‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. ‘I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. John 15:1-8 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/jhn.15.1-8.NIVUK I am sure there are those of you reading this who are gardeners. So let me ask you question. When you've got out the lawnmower to cut the grass, has the grass ever asked you to leave it a little bit longer this time? If you've set out to do some weeding, have your flowers ever asked you to leave a few in because they feel lonely? If you've set out to prune dead growth from a plant, has the plant ever asked you to be a bit more gentle this time? Of course not! Plants don't answer back! A gardener is ruler of their garden and has the right to do with it what they wish, correct? The same applies to God. God is the gardener. He has every right to do whatever He likes with His garden. Before we go any further, we must recognise this simple but profound truth. Every gardener has a purpose for their garden. They have something in mind that they want to achieve. They don't just throw seeds out the window and watch to see what grows best. Jesus is absolutely clear on what His Father the gardener is trying to achieve in His garden: He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. John 15:2 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/jhn.15.2.NIVUK
‘I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/jhn.15.5.NIVUK This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. John 15:8 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/jhn.15.8.NIVUK You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit – fruit that will last – and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. John 15:16 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/jhn.15.16.NIVUK It's pretty hard to miss that this garden is a fruit garden. It is not a flower garden. It is not an ornamental garden. It's all about the fruit. But what do we mean by fruit? This is where a lot of people have got confused over the years. I've heard people refer to the fruit as people you've led to Christ, or dollars you've brought into the church. I profoundly disagree with both. This is clearly not about numbers. This is about something profoundly more spiritual than that. Throughout the Gospels, fruit only refers to two things. Neither of them involves money or a headcount of those who have been saved. These are profoundly worldly and must be rejected right away. No, the Gospels (and, indeed, the rest of the New Testament) only ever refers to fruit being actual edible fruit, or metaphorical fruit - the outward evidence of an inwardly changed life. Fruit comes through receiving the Word and putting it into practice (Matthew 3:8-10; Luke 3:8-9; Colossians 1:9-12). Fruit is the result of the Holy Spirit's work in us, and is just as much the sign that He is in us as the flag in Buckingham Palace tells us the Queen is there (Galatians 5:22-23). Fruit is also how we discern if someone is really a follower of Jesus Christ (Matthew 7:16-20; Luke 6:43-44). Fruit was also seen in Jesus' day as a means of measuring the outcome of an action or investment. If it was fruitful, then the results were good. If it was not fruitful, then the results were bad. Hence there is a strong connection with the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:1-23), the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) and the Parable of the Vineyard (Matthew 21:33-44). The central message of all of these parables is the same: God has placed an investment in us and He is looking for a return. God expects us to bear fruit. And not just any old fruit: You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit – fruit that will last – and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. John 15:16 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/jhn.15.16.NIVUK Maybe you think this is a strange request. All fruit has something in common: it rots and goes off. However, what God is looking for here is lasting fruit in two senses of the word. In one sense, He is looking for a lasting change in our lives, not just one that happens for a short time. In another sense, He is looking for fruit that reproduces. You see, all fruit consists of seeds that have the potential to grow into another plant like the one which bore them. So an apple seed can turn into an an apple tree, a pear seed can grow into a pear tree and a grape seed can grow into a grape vine. The fleshy part or the seed is not just there to be eaten. If it falls to the ground and decomposes, it provides nutrients for the seed to grow. So our fruit can last if it grows into another plant which grows more fruit, and so on. In other words, for our fruit to be lasting, we need to be passing it on to other people and seeing them grow. For that to happen, the change in our lives needs to be both real and atttactive. People will want what other people have if it seems to be a good thing. You can't put the random scribblings of a small child into a photocopier and expect the Mona Lisa to come out. If we want other people to produce good fruit, then we must show them how by producing good fruit ourselves. We saw earlier that fruit is the means of telling if someone is a real follower of Jesus Christ. That applies to us as much as anyone else. In fact, the challenge gets even bigger. God does not just expect fruit in season. No, He expects it all the time, as Mark notes when Jesus curses an olive tree that was unproductive out of season (Mark 11:12-20). If you think this is unreasonable, you need to remember that God gives us the resources to do so. We have the means in Christ to keep producing good fruit even in hard times, even now. If we stop producing, it's not because times are hard or because resources are thin, it's because we have chosen not to produce fruit. And God will not allow us to use our circumstances as an excuse. There are some wonderful botanical gardens all across the world. They have been set up to preserve plant life that is endangered and to educate us about what's out there. God's garden is not like that. It has only one purpose: to produce fruit. We are the branches where the fruit is supposed to grow. So, believer, how is your fruit? Having seen that Jesus is the true vine who provides our nourishment and needs to be in first place in our lives, and that God the Father is the gardener who wants us to produce fruit, we now move on to examine THE BRANCHES.
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