Abide in Christ Quotes

“The Christian often tries to forget his weakness; God wants us to remember it, to feel it deeply. The Christian wants to conquer his weakness and to be freed from it; God wants us to rest and even rejoice in it. The Christian mourns over his weakness; Christ teaches His servant to say, 'I take pleasure in infirmities. Most gladly ...will I...glory in my infirmities' (2 Cor. 12:9)' The Christian thinks his weaknesses are his greatest hindrance in the life and service of God; God tells us that it is the secret of strength and success. It is our weakness, heartily accepted and continually realized, that gives our claim and access to the strength of Him who has said, 'My strength is made perfect in weakness”
― Andrew Murray, Abide in Christ: The Joy of Being in God's Presence

“It is only into the thirst of an empty soul that the streams of living waters flow. Ever thirsting is the secret of never thirsting.”
― Andrew Murray, Abide in Christ

“Oh, that you would come and begin simply to listen to His Word and to ask only the one question: Does He really mean that I should abide in Him? The answer His Word gives is so simple and so sure: By His almighty grace you now are in Him; that same almighty grace will indeed enable you to abide in Him. By faith you became partakers of the initial grace; by that same faith you can enjoy the continuous grace of abiding in Him.”
― Andrew Murray, Abide in Christ: The Joy of Being in God's Presence

“The parable teaches us the nature of that union. The connection between the vine and the branch is a living one. No external, temporary union will suffice; no work of man can effect it: the branch, whether an original or an engrafted one, is such only by the Creator's own work, in virtue of which the life, the sap, the fatness, and the fruitfulness of the vine communicate themselves to the branch. And just so it is with the believer too. His union with his Lord is no work of human wisdom or human will, but an act of God, by which the closest and most complete life-union is effected between the Son of God and the sinner. "God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts." The same Spirit which dwelt and still dwells in the Son, becomes the life of the believer; in the unity of that one Spirit, and the fellowship of the same life which is in Christ, he is one with Him. As between the vine and branch, it is a life-union that makes them one.”
― Andrew Murray, Abide in Christ

“A soul filled with large thoughts of the Vine will be a strong branch, and will abide confidently in Him. Be much occupied with Jesus, and believe much in Him, as the True Vine.”
― Andrew Murray, Abide in Christ

“There are two natures in the believer, and so two ways of seeking holiness, as we allow the principles of the one or the other nature to guide us. The one is the carnal way, in which we put forth our utmost efforts and resolutions, trusting Christ to help us in doing so. The other is the spiritual way, in which, as those who have did and can do nothing, our one care is to receive Christ day by day and at every step to let Him live and work in us.”
― Andrew Murray, Abide in Christ: The Joy of Being in God's Presence

“THERE is a view of the Christian life that regards it as a sort of partnership, in which God and man have each to do their part. It admits that it is but little that man can do, and that little defiled with sin; still he must do his utmost--then only can he expect God to do His part. To those who think thus,it is extremely difficult to understand what Scripture means when it speaks of our being still and doing nothing, of our resting and waiting to see the salvation of God. It appears to them a perfect contradiction, when we speak of this quietness and ceasing from all effort as the secret of the highest activity of man and all his powers. And yet this is just what Scripture does teach. The explanation of the apparent mystery is to be found in this, that when God and man are spoken of as working together, there is nothing of the idea of a partnership between two partners who each contribute their share to a work. The relation is a very different one. The true idea is that of cooperation founded on subordination. As Jesus was entirely dependent on the Father for all His words and all His works, so the believer can do nothing of himself. What he can do of himself is altogether sinful. He must therefore cease entirely from his own doing, and wait for the working of God in him. As he ceases from self-effort, faith assures him that God does what He has undertaken, and works in him. And what God does is to renew, to sanctify, and waken all his energies to their highest power. So that just in proportion as he yields himself a truly passive instrument in the hand of God, will he be wielded of God as the active instrument of His almighty power. The soul in which the wondrous combination of perfect passivity with the highest activity is most completely realized, has the deepest experience of what the Christian life is.”
― Andrew Murray, Abide in Christ

