Christians and Fruitfulness
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser…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” (John 15:1, 5)
Nowadays discernment is needed, as it is so easy to get the wrong idea about fruitfulness. An example of this is the whole idea of “seed faith,” which is the misnomer that if one sows a $eed in faith one would get a supernatural return. So if they give, they would get back from God more $eed than they gave—in some instances up to a thousand times more. Of course, this is just a perverted understanding of faith and one of the extreme ways wealth is misunderstood in the Bible. Yet, the biblical message on Christians and fruitfulness is far different.
Key to understanding Christians and fruitfulness is coming to grips with Jesus last “I am” statement, which concerns the vine and branches. What a profound statement it is! The identification of the vine as Jesus and the vinedresser as the Father hearkens back to the Old Testament image, which depicted the relationship of Israel and God with the vine and vinedresser (cf. Ps. 80:8-16; Isa. 15:1-7; Ezek. 15:1-6; 19:10-14). Yet, there is a twist, as the Jesus is the “true vine,” or the one whom would all the Old Testament promises to Israel would be fulfilled. What the nation did not experience on account of disobedience, Christ would receive through His obedience to God’s will.
Elsewhere Jesus said “unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies it bears much fruit” (John 12:24). The context indicates that He was referring to the Son of Man’s hour to be glorified, which would have included His death, burial, and resurrection on the third day. Of course, interwoven in this message is the call for sinners to die to their old life and receive new life as Christ’s followers (John 12:25-26).
The Lord also likens His followers to the branches. So those who are connected to the Vine—Jesus Christ—shall bear much fruit. Conversely, Jesus also taught those not connected to the vine, would not bear fruit. Elsewhere, He taught that one cannot get grapes from thorn bushes or figs from a thistle plant, which is to say that one can know His followers by their fruit (Matt. 7:15-20).
Other New Testament writers also connected relationship with the Lord to the bearing of fruit. Paul contrasted the works of the flesh to the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:18-22). James writes about the peacemaker who sows peace reaps a harvest of righteousness (Jas. 1:18). The praise and thanks offered through Jesus Christ from the lips of a Christian is also a spiritual fruit (Heb. 13:15).
As I’m listening into the topics that are resonating in conversations everywhere, and important global issues like extreme poverty, injustice, environmental destruction, etc., I find discussions on ways these problems can be tackled to be helpful, albeit I may not think every single proposal is a good one. Nevertheless, something deep within tells me there is also a spiritual dimension to this solution that cannot be forgotten. When lost souls are reconnected to the Vine, they can receive new spiritual life, and divine empowerment to bring about genuine reformation. It is the Amazing Grace of Christ, which can transform a slave-ship captain like John Newton into a champion for abolition. As such, without spiritual transformation, there is little hope for lasting social reformation.
Nowadays discernment is needed, as it is so easy to get the wrong idea about fruitfulness. An example of this is the whole idea of “seed faith,” which is the misnomer that if one sows a $eed in faith one would get a supernatural return. So if they give, they would get back from God more $eed than they gave—in some instances up to a thousand times more. Of course, this is just a perverted understanding of faith and one of the extreme ways wealth is misunderstood in the Bible. Yet, the biblical message on Christians and fruitfulness is far different.
Key to understanding Christians and fruitfulness is coming to grips with Jesus last “I am” statement, which concerns the vine and branches. What a profound statement it is! The identification of the vine as Jesus and the vinedresser as the Father hearkens back to the Old Testament image, which depicted the relationship of Israel and God with the vine and vinedresser (cf. Ps. 80:8-16; Isa. 15:1-7; Ezek. 15:1-6; 19:10-14). Yet, there is a twist, as the Jesus is the “true vine,” or the one whom would all the Old Testament promises to Israel would be fulfilled. What the nation did not experience on account of disobedience, Christ would receive through His obedience to God’s will.
Elsewhere Jesus said “unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies it bears much fruit” (John 12:24). The context indicates that He was referring to the Son of Man’s hour to be glorified, which would have included His death, burial, and resurrection on the third day. Of course, interwoven in this message is the call for sinners to die to their old life and receive new life as Christ’s followers (John 12:25-26).
The Lord also likens His followers to the branches. So those who are connected to the Vine—Jesus Christ—shall bear much fruit. Conversely, Jesus also taught those not connected to the vine, would not bear fruit. Elsewhere, He taught that one cannot get grapes from thorn bushes or figs from a thistle plant, which is to say that one can know His followers by their fruit (Matt. 7:15-20).
Other New Testament writers also connected relationship with the Lord to the bearing of fruit. Paul contrasted the works of the flesh to the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:18-22). James writes about the peacemaker who sows peace reaps a harvest of righteousness (Jas. 1:18). The praise and thanks offered through Jesus Christ from the lips of a Christian is also a spiritual fruit (Heb. 13:15).
As I’m listening into the topics that are resonating in conversations everywhere, and important global issues like extreme poverty, injustice, environmental destruction, etc., I find discussions on ways these problems can be tackled to be helpful, albeit I may not think every single proposal is a good one. Nevertheless, something deep within tells me there is also a spiritual dimension to this solution that cannot be forgotten. When lost souls are reconnected to the Vine, they can receive new spiritual life, and divine empowerment to bring about genuine reformation. It is the Amazing Grace of Christ, which can transform a slave-ship captain like John Newton into a champion for abolition. As such, without spiritual transformation, there is little hope for lasting social reformation.
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