The Crucial Requirement - Abiding in the Vine

Having considered the believer's entrance into union with Christ, and then the nature of the union itself – all of which is known only by revelation in the word of God – we come now to the first aspect of the believer's responsibility. Since we have already been united to Christ if we are genuine Christians, we are told by Jesus Himself that we must “abide in Him.” That is, we must remain where we have been planted; we must “stay put” in the position into which we have been placed. Jesus presented this responsibility in relation to to an important truth about Himself – and He gave it to His original disciples in the form of an allegory in John 15:4. Now let me open up this passage in order that we may get to the Lord's instruction about the believer's need to “abide in Him,” or to “live all of life in relation to our union with Him.”

A course notebook for this series is in preparation and will become available at the conclusion of the course.