Fruit Bearing

Have you ever asked the Father what fruit you are bearing?

The simple fact is that we are made to bear fruit; our souls are not barren, but we have the ability to be very fruitful. And yet the Bible is very clear that there is good fruit unto righteousness and bad fruit unto dishonour.  Therefore, it is beneficial to identify the fruit you are currently bearing.

We all know of seasons past in which our fruit has been rotten, but thankfully, by the grace and mercy of God, that began to change when we were born again. And yet at times, even when we are attached to the vine, that is Christ, those bad fruits become evident in our lives.

In John 15:2, we read about the Vinedresser, who is our heavenly Father. It is He who looks after the vine and tends to its branches. In the original Greek text, the Vinedresser is geōrgos, which also means land worker, farmer, husbandman, and tiller of the soil. Thus, we see here a picture of a very down-to-earth occupation associated with attending to vines so that they can be fruitful.

The next verse talked about determining which branch bears fruit and how he prunes the fruitful ones and removes the unfruitful with the intent that the branches will bear more fruit. The word prune is an interesting one and in the original Greek Kathairo means to cleanse, to expiate, to purge. It therefore means more than pruning, i.e., cutting away, but it also means that the Vinedresser works on the branch by cleansing it of debris, disease, or infestation. It also means to make amends by training and shaping the branch to be in the best position, supported and strong enough to bear much fruit. And finally, it speaks about purging the bad fruit, much like when an apple tree drops the young immature fruits that haven't got what it takes to grow into full term by aborting them. The Vinedresser is able to identify which fruits need to be removed and will discard the bad ones so that the good ones aren’t contaminated by the bad.

This is a marvellous picture of how the Lord sanctifies us, how He deals with the bad fruit, and how He cleanses us, making us able to bear His fruit —the Fruit of His Spirit: which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Decide now that you will allow our Heavenly Vinedresser to work on our branch so that we will be fruitful for Him and His purposes.  Let him do the work necessary to remove all the bad fruit in your life so that His Spirit’s fruit would be produced from your pruned, cleansed, trained and purged branch.

"I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.  Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, 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, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this, My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. John 15:1-8