Imagine yourself gathering with Jesus and His closest followers for dinner—not just any dinner, but the meal that will be their last before the Messiah is led away and crucified.

That evening, Jesus’ final instructions to His disciples are recorded in John 14–16. He lays out what is coming: He will be leaving, but the Father will send the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, who will teach all things to those who believe in Him.

John 15 gives a beautiful illustration of how we are to bear fruit in our lives by abiding in Jesus Christ. It begins: 

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 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. . . . 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.

 “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. 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. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

“As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.” (John 15:1-8 NKJV) 

Here, in the first eight verses, fruit is mentioned six times!

It’s clear God doesn’t want us to simply bear some fruit, but much fruit.

Why? 

So our lives may glorify Him!

Jesus is the vine, we are the branches.

A branch in and of itself does not bear fruit. It must be connected to the vine. Through Jesus Christ (the vine) we receive the nourishment we need to bear fruit. Without Him, we bear no fruit and “can do nothing.”

Our Heavenly Father is the vinedresser, or gardener who tends to our fruit. Verse two uses the phrase “takes away”, or in some translations “cuts off.”

A clearer rendering from the Greek (airo) would be “take up” or “lift up.”

The branches of plants like grapevines have a natural tendency to trail down and grow along the ground. Here, they get muddy and don’t yield fruit. So a gardener often will lift the branches up, wash them off, and tie them to a trellis or pole, so again they can receive sunlight and flourish.

Likewise, God doesn’t cut off or throw us away when we fall into the dirt and stop producing fruit. Rather, He lifts us up, and helps us thrive again.

The gardener also prunes healthy branches so they remain strong and fruitful. Pruning doesn’t kill a plant, but rather reshapes it to come back stronger.

If we stay connected to Jesus Christ, taking our nourishment from Him, we will bear good godly fruit. We may experience seasons of lifting or pruning, but will come back stronger and more fruitful.

John 15 exhorts us toward an ongoing relationship with Christ—one that “abides in the vine.”

In six verses, the word “abide” is used ten times!

To abide means to stay closely connected, to continue, or remain.

How do we accomplish this abiding in Christ?

Surely reading and meditating on God’s word, and prayer are important parts of abiding.

But to reach the deep levels of abiding we must intentionally strengthen the quality of time spent with God.

Abiding is much more than reading our Bible for 10 minutes in the morning and then leaving God on the table as we hurry to our next activity.

Abiding grows your relationship with Him from a morning-only appointment to an all-day awareness of His presence.

Many Christians excel at doing activities for God, yet fail at simply enjoying His company.

How often do you sit quietly and simply enjoy His presence?

Abiding means Jesus is no longer a historical figure we can quote, but a living master and friend—one we are engaged with throughout the day.

Abiding in Christ, we hear His words, allow them to dwell within us, and obey what He tells us.

Abiding gives us the inner rest and refreshing we need to do the work He has called us to do. How often He supernaturally rewards the time spent in abiding, so we do less, but accomplish much more for His glory!

Abiding in Christ we experience His love, His joy, His peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, as the Spirit (gardener) works to grow these Christlike qualities, or fruit of the Spirit, in us.

This kind of ongoing, intimate relationship with Christ allows us to abide in Him.

Subsequently, we will bear much fruit in our lives!

Part 3 will look at how God transforms us to become more like Christ.

Copyright © 2017 Cheryl Elton

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