John 15:1-11
1 “I am the true vine, and My Father
is the vinedresser. 2 “Every
branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that
bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. 3 “You
are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 “Abide
in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides
in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. 5 “I
am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears
much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. 6 “If
anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and
they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. 7 “If
you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will
be done for you. 8 “My
Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove
to be My disciples. 9 “Just
as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. 10 “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love;
just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. 11 “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be
in you, and that your joy may be made full.
Jesus is the vine; the Father is the vinedresser and we are
branches. The goal is to bear as much
fruit as possible. The passage presents
at least four activities that contribute to fruitfulness. The problem with these activities is that
they don’t come naturally to us.
However, the result of doing these things is experiencing the joy of the
Lord. Being fruitful and joyful is what
everyone wants. Unfortunately, not
everyone is willing to participate in the process Jesus presents in this
passage.
FRUITFULNESS COMES FROM PRUNING: Any fruit bearing plant
must be pruned in order for it to produce at an optimum level. The branches that are not productive need to
be cut off to make room for the productive branches to grow. The productive branches need to be cut back
so that even more growth can be stimulated.
In a plan, fruit is stimulated by cutting. The same is true in our spiritual lives. Suffering is an instrument God uses to
stimulate the growing of fruit in our lives.
We all have areas of sinfulness that negatively affect our ability to
serve the Lord. We also have other
issues that hinder the Lord’s work through our lives. It is not easy to see these things. It is not easy to give these areas of our
lives up. God’s desire is to share His
joy with us by helping us become more and more fruitful. This is usually achieved by allowing us to
face sufferings that reveal these areas to us so they can be repented of and
surrendered to the Lord. Don’t avoid the
Lord’s discipline; embrace it and grow from it.
FRUITFULNESS COMES FROM ABIDING: The true key for a branch
to be able to produce fruit is to be connected to the vine. When we trust Christ, we are connected to the
vine and the sap of the Spirit begins to flow through us and change our lives
so we can produce fruit. We must abide
in the Lord for Him to be able to produce fruit in our lives. Abiding does not sound proactive enough for
most of us. We prefer words like
discipline, hard work and tenacity.
Abiding sounds too much like doing nothing for most of our liking. The reality is that if we fail to abide in
Christ, we can do nothing. Branches that
fall off a tree are gathered up and throw away.
The only way any of us can be productive in the kingdom is by abiding in
Christ. This means humbling recognizing
our own weakness and inability. Abiding
requires faith in the Lord and living in relationship with the Lord. We must recognize that we are dependent on
the Lord’s grace and mercy to work in and through us for His glory. As we rest in Him, He is faithful to work
through us.
FRUITFULNESS COMES FROM ASKING: Prayer is vital to bearing
fruit. Jesus teaches us that abiding in
Him and His Word is the key to effective and answered prayers. We cannot just ask anything and expect it to
be answered. But when His Word and presence
are the desires of our hearts, our prayers will be in accord with His will. Prayer is a declaration of dependence on the
Lord. When we pray, we are admitting our
own weakness and recognizing His strength.
The measure of our abiding in Christ is our prayer life. The key to producing fruit is prayer. When our productivity stems from our own
efforts, all we produce is wood and leaves that will end up in the fire. When our productivity stems from prayer, the
result is fruit and will reap eternal rewards.
As we abide in Christ, allow His Word to fill our hearts and minds, then
seek the Lord in prayer; we will produce fruit for His glory. Activities based on human effort will not
produce fruit. Asking God produces
fruit.
FRUITFULNESS COMES FROM OBEYING: Fruitfulness is defined in
this text as glorifying the Father. The
way the Father is glorifies is by people becoming disciples of Jesus. The way people prove they are disciples of
Jesus is by obeying His commandments.
When we obey the commands of Jesus, we produce the fruit of glorifying
God. Our motivation to obey the Lords
commands is abiding in His love.
Obedience does not naturally spring from the heart of sinful men. It is only made possible because of the love
of Jesus demonstrated on the cross. The
Holy Spirit’s presence in the lives of those who have trusted Christ makes
obedience flow through us. The most
enjoyable thing for a branch to do is bare fruit. The most enjoyable thing for a person to do
is bring glory to the Father. It is what
we were created to do. Glorifying ourselves
or anything else will leave us frustrated and unfulfilled. When we live for God’s glory and obey the
commands of Jesus; our lives will be filled with joy. Jesus didn’t give us commandments to ruin our
fun but to help us find true and everlasting joy.
APPLICATION: When we face difficulties, understand that God
is pruning things in our lives so we can bare much fruit. Trusting Jesus, depending on Jesus and living
in relationship with Jesus are the only means by which we can produce anything
for the Father’s glory. When things are distracting
us or tempting us away from the Lord, we need to pray and ask for the Lord’s
strength. Never try to produce fruit independently
of Jesus; it is an impossibility. Follow
Jesus by obeying Him and experience the joy of glorifying the Father.
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