Abiding: The Christians Highest Priority

Last time in our In Order series, we focused on the importance of family—how ministry begins and ends at home.

How neglecting our first commission to love and serve our household can disqualify us from fruitful ministry.

Now, we turn to what must be our highest priority: abiding in Christ.

Before we can rightly serve our families or our ministries, we must remain in Him.

Abiding is not just another item on our spiritual checklist—it is the very source of our life, strength, and purpose.

Without it, all else falls out of order.

Today, we look at what it means to live continually connected to Jesus, not merely in practice, but in posture.

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In our noisy, productive, performance-driven world, we are constantly tempted to measure our faithfulness by our activity.

Ministry, family, service, study, giving, discipline—all good things.

But even these can become disordered loves.

God is not first and foremost calling us to do for Him.

He is calling us to be with Him.

John 15:4–5 NASB95

4 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

Let me say this clearly:

Abiding in Jesus is not just part of the Christian life—it is the Christian life.

It is the root of all true fruit.

The source of all godliness.

The highest priority of every believer.

Question: Why are we looking at the importance of Abiding on Resurrection Sunday?

Abiding Is Sharing in Resurrection Life

Galatians 2:20 NASB95

20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

When you abide in Christ, you’re not just connected to His love or teaching.

You are joined to His risen life.

His victory over death flows into your soul.

Romans 6:4–5 NASB95

4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection,

Abiding is not just admiration - it is participation.

You participate in His:

Righteousness

Intercession

Power

Sonship

Triumph over death

What Does It Mean to Abide in Jesus?

The word "abide" comes from the Greek meno—to remain, dwell, stay, continue, endure.

To abide in Jesus means not one thing but like a diamond its a multifaceted things that shines with beauty:

Conscious awareness of His presence (John 15:4)

Active trust in His person and work (Galatians 2:20)

Surrendered obedience to His voice (John 15:10)

Loving delight in His nearness (John 15:9–11)

Gratitude for His provision (Ephesians 5:20)

A working definition:

Abiding in Jesus is the continual, conscious trust and surrender to Christ as your life, your source, your strength, and your joy.

Abiding Is Our Natural Habitat as Image-Bearers

Every created being has its natural abode:

The air is the abode of birds

The sea is the abode of fish

The land is the abode of beasts

And Christ is the true abode of man

Man was not made to live from himself—but from God.

Jesus is not just our teacher or example—He is our environment, our home, our source of life.

Acts 17:28 NASB95

28 for in Him we live and move and exist...

Why Is Abiding So Hard? Because Sin Separates

Sin doesn’t make man seek God—it makes him run from God.

Romans 3:11 NASB95

11 There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God;

Sin breaks fellowship and causes man to abide in all the wrong things.

Everyone abides in something:

Bitterness – they relive offense and dwell in anger

Fear – their whole world is interpreted through anxiety

Pleasure – they abide in escape and entertainment

Works – they abide in religious effort without communion

Comfort – they plan their life to avoid sacrifice

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The problem isn’t that people can’t abide.

It’s that they abide in everything except Christ.

Jeremiah 2:13 NASB95

13 “For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, The fountain of living waters, To hew for themselves cisterns, Broken cisterns That can hold no water.

Abiding is not our default setting—it must be restored by grace and cultivated by discipline.

Abiding Is Not Execution—It’s Connection

DO NOT CONFUSE FRUIT WITH ABIDING!

The fruit/works we produce cannot be abiding because it is only by abiding that that fruit can be produced!

This is Jesus’ point:

John 15:5 NASB95

5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

So therefore anything you do cannot be abiding!

Living in the fruit is evidence of abiding, not abiding itself!

You don’t bear fruit by force—you bear it by connection.

The power is not in the branch—it’s in the Vine.

Abiding is the ongoing posture of dependence, not performance.

Abiding in Christ is not simply one activity among many in the Christian life.

It is the context and condition in which every other activity finds its true meaning.

Example:

The primary means of Abiding in Jesus are Prayer and the Word.

BUT ONLY if they not done as Spiritual Duties.

It is not merely that we pray or read the Word - But that we do so from a state of being rooted in Him.

So often, we treat prayer and Bible reading as items on a spiritual checklist—as things we do.

But Jesus reframes them as ways we remain.

When we abide, we are not merely performing religious tasks; we are inhabiting a relationship.

When we truly abide in Christ, prayer is no longer a compartmentalized moment—it becomes a way of being. Bible reading is no longer just a task—it becomes communion with the One we live in, move in, and have our being in.

Think of breathing.

Breathing is essential.

We could say that its the most important thing we do.

However, none of us ticks breathing off our to do list.

Why not? Because its not like its something we can ever forget!

It is something we do constantly, but it’s also something deeper than doing—it’s something we are always doing.

That’s what abiding is like.

It is not an act—it is a state.

So when we pray, it is not just "time with God," it is life in God.

When we read Scripture, we are not just ticking off a daily reading.

We are not "visiting" Jesus in the morning and then going about our day.

We are living from Him, drawing spiritual breath with every step.

Abiding is not a spiritual activity—it is spiritual reality.

Conclusion:

Because everything else flows from it:

Your identity

Your peace

Your fruitfulness

Your ministry

Your discernment

Your strength to resist temptation

Your joy

Jesus made it clear that as wonderful as ministry is, it is not as wonderful as abiding.

When Jesus was with Mary and Martha.

Mary just sat at His feet and remained/abiding in His presence.

Martha was running around serving everyone doing “ministry”.

When she got upset that Mary was not helping her Jesus said this:

Luke 10:42 NASB95

42 but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

Abiding is that one thing.

Let me say it again, plainly:

Abiding is not what we do for Jesus—it is how we stay in Jesus.

The branch doesn’t strive to produce fruit.

It just stays connected.