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“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth…but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” – John 14:16-17 (in part; NKJV)
“Jesus answered and said to him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home [abode – KJV] with him.’” – John 14:23
“Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life.”– 1 John 2:24-25
When Peter warned followers of Christ of the destructive nature of the devil, he told them to “Be sober, be diligent;” (1 Peter 5:8) Few followers misunderstand this imperative command about the devil. Yet this sobering, diligent command is the same verb tense Jesus used toward His followers when He told them to “Abide in me, and I in you.” (John 15:4 – aorist imperative middle) This connectivity to Jesus was imperative if anyone wished to have spiritual life and to bear spiritual fruit. I hope this comparison awakens you to the essential nature of the expression given in the command to “abide” in Jesus.
“Abide” is meno (Stong’s #3306) and “abode” is mone (3438). Abide means, to stay, to remain; abode means, a staying, a residence. Abide is sometimes translated as “remain” or “continue.” Abode is translated as “mansions” in John 14:2, and “home” in 14:23 (above). Two major things are taught in the above verses: 1.) to have spiritual life requires you to abide in Jesus; and, 2.) spiritual abiding requires the ongoing presence of the Triune God in you. Both words, in the verb tenses in the above verses, call for an understanding that abiding in Jesus is to be an enduring, ongoing relationship. It is equivalent to a marriage (cf.: Ephesians 5:22-33).
But how is this done physically? How does flesh abide with spirit? A careful reading of each context reveals that followers abide with Christ—that is, have an ongoing, maturing relationship with Him—by immersing themselves in His word. Try it for a moment; absorb yourself in John 14 and 15. Jesus consistently says that you must believe His words, the things He tells you (:2). You must believe that He is teaching you what His (our) Father is telling Him (:10). He says He will send the Holy Spirit to dwell in you to “teach you all things” (:26). Jesus says He is “the truth” (:6) and His Holy Spirit is “truth” (:17); and, “He who has my commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me” (:21). John 15 continues this rapid-fire reminder that abiding in the love of Christ is revealed by you keeping His word (15:10). Notice also that the condition of Christ’s “joy” to “remain (3306: abide) in you,” in 15:11, is sandwiched by verses 10 and 12 that say we must keep His commands. “These things I have written to you…” (1 John 2:26).
The word of God produces the works of God (cf.: 14:10-15). Oh that followers of Jesus would fall in love with His word! Our Bibles should be carried with us as our spiritual oxygen because it is our life! Let us understand that to abide in Jesus is to know Him and His word. Everyone has this same abiding access in the Word of God. Go get it now! Read from it. Take it to every church worship service and Bible study.
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