As we continue our study on the fruit of the kingdom, we will begin this week with the most important text in the Bible about bearing fruit, which is the statement of the Lord Himself on this matter, as recorded in John 15:1-8:
"Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes, so that it may bear more fruit.
"You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.
"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.
"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.
"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.
"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you.
"By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.
By this we can deduct several important facts:
- We can only bear fruit if we abide in the Lord; apart from Him we can do nothing.
- If we are abiding in Him we will bear fruit, so if we are not bearing fruit it is evidence that we are not truly abiding in Him.
- When we do begin to bear fruit, we can expect to be pruned so that we can bear even more fruit.
- It is by bearing “much fruit” that we glorify the Father, and prove to be His disciples.
- If we do not bear fruit, we will be cut off.
- If we abide in Him, we can ask whatever we wish and it will be done for us.
To be a Christian, growing in the fruit of the Spirit, and bearing fruit for the kingdom, is not an option. It is so essential that this proves whether we are true disciples or not. If we are not bearing fruit, we can expect to be cut off from the Vine. It is that important. However, He did not call us to cut us off, but to help us to abide in Him so that we can live the most fruitful, purposeful lives that we could ever live on this earth. That is your calling and what you can even now live in, regardless of any earthly circumstances, including age, present health, or any other conditions. If you have a single day left on the earth, you could in fact be used to do something historic for the kingdom if you will abide in Him today.
Before going any further, we need to understand that the concept that salvation is based on the mere belief that God exists is an affront to the God who exists, and is not only intellectual foolishness, but in basic conflict with the Scriptures. The demons believe He exists. The demons believe in Jesus, and even in the atonement of the cross. In fact, they do not have nearly the doubts about these things that many Christians do. The belief that results in salvation is not the belief in the existence of these things, but to put our trust in them. The Word of God is also clear that those with true faith in God will live for Him.
Those who really believe in Him will be devoted to knowing Him, knowing what pleases Him, and what He expects of us so we can do what He says. For true discipleship, there are no other options. Consider the following statements that the Lord Jesus Himself made:
"For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it.
"For what will a man be profited, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:24-26)
Anyone who is more focused on this life and in producing for this life, rather than for eternity, obviously does not understand true discipleship. How could anyone who truly grasps the truth of the gospel not do all things for the sake of the gospel? This does not mean that we cannot have and be successful in secular professions. Even in those we can do all that we do as unto the Lord, and not just for ourselves. True disciples do not live for themselves, but for Him. The truly redeemed no longer belong to themselves, they were bought with a price, and now belong to the One who purchased them.
"Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned?
"It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear" (Luke 14:33-35).
Many draw back from this text just as the rich young ruler did. This does not necessarily mean that we need to right away go out and give everything we own to the Lord. What it does mean is that we do not consider anything that we have in our possession as our possession, but something we have been made a steward over.
A good steward does not just freely spend or make decisions about that which belongs to his master, but earnestly seeks the will of his master about such things. It is this mentality about our possessions which helps us to abide in the Lord.
"Everyone who comes to Me, and hears My words, and acts upon them, I will show you whom he is like:
he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation upon the rock; and when a flood rose, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.
"But the one who has heard, and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house upon the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great" (Luke 6:46-49).
To hear the words of the Lord are not enough, but may in fact have us feeling safe in a condition in which we are still in eternal jeopardy. If He is our Lord, the One whose authority we submit to, we will do what He commands. We can go to church services every time the doors open, but if we are not living according to His Words, it will not profit us. True discipleship is demonstrated by devoted obedience to His Words, not just hearing them. Spurgeon once lamented that he could find ten men who would die for the Bible for every one who would read it!
How can we abide in His Words if we do not know them? Can we be true disciples of His when we spend more time reading the sports page or the news, than the Bible or other books, tapes, and resources that help us to understand the Bible? This is not saying that we cannot have an interest in these things, but if that interest in these temporary eclipses our interest in eternal things, have they not become idols that we love more than God and His purposes?
If Jesus, who was the Word Himself, would take His stand on the written Word when challenged by the devil, how much more should we know the written Word and take our stand in life on it? Without question, true disciples are devoted to knowing the written Word of God and obeying it.
and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:31-32).
The Scriptures are clear about the definition of a true disciple and true freedom. True freedom comes from not being bound by sin and by living above the cares and worries of this world. This does not mean we are not responsible with the things of this world of which we are made stewards, but in fact we can be trusted with far more of them because of the solid foundation of faith in the Lord that we have. To live by faith in the Lord, instead of in the conditions of this world, is to live in a kingdom that simply cannot be shaken regardless of what happens in this world. This is true freedom indeed.
The Scriptures are very clear about what love is, which we will look at in some depth in this study. Without it all of our works become vain, as we are told in I Corinthians 13:2-3, “And if I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.” So love is something we definitely want to give the highest priority to pursuing. Think about it. What percentage of our life do we devote to growing in love?
As we have already addressed at the beginning of this study, one of the ways it is proven that we are true disciples is not just by bearing some fruit, but “much fruit.” Should this not be a priority in our life? Can we look back at our life and see “much fruit?” Do we see the potential for it in the future? There are very practical ways that we can be assured that it is, which is the purpose of this study. We want to take the time to examine them with the devotion of doing them. What is it we are doing that is taking our time, attention, and resources that is more important than this?
The way we will do this is not by just focusing on the fruit itself, but the One in Whom we must abide in order to bear fruit. Apart from Him we can do nothing, and in Him we can do anything. That is the contrast between our choices. If we are abiding in Him, as He promises, we can ask whatever we wish and it will be done for us. Of course, if we are abiding in Him, we would only ask that which is His will anyway. Even so, our choice is between doing nothing or anything we wish to bring glory to His name.
This means that any Christian could be used to do even the greatest exploits. There are no limits on anyone who abides Him. A new believer who learns to better abide in the Lord can accomplish far more for the kingdom than the most knowledgeable seminary professor, the most seemingly successful pastor, the most popular teacher, or an author who writes many books. The goal is not just to do work, but to do His work, with Him.
This is not to detract from the noble purposes of teaching, being a pastor, or writing if that is what we are called to do, but simply learning to abide in Him is more important. For this you do not have to go to seminary, you do not have to go to college, and you do not have to have a high I.Q. It is far more important to have a devotion to know the Lord and to do His will. You may not be able to even lead a home group, but if you learn to abide in the Lord you could be the one to save a city or even a nation. You could be the one who ignites the greatest revival in history, or who walks on water, raises the dead, or moves mountains by your faith. There are no limits on anyone who abides in the Lord.
Without question, the greatest success we can have in this life will depend on how well we have abided in the Lord. No other factor in our life, including our education, where we are born, who we know, or the material wealth we have, will be even close to having the influence on the true success of our life like this one factor.
Nothing in human history ever so leveled the playing field for true success as the Lord Himself did for all who respond to the call to be His disciples. Any Christian on earth, regardless of all other circumstances, could become the greatest champion of the faith in the last days. Any Christian has the opportunity to become the Lord’s best friend on the earth. What could we possibly have better to do with our life?