penalty of sin. The reference to the non-abiding branches would be a reference to outward profession that was not real inward experience of the saving knowledge of the Lord, such as is illustrated by Judas, who has just left the company of the Twelve and gone out into the night (cf. 13:30). The burning of verse six would be that of eternal judgment.

Interpretation 2: It refers to sanctification truth. On the other hand, it is possible to understand our Lord to be referring to sanctification truth, that is, to truth that pertains to true believers and their discipline without the loss of their eternal salvation. In that case, the word rendered by “purgeth” in the King James Version would be a reference to the pruning of the vine, or the cleansing of the vine. (There is no play on words in the Greek text in this case). [4] The purpose of this action would then be to induce the growth of more fruit. One might think of the scourging of the son in Hebrews 12:6. The taking away of the non-fruitbearing branches would then be a reference to the ultimate discipline of genuine believing sons of God, physical death (cf. v. 6; 1 Cor. 11:30). The fire, into which the branches are cast, is the fire of divine discipline, it being important at this point to remember that the fire is part of the overall figure of speech our Lord is developing. In fact, the verb that is used in verse six to express the burning is not the strong intensive verb, but a weaker one. [5] The appropriateness of discipline for the non-fruitbearing vine is evident, for all who grow vines recognize that in the case of the grape vine it is largely good for fruit alone, the grapes, and not for beauty.

Many know that I have become involved in viticulture, having planted three grape vines at our home two years ago. [6] So, of course, I am now an expert in viticulture! This year all three of my vines had grapes. Some were on the sour side, but they were grapes. One of the characteristic things that impresses an observer of viticulture is the severe pruning that grape growers practice. Plants year after year are pruned back to what looks practically like a four foot stub. Evidently by doing this most of the strength of the vine is expended in the fruit rather than in the foliage. One would think that our Lord in developing His figure would have laid some stress on the necessity of pruning for more fruit. That may be the sense, then, of verses two and six.

The lesson of the necessity of divine discipline is an important one, and one that we all should bear constantly in mind. One of the older writers once said, “Trial only stops when it is useless: that is why it scarcely ever stops.”

And one must also remember this comforting fact. Sometimes trials come to us simply because we are bearing fruit, just as the grape vine faces pruning year by year simply because it is a fruitbearing vine. Because we bear fruit, He prunes. He does not prune only when we are failing.

The Obligations of It (John 15:4)

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

Having outlined the new position in union with Christ and the culture of the vine for its fruit, the Lord turns to a consideration of the obligations that arise from our position in Him. The opening words of verse four are “abide in me, and I in you.” Leon Morris interprets this as having the sense “Abide in Me, and see that I abide in you.” [7] The opening word of verse four, “abide,” is in a tense that expresses decisive action. The branch’s position must be realized in life experience.

Abiding is a word that simply means to dwell in many of its occurrences (cf. 1:39), and that is the force that we ought to give it. Dwelling in our grace position in Him, not striving, is the key. We abide, or dwell, in Him and draw all that we need for fruitful life from Him. In other words, just like the living branches of the vine, which rest in the vine and draw sap from the roots and trunk for fruit, so we rest in our Lord and draw all our needed strength and enablement for fruitful life from Him, the root of our spiritual life. Believing leads to union with Him, while abiding is communion. Being in Him is the source of life. Abiding in Him is the source of fruit (cf. 1 John 2:6).

The Outflow from It (John 15:5-8)

I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

Our Lord first contrasts the abiding life with the non-abiding life. The abiding disciple brings forth much fruit, but without Him the disciple can do nothing. The implication of the last clause seems, then, to be that with Him we can do much.

The failure of the non-abiding disciple is illustrated by the everyday life of a garden. When, for any number of reasons, a branch of a plant is broken, the fruit or the flower withers. The other day, as I toured my garden, I noticed that one of the flower stems of one of my day lilies had been broken during the night from the wind, or some garden pest, like a squirrel! The result, of course, was the loss of the flowers that would have come from the buds on the stem.

When Archbishop Ussher, the Bible chronologist, was an old man, he was afflicted with a bad case of the gout. In the morning he would be carried to a place on the east side of his house so that he might have the benefit of the sun’s rays. Then as noon came, he would be taken to the south side. In the afternoon he would be placed on the west side to enjoy the afternoon warmth from the west. He “abode” in the sun all day, and that illustrates what it is to abide in Christ. As Maclaren has said, “Get more of the sap into the branch, and there will be more fruit.” [8]

One thinks of Paul’s magnificent statement in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who keeps on pouring His power into me” (emphasizing the present tense in the verb to empower).

The consequences of not abiding are set out in verse six, a verse whose meaning we have discussed to some extent in the sentences above. Our Lord, in my opinion, is speaking of Christian discipline, both in this life and at the judgment seat of Jesus Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 3:11–15). The burning is a figure of speech related to the figure of the vine and the branches, which our Lord has been developing.

