The Aquila Report

Your independent source for news and commentary from and about conservative, orthodox evangelicals in the Reformed and Presbyterian family of churches

Providence College
  • Biblical
    and Theological
  • Churches
    and Ministries
  • People
    in the News
  • World
    and Life News
  • Lifestyle
    and Reviews
    • Books
    • Movies
    • Music
  • Opinion
    and Commentary
  • General Assembly
    and Synod Reports
    • ARP General Synod
    • EPC General Assembly
    • OPC General Assembly
    • PCA General Assembly
    • PCUSA General Assembly
    • RPCNA Synod
    • URCNA Synod
  • Subscribe
    to Weekly Email
  • Biblical
    and Theological
  • Churches
    and Ministries
  • People
    in the News
  • World
    and Life News
  • Lifestyle
    and Reviews
    • Books
    • Movies
    • Music
  • Opinion
    and Commentary
  • General Assembly
    and Synod Reports
    • ARP General Synod
    • EPC General Assembly
    • OPC General Assembly
    • PCA General Assembly
    • PCUSA General Assembly
    • RPCNA Synod
    • URCNA Synod
  • Subscribe
    to Weekly Email
  • Search
Home/Biblical and Theological/Abiding in Christ & Bearing Fruit

Abiding in Christ & Bearing Fruit

Fruit is the results of Christ in a believer, a changed life that God can use to influence others.

Written by M. R. Conrad | Sunday, February 27, 2022

Jesus holds up fruit-bearing as a prerequisite for glorifying God, which is the chief end of man. If we want to live as Jesus’ disciples, we must bear fruit (15:8). I’m not sure John 15 could be clearer. Bearing fruit is essential to the Christian life.

 

When I was just a little guy, my parents planted a peach tree in our back yard. The tree grew as I grew. By the time I turned seven, the first few peaches appeared on that tree. I was so excited. However, the next year, we moved from that home. I never got to enjoy the fruit from that tree again, but someone did because that tree kept on bearing fruit.

  • If you plant a peach tree, you have failed if the tree does not produce peaches.
  • If you plant of field of wheat, you have failed if heads of grain do not appear.
  • If you plant a grape vine, you have failed if it does not bear grapes.

In John 15, Jesus is about to leave His disciples. They will carry on Jesus’ work in His absence. As He walks from Jerusalem to the garden of Gethsemane on the night of His betrayal, Jesus guides the disciples past the grape vines. He uses the scene around them to teach His people the key to bearing fruit—we must abide in Christ.

In this passage, Jesus provides a logical progression:

  • To glorify God and demonstrate that you are Jesus’ disciple, you must bear fruit. (15:8)
  • To bear fruit, you must abide in Christ (15:4–5).
  • To abide in Christ, you must keep in ongoing communication with Him (15:7–8).

In my next few posts, I will address each of these items. Here, we will begin with fruit.

What is Fruit?

Jesus does not directly define what he means by fruit in John 15. The disciples probably made a connection between what Jesus was saying and passages like Isaiah 5:1–7 where God compared Israel to a vine that produced wild grapes.

Read More

Related Posts:

  • Fruit versus Deeds
  • How to Examine Spiritual Fruit
  • Abiding in Christ: A Practical Description
  • A Fruitful Life
  • The Two Trees, Part 2: The Tree of Life

Subscribe, Follow, Listen

  • email-alt
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • apple-podcasts
  • anchor
Providence College
Belhaven University

Archives

Books

Geerhardus Vos: Reformed Biblical Theologian, Confessional Presbyterian - by Danny Olinger

Special

God is Holy
  • About
  • Advertise Here
  • Contact Us
  • Donations
  • Email Alerts
  • Leadership
  • Letters to the Editor
  • Principles and Practices
  • Privacy Policy

Important:

Free Subscription

Aquila Report Email Alerts

Special

Letter of Jude
  • About
  • Advertise Here
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Principles and Practices
  • RSS Feed
  • Subscribe to Weekly Email Alerts
Providence Christian College - visit

DISCLAIMER: The Aquila Report is a news and information resource. We welcome commentary from readers; for more information visit our Letters to the Editor link. All our content, including commentary and opinion, is intended to be information for our readers and does not necessarily indicate an endorsement by The Aquila Report or its governing board. In order to provide this website free of charge to our readers,  Aquila Report uses a combination of donations, advertisements and affiliate marketing links to  pay its operating costs.

Return to top of page

Website design by Five More Talents · Copyright © 2023 The Aquila Report · Log in