“Follow me." When about to leave for heaven, He gave them a new word, in which their more intimate and spiritual union with Himself in glory should be expressed. That chosen word was: "Abide in me." It is to be feared that there”
― Andrew Murray, Abide in Christ

“what intimacy of fellowship, to what wondrous oneness of life and interest, He invited them when He said, "Abide in me." This is not only an unspeakable loss to themselves, but the Church and the world suffer in what they lose. If we ask the reason why those who have indeed accepted the Savior, and been made partakers of the renewing of the Holy Ghost,”
― Andrew Murray, Abide in Christ

“There are a thousand questions that at times come up; the attempt to answer them becomes a weariness and a burden. It is because you have forgotten you are in Christ, whom God has made to be your wisdom. Let it be your first care to abide in Him in undivided fervent devotion of heart. When the heart and the life are right, rooted in Christ, knowledge will come in such measure as Christ's own wisdom sees fit.... Oh, let us be content to possess Christ, to dwell in Him, to make Him our life, and only in deeper searching into Him, to search and find the knowledge we desire. Such knowledge is life indeed.”
― Andrew Murray, Abide in Christ: The Joy of Being in God's Presence

“The parable teaches us the object of the union. The branches are for fruit and fruit alone. "Every branch that beareth not fruit He taketh away." The branch needs leaves for the maintenance of its own life, and the perfection of its fruit: the fruit itself it bears to give away to those around. As the believer enters into his calling as a branch, he sees that he has to forget himself, and to live entirely for his fellow-men. To love them, to seek for them, and to save them, Jesus came: for this every branch on the Vine has to live as much as the Vine itself. It is for fruit, much fruit, that the Father has made us one with Jesus.”
― Andrew Murray, Abide in Christ

“And all the branch possesses belongs to the vine. The branch does not exist for itself, but to bear fruit that can proclaim the excellence of the vine: it has no reason of existence except to be of service to the vine. Glorious image of the calling of the believer, and the entireness of his consecration to the service of his Lord.”
― Andrew Murray, Abide in Christ

“walk to win others to follow Him fully. It is only in such fruit-bearing that our own abiding can be”
― Andrew Murray, Abide in Christ

“daily and hourly presence and keeping, were preached with the same distinctness and urgency”
― Andrew Murray, Abide in Christ

“There are a thousand questions that at times come up, and the attempt to answer them becomes a weariness and a burden. It is because you have forgotten you are in Christ, whom God has made to be your wisdom. Let it be your first care to abide in Him in undivided fervent devotion of heart; when the heart and the life are right, rooted in Christ, knowledge will come in such measure as Christ's own wisdom sees meet. And without such abiding in Christ the knowledge does not really profit, but is often most hurtful. The soul satisfies itself with thoughts which are but the forms and images of truth, without receiving the truth itself in its power. God's way is ever first to give us, even though it be but as a seed, the thing itself, the life and the power, and then the knowledge. Man seeks the knowledge first, and often, alas! never gets beyond it. God gives us Christ, and in Him hid the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. O let us be content to possess Christ, to dwell in Him, to make Him our life, and only in a deeper searching into Him, to search and find the knowledge we desire. Such knowledge is life indeed.”
― Andrew Murray, Abide in Christ

“In all your meditations with the blessed Word, remember the same truth: Abide in Jesus, your wisdom. Study as much as you can to know the written Word; but study even more to know the living Word, in whom you are of God. Jesus, the wisdom of God, is only known by a life of implicit confidence and obedience. The words He speaks are spirit and life to those who live in Him. Therefore, each time you read, or hear, or meditate upon the Word, be careful to assume your true position. Realize first your oneness with Him who is the wisdom of God; know yourself to be under His direct and special training; go to the Word abiding in Him, the very fountain of divine light. In His light you can and will see light.”
― Andrew Murray, Abide in Christ: The Joy of Being in God's Presence

