A Kingdom Primer
If you're a believer, you've been called to serve in the Kingdom of God. For some, it isn't a question of whether or not they feel called, it's more of a question of what they've been called to. What is the Kingdom all about?Throughout the Gospel accounts, the analogy of a fruit-bearing vine is used by Jesus to explain various aspects of His kingdom. In John 15, we see Jesus again speaking to His disciples using this analogy:
"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, and I will 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." (John 15:1-4)
It would seem that we have been presented with the first piece of a puzzle. The vivid illustration given by Jesus makes it clear that the Kingdom of God is about bearing fruit. But what is fruit? We leave this question for a moment as we continue to try and understand the entire analogy.
Jesus illustrates God's active role in fruit-bearing in terms we can all understand. In His analogy, God acts as a gardener, cutting off branches that bear no fruit, and pruning those that do so they might bear even more fruit. It is interesting to note that the word translated "prunes" in verse 2 is derived from the word that is translated "clean" in verse 3. So in pruning the vine, it could be said that the gardener is in fact cleansing it--removing dirt, insects and anything else that might interfere with the growth of the fruit. Jesus indicates that His disciples are already clean, because of the word (cf. John 1:1) they had received. Still, he reminds the disciples that they must remain in Him in order to bear fruit.
Jesus goes on to emphasize this key point:
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is 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 given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." (vv. 5-8)
Here we discover the fundamental purpose of fruit--to bring glory to God. This is a key point to understand about fruit-bearing: it is for God's glory, not ours. Too often we tend to exalt individuals involved in fruitful Christian ministries, giving them the recognition, credit, and glory that belongs to God. In our zeal for fruit we flock to bookstores, seminars, and classes in search of ways that we might replicate the "success" of others. Jesus warns His disciples to remain in Him--lest they wither as branches and be thrown into the fire.
We see in these verses the key to fruitfulness--remaining in the vine. Jesus now turns from the "what" to the "how," explaining how we can remain in Him:
"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." (vv. 9-13)
Jesus tells His disciples to live in the love that He has shown them by obeying His commands (cf. 1 John 3:24, 4:16, 5:3). Here, Jesus draws His analogy to a close and so puts the final piece of the puzzle into place. Through love we can obey; through obedience we will abide; by abiding we will bear fruit; by bearing fruit God will be glorified.
In answering the question of "what is fruit?" we see then that it is the natural result of love and obedience. Hence, we see that fruit is not the result of what we do, it is the manifestation of who we are in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).
If you are a believer in Christ, you are a child of God. John remarks of this amazing fact in both his Gospel and Epistle:
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God--children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. (John 1:12-13)How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. (1 John 3:1)
What a joy to serve God--not as a servant--but as a child! It is a profound and glorious difference. Our service is not merely for the benefit of another, it is also for ourselves--as heirs of Christ's Kingdom (cf. Romans 8:16-17, Galatians 3:29), the fields we plow are our own!
Remarkable though it is to think that the Creator of the universe would adopt us as children, we see Jesus offering up an even more astonishing title as He concludes His teaching to the disciples:
"You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other." (vv. 14-17)
Jesus says His disciples are "friends" if they do what He commands (v.15). As a believer in Christ, we become a child of God. However, this does not necessarily make us a friend (cf. James 4:4). The title of "friend" is reserved for those who do what Christ commands:
"If you love me, you will obey what I command." (John 14:15)
Indeed, the well-known words of Joseph Scriven ring true: "What a Friend we have in Jesus." But this is certainly not the question, for Jesus has already demonstrated His unconditional love and friendship (1 John 3:16, cf. Romans 5:8, 8:35-39). The real question is: Does Jesus have a friend . . . in you?
As we studied last week, each of us has been "created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Ephesians 2:10). For those called to the Kingdom of God, we see a call to bear fruit. Why should we bear fruit? The primary reason, as we already learned, is so that God might be glorified (v.8). This is not the only reason why we should bear fruit, however. In this and other passages, Jesus emphasized the importance of fruit bearing so that we might:
Fruit comes in all shapes, sizes, and amounts. Some may bear much while others may bear little. The fruit may be visible to others, or the fruit may be visible only to the Gardener who prunes the branch. But make no mistake--the Kingdom of God is about bearing fruit. And the key to fruitfulness is remaining in the vine. Are you?
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Copyright © 1998-2000 Tim A. Krell. All rights reserved. Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version (NIV), Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.