to His word. “If you obey my commands, you will remain [abide] in my love” (15:10). He compared this close relationship to the connection between a grapevine and its branches, an analogy they could readily understand. Abiding in fellowship with Christ, like branches “abiding” in a vine, results in a vital prayer life. Another result from abiding in Christ is a productive spiritual life; the disciples would bear fruit just as a branch bears fruit when it is part of the vine. Although He did not identify