August 27, 2014 Bearing Fruit John 15:5…”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.” A popular understanding of this Scripture passage is that when we abide in Jesus good works will follow. The fruit then that we bear is good works. Yes, but not completely. When we abide in Jesus as a way of life, every day in every way, fruit follows. But the first fruit that follows is what Paul refers to in Galatians 5; the fruit of the Spirit. What is the basis for all the fruit that a follower of Christ will bear? - Love. That is the first quality of the fruit of the Spirit. Jesus says that without Him we can do nothing. He also said that we should “abide in His love.” Abiding in the love of Christ can do nothing else than produce this love in us to share with others. Our command is to love others as Christ loves us. The other qualities of the fruit of the Spirit follow after love; joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. None of these can happen without the love of Christ in you. After the fruit of the Spirit is built in you through abiding in Jesus, then good works naturally follow. The entire Scripture passage from verse 1-10 of John 15 is what discipleship is all about. Is it enough to be saved? Although many Christians believe so, Christ wants us to be His Church moving His Kingdom forward. Nothing is stagnant in God. Everything in God moves forward to the ultimate goal of perfection in Christ. We must be willing to get on board the Kingdom train. Pray that you may not be distracted by people or things that prevent abiding in Christ. Self-check your motives and actions to be sure they align with the will of God, then pray God that He will prune you to the perfection in Christ that you seek.
Posted on: Wed, 27 Aug 2014 01:48:44 +0000
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