Fruit Bearing Is the Result of Abiding in Christ
Fruit Bearing Is the Result of Abiding in Christ
Communion with Christ begins with union with Christ. We cannot have communion unless we have trusted Him, and He is our Savior, and we are in Him (2 Cor. 5:17). As branches in the vine, all believers have a living union with their Lord, and as they cultivate communion with Him, He enables them to bear fruit. It’s unfortunate that the word results entered the Christian vocabulary (“Were there any results in the meeting last night?”), because dead machines can produce results, and so can spiritually dead religious people. Fruit is alive, and it comes out of our living communion with Jesus as His power works in and through us.
But fruit bearing requires disciplined commitment in time and effort, as well as good soil, sun and rain, and expert cultivation. We are rooted in Christ (Col. 2:7) and in love (Eph. 3:17), so the “soil” is perfect. The Father is the gardener, and He and the Son work together to enable us to bear fruit, just as the Son and the Father worked together when our Lord was ministering on earth (John 5:19, 36). Fruitless branches prove they have no living connection with the vine and they must be cut off, and fruitful branches must be pruned so they produce more and better fruit (15:1–2). Please note that when the vinedressers prune the fruitful branches, they cut away living wood, not dead wood, so the branch will produce better grapes. The vinedresser must know what wood to cut, how much to cut, and at what angle. It takes about three years for a professional pruner to be trained and approved.
As you read Scripture, note how the Father had to prune away good things from some of His servants so their ministries would be more fruitful and glorify the Lord in a greater way. Abraham had to leave his city and family and even offer his son Isaac to the Lord so that he might be fruitful. Jacob frequently had to lay aside his own plans so he could build the family that would give us the nation of Israel. You see this same loving process in the lives of Joseph, David, and Peter as well as in the lives of the men and women in church history who accomplished much for God’s glory.
The Greek word meno is used eleven times in John 15, and the NIV translates it as “remain.” Other English versions use “continue,” “dwell,” “remain in union,” and “abide.” “Abide” is my first choice. The Arndt and Gingrich Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament says that meno means “an inward enduring personal communion,” and that to me is “abiding.” Our union with Christ depends totally on Him, because He always lives to intercede for us (Heb. 7:25); but our communion with Him depends on our faithful relationship to Him as we trust and obey.
Marriage is a good illustration of what is meant by “abiding.” When the marriage ceremony ends, the official papers have been signed, and the couple has consummated the marriage, a living union has been formed and they are one flesh (Gen. 2:23–24). But union doesn’t guarantee communion. Communion is something the couple has to develop and maintain between themselves. If the new husband and wife don’t pray together; talk to each other; share their feelings, hopes, and disappointments; love each other; and sacrificially serve each other, their married life will become a routine or a war, and slowly lose its joy. Union is the foundation; communion is building on the foundation, and this demands mutual affection, attention, sacrifice, and service.
The fact that I am in union with Jesus Christ and a member of His body should motivate me to want to fellowship with Him and enjoy communion through worship, prayer, meditation on the Word, and service to others. “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business,” Jesus told His disciples. “Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15). The word translated “friends” means “friends at court, friends of the king.” What a privileged position!
Do we meet the Lord daily and commune with Him? During the day, do we thank Him for His help and blessing? Do we trust Him to assist us in our work? Do we confess our sins immediately and keep the relationship healthy? Do we involve Jesus in the decisions we make and in the relationships and tasks that confront us? This is what it means to have communion with Christ, to abide in Him.
What are some of the evidences that we are abiding in Christ? The fact that we are bearing fruit is one of them. Although we don’t always know the extent of the harvest, we see that our fruit lasts. The Scottish preacher George Morrison wrote, “The Lord rarely allows His servants to see all the good they are doing.” Another evidence is that the Father prunes us and cuts away good things that are hindering us from enjoying the better and the best.
Because we are only branches, we repeatedly feel our weakness and look to the Lord for strength and help. John 15:7 promises that we will have our prayers answered. As we abide in Christ, we experience God’s love (vv. 9, 12–13) and joy (v. 11), as well as the hatred and opposition of the world (vv. 18–19). We may not detect it, but as we abide in Christ, others will see us becoming more like the Lord Jesus Christ.
The evidence of true salvation in Christ and communion with Christ is fruit bearing. Judas was called by Christ, lived with Him as He ministered from place to place, and masqueraded as a converted man, but Judas was not attached by faith to Jesus the vine (John 6:60–71). Consequently, he was cut off and thrown away. “They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us” (1 John 2:19).
Neither health nor age should hinder us from abiding in Christ and bearing fruit for His glory. “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day” (2 Cor. 4:16). As my wife and I become older, the Lord is teaching us to set aside some ministries (pruning) and concentrate on others, and we are discovering that it’s possible to experience Psalm 92:14: “They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green.”