“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.”
King James Version (KJV)
15:4 Abide in me - Ye who are now pure by living faith, producing all holiness; by which alone ye can be in me.
Joh 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. The idea is, Abide in me that I may abide in you. Christ abiding in us is dependent on our abiding in him. We abide in him by keeping his words, or having his "word abide in us" (Joh 15:7), and all who "keep his sayings" (Joh 14:23) will have Christ abide in their souls. No more can ye, except ye abide in me. We are dead, fruitless branches, without the Christ-life. The whole history of the world demonstrates that fruitfulness is only found in union with Christ.