“You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.” John 15:3.

By these words the Lord is telling the disciples, and us, that they are already saved, which, in a way, reinforces His statement, “Every branch in Me…” John 15:2, as meaning Christians.

Verse 3 above is nearly a repetition of His words to Peter while He was washing the disciple’s feet.

“Jesus said to him, ‘He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.’ For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, ‘You are not all clean.’” John 13:10-11.

This last reference is to Judas Iscariot who betrayed Him.

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” John 15:4.

Please, continue to think of this as a plant to avoid losing sight of the Lord’s illustration here. There is no difference between the workings of a vine and the individual.

Any disconnection and the whole plant suffers and fruit is not produced. To abide in Christ has the notion of living with Him at all times.

Think of living at home, or living with your spouse; it’s always the place that you return to at the end of the day. When away, you may even have called home, just to touch base, and listen to the voice of the one you are missing at the moment.

There is this intimacy of family, and feeling of security at home; this is what is meant by abiding in Christ, you are always with your friend, confessor, comforter, and protector.

If you can imagine that, you can imagine what life with Christ in your heart would be like. This is where the peace which surpasses all understanding begins.

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7.

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” John 15:5.

Again the Lord establishes His preeminence, it is He who supports the branches, and it is we who draw sustenance from Him.

“He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit…” but, what is fruit?

The fruit of the Spirit comes readily to mind, and when all is said and done, the best of all other fruit flows from that.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23.

These are the fruit, or outworking of the Spirit. It is good to memorize these verses so you can use them as a sort of gauge to see where you are at in life, but do not try to use them as a list of things to do.

These attributes are an example of what happens when a Christian determines to lead a Christ centered life reading their Bible and having a quiet time of prayer and meditation on the things they have read.

As the Holy Spirit takes the things we learn and infuses them into our heart, old things fall away and new things like love, peace, or kindness begin to replace them.

These new things do not come out because we determine to act that way; they come out because of the godly attitude that we begin to exhibit from the heart. This is the result of abiding in Christ.

The more you exhibit the fruit of the Spirit the greater the other fruit you will bear. Such things as service, in caring for others, your gentleness, and kindness will comfort them much more than a forced attitude.

Many folks do things they know they should do but their heart is not in it, and while someone will still be grateful for your help or care, they will recognize that it was done out of duty not love.

Peace as spoken of here is the peace which passes understanding and is a peace within the heart, but that which is in the heart cannot help but show itself.

One way it may come out is through making peace. A person may make peace with another simply because that is what Christ would want them to do. But if they speak peace on the outside and harbor bitterness on the inside, the bitterness will show in some form.

Anyone who says they are a Christian and does not show self-control (all of us lose it sometimes but not habitually), in their work, in their habits, or at home, will not be taken seriously when they tell others about salvation in Christ.

An issue like this may inhibit their children from accepting Christ as their savior. This would be a great loss, so self-control can bring one great grief if not mastered.

A Christian who exhibits the fruit of the Spirit will be able to preach the gospel or speak to those around them and have a tremendous impact because the person can see Christ in them, and perhaps desire such peace in their own lives.

There is much fruit in the salvation of souls which glorifies God in Christ.

To gain a better idea of what the fruit of the Spirit is, it is a good idea to see what it is not. The Apostle Paul was kind enough to give us a partial list in this same chapter in Galatians.

“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like, of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Galatians 5:19-22.

All of us have one or more of these in our hearts, recognize them, confess them to God, and most important turn away from them; even if you have to do it a hundred times.

“He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” John 15:5b.

This is something that should be engraved on every Christian’s heart. We have a world of Christians going about busily working hard for Jesus and accomplishing nothing. If Christians are not abiding in Christ they cannot hear what it is that He has for them to do.

As a result many of us go by our gut instincts and occasionally get it right. But this is not as effective as knowing His will.

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10.

“If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.” John 15:6.

The Lord is speaking to Christians here, and the warning is not that they will be cast into hell; but that their works will be burned up.

It is interesting; the Lord says if a person does not abide in Him, he is cast out as a branch. And what does a branch that is broken off from a tree do, it becomes withered.

It is the same effect on a Christian who ceases to abide or fellowship with Jesus. They wander from the fold and become withered and worldly, and soon enough, no one cares about their Christian confession. After all, what is the difference between the unbeliever and the Christian?

It is as though one were gathering sticks for firewood; this person’s works are so meaningless that they are worthless sticks for the men of the world to burn.

“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” John 15:7.

It is important not to just run with the words, “…you will ask what you desire” thinking that that is all there is to it. Consider the whole verse.

The conditions are that you abide in Christ as He has been saying all along; the other condition is that Christ’s words abide in you, which entails that those who desire successful prayer must be a student of Scripture.

This is not something that you need to go to school for, just sit down with your Bible and after asking God to give you understanding of what you are about to read. Start reading, giving it your full attention, even taking notes if that helps; or just read casually the first couple of times.

“But the anointing [Holy Spirit] which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.” 1 John 2:27.

If you are new, start in the New Testament at the gospel of John, read through Jude, the book before the last one, Revelation, then start over beginning with the gospel of Matthew, and read all the way through.

A good Bible version is the New King James Version and a good study Bible is put out by Moody Press, The Ryrie Study Bible.

The New American Standard Bible, published by Creation House Inc. is also a good translation, read both if possible.

If you are a poor reader, or do not like to read, there are recordings of the entire Bible available. But read or listen, please do one or the other.

When someone abides in Christ and His word abides in them, they become attuned to the things that are within God’s will.

In fact they will begin to want the things God wants and ask for the things that God wants and the result is answered prayer that bears much fruit and glorifies God.

“By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” John 15:8.

If you want to glorify God in your life: abide in Christ, and bear much fruit. It is the only way, for without Him, we can do nothing.

“He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” Micah 6:8.

“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Ephesians 4:1-3.

“If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John 1:6-7.

“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.’ Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look, and see the reward of the wicked.” Psalm 91:1-8.

Without Me You Can Do Nothing, John 15:3-8 taken from godisrevealed.com posted on 4-12-13, updated on 2-14-18.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission, all rights reserved.