“[I]f you would know how faith is to be exercised in this abiding, how you can be rooted more deeply and firmly in Him, you will need to look back to the time when you first received Him. You remember well the obstacles that appeared to be in the way of your believing. There was first your corruption and guilt; it appeared impossible that the promise of pardon and love could be for a sinner like you. Then there was the sense of weakness and death: You did not feel the power necessary for the surrender and the trust to which you were called. And then there was the future: You did not dare to imagine you could be a disciple of Jesus while you felt so unable to stand. You were sure you would quickly revert to unfaithfulness and fall. These difficulties were like mountains in your way. And how were they removed? Simply by the word of God. That word compelled you to believe that despite guilt in the past, weakness in the present, and unfaithfulness in the future, the promise was sure that Jesus would accept you and save you. On that word you ventured to come, and were not deceived: You found that Jesus did indeed accept and save you.
Now apply this, your experience in coming to Jesus, to abiding in Him. Now, as then, the temptations to keep you from believing are many. When you think of your sins since you became a disciple, your heart is cast down with shame, and it looks as if it were too much to expect that Jesus would indeed receive you into perfect intimacy and the full enjoyment of His holy love. When you think how utterly, in times past, you have failed to keep the most sacred vows, the consciousness of present weakness makes you tremble at the very idea of answering the Savior's command with the promise 'Lord, from now on I will abide in you.' And when you set before yourself the life of love and joy, of holiness and fruitfulness, which in the future are to flow from abiding in Him, it is as if it only serves to make you still more hopeless; you are sure you can never attain to it. You know yourself too well. There is no use expecting it, only to be disappointed; a life fully and wholly abiding in Jesus is not for you.
Oh, that you would learn a lesson from the time of your first coming to the Savior! Remember, dear one, how you were then led - contrary to all that your experience, your feelings, and even your sober judgment said - to take Jesus at His word, and how you were not disappointed. He did receive you, and pardon you; He did love you, and save you. And if He did this for you when you were an enemy and a stranger, now that you are His own, will he not much more fulfill His promise? (See Romans 5:10) Oh, that you would come and begin simply to listen to His word, and to ask only one question: Does He really mean that I can abide in Him? The answer His word gives is so simple and so sure: By His almighty grace will you are no in Him; that same almighty grace will indeed enable you to abide in Him. By faith you became a partaker of the initial grace; by that same faith you can enjoy the continuous grace of abiding in Him.
And if you ask what exactly it is that you now have to believe that you may abide in him, the answer is that you now have to believe that you may abide in Him, the answer is not difficult. Believe first of all what He says: 'I am the Vine.' The safety and the fruitfulness of the branch depend upon the strength of the vine. Do not think so much of yourself as a branch, nor of the abiding as your duty, until you have first had your soul filled with faith in what Christ as the Vine is. he really will be to you all that a vine can be - holding you fast, nourishing you, and making himself responsible every moment for your growth and your fruit. Take time to know, set yourself to believe heartily: My Vine, on whom I can depend for all I need, is Christ.”
― Andrew Murray, Abide in Christ: The Joy of Being in God's Presence

“More than one admits that it is a sacred duty and a blessed privilege to abide in Christ but shrinks back continually before the question: Is it possible, a life of unbroken fellowship with the Savior? Eminent Christians, to whom special opportunities of cultivating this grace have been granted, may attain to it; but for the large majority of disciples whose lives are so fully occupied with the everyday concerns of this life, it cannot be expected. The more they hear of this life, the deeper their sense of its glory and blessing, and there is nothing they would not sacrifice to be made partakers of it. But they feel they are too weak, too unfaithful; they are sure they can never attain it.
How little such dear souls know about this life. They don't realize that abiding in Christ is meant for the weak and is beautifully suited to their frailty. It is not the doing of some great thing and does not demand that we first lead a very holy and devoted life. No, it is simply weakness entrusting itself to a Mighty One to be kept, the unfaithful one casting itself on One who is altogether trustworthy and true. Abiding in Him is not a work that we have to do as the condition for enjoying His salvation, but rather a consenting to let Him do all for us, in us, and through us. It is a work He does for us as the fruit and the power of His redeeming love. Our part is simply to yield, to trust, and to wait for what He has promised to perform.”
― Andrew Murray, Abide in Christ: The Joy of Being in God's Presence

