November 2023

The apostle John presents the story of Jesus as testimony. Through his gospel and letters, and even in the book of Revelation, he describes Christ as the One who bears witness to God’s truth and is the subject of our testimony. This is what the first post of this series covered.

Since the witness by and about Christ is authentic and valid, the only reasonable response is to believe it. This was the topic of the second post. Trusting the testimony of Jesus Christ gives us an unimaginable blessing. When we believe in Jesus, we receive the gift of eternal life, which was what the third post unpacked.

There’s one more theme in John’s writings we should pay attention to. We could say it concerns a sustained approach to life in Christ. The first three are time-specific. Witnessing, believing, and receiving eternal life are related to incidents or situations in which we open ourselves up to God. I realize it takes some people longer than others to respond to the gospel. Some individuals give their lives to Jesus the first time they hear about Him, while others take years before they trust the Lord. But in general, we can point to the circumstances and decisions that established our commitment to Christ.

By contrast, the topic we’re looking at today is long-term. It’s represented by the Greek verb meno which is pretty common in the Greek New Testament, occurring 118 times in 102 verses. Like the other words and phrases we explored, this one is a favorite of John’s. He uses it 68 times in 54 verses which is more than any other NT writer does. (If you’re into numbers, I can tell you that meno is found 40 times in 33 times in John, 27 times in 20 verses in John’s letters, and once in Revelation. You’re welcome!)

Most often, the verb gets translated as “abide” or “remain.” The first meaning fits the perspective many people hold that the fourth gospel is a “spiritual gospel.” I’ve heard this phrase mentioned in church services and theology classes, and it seems to be widespread among Christians. The idea is that more than Matthew, Mark, or Luke, John emphasizes the spiritual significance of the Lord’s words and deeds.

This is not a recent opinion. As far back as the early third century AD, the church father Clement of Alexandria wrote: “but, last of all, John, aware that the physical facts had been set out in the gospels, was encouraged by his disciples and divinely motivated by the Spirit, composed a spiritual gospel.” About 200 years later, Augustine maintained that “John spoke about the Lord’s divinity in a way that no one else ever did.” And in the 20th century, Bible scholar Leon Morris said that “the gospel of John is like a swimming pool: shallow enough that a child may wade and deep enough that an elephant can swim.”

In light of these assertions, the translation “abide” fits John’s theology well. From this perspective, to abide in Christ is to develop and sustain one’s relationship with Him. We see this laid out in the following passage:

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. ⁵I 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. ⁶If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. ⁷If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. ⁹Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. ¹⁰If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. – John 15:4-10

Like the other Bible verses quoted in this series, this passage is from the NASB. But this is from the 1995 version, whereas I’ve been using the 2020 edition. For the most part, they’re the same, but they have a few differences, and the way they translate the verb meno is one of them.

The 2020 NASB replaces “abide” with “remain” in this passage. I’m not sure why the translators did that, but I have a hunch.

As I said above, the word “abide” has strong spiritual connotations for many Christians. It’s easy to interpret verses with this term as encouraging us to deepen our relationship with Jesus. From this point of view, such verses are personal, even private. They target our emotions and affections.

And while this treatment isn’t wrong, it leaves out a lot of what John was dealing with. The word “remain” captures what’s neglected. It has to do with grounding and stability. Here are some examples of what I mean:

• “The Helper is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him; but you know Him because He remains with you and will be in you.” – John 14:17
• “As for you, see that what you heard from the beginning remains in you. If what you heard from the beginning remains in you, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father.” – 1 John 2:24
• “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers and sisters. The one who does not love remains in death. ¹⁵Everyone who hates his brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him. ¹⁶We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers and sisters. ¹⁷But whoever has worldly goods and sees his brother or sister in need, and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God remain in him?” – 1 John 3:14-17
• “Anyone who goes too far and does not remain in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who remains in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.” – 2 John 9

These verses sound spiritual, since they deal with the Holy Spirit, the love of God, and the gospel. But through them, John emphasizes stability and commitment. It’s one thing to rejoice over the good news of Jesus Christ; it’s another to put down roots and grow.

But we don’t have to contrast abiding and remaining. There’s another English word that combines the two well and that word is “stay.”

In some contexts, the verb doesn’t have any spiritual connotations. For example, this short passage refers to Christ’s lodging:

“And Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, ‘What are you seeking?’ They said to Him, ‘Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?’ ³⁹He said to them, ‘Come, and you will see.’ So they came and saw where He was staying, and they stayed with Him that day; it was about the tenth hour.” – John 1:38-39

But for the purposes of discipleship, the notion of staying integrates the personal dimension of abiding and the public one of remaining. Christians are to stay loyal to Jesus in their hearts and in their ministries.

What would undermine our faithfulness to the Lord? Difficulties!

Christ’s words can prove hard to understand or follow. After declaring Himself the bread of life, “many of His disciples left, and would no longer walk with Him” (John 6:66). Aware of this, “Jesus said to the twelve, ‘You do not want to leave also, do you?’” (John 6:67). On this occasion, Jesus got a good response: “Simon Peter answered Him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life’” (John 6:68). Later on, Judas betrayed Him and the 11 abandoned the Lord when He was arrested. But at least for the moment, Peter’s heart was in the right place!

The idea of staying that the verb meno contains means not giving up. Promoting diligence and devotion His message, “Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you continue in My word, then you are truly My disciples; ³²and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free’” (John 8:31-32). Starting is great, but we need to stick with it!

Learning from the Lord can be tough. So also will serving Him.

“Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you as well; if they followed My word, they will follow yours also. ²¹But all these things they will do to you on account of My name, because they do not know the One who sent Me.” – John 15:20-21

When the world pressures us, we’re tempted to either quit testifying of Jesus or following Him at all. Personal moments with the Lord are wonderful, but we must also practice what Pastor Eugene Peterson called “a long obedience in the same direction.” We need staying power!

We began this series by examining the significance John places on witness. The fitting response to valid testimony is faith. When we trust in the gospel, we enter into eternal life, a relationship with God through Jesus Christ that affects every aspect of our lives forever. To grow in Christ and to share Him with others requires long-haul thinking. Despite the obstacles, we stay the course. We press on and by God’s grace, we enjoy His presence. These are the blessings John outlines for believers. Make the most of them in your journey with Jesus!