At this moment, there is a stand sitting in my dining room with four trays of dirt on it. It looks great right there in the dining room, and in that dirt is a mix of seeds that my wife bought at Walmart and is intending to grow into a garden. The other day, I was asked to move that stand, and I got the bright idea that I was just going to pick it up and move it all at the same time, not realizing that that thing would fold up on me in a second. In just a moment, I realized what a big mistake I had made by trying to move that thing all at once and save myself a little bit of time, and the ending was not very pretty. Nothing got messed up, praise the Lord, all the seeds were fine and most of the dirt was still in the containers, but it was a pretty stressful moment for me and especially for my wife, who had done the hours of work getting all those seeds into that beautiful dirt and putting them on those shelves.
The reason she was so concerned about that is because what was in that dirt was very valuable to her and valuable to our family. At this moment, all I see is a bunch of brown dirt and a few green stems, but a few months from now, the hope is that those little green stems and that brown dirt are going to turn into large, beautiful plants that are covered in delicious food that we are going to get to eat.
The hope is that all that work, all that dirt, and those stems are going to turn into something valuable. It is going to be food that will bless and feed our family and hopefully others. So the content of that dirt is valuable, and it matters.
In this passage this morning, Jesus describes himself as a husbandman. Now that is a phrase we do not use a lot today, but it simply means a vine dresser, someone who is tending and taking care of vines. Most likely in that day, it would have been grape vines, and they would be taking care of these vines and trying to grow these plants. Jesus is describing the Father as this vine dresser, as a gardener who is planting seeds of life and seeds of faith into people like you and me. His expectation is that those seeds he plants into us are going to germinate, and they are going to grow, and they are going to produce something valuable. He did not put them there because the seeds themselves are really good for anything, but because of what the seeds are going to produce as they grow.
God is wanting a garden that is fruitful. He is wanting seeds that become fruitful. He is wanting Christians who are going to be fruitful.
Here in John chapter 15, Jesus is giving his closing words to the disciples. He is getting ready to go away, and he is making preparation to return to heaven. He knows he is leaving his disciples to experience a life they have never experienced before, so everything he is saying is very important for them as they begin this new life in the Spirit and this new life without Christ physically present with them. We need to hang on every word Christ gives over these chapters because this is what he needs us to know as we await his return and live in his physical absence.
In this particular chapter, Jesus calls his disciples to do something very specific. He calls them to abide in him.
Notice the first occurrence of that word in verse 4:
“Abide in me, and I in you.”
The word abide means to have a permanent, continuous dwelling, to constantly and consistently dwell in a specific place or with a specific person. That is what Jesus is calling us to in this passage. He is calling us to continuously and permanently dwell with him, dwell in his presence, and dwell depending upon him. That is the entire focus of chapter 15.
In fact, he uses this word ten times in these twenty-seven verses, and I think that tells us how important this abiding is to Christ. Jesus is not only talking about the importance of abiding in him, but he wants us to see the results of abiding in him. Over this section of John 15, we see that one of the results of abiding in Christ is a spiritually fruitful life.
Today I want you to see from this text that being fruitful is not only an essential part of the Christian life, but it is a real and rewarding possibility through Jesus Christ. You may be here saying, “I want to be fruitful for God. I want to do something for God with my life. I want my life to matter for the kingdom of God.” This passage tells us how that becomes a possibility.
So I want you to see how important bearing fruit is, and I want you to see how possible it is for you to bear fruit in your Christian life. Let me show you three truths about bearing fruit.
You Must Bear Fruit
We have already read verses 1 and 2:
“Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”
“If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.”
Then in verse 6:
“Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away.”
Jesus is making a very clear point here. If we are going to be God’s children, if we are going to live in his presence, if we are going to enjoy his blessing and his favor, and if we are going to experience eternal life, we must bear fruit.
“If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch… and cast… into the fire.”
Think about those seeds in the containers at my house. If all the work that went into planting them resulted in growth but no fruit, there would be disappointment and frustration because all that work produced nothing. When vines do not bear fruit, something is seriously wrong with those plants. They are either not getting nutrients, or they are damaged, or they are diseased. There is a reason plants do not bear fruit, because plants are designed to bear fruit.
