Abide In Christ
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Two Kinds of Branches
Two Kinds of Branches
Jesus states that He is the vine and the Father is the vinedresser. This means that Jesus is the one that provides the holy sap for the branches to produce fruit. The Father arranges the environment for the branch to thrive. He is like the farmer that makes sure the plant doesn’t have weeds, pestilence, disease, or drought. We are the branches. Our lives are sustained and grown by abiding in the vine.
There are two types of branches in the vine. The difference in the two is how they function. One branch does not produce fruit and the other one does. The branch that doesn’t produce fruit dries up and is removed and burned up. The one that does produce fruit is the one that the Lord prunes so that it can produce more fruit. So what does this illustration mean practically? We must first understand the the production of fruit.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
A dead branch does not exhibit these fruits in their lives. As a matter of fact they often exhibit the opposite Galatians 5:19-21
Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality,
idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions,
envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Just because a person calls themselves a Christian doesn’t make them one. Just because they sit in Church every Sunday doesn’t make them one. Just because they walked an isle, said a prayer and was baptized doesn’t make them a Christian. SO how can you know?
“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
“You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?
“So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.
“A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.
“Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
“So then, you will know them by their fruits.
The fruit that a branch bears indicates who they are. The branch that produces the fruits of the Spirit are true Christians. The Branch that bears the fruits of the flesh are the dead branches.
Burned or pruned.
Burned or pruned.
Based on what kind of branch you are will determine what the Father does with you. If you are a dead branch, you will be removed, gathered up, and burned in the lake of Fire.
31 “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. ...41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; Matt. 25:31-33;41
Those that do not abide in Christ and d not bear the fruit of the Spirit will be cast into the lake of fire and burned.
The branches that do produce the fruit of the Spirit are pruned. What does this mean? Richard Phillips describes it best when he says:
Grapevines require aggressive pruning. After each year’s harvest, the fruitful branches are cut back significantly. The idea in pruning is to remove whatever inhibits growth, and Jesus applies this principle to the Father’s pruning of our spiritual lives. He strips away things that are spiritually detrimental, even if they are otherwise good things. He takes the knife to our bad habits and assails our prayerlessness by giving us things to pray about. The Father applies the pruning knife to our priorities and values, and strips away relationships that would hinder our faith. It is important to note that this is not punishment, but vine dressing. The writer of Hebrews said: “He disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness” (Heb. 12:10).
This pruning might take place by means of God’s providential arrangement of our circumstances: we might suffer loss, face a temptation, or experience a reproof. The purpose of all these is to make us fruitful through an increased faith. Peter wrote that his readers had “been grieved by various trials,” the purpose of which was “that the tested genuineness of your faith … may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:6–7). James reminds us how much better off Christians are because of the trials we have endured: “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness” (James 1:2–3). In his years of dark suffering in Pharaoh’s prison, Joseph was having his character prepared for his reign over Egypt. More recently, the severe afflictions suffered by Christians in China under the Communists have borne fruit in a remarkable explosion of spiritual power and gospel success. It is true that the Father’s pruning involves afflictions known only to Christians, the like of which the world knows nothing. But neither does the world know the joy of the harvest in the fruit of eternal life.
This tells us that when we endure trials in life—when we find biblical parenting to be overwhelming, when loving our spouse is difficult, when integrity in the workplace is hard, and when we experience the more severe trials involved with sickness, grief, joblessness, or persecution—we should lift our faces to the Lord and ask him to do his work in our life, that we might bear the fruit that he desires. Mark Johnston comments that while “the process may be painful …, it will always be worthwhile as it leads to a better and more profitable life in Christ.” Thus, the saintly and much-afflicted Elizabeth Prentiss wrote to a friend who was suffering under grief: “My dear friend, don’t let this tragedy of sorrow fail to do everything for you.”5 David similarly sang, “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word” (Ps. 119:67).
Richard D. Phillips, John, ed. Richard D. Phillips, Philip Graham Ryken, and Daniel M. Doriani, 1st ed., vol. 2, Reformed Expository Commentary (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2014), 286–287.
So are you a fruitless branch or a fruit bearing branch? If you are fruitless I have good news for you today. The scriptures show how you can start bearing fruit.
Abide in Christ
Abide in Christ
The only way a branch can produce fruit is to abide in Christ. This simply means to dwell with. For the fruit bearing christian it means to constantly spend time with Jesus in prayer, bible study, service, worship, giving, fasting, trusting, solitude. Abiding is our job. It is in the abiding that we are transformed into fruit bearers. Jesus says in John 15:4-5
“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.
Jesus is saying that fruit bearing is the result of abiding. When we fail to abide we cannot produce fruit. The opposite is true. When we do abide in Christ we will bear fruit.
Three indicators of a fruit bearing branch.
Three indicators of a fruit bearing branch.
In verses 7-10 John shows three indicators of a fruit bearing branch. They are answered prayer, glorifying the Father, abiding in love through obedience to Christs commands. When these are evident in a believers life they can be assured that they are bearing fruit.
The first indicator is answered prayer. Jesus says in John 15:7
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
When we abide with Christ, His word will abide in us. As we study the word of God, He reveals himself to us. We get to know Him personally. We learn his will and purposes. This gives us an opportunity to make adjustments to our lives that line up to His will. When this happens we begin to pray in accordance to His will. When we do this, he answers our prayers affirmatively. 1 John 5:14
This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
Do you see evidence of answered prayer in your life?
The second indicator is that you are Glorifying God. John 15:8
“My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.
When we are making disciples we are proving that we are a disciple. Part of the fruit that you will bear in addition to the fruits of the spirit is your influence on others. When we are living our lives for Christ the natural affect is that you will influence others. This is by sharing the gospel and demonstrating how to follow Christ. As the vine provides the holy sap that creates the fruit of the spirit in the believer, it is manifested in the discipleship of others. This ultimately brings glory to God. Matthew 28:19-20
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Are you making disciples?
Finally the third indicator is that you naturally live in the commandments of Christ. John 15:10
“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.
The commandments of Christ are not a burden but a joy to live in. 1 John 5:3
For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.
When we see the commands of Christ as a burden then our hearts need to be changed. We should love Christ so much that we desire to live for His commandments.
Do you love Christ’s Commandments?
Fullness of Joy
Fullness of Joy
Fullness of Joy is when we are full of Christ. When our lives are lived for His purposes and His glory it is then and only then that we will experience fullness of joy.
In order for this to happen we must stay abiding in Christ allowing him to produce the fruits of the spirit in us. As these fruits increase in our lives, the natural result will be answered prayer, making disciples, and joy in living in Christ.
Is your joy full this morning? If it is not, I have good news for you this morning.
Share the gospel.