Abide Meaning In The Bible; Abide, abide, abide. What is it? When do you abide? How do you abide? What does it mean to abide in the Bible? Let’s find out! Abide is a verb, meaning “to remain.” It’s used throughout the Bible and has many different meanings. There are two main ways to use this word: one is as an action, and one is as a state of being. While they’re both important when it comes to understanding what it means to abide in God’s word, we’ll start by looking at them individually before moving on to how they work together.
Action: Abiding In The Word Of God; The first way that the word abide is used in scripture is as an action—to stay somewhere for an extended period of time (usually for a set purpose). This can be seen in a number of ways: “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God” (Romans 8:14). “Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it” (Psalm 34:14).
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Abide Definition In The Bible
Introduction
What did Jesus mean when He said, “Abide in Me and I in you”? What does it mean to abide in Christ? In John 15:1-17, Jesus is the true vine, and we are the branches. The branch can only bear fruit if it remains connected to the vine. This passage speaks of our relationship with Christ. We cannot do anything without Him (John 15:5). To abide means to remain or continue.
To “abide” is a verb. It is active. Abiding in Christ is not a feeling or a belief, but something we do. It means to “remain” or “stay” and entails far more than the idea of continued belief in the Savior. John 15:5 further illustrates this abiding relationship with a parallel relationship of a vine and a branch.
What does it mean to abide in Christ?
If you’re like most of us, you sometimes wonder how to live a life that is pleasing to God. The Bible tells us that we can be righteous and have peace with God by abiding in Christ. But what does it mean to abide in Christ?
Abiding in the Lord means remaining faithful to Him. It means dwelling on His promises and doing all we can do to live a lifestyle that honors Him. Cleave (attach) yourself to Him through prayer, reading His Word, worshiping Him with your heart (through praise), following His commandments, and witnessing for Him by sharing His love with others as well as serving them physically or financially when they need help.
When you are abiding in Christ—whether it’s for one day or for years at a time—you will experience joy because He promises not only eternal salvation but also abundant blessings here on earth!
John 15:4-6 KJV
John 15:4-6 KJV says, “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.”
Amen! That’s what we wanted to hear! But how does this apply?
Abiding in Christ produces fruit.
To abide in Christ is to have a relationship with Him. It is the result of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, and it produces fruit that shows we are in Christ.
Abiding with Christ produces fruit: “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen” (Revelation 1:5). When we abide in Christ, we can glorify God as He intended His people to do—with our words, actions, thoughts, motives…and fruit! Fruit is evidence that you are abiding with God through His Son Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit living within you.
Abiding in Christ is a protection from temptation.
Abiding in Christ is a protection from temptation.
People have a tendency to think they can resist temptation on their own strength, but this is not true. We are weak and easily fall into sin if we do not rely on Jesus to help us stand firm in the face of temptation. To abide in Christ means that we trust His promises and depend on Him for our salvation and sanctification (John 15:4-5) and to help us resist temptations (1 John 2:1-2).
Abiding In Christ Is A Protection From Temptation
1 Corinthians 10:13 KJV
“In everything, we have to endure hardship—but my grace is enough for you. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:10)
There are numerous scriptures in the Bible which teach us about how God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear. In other words, He will provide a way for us to escape the temptation and strengthen our faith in Him at the same time!
So what does this mean? What does it look like to abide in God’s Word? Let’s take a look at some examples from Scripture:
Abiding in Christ is a protection from the wrath of God.
The Bible is clear on the subject of God’s wrath. It says that all people will face it, and that it is a terrifying reality. The apostle Paul put it this way:
“For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” (Romans 8:13) In other words, if we keep living for ourselves and following our own desires instead of submitting our whole lives to Christ, then we are going to end up separated from Him forever in hell. Our sin separates us from God—and separating ourselves from Him means submitting ourselves directly into His judgment and punishment for all eternity (John 3).
But there is hope! God has provided a way out through His perfect sacrifice on Calvary’s cross: Jesus paid our debt so that we could be forgiven once again through faith in Him as Savior (Romans 5:1-2). When Christians accept this forgiveness by turning away from their sins and committing themselves fully to Christ as Lord over every aspect of their lives (Luke 9:23), then they receive an eternal life free from fear because they are now partakers with Christ Himself (1 John 1): “He who has been born of God does not sin” because his nature has changed completely thanks to salvation.”
John 3:36 KJV
The last of the four verses that are commonly considered to be the most important in the Bible is John 3:36, which is also known as “the abideth on him” verse.
It reads: “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”
This is perhaps one of my favorite Bible verses because it summarizes so much about what it means to be a Christian and why we should be Christians at all. Let’s take a look at what this passage tells us about abiding, who does and does not abide with Jesus Christ, and how we can abide forever with Him here on earth now if we choose to do so.
John 1:11 KJV
John 1:11 KJV
He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
John 15:10 KJV
Abide
- To remain in a place, position, or state; to continue in the same condition; not to depart; as
a. To continue to exist or live; survive.
b. To be left behind after others have departed; stay behind.
- To occupy or hold a place or position continuously and firmly, especially for a period of time (used with “in”): abide by your decision for now but can change it later if you want!
Believers who abide in Christ have been chosen by God.
Believers who abide in Christ have been chosen by God. God has chosen them to be fruitful and multiply, sanctified and made holy for his use, as well as his children and servants.
