John 15:1-8 NKJV
[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, 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, 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, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. [6] If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. [7] If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. [8] By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
Good Morning!
In this passage, Jesus presents Himself as the true vine, the source of all of our spiritual needs so that our souls may be nourished and we bear fruit.
Like any good farmer or gardener, they prune the branches, cutting away unfruitful or diseased branches, so that the healthy branches may bear more fruit. Pruning, in our own natural eyes, can be painful periods in our lives that we found to be a hardship. But through it, God is using us for His greater purpose. He teaches us through those pruning times in our lives. He increases our faith, He shows us that He is sovereign and gives us courage to strongly share our faith with others.
The branch that bears fruit is the Christian who is growing more like Jesus each day. Even good branches need to be pruned just like the real grapevine is to be cleansed from insects, mildew and fungus. This allows the healthier branches to thrive and bear even more fruit. This pruning/cleansing comes from God’s Word. As we read it daily, God uses it to scour our hearts, prune our branches and refresh our souls. We can only bear fruit when we tap into the source of all life and let His Holy Spirit flow through the vine into the branches of our lives.
In verse 7-8, Jesus tells us to abide in Him and when we do we will bear much fruit. To abide means to “stay put” and to remain in close fellowship with The Lord. A branch abides in the vine to gather its nourishment. So we too abide in Christ by spending time in prayer and reading His word daily. Notice in verse 2 Jesus says we’ll bear fruit, then more fruit through pruning and then in verse 8 much fruit by abiding in Him.
So, the steps to bearing much fruit are:
1. Be a branch – this is done by accepting Jesus into our hearts and believing He is our Lord and Savior.
2. Get Pruned – this is done by letting God’s word cleanse us and direct our paths, removing things of the old life and putting on the new as God directs us through His Word.
3. Abiding – Daily walking with God, reading His Word, praying and getting nourished from the true vine so that we can be a reflection of God’s glory to others around us.
Let’s also take a look at what God’s word says about what good fruit looks like as we tap into the vine…
Galatians 5:22-26 NKJV
[22] But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23] gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. [24] And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. [25] If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. [26] Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
Lord, I pray for all of us that we may be bearers of your likeness around those who we see each day. Let us abide in you and be bearers of much fruit! Amen!
I love you and am praying for you today!
Dad