4 Abide in me and I in you.*From the way this is stated I conclude that although this ‘abiding’ is a two-way street, it actually depends on us. That is, as we abide in Him He will abide in us—He won’t stop first; only if we stop abiding in Him will He stop abiding in us. Just as a branch is incapable of producing fruit by itself, except it remains in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in me.

5 "I am the vine, and you are the branches. The one who abides in me and I in him, he is the one who produces much fruit, because apart from me you are incapable of doing anything.*We seem to have a hard time getting this through our heads, but our Lord is very clear—all our activism is fruitless. If we wish to produce fruit for Christ’s Kingdom we MUST abide in Him.