In chapter 15, Jesus uses the image of the vine and the branches to describe the union between him and his own. He is the true vine, and the disciples are the branches that receive life from him. Without that connection, the branch withers and cannot bear fruit. The fruit of the Christian life springs from abiding, not from isolated effort. Abiding in Christ means living in communion with his word and in dependence on him. When that connection is real, fruit is the natural consequence.