“mystery of His love,—a fuller conformity to His own blessed life. And thou shalt learn to prize these words as among thy choicest treasures: “If ye keep my commandments”
― Andrew Murray, Abide In Christ: A 31-Day Devotional for Fellowship with Jesus

“learnt from Christ that in the life of Divine love the emptying of self and the sacrifice of our will is the surest way to have all we can wish or will. Dependence”
― Andrew Murray, Abide In Christ: A 31-Day Devotional for Fellowship with Jesus

“faith is confessed helplessness casting itself upon God’s promise”
― Andrew Murray, Abide In Christ: A 31-Day Devotional for Fellowship with Jesus

“but the forsaking all is followed by the receiving all. We abide in Christ more fully as we forsake all and follow Him. As I count all things loss for His sake”
― Andrew Murray, Abide In Christ: A 31-Day Devotional for Fellowship with Jesus

“but just at once take the position the Father has given you: “I am in Christ; this is the place God has given me. I accept it; here I rest; I do now abide in Jesus.”
― Andrew Murray, Abide In Christ: A 31-Day Devotional for Fellowship with Jesus

“Now to Him”
― Andrew Murray, Abide In Christ: A 31-Day Devotional for Fellowship with Jesus

“comes of seeking in our own way and in our own strength the spiritual blessing which comes alone from above. The heart occupied with its own plans and efforts for doing God’s will”
― Andrew Murray, Abide In Christ: A 31-Day Devotional for Fellowship with Jesus

“This life is a life of loving beneficence and activity. Seated on His throne”
― Andrew Murray, Abide In Christ: A 31-Day Devotional for Fellowship with Jesus

“Blessed the man Who understands this half of the covenant too! He sees that his security is not in the covenant which he makes with his God”
― Andrew Murray, Abide In Christ: A 31-Day Devotional for Fellowship with Jesus

“It is not the doing of some great thing, and does not demand that we first lead a very holy and devoted life. No, it is simply weakness entrusting itself to a Mighty One to be kept--the unfaithful one casting self on One who is altogether trustworthy and true.”
― Andrew Murray, Abide in Christ

“We all know the value of joy. It alone is the proof that what we have really satisfies the heart. As long as duty, or self-interest, or other motives influence me, men cannot know what the object of my pursuit or possession is really worth to me. But when it gives me joy, and they see me delight in it, they know that to me at least it is a treasure. Hence there is nothing so attractive as joy, no preaching so persuasive as the sight of hearts made glad.”
― Andrew Murray, Abide In Christ: A 31-Day Devotional for Fellowship with Jesus

“My power is made perfect in weakness."-2 COR.12:9 (R.V.). THERE is no truth more generally admitted among earnest Christians than that of their utter weakness. There is no truth more generally misunderstood and abused. Here, as elsewhere, God's thoughts are heaven-high above man's thoughts. The Christian often tries to forget his weakness: God wants us to remember it, to feel it deeply. The Christian wants to conquer his weakness and to be freed from it: God wants us to rest and even rejoice in it. The Christian mourns over his weakness: Christ teaches His servant to say, "I take pleasure in infirmities; most gladly will I glory in my infirmities." The Christian thinks his weakness his greatest hindrance in the life and service of God: God tells us that it is the secret of strength and success. It is our weakness, heartily accepted and continually realized, that gives us our claim and access to the strength of Him who has said, "My strength is made perfect in weakness.”
― Andrew Murray, Abide in Christ