I had just moved to Asia. As I walked through the wet market, a million new smells assaulted me. I may be half blind, but I do have an excellent nose—maybe too excellent for places like this. Despite my nearsightedness, I could not help but notice one gargantuan fruit. You can see it in the picture above. What was that mystery melon?!

My friends had already introduced me to the so-called king of the fruits. When the chop of a cleaver did not release a hideous stench, I eliminated durian from the list of possibilities. This monstrous melon was neither a honeydew nor an albino watermelon. I did check to see if it might be a cantaloupe, but the outside was too prickly and the inside overly stringy. I asked the hawker what it was, but since I had yet to learn the local language, her explanation was meaningless to me. So, she handed me a piece to taste. And no, that did not help either. At least I knew what that melon was not. This was the first step in identification.

Sometimes knowing what something is not can help us better understand what something is. We will take this approach as we continue our series of posts about abiding in Christ.

As we saw in the last article, John 15 reveals that bearing spiritual fruit is critical in the Christian life. How can we bear fruit? The key is abiding in Christ.[1] Remember the logic of Jesus’ argument:

  • To glorify God and be Jesus’ disciple, you must bear fruit. (15:8)
  • To bear fruit, you must abide in Christ (15:4–5).
  • To abide in Christ, you must keep in constant communion (15:7–8).

So, if I want to bear fruit, I need to abide in Christ. But what does that mean? How can I do this? How do I know if I am not abiding?  

Abiding is More Than Saving Faith

I’ve heard it taught that abiding in Christ is another way to describe believing in Jesus. This view argues that, on the night before His death, Jesus warned His disciples to stick with Him. They must keep on believing even when Jesus is arrested and killed. Only by staying loyal to Jesus will they be able to bear fruit for God after Jesus is gone.

Of course, you cannot abide in Christ without believing on Him, but the context implies that you can believe without abiding. In John 15, Jesus is talking to believers. Judas Iscariot, the one unbeliever, has already left the gathering (13:10–11). Later that same night, Jesus calls His disciples believers that belong to Him (17:6–8). If Jesus’ disciples are already believers, then commanding them to abide in Christ makes no sense if that term is synonymous with saving faith. Jesus is not commanding these believers to do what they had already done.

Abiding in Christ is related to believing on Him, but abiding must be something more than saving faith.

Abiding is More than Obedience.

Again, I’ve heard it taught that abiding in Christ is another way to describe a life of obedience. This view takes into account the obedience mentioned in the context of the exhortation to abide. John 15:10 says, “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.” Clearly there is a relationship between abiding and obedience, but what is that relationship? Could they be two ways of describing a faithful Christian life?

Yet, to equate abiding and obedience creates a logical difficulty. To bear fruit, you must abide in Christ. Obedience or good works is a fruit. If abiding is synonymous with obedience, then the means are the same as the result, which makes no sense. It’s like saying you must obey to obey. Or we could put it this way. Obedience is the what we must do. Abiding is the how. The what and the how cannot be the same. As we eliminate what abiding in Christ cannot be, we begin to see what it is.

Abiding in Christ is related to obedience. However, abiding must be something more than obedience.

Conclusion

Abiding includes both belief and obedience, but it must be more than either of these. You must believe on Jesus as your Savior before you can abide in Him. Then, if you abide in Him, you will bear fruit, one of which is obedience. As we put the pieces together, the murkiness of what abiding in Christ is begins to melt away. A closer look at Jesus’ illustration of the vine in the next article in this series will shine further light into the meaning of abiding in Christ and how believers can bear fruit.

As for the melon in the opening illustration, I later learned it is a jack fruit. I often hike in the countryside and see these heavy melons dangling dangerously from trees. But after my first taste, I have never been tempted to harvest one for myself. For me, jack fruit is more interesting to see than to eat.

[1] To see examples of fruitful lives, read my missions devotional, Daring Devotion: A 31-Day Journey with those who Lived God’s Promises. A sequel will be released later in 2022.