How to Abide

In John 15 Jesus exhorts us to "abide in Me". We often hear teaching on this that points out the truth that this is "our part" - that the fruit-producing is up to Him, while our part is to abide. Did you know, however, that John also teaches us HOW to abide? Consider these principles:

We abide by receiving Jesus. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. (John 6:56). "Eating" and "drinking" is a vivid picture of partaking of or receiving Him, as John noted in John 1:12 "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name."

We abide by obeying Jesus. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. (John 15:10)

We abide when His Word stays with us. As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. (1 John 2:24)

We abide by loving other believers. The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. (1 John 2:10)

We abide by confessing who Jesus is. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. (1 John 4:15)

Whatever we are going through, wherever we are in life, God desires that we seek Him. In the middle of a serious attack by the enemy, David heard a command from God: "Seek my face." (Psalm 27:8). Out of all the things he could ask in that difficult day, he said the one thing he wanted most was to "dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life" (Psalm 27:4). Only after seeking the Lord is he prepared to learn from Him ("Teach me your way", Psalm 27:11) and pray for deliverance (verse 12). The same principle is seen in John 15. Only when we abide do we know how to pray (John 15:7).

So it comes back to this: Learning to abide. John has shown us the way.