Jesus often spoke in allegories or parables. In John 15, He spoke to His disciples so that they would understand how fruit is produced in the kingdom of God.
He told them that vines and branches produce physical fruit, but He wanted them to understand that there is a spiritual fruit that God's children are to bear as well.
We often try to live productive lives on our own. We forget that if we are in Christ, our roots are in Him. Where there are no roots in Him, there will be no good spiritual fruit.
If we are connected to Christ, obeying what He ask and getting our nourishment from His Word, then we will bear spiritual fruit. When we understand this, we will agree with Christ in what He claimd in John 15:5 that, “Apart from me you can do nothing.”
So what does this really mean? What can a Christian do to bear spiritual fruit? One of the great lessons we learn from John 15 is that the Christian life cannot be lived only through human effort or good intentions. Jesus said to, “Remain in me.” and that is accomplished by obeying Him.
As a vine is attached to a branch, so we are to be attached to Christ. If we know Christ and have been saved by Him, our work is to keep close to Jesus at all time.
One of the ways God trains us to bear fruit is through His process of pruning, which is a cleansing or cutting away of the dead branches that have stopped bearing fruit.
The spiritual fruit that the Christian should desire to bear, includes good works and godly character. In other words, remaining in Christ will direct what we do and shape who we are.
These good works have a purpose. In Matthew 5:16, Jesus encourages his followers to, “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Our Christ like actions point other people to Christ and glorify God the Father, and in turn we bear godly fruit that honors Him.
Hold Fast,
-Bren