And there naturally follows a statement of the consequences of abiding in verses seven and eight. An interesting point is to be made from a comparison of verses four and seven. In verse four Jesus says, “Abide in me, and I in you,” while in verse seven He says, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you….” It is clear from a comparison of the statements that in our Lord’s mind for Him to abide in us is the same as His words abiding in us. And this abiding of His words in us, or of Him abiding in us, leads to answered prayer. In this the Father is glorified and the disciples bear much fruit. This is proof (the word “be” in verse eight is the Greek word meaning to become [γίνομαι, ginomai], which often has the sense of to prove to be, as seems so here) that they are His disciples.

Just as beautiful flowers glorify the owner of the garden, so answered prayer, one of the fruits of the abiding life, glorifies the Father.

One notices, too, from a careful reading of the section that there are degrees in fruit-bearing. In verse two Jesus speaks of “fruit.” In verse two He speaks of “more fruit” also. And in verses five and eight He speaks of “much fruit.” The three grades remind one of the three grades in Mark 4:20, “And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.” The similarity may be intentional.

The New Position in Union Realized

The Expression of It (John 15:9-11)

As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.

The impersonal figure that our Lord has been developing finds personal expression in loving and joyful obedience. “Continue ye in my love” is the keynote of the section. To continue in His love is to continue in obedience to His commandments. That is the relationship that the Son enjoyed with the Father, for He has kept His Father’s commandments and He has abode in His Father’s love. The result of such abiding is spiritual joy. Thus, the order seems to be: love, obedience, and joy. The new note of joy should be noted, for this is the first occurrence of the word since 3:29. Some might have expected sadness, for the idea of having to obey the commandments of the Lord suggests a slavish legalism. That is as far from the truth as can be imagined. The love of Christ in the genuine believer’s heart induces the desire and enablement for the keeping of His commandments. The keeping of them with the consequent realization that we have pleased Him leads to deep spiritual joy. No wonder Paul speaks of “the glorious gospel of the ‘happy’ God” (cf. 1 Tim. 1:11), for that is the goal of a relationship with Him.

The old saints used to say, “The comforts of the Spirit at their lowest, are far superior to the joys of the world at their highest pitch. When saints are mourning, their inward peace is still superior to that of worldlings, when their mirth and revelry overflow all bounds. Lord, I had rather take the worst from thee than the best from thine enemy.” Joy belongs to the saints alone.

Referring to the love of God Godet says, “He has not to awaken it; he has only to abide under its beams.” [9]

The Explanation of His Commandment (John 15:12-17)

This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. These things I command you, that ye love one another.

There follows an explanation of His commandment that we love one another. His love of us is the great example, as verse twelve indicates. “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.” Cf. v. 17.

His love is a sacrificial love, for Jesus likens it to a man laying down his life for his friends (v. 18), and He adds that they are His friends, if they do what He commands them (cf. v. 14). Cf. Gen. 18:17; Isa. 41:8; Jas. 2:24).

The intimacy of the relationship between the Lord and His disciples is set forth in verses fourteen and fifteen. And it is the intimacy of an infinite love. Nine times love is mentioned in the verses we are studying. One might ask, “Why?” The answer comes quickly, “We need it!” The final words of verse fifteen. “For all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you,” indicate that the Lord Jesus has given them a full course in the biblical theology of the gospel period. Illumination, however, is needed, and that explains the apparent contradiction of the statement in 16:12, “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now” (cf. 14:26).

Ordinarily friends choose each other, but not so in this case. The free initiative of the Lord Jesus is emphasized, for the words “ye have not chosen me” bear emphasis in the original text. [10] Normally disciples attached themselves to a particular rabbi, but that was not the case here. He chose them.

Commentators often discuss the nature of the choice indicated here. Has it to do with election to salvation or election to the apostolate? If by discussion one is seeking to overthrow the doctrine of unconditional sovereign election, it is a futile attempt. To be chosen as an apostle demanded an antecedent choice to salvation. Further, the principle of divine election based on sovereign electing grace is taught in an election to the apostolate. But I agree with Calvin that “He treats expressly of the apostolate.” [11] He adds, “But all the same, if they were elected to the apostolic office freely and by no merit of their own, much more is it certain that the election is free by which, from being the children of wrath and an accursed seed, we are made His eternal heirs.” [12]

The grace of the choice is clearly brought out by the great Genevan also:

For when He says that they did not choose Him, it is as good as saying that they did not obtain by their own skill or industry whatever they have. It is commonly thought that there is a certain mutual combination between the grace of God and the human will, but that contrast, “I chose you; I was not chosen by you,” claims completely (in solidum) for Christ alone what is usually divided between Him and man. As if He had said that a man is not moved of his own accord to seek Christ until he has been sought by Him. [13]

One cannot pass over the words of our Lord here without noting the dynamic of the love of Christians for one another and its missionary appeal. Sacrificial love induces a response of love, we know, and the love of Christians for one another also evokes interest in outsiders as well.

Summing up the results of union, as expounded by our Lord, Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer used to say to his students, “The fruits of abiding in Christ are prayer effectual, joy celestial, and fruit perpetual” (cf. vv. 7, 11, 16).

