You’ve probably said it, heard it, or seen it on a reel: abide in the Lord. It gets thrown around like we all know exactly what it means and exactly how to do it. But if someone stopped you on a random Tuesday and asked you to explain what abiding actually looks like, could you?
That question is exactly where my Abide Bible study came from. I kept seeing people talk about abiding without anyone actually breaking down what the word means. So I built a study around it, and it starts with John 15, the passage where Jesus lays the whole concept out using a vine and its branches.
Here’s a look at day one.
Day One: What Does It Mean to Abide?
The focus passage for this study is John 15:1-4. Here it is from the ESV:
I am the true vine and my father is the vine dresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away. And every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me and I in you as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine. Neither can you unless you abide in me.
The word translated “abide” in John 15 is the Greek word meno, and it means to remain, to stay, to dwell, to not depart. This is not a word for occasional visits or seasonal check-ins, the kind of thing where you say hey, how you doing, and then go about your day. It carries the weight of settled, continuous residence.
When Jesus says abide in me, he’s not describing a feeling you get on a good quiet morning with your coffee and your journal. He is describing a posture, a permanent orientation toward him that does not leave when the feeling does.
The Verse That Stands Out to Me
There’s so much in these four verses alone that I could expand on for pages, and that’s the magic of scripture. You can read the same four verses over and over and you’re always going to walk away with more.
The thing that stands out most to me is verse 2. Every branch in him that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it may bear more fruit. So either something is good for you or bad for you, something’s going to get chopped. Pruning is removing what isn’t bearing enough so the plant’s energy can focus on bearing bigger fruit. That’s what God’s doing in us. Sometimes he cuts something off completely. Other times it’s the little things, whether it’s something we wanted or something we were glad to lose, being removed.
Working Through the Study
The study walks through a set of questions after the focus passage, and I want to share how I answered a few of them. But don’t just read my answers and move on. Sit with these yourself. Journal on them if that’s your thing, or just talk them out with God directly.
What Does Jesus Call Himself in Verse 1?
He begins by saying, “I am the true vine,” with the father as the vine dresser. Jesus is the vine, the one we need to stay connected to and abide in. God is the gardener, the one who makes sure the vine and everything attached to it stays healthy.
According to Verse 4, What Is the Only Thing a Branch Needs to Do?
Verse 4 says to abide in him, as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine. The only thing the branch has to do is stay connected to the vine. Attach to the vine. Stay in the vine. The moment a branch cuts itself off from the vine, it starts to die. When it stays attached, that’s where life comes from.
Now, notice that Jesus says “abide in me and I in you.” The abiding is mutual. I got chills when I really understood that. As much as we are attached to Jesus, Jesus is also attached to us. We’re not in some one-sided thing where Jesus is just waiting on us. If we stay attached, Jesus stays attached, and we grow together, because he also abides in us. He stays with us. He lives in us.
What does it mean to you that Jesus is also abiding in you as you’re called to abide in him? For me, it means I’m not alone, even when it feels like it. The God of the universe, who created everything, looks at me and says, I want a relationship with her. I want a personal relationship with her. I’m going to grab on to her and I’m not going to let her go. That still makes me emotional to think about, how much the Lord loves me and how much he’s pulled me through.
What does it mean “to abide?” in the Lord? We know what Jesus said to abide in Him, but what are we supposed to do? This 5 day Bible Study breaks down what abide means and how to actually abide in and lean on the Lord no matter what’s going on. Click here to check it out!
Striving Versus Abiding
This passage frames abiding as a condition for bearing fruit, not the result of effort. So what’s the difference between striving to produce fruit and abiding in the one who produces it through you?
This one made me sit for a while, because I am someone who likes to strive. I’m ambitious. I’ve got big goals and a big calling on my life. My husband and I are building a music festival completely from scratch, just the two of us. I’ve got my sticker and stationery and Bible study business that I’m growing. I’ve got my blog that I’m trying to post on daily. I’m a mom, and I’m a homeschool mom. There’s so much going on that my instinct is to strive for the fruit of the Spirit, to work hard at all of it.
But this passage is saying something different. If you want the fruit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, you just have to stay attached to the vine. None of that comes from our own effort. It comes from being attached to Jesus. We don’t have to work hard at loving somebody. We have to stay attached to Jesus, keep our eyes on him, and build our relationship with him. As we abide in him, the fruit comes as a result of that connection. Striving to produce fruit is trying to create results on our own instead of focusing on God. To abide is to surrender to God and let fruit be the byproduct of that connection, not the goal we’re chasing directly.
Two Questions for You to Sit With
I’m not going to answer these two for you. I want you to actually write these out for yourself, whether that’s in the comments or just for your own eyes.
- What does abiding look like as a daily posture in your actual life? Not the ideal version, not the perfect version, but what does it actually look like to show up like this?
- Where in your life are you treating connection with Jesus as optional or seasonal?
So often abiding is hard to grasp because we think of it as saying hi to Jesus on Sunday and seeing him again next week. We don’t make it a habit to connect with him and build that relationship. The more consistently we do that, the more fruit we’re going to see in our lives.
If this is the kind of study you want to sit down and work through with your own Bible and a pen, the full Abide Bible Study Bundle is for you. It walks you through all five days on John 15, with observation, interpretation, and application questions each day and space to write it all out, plus a closing devotional to land the day. It also comes with a custom Abide bookmark and three die cut stickers, so once this sinks in, you’ve got a physical reminder to keep in front of you, not just an idea you had for fifteen minutes one morning. I’m genuinely proud of this study. I think it’ll help make abiding feel like something you actually walk out day to day instead of a phrase you nod along to.
We Treat Abiding Like Something We Have to Conjure Up
We treat abiding like something we have to conjure up on a good morning, when we have time and quiet and enough coffee. But Jesus didn’t say abide in me when you feel like it. He said abide in me the way a branch stays in a vine, not because it works at it, but because leaving would mean dying. The question isn’t whether you feel connected today. The question is whether you’ve let go.
Memory Verse, John 15:4
Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.
You Don’t Need a Study to Abide
Day one alone takes about fifteen minutes to work through, and fifteen minutes can genuinely change your relationship with Jesus. It doesn’t have to be some big, difficult undertaking. It can just be a matter of getting into your Bible.
And to be clear, you don’t need a study to build a relationship with God. Go study the word for yourself, look at cross references, pray about it. You don’t need this, and you don’t even need my blog. But if you want a free starting point, I have content on porn addiction recovery, deeper Bible study, and stewardship. I also have papers from my degree in biblical exposition.
At the end of the day, it’s just you, your Bible, and the Lord. Throw a journal in there if you can. I’m biased toward journaling, I think it changes everything. But it doesn’t have to take long. Just take the time to spend with him, let him speak to you, and it just might blow your mind.
I hope this blessed you. Drop your thoughts or takeaways in the comments, I read every one. A new series on the three characters in Proverbs is coming soon, and I cannot wait to share it with you.
I love you. God loves you.