To “abide” means to continue on or remain unchanged, but it has significant meaning in Scripture and specifically when talking about Christians who abide in Christ.
Abide means to continue on or remain unchanged. Abide is a word that we use to describe people who remain loyal and faithful to their beliefs, but it also has significant meaning in Scripture and specifically when talking about Christians who abide in Christ.
The Bible uses this word to describe the faithfulness of God’s people. It teaches us how we should live our lives as Christians so that we can be an example of how others should live their own lives because they will see us abiding in Christ (1 John 2:6).
What Does It Mean to ‘Abide in Christ’?
This is huge. I mean the challenge to give a theology of abiding in ten minutes. Let’s see what we can do. I’m going to sum it up from John 15. Let’s just go there with six points.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.” (John 15:1–4)
Future Grace
First, I think the essential meaning of our active abiding is the act of receiving and trusting all that God is for us in Christ. If a branch remains or abides attached to the vine in such a way that it is receiving all that the branch has to give, then that is a picture of what John means by believing or trusting Jesus. He says in John 1:12, “To all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”
Believing is a receiving of Christ into the soul, welcoming him, trusting him, as it were, drinking and eating and savoring him. This is what he says in John 6:35: “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”
Believing is an attachment to — a coming to — Jesus, and a receiving from Jesus. It is trusting in Jesus, remaining in fellowship with Jesus, connecting to Jesus so that all that God is for us in him is flowing like a life-giving sap into our lives. That’s number one: abiding is believing, trusting, savoring, resting, receiving.
Cherishing His Words
Second, Jesus gets very specific about what is flowing between the vine and the branch. He mentions words — his words — his love, and his joy. John 15:7 says, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” And John 15:9 states, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.” Also, John 15:11 says, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”
“If we are not united to the vine, nothing of any lasting value will come from us.”
Abiding in the vine means receiving and believing and trusting in the words of Jesus. It means receiving the love of Jesus for the Father and for his people and the joy that Jesus has in the Father and in us. It means sharing the joy, the love, the words with Jesus. This is very similar to Paul in Galatians 3 and 5 saying the fruit of the Spirit is love and joy as we hear and trust the promises of Christ (Galatians 3:2; 5:22–23).
Lasting Value
Third, nothing of any spiritual, eternal significance is possible apart from this abiding in the vine. John says, “Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
In other words, we are not dealing here with something marginal or optional. If we are not united to the vine so that Christ’s life is flowing into us, then his words, his love, his joy will be utterly and totally barren. Nothing of any lasting value will come from us.
Our Fruit Confirms Us
Fouth, abiding proves whether the attachment to the vine is coursing with life or is merely artificial and external. Here’s John 15:8: “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” Fruitfully abiding with life, love, and joy coursing into us through the connection between us and the vine proves we are disciples (John 15:7–8). That is, abiding and fruit-bearing confirm us.
The negative is also true. John 15:6 says, “If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.” Earlier (in John 15:1–2), John says if anyone doesn’t bear fruit, he’s taken away.
Can We Lose Our Salvation?
Now this is what provokes Casey’s question about perseverance or eternal security. Can we be born of God — can we be authentically, in a living way, united to Christ and truly Christian — and lose our salvation? Now, In John’s understanding of abiding, the answer is no. No we can’t. I say this for two reasons.
“The essential meaning of our active abiding is receiving and trusting all that God is for us in Christ.”
First, in John 10:28–29, he says, quoting Jesus, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” He is bending over backwards to say, “When I choose someone for myself and they hear my voice and I take them to be my sheep and my children, that never changes.”
Here’s the second reason I think John means this, and it’s the answer to what in the world is going on with broken-off branches. I think 1 John 2:19 is a description in the church of what it means that certain branches are broken off. It says, “But they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued” — that is, remained or abided — “with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.”
I think John provides us with the category for understanding a kind of superficial, external attachment to Jesus that is not a saving attachment. This can result in a fruitless, empty life where there’s no sap coursing, and they are broken off — that is, fall away from the church — but they never were of us.
Pruning
Fifth, the branches are being cared for both internally by the life of Christ flowing into us and externally by the vinedresser who prunes us. This is amazing. I didn’t see this until just a few years ago, when I preached on this at one of the conferences. Jesus says in John 15:1–2, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”
“When God chooses someone and they hear his voice and he takes them to be his children, that never changes.”
Now pruning means cut. The branches are being cared for (to make them maximally fruitful) both by internal life flowing to us from the vine and by a vinedresser, who with his very painful scissors or saw cuts us and hurts us, so that by these painful providences in life we experience the fullest possible impact of the inner life of Christ.
We are being cared for both internally by Christ’s life coursing into us by the Spirit and externally by the providences of a loving Father who knows how to discipline his children to make them very, very holy.
The Glory of God
Finally, the goal of abiding is the glory of God. John 15:8 says, “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” The whole design of our not being the vine, but being utterly dependent branches grafted into the vine, is to give glory to God.
The whole design of depending on a vinedresser to manage the outward shape of our vine structure and our branch structure is so that God gets the glory for bringing it all about. The bottom line is, hour by hour, let us receive and rest in and trust and savor and enjoy Christ’s word and love and joy while we submit externally to the merciful providences of God.