There is a beautiful story about a China missionary that illustrates the power of loving Christian service. It is told by H. A. Ironside, who has written:

Long years ago a missionary over in China was engaged in the work of translating the New Testament into Chinese. He had an eminent scholar to assist him, a Confucianist who had never heard of Christianity until this missionary had engaged him to help in the translation. He sat with him day after day, and together they went over the New Testament page by page and verse by verse. The Chinese scholar would suggest the proper Chinese word in order to make the meaning plain. The missionary was a painstaking person and anxious to produce a splendid translation. One thing he thought he had better not do, was to talk religion with his helper. So he was very careful, and never said a word to the man about his need of Christ and the salvation of his own soul. But finally when they had finished, he thought he ought to say something. He said, “You have been a great help to me. I could not have gotten along without the New Testament, has not the beauty of Christianity appealed to you? Would you not like to be a Christian?” 

The scholar looked at him and said, “Yes, it does appeal to me. It is the most wonderful system of ethics and philosophy I have ever known. I think that if I could once see a Christian I might become interested.” “But,” said the missionary, “I am a Christian!” “You,” said the Chinese scholar, “are you a Christian? Oh, no. Pardon me, I don’t want to offend you, but I have observed you and listened to you all the way along. You are not a Christian. If I understand aright, a Christian is a follower of Jesus, and Jesus says, ‘A new commandment give I unto you, that you might love one another.’ But I have listened to you talk about others who were not present, saying unkind things about them. You are not a Christian. And then I have noticed too that Christianity teaches perfect trust, and I translated for you a passage that says, ‘My God shall supply all you need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus,’ and you are told to trust and not be afraid, but you don’t do that. If your check is a little late in reaching you, you are dreadfully worried and you wonder what you are going to do.” And he went on with a number of things like that, ending with, “I have had to conclude that you are not a Christian. I think if I could see a Christian, I would like to be one.” 

The poor broken-hearted missionary! He sobbed before the Lord and said, “Oh, I have been so careless.” He just broke down and had to ask forgiveness for his coldness and neglect. The scholar went away and said, “Well, I wonder if, after all, I haven’t seen a Christian.” You see Christians are not perfect as the world expects perfection, but we should grow more like our Master every day. [14]

Conclusion

But, is such a life attainable? In answer to the question remember who is speaking and says, “I am the true vine.” He uses the language of deity, for that is what He is, the infinite God and second person of the Trinity. And we are “clean,” having been forgiven and now endowed with a new principle of holiness dwelling within us through the indwelling third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. And we have the greatest of promises. As we abide, He promises to give much fruit. May it be so.

When Evan Hopkins, the great Welsh preacher of a couple of generations ago used to conclude his messages on the spiritual life, he would often say to his audience, “Now go out and have yourself a good believing time!” And why not?

Notes

1. Lewis Johnson is a Bible teacher at Believer’s Chapel in Dallas, Texas. He is Professor Emeritus of New Testament Exegesis at Dallas Theological Seminary and also served as Professor of Biblical and Systematic Theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. This is the eighth in a series of expositions on The Upper Room Discourse.
2. J. H. Jowett, Apostolic Optimism: and other Sermons (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1901), 225.
3. Leon Morris, The Gospel according to John, NICNT (rev. ed., Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995), 593.
4. There may be a play on words in verse 2, which is not seen from the English text. The word translated “taketh away” is related to the word translated by “purgeth,” one being αἴρω (airō) and the other, built on the same root, being καθαίρω (kathairō). It is difficult, however, to see the sense of the paronomasia. The second word, incidentally, was sometimes used of gentler abrasions and ablutions for removal of mildew and parasites, something like our spraying with chemicals today. That is why some would give it the force of “cleanse,” instead of “prune” (cf. Thomas Dehany Bernard, The Central Teaching of Jesus Christ: A Study and Exposition of the Five Chapters of the Gospel according to St. John, XIII to XVII. Inclusive (New York: Macmillan, 1892), 217).
5. There are two words for burning that are found in the New Testament, one the verb καίω (kaiō)and the other κατακαίω (katakaiō). The second is an intensive word; it is not the word found here.
6. This was originally written in 1983.
7. Morris, The Gospel according to John, 595.
8. Alexander Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture: St. John Chaps. XV to XXI, 2 vols. (New York: George H. Doran Company, n.d.), 1:13.
9. Frederick Louis Godet, Commentary on the Gospel of John, translated with a preface, introductory suggestions, and additional notes by Timothy Dwight, 2 vols., reprint ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1969 [1893]), 2: 298.
10. In the Greek text the emphasis rests upon the “you” and the negative, οὐχ ὑμεῖς με ἐξελέξασθε.
11. John Calvin, Calvin’s Commentaries: The Gospel according to St John 11–21 and the First Epistle of John, eds. David W. Torrance and Thomas F. Torrance, trans. T. H. L. Parker (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1959), 102.
12. Calvin, The Gospel according to St John, 102.
13. Calvin, The Gospel according to St John, 101–102.
14. H. A. Ironside, Addresses on the Gospel of John (New York: Loizeaux Brothers, 1942), 666–68.