Jesus says:
“Every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.”
Then verse 6 takes it further:
Jesus is talking about eternal condemnation. He is saying a plant that receives the grace of God yet produces no fruit is cut down and cast into the fire. Plants that do not bear fruit do not stay in the garden.
“Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.”
While we understand we are not saved by our works, we are not saved without works. Ephesians 2:10 tells us we are created in Christ Jesus unto good works. When Christ transplants us out of the wild garden of this world into his garden and begins to tend us and care for us, we are going to produce fruit. That is not a possibility. That is a guarantee.
Then he tells us that those who do bear fruit will be pruned so they can produce more fruit:
Have you ever wondered why life is sometimes so difficult as a believer? We deal with physical pain, mental pain, emotional pain, and all kinds of struggles. Yes, part of that is living in a sin-cursed world, but God is also taking our pain and using it to prune us so that we can produce more fruit for him.
Then Jesus says in verse 3:
The word clean is closely related to the word translated purge or prune. Jesus is making the point that those who belong to him are being cleansed so they can bear fruit.
If you are truly born again through Jesus Christ, God’s will for your life is to be a fruitful Christian. This is not optional. If you are born again, you will bear fruit for his kingdom. If there is no fruit in your life, something is wrong. Either we are disconnected from the vine, or we were never connected to the vine to begin with.
Imagine your life as a garden. Every area of your life—your church life, your family life, your work life, your home life—is a different row in that garden. What fruit is growing there?
Do you see love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control growing in your life? Or do you see only worldly accomplishments without spiritual fruit?
Healthy plants produce healthy fruit. What fruit do you see in your life?
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”
You Can Bear Fruit
The good news is that fruitfulness is possible.
Jesus says:
If you are trying to bear fruit in your own strength, ability, power, and will, you are going to have a barren garden. But Jesus says those who abide in him can bear fruit.
The key is abiding in Christ.
That means being permanently and continuously connected to him. A branch that is not connected to the vine cannot receive nutrients, water, or support. It cannot produce anything.
In the spring, children sometimes pick flowers and bring them inside. It is sweet, and we appreciate it, but what happens to those flowers after a while? They wither. They fade because they are no longer connected to the stem.
That is the picture Jesus is giving us. When we are disconnected from the vine, we wither and stop bearing fruit.
“If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.”
If you want to see fruit in your life, the answer is getting connected to the vine. We must abide in Christ because apart from him we can do nothing.
So let me ask you this: how is your connection to Christ right now? Are you connected in a way that is producing fruit in your life, or have things felt dry and distant?
The answer is abiding in him.
“Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.”
You Should Bear Fruit
Jesus gives several reasons why we should bear fruit.
First, fruitfulness strengthens our prayer life.
“As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love…”
One of the keys to having a fruitful prayer life is having a fruitful Christian life. When we are connected to Christ and depending on him, our prayers abound.
Many times we do not see answered prayer because we are not truly depending on Christ. We go through entire days without even acknowledging our need for him. If we want power in our prayer life, we must be fruitful Christians, and that comes through abiding in Christ.
Second, fruitfulness glorifies the Father.
“These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”
We all want our lives to glorify God. Bearing much fruit brings him glory.
Third, fruitfulness deepens our relationship with Christ.
God is not looking for worldly success. He is looking for spiritual fruit that transforms your soul and the souls of others. When we bear that kind of fruit, we experience deeper fellowship with Christ.
Finally, fruitfulness produces joy.
Everyone is looking for joy. Books, documentaries, and studies are all trying to answer the question of how to find it. But if we are not finding joy in the vine of Jesus Christ, we are not going to find true joy at all.
Jesus says abiding in him leads to lasting joy—joy that remains and joy that is full.
So let me ask you: is your life bearing spiritual fruit? As you look at the garden of your life, do you see love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control?
If not, today is the day to be grafted into the vine. If you do see fruit but want more fruit, then the answer is getting closer to Christ and depending on him more deeply.
This week you have the opportunity to bear much fruit for God’s kingdom, but it will come when we humble ourselves, stop depending on ourselves, and turn our hearts, our eyes, and our desires toward Jesus Christ.
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