Fruit – Bearing Christian
Jesus Said,
Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. Matt. 3:8
This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit. John 15:8
I chose you and appointed you to bear fruit. John 15:16
Every Christian is expected to bear fruit. Fruit is a picture of spiritual blessing in Christian’s life. The fruit of the Spirit should characterize our daily lives. It is the most important mark of the life of a Christian. John Blanchard says, ’A fruitless person is not a failed Christian, but a false one – in other words, not a Christian at all’. In this article, let us study briefly the different aspects of bearing fruit.
1. The PURPORT (Meaning) of Bearing Fruit
The New Testament gives several answers to the meaning of bearing fruit. First of all, developing Christian character is bearing fruit. Every godly trait developed in us that reflects the character of Jesus is a fruit. Apostle Paul describes the fruit of the Spirit in nine terms in Galatians 5:22-23, and Peter urges the development of seven accompaniments to faith in order that we might be fruitful (2 Peter1:5-8). To show these character traits is to bear fruit in one’s life.
Secondly, doing good works is bearing fruit. The Bible says, `bearing fruit in every good work’ (Colossians 1:10).
Thirdly, winning souls for Christ is bearing fruit. Those who come to Christ through our witness are fruit (Romans 1:13). So every Christian should be involved in winning souls for Christ. That is why God has chosen us (John15:16).
2. The PURPOSE of Bearing Fruit
There are at least three reasons given in the gospels why we should bear fruit. First, fruit bearing glorifies God. Jesus said ‘this is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit’ (John 15:8). Secondly, we have been appointed to bear fruit (John 15:16; Luke 13:6-9). Thirdly, fruit is the characteristic of a Christian. Just as a tree is recognized by its fruit, so is a Christian (Matthew 12:33; 7:20). The spiritual fruit is decisive, visible difference between Christian and a non- Christian.
3. The PRECONDITIONS for Bearing Fruit
The Bible gives many conditions for fruit bearing. Let us see them now.
1. We must abide in Christ. ‘He who abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit’ (John 15:5). The word abide comes at least 10 times in John 15:1-10. As the Lord puts special emphasis on the word `abide’, he is stressing on the importance of abiding in order to produce good fruit. To abide means to have intimate and unbroken fellowship with our Lord Jesus Christ.
2. We must be Spirit-filled. We need to be filled with the spirit to produce the fruit of the Spirit (Gal.5:22,23). The sap that went through the vine to the branches is symbolic of the Holy Spirit and
the power of God.
3. We must die to self. Jesus said, ‘if the kernel of wheat dies, it produces much grain’. (John 12:24). In order to be Spirit-filled, we must crucify the flesh and die to self daily.
4. We must meditate and obey God’s word. The bible says that he who meditates the law of the Lord is like a tree planted by the streams of water which yields its fruit in season (Psalm1:2,3).
5. We must have fellowship in the church. In the church we can have fellowship with one another and encourage one another. Through fellowship and teaching in the church, we can become mature Christians, able to bear much fruit (Acts 2:42-44).
6. We must trust God at all times. The bible says that if we trust the Lord and have our confidence in him, we will never fail to bear fruit (Jeremiah 17:7,8).
7. We must allow God to prune us. God helps us to produce much fruit when we allow him to prune and purge us through His word (Heb. 4:12) and through trials and hardships (John 15:2; Heb. 12:11; Job 23:10). We must not grumble against God during these difficult times. Instead, we should let Him accomplish His purpose in our lives.
4. The PROMISE for Bearing Fruit
Those who abide in the True Vine can rest assured of certain precious and sure promises mentioned in John 15:7-11!
(1) Assurance of Answers to our Prayers (v.7). When we are abiding as we should be, and when we are drawing our life from Him, then His will will be our will. That is, every time we pray and everything we pray for will fit perfectly with His will and He will grant our requests. (2) Amazing Love (v.9). Jesus loves all men always, but those who are abiding in Him and bear fruit have entered into a special, ever- deepening relationship with Him. (3) Abiding Joy of Christ (v.11). Joy is not happiness, which depends upon happenings, but it is a deep settled assurance and confidence that God always does in our lives what is good for us. When we bear fruits, God fills our hearts with "joy unspeakable and full of glory" (I Peter 1:8) and this ignites our heart to serve Him effectively and fervently.
5. The PUNISHMENT for Not Bearing Fruit
Jesus said, `Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down, and thrown into the fire’ (Matthew 3:10). The Lord is very serious about our fruitlessness. In Luke 13, Jesus says that the Lord looks for fruit in our lives (v.6). If he does not find fruit in our lives even after several years of having known him, he is disappointed and gets angry (v.7). In John 15, Jesus said that the Lord cuts off every branch that bears no fruit and throws them into fire (John 15:2,6).’ Worldliness, worries and wealth (material-mindedness) choke the Word and make us unfruitful (Matt. 13:22). Fellowship with the ungodly (Ps. 1:1-3) will also be a hindrance to fruit-bearing. To escape God’s judgment and punishment, we must diligently steer clear of these things and allow God’s Word to take root in our lives and become fruitful.
May God bless you and enable you to bear much fruit!
