What does abiding in Christ have to do with being fruitful?
Jesus' description of himself "I am the Good Shepherd" (from the Gospel of John, chapter 10, verse 11). Wikipedia ) “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). While Jesus speaks about several things in this metaphor, there is one main lesson on which we must focus; just as a vine-offshoot bears fruit only when it abides in the vine, so also believers will bear spiritual fruit only when they abide in Christ . Summarizing this precept is the verse, “He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” The inability of man is stressed here. We can do nothing spiritually valid of our own accord. Unless we are part of the Living Vine, we are like fallen branches, dead and rotting in the shadow of branches that bear fruit in season. Such imagery would have held much significance for the disciples because the Old Testament us...