You will bear fruit
John 15v1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2Every branch of mine that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9As the Father has loved me, so have I 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. 11These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. 12"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15No longer do I call you servants,(Greek bondservants) for the servant(Greek bondservant; also verse 20 []) does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17These things I command you, so that you will love one another.
We are going to walk through this great passage of scripture, and pull out a few wonderful truths.
I love this passage, its rich with glorious truth and magnificent theology.
First we see that Jesus is the vine, and the father is the vine dresser.
Here we see two groups of people, those who bear fruit and those who do not.
So who are those who bear fruit?
Who are those who do not?
Firstly those who do not bear fruit.
1) Are those who bear no fruit.
Now please be clear, he said no fruit.
There are those who attend church, or who profess to be Christians, who go on year after year, and there is absolutely no change. Years go by, and there is no fruit. NO change of heart, no growing revelation, no manifestations of the fruit or the spirit, or spiritual gifts. In that case you might need to ask, is this person truly in the vine? God promises those in the vine will be pruned and produce more.
I'm not talking about the person who battles with a problem for years, but rather a person who battles but does not even desire change, or see any need for it.
You can't have a changed nature, be so radically regenerated by the spirit, and have a dead heart.
2) Those who do not abide in Christ.
3) It is by its-self.(self effort/self righteousness/law). Trying to earn fruit.
4) Not grafted into the vine.
5) They do not have joy.
6) They do not obey His commands, which is to love.
7) Will be thrown away.
Who are these people? They are the unsaved.
I've heard this parable taught incorrectly before.
Some teach this parable saying, you better be careful, if you stop producing fruit you will loose your salvation and be thrown into the fire. I believe this incorrect interpretation, and ill show why later.
The other use of this parable is an unhealthy manipulation to try force fruit in Christians.
I've heard it say, "go work on your fruit, if your in Him then you must produce more fruit". This can lead to unhealthy striving, and quickly bring us back under striving, works law and condemnation. The entire point of this parable as we will see is that trying to do it our selves, getting caught up in self effort will not produce the fruit required, and its not, the way he wants to work in us.
Who are those who do bear fruit?
1) They are those who bear fruit.
Even a tiny bit of fruit is fruit!
Do you want to do what right? Well that's coz you have become righteous. Who you are is righteous; this produces a willingness to follow wholeheartedly the things of God. You've become a slave to righteousness! Even a desire to want to do good, is fruit.
Do you love God? That's fruit!
Do you want more of God? Do you want to know Him more, do you want deeper revelation. Do you have thoughts towards Him? That's fruit.
Have you been changed at all?
Has anything in you changed?
That's fruit!
If you have fruit, you know you will never be cut off, and thrown into the fire. Never. Only those who have no fruit. Not those, who don't have enough fruit. Not those who's fruit is not big, or tasty enough. No the only ones who will be cut off are those who bear NO fruit.
Fruit is any thought/action born out of love for God.
2) Those who abide in Him. He abides in them.
Who are those that abide in Him?
1 John4:13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.
The HS is the promise of the father to All who believe, to be poured out on all flesh.
If you believe you abide in Him. You're not " in AND out", your "in OR out". And were in.
3) They are already made clean. Who made them clean? Jesus by the washing of HIs blood, and renewal of the spirit.
4) They are pruned.
He will not reject us and cut us off if we bear little fruit. He will work in us to produce more fruit.
There may be unhelpful areas in our lives. There may be habits, addictions. Things that are unhelpful. Things that restrict "more fruit". Things like fear and unbelief, the roots of all sin. It's not sin "per se" that restricts fruit, but that stinking thinking that causes the sin in our lives. He comes and fixes that thinking, and that is the pruning. Were transformed by the renewing of our minds.
Eg I steal coz I need. Your sin is unbelief. Believing that God will provide your every need because he loves you and promised he would provide for you, will stop you stealing.
This is pruning!
If you stopped stealing but still did not believe Gods promise and nature, the fear and doubt would manifest in another way, you may become fearful about your future. Can you see how following the command does not guarantee that the root is dealt with. The root is unbelief.
The good news is that we don't have to have work on producing fruit. You are already clean. As we begin to see who we are, and know the freedom we actually have, we can be transformed out of those things, into the freedom Christ has bought. Know this, he wants to, and can prune that area away.
Friend God has given you everything you need to live in total victory! He has given us everything for life and godliness.
Friend God is powerfully at work within you!
5) They are not by them selves. (gift of righteousness/grace). Naturally produce fruit. Total reliance on God and the realization that you cannot produce fruit yourself.
6) They have great joy.
11These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
His presence also releases joy. Acts 2:28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence
7) There prayer s are powerfully answered.
Not coz of how they pray, but because of who they are, and who God is.
ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you
8) They obey the commandments...i.e. to love. When you are filled with the spirit, you can't help loving! "Pursue Him purposefully and you'll fulfill the law accidentally" Michael Eaton.
I challange you to be filled with the Holy Spirit and not love!
9) He will work in us to produce more fruit. Pruning produces much fruit.
What kind of fruit?
Much fruit.
Fruit that lasts.
Fruit that proves he is in us.
10) They glorify God by who they are.
8By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.
Questions.
Who produces the fruit?
Who gets the glory?
Hebrews 3:3 For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses - as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. 4(For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.)
Yes the house in nice, but the glory is for the builder.
11) His work in us will have proof!
That you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.
His powerful work in us through the spirit will produce fruit.
This is not a parable commanding us to go work on our fruit.
He proves in us that we are His disciples.
This tells us that the father is powerfully at work within us. He is the gardener, and attends to the vine. Jesus is the vine and we are that branch. We cannot produce fruit. We have no power to produce fruit. But when he works in us. We bear fruit. Part of that bearing fruit will be obedience to the commands.
This is the proof that he is in us. We love God and eachother. It's not something we have to go produce; it's a natural overflow of us in Him and Him in us. We will want to, and he will empower us to.
In order to not produce fruit we will have to actively resist him, which is actually harder than yielding to Him. If we do actively resist him, which is contrary to our righteous nature with us, he will prune us to help us not resist Him.
Phil 2
13for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure ESV
13For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure KJV
13for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose NIV
We will produce much fruit. We will live in obedience, we will obey commands. We will because he works powerfully in us. He is the gardener, Jesus is the branch. It is impossible to be in Jesus and not bear good fruit.
It's impossible to be abiding in the spirit, abiding in Christ, and not produce fruit. If you have any fruit at all, you can expect more. A good tree will produce good fruit. Our roots are in Him, we are watered by the life changing spirit of God often. Good fruit is the only thing we can expect. This parable teaches us that when we are in Him, he is working powerfully in and through us and it is impossible for Him to not produce good fruit in and through us. This is to His glory, this is His glory, we are His glory.
1 comment:
Excellent ~ Thank you!!
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