Bearing Much Fruit

I am the vine, you are the branches; the one who remains in Me, and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.
John 15:5

Notes

Jesus tells us that if we want to bear much fruit, we must remain in him. He takes it even further and says that we can do nothing if we don’t remain in him. A branch separated from the vine is worthless. It withers and dies and cannot bear fruit. In the same way, we must remain attached to Jesus to bear fruit.

The Greek word translated as to “remain” or to “abide” in this passage could also be translated to “reside” or “dwell”. It is a frequently used word by the apostle John. He uses it not only in this passage but also 24 times in his first letter. His primary focus is how we abide in Jesus and how our lives will produce the fruit of character and deeds that mirror Jesus.

We don’t just plug into Jesus to get charged up and then unplug to go off to do things to produce fruit. We need to stay connected to him at all times. We make our home in him. The fruit of our life, whether in character qualities or good deeds, is a result of the Holy Spirit at work in us and through us. We are completely dependent on Jesus to bear fruit.

We live in a culture that focuses on productivity and accomplishment as a measure of success. When we talk about bearing fruit, often we are measuring the fruit by our productivity and success. Yet here, the focus is on our relationship with Jesus, not our accomplishments.

Should our lives be fruitful? Absolutely! Fruit matters because it is evidence of the work of the Holy Spirit in our life and reflects Jesus to the world. We are called to examine our life and our relationship with the Lord (2 Cor 13:5). But what does that mean? Two areas to consider are the fruit of my character and the fruit of my deeds. Both of these can serve as a litmus test of the health of my relationship with God.

Love is one of the greatest examples of fruit in our lives. It is no surprise that when Jesus tells us to reside in him as a branch must reside on a vine to be fruitful, he commands us to abide in his love and love one another (John 15:9-12, 17).

Jesus says that it is our love for one another that will show the world that we are his disciples (John 13:35). The fruit of love in our life is evidence that we are following Jesus. Love is not something we conjure up by our own efforts, it is an overflow of our union with God. We love because God is love and he first loved us (1 John 4:7-21). We love because his love has filled us so much that it cannot help but spill out in our character and our behavior.

In Galatians 5:22-23 the apostle Paul lists the fruit of the spirit, which are character traits that are produced by the Holy Spirit in our life when we walk in the Spirit. These are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. As we remain in Jesus – spending time meditating on Scripture, praying, worshiping, fellowshipping with other believers – the outcome of this is more evidence of the fruit of the Spirit in my life. Are we becoming more loving? Are we peacemakers? Do kindness and goodness exude from our lives?

As we become more like Jesus in our character, our behavior will also bear fruit in doing good deeds. This too happens by remaining in him. When we examine our lives, we have to pay attention to the fruit of our works because they reflect what is in our hearts.

Our good deeds have nothing to do with our salvation, which is a gift of God by faith in Jesus (Eph 2:8-9). However, we were created in Christ Jesus to do good works God prepared for us to do (Eph 2:10). As James says, faith without works is dead. He asks what good is it to wish a poor person well with your words, but do nothing to help meet their needs (James 2:14-17).

In 1 John 2:6, John again uses the word “remain” to say that if we remain in God we will walk as Jesus walked. How did Jesus walk? He touched those considered unclean and brought healing. He cared for the poor and marginalized. He broke down walls of prejudice and racism. He preached the good news of hope, forgiveness and abundant, eternal life to all who come to him. Are these fruits in our lives? Is there evidence of faith in the way we spend our time and money? If not, you and I might need to consider if we are truly abiding in Jesus.

When we examine our fruit and feel convicted, it is good news that God is always working to make us more like Christ. God will prune us so we can bear more fruit (John 15:2). Pruning can be painful, but it makes us more like Jesus. If you and I want to be people who love like Jesus and bring hope and peace to a hurting world, we must first and foremost abide in him. He is the one who will cause our lives to bear much fruit for the glory of God.