“Remain in Me, and I [will remain] in you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself without remaining in the vine, neither can you [bear fruit, producing evidence of your faith] 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, for [otherwise] apart from Me [that is, cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in Me, he is thrown out like a [broken off] branch, and withers and dies; and they gather such branches and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.” (John 15:4-6, AMP)
Do you know what ‘abide’ means (some translations begin this verse with ‘Abide’ and some with ‘Remain’)? To me, remain signifies a condition/state that has already been attained. So we already are in position to experience the intent of these verses – being fruitful. However, the caution is to remain/abide in this. We have to do the act consciously, intentionally.
Also, consider the condition of those who do NOT remain. 1. we can do nothing and 2. we are thrown out where we wither and die. The end result is that we are thrown in to fire and burned. Obviously, we should not want this result. AND… we choose. The verse clearly state that WE are to remain. We choose. We can either bear fruit … or not.
Though the word may seemingly to imply a passive state… it is not! Abiding, in my world of definitions, is very active. It is a defensive word implying protection. And it is a proactive word implying growth, activity, equipping, enhancing, etc. You don’t just sit there… you act. There’s another verse that springs to mind too.
“You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and I have appointed and placed and purposefully planted you, so that you would go and bear fruit and keep on bearing, and that your fruit will remain and be lasting, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name [as My representative] He may give to you.” (John 15:16, AMP)
Appointed, Placed, Planted SO that your fruit will remain… You choose: remain/abide = fruitful, don’t remain/abide = thrown out, burned. Just make certain you make the decision for the right reason. The final phrase in this scripture can be a promise or seductive. Never both. Never the same reason.
