ABIDING in CHRIST for ‘GREATER’ FRUITFULNESS!
November
3 Bible Reading: John Chapters 13-15
ABIDING in CHRIST for ‘GREATER’ FRUITFULNESS!
"I am the true vine, and My Father is
the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and
every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the
branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can
you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides
in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. By
this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My
disciples." (John 15:1-2, 4-5, 8)
This is the
seventh and final of the great “I am”
statements of Jesus in the Gospel of John. Here, Jesus explains the
divine-human relationships by the analogy of a grapevine. Jesus is like the
main vine. The disciples are compared with branches. God, the Father tends the
branches like a gardener.
In the Old
Testament, the nation of Israel was depicted as a vine planted by Jehovah. The
Jews believed that because they were the descendants of Abraham, they were
connected to God. But Israel proved to be unfaithful and unfruitful, so the
Lord Jesus now presented Himself as the True
Vine, the perfect fulfillment of all the other types and shadows.
A vine
branch has one purpose only—to bear fruit.
It will bear fruit as long as it abides in the vine. A branch abides in a vine
by drawing all its life and nourishment from the vine. The point of the
allegory is that Jesus’ purpose in the believer’s life is to produce fruit (v.
5). Fruit is mentioned eight times in this chapter and a progression is seen: “fruit” (v. 2a), “more fruit” (v. 2b), and “much
fruit” (vv. 5, 8). In order to be a fruitful Christian, we must learn to
depend on Christ and let the power and Spirit of Christ flow through our lives.
The key to spiritual fruitfulness is
abiding in fellowship with Christ!
Just as a
real vine must be cleaned from insects, mildew, and fungus, we must be cleaned
from worldly things that cling to us through God’s Word. In our daily walk, we
should stay in intimate fellowship with God through prayer, reading and obeying
His Word, having fellowship with God’s people, and being continually conscious
of our union with God. The only way we
can bear the fruit of a Christ-like character is by living in touch with Christ
moment-by-moment!
Thus, our total continued dependence on Christ is
the only way to grow in Christian
character and our witness before others. This is also the only way we can bear much
fruit in our lives!
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." (Gal 5:22-24)
