«　WEEK 2　DAY 4　»

　　1 John 4:13 In this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, that He has given to us of His Spirit.

　　2:6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk even as He walked.

　　Fruit-bearing depends on abiding. Our abiding depends on a clear vision that we are branches in the vine. If we are to abide in the vine, we must see the fact that we are branches in the vine. If we see that we are already in Christ, we shall be able to abide in Him. Therefore, we need to pray, “Lord Jesus, show me clearly that I am a branch in the vine.”

　　Once we see the fact that we are branches in the vine, we need to maintain the fellowship between us and Christ as the vine. Any insulation will separate us from the rich supply of the vine. A little disobedience, a sin, or even a sinful thought can be the insulation that separates us from the riches of the vine. First, we must see that we are branches. Then we need to maintain the fellowship between us and the Lord. Nothing should be between Him and us. From experience we know that even a small thing can separate us from the rich supply of the vine. Hence, we need to pray, “Lord Jesus, let there be nothing between You and me separating me from Your rich supply.” (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 2932)

　　As long as we abide in Christ, He will abide in us. His abiding in us depends on our abiding in Him. Our abiding is the condition of His abiding, but His abiding in us is not a condition of our abiding in Him. With us, however, because we are so fluctuating, there is the need of a condition. If we do not abide in Christ, there is no way for Him to abide in us. Although He does not change, we have many changes. We may abide in Him today and stay away from Him tomorrow. Therefore, His abiding in us depends on our abiding in Him. Our abiding in Him is the condition of His abiding in us. Thus, the Lord said, “Abide in Me and I in you” [John 15:4]. If we do not abide in Him, we fail to meet the condition of His abiding in us. His abiding depends on our abiding. This mutual abiding will bring forth fruit. As far as we, the branches, are concerned, Christ, the tree, lives to be our support, our supply, and our everything…. Just as the tree needs the branches and cannot do anything apart from the branches, so today Christ as the very embodiment of the Triune God can do nothing without us. In the carrying out of God’s economy—that is, growing a vine tree—without us Christ is unable to act, work, or to have any kind of activity. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 2932-2933)

　　We need to be those abiding in the Lord (1 John 2:6). To abide in the Triune God is to abide in the Lord. The Lord is the One who possesses all things, who rules over all things, who exercises His sovereignty over all things and over all people. We are living in the One who is the Lord of this universe. If we are not obedient to Him or do not subject ourselves to Him, that will annul our abiding in Him. To abide in the vine tree implies a daily life….The branches of the vine tree… are having their “daily life” in the vine tree. We need to have our daily life in the Lord. This means that we have to obey Him and that we have to walk in the same way that He walked. As a man, He walked under God’s authority. We also need to walk under His authority, submitting ourselves to Him.

　　We also need to be those abiding in the Son (v. 24b). In the New Testament the Son is the One who possesses the Father’s life with the Father’s nature to express the Father. The sons have the full right to enjoy all the privileges and rights ascribed to the sonship. When we are abiding in the Son, we enjoy our Father’s life, our Father’s nature, and the privilege, the right, to express Him and to enjoy all His possessions. To abide in the Lord concerns the lordship of Christ. To abide in the Son concerns the sonship of Christ. (CWWL, 1988, vol. 1, “Living in and with the Divine Trinity,” p. 341)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1983, vol. 3, “A Living of Mutual Abiding with the Lord in Spirit,” ch. 3