No Jesus, No Fruit!

Lesson #241

In the last lesson we saw that a branch by itself cannot bear fruit and neither can we. The branch must be attached to the vine and we must abide in Jesus. Jesus continues by saying, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5 ESV). For emphasis, Jesus repeats that he is the vine, the source, and we are the branches, the place where fruit is produced. The vine and the branches go together and in similar fashion, Jesus and we go together. Just as the branches draw life from the vine to produce fruit, so we draw life from Jesus to produce fruit. Without this union, in both cases, there will be no fruit. As we abide in Jesus and he in us we have a fruit bearing combination. