"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. 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.
John 15:4-5
“Abide in me, and I in you.”
Jesus said that the believer, the branch, abides in Him, and He, the vine, abides in the believer. To “abide” is to remain there.
“Remain united to me by a living faith. Live a life of dependence on me, and obey my doctrines, imitate my example, and constantly exercise faith in me” [1] (Barnes).
“As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine;”
If the believer, the branch, hopes to bear fruit he/she must abide in the vine. There is no fruit production apart from the vine. “Cannot” means “is not able to.” If the branch is not attached to the vine, there will be no grapes! This interconnection is vital to our fruitfulness.
“No more can ye, except ye abide in me.”
A believer cannot produce any fruit independent of the Lord. We are dependent on the Lord for everything we need to live, grow, and produce fruit.
“I am the vine, ye are the branches:”
Our roles are clear. Jesus is ever the vine, He is the one who nourishes the branches so that they may produce fruit. These roles are never reversed. We are dependent upon Him for everything.
“He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit:”
The branch cannot produce fruit without the vine. Together the vine and the branch can make “much fruit.”
“For without Me, ye can do nothing.”
Apart from Me, disconnected from the vine, the branch can bear no fruit; it can do nothing of spiritual value. Apart from Christ, a person is dead. A believer cannot live as a believer without Christ!
“Without Christ, the Christian life isn’t hard, it’s impossible!”[2] (Herron).
“God can do without man, but man cannot do without God” [3] (Clarke).
“As the branches, if separated from the parent stock, could produce no fruit, but would immediately wither and die, so Christians, if separate from Christ, could do nothing. The expression is one, therefore, strongly implying dependence” [4] (Barnes).
Believers, let’s declare our dependence on the Lord daily!
[1] Albert Barnes, Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible, the electronic version in eSword.
[2] Marty Herron said this in many ways in his preaching at Harvest Baptist Church, Guam.
[3] Adam Clarke, Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible, the electronic version in eSword.
[4] Barnes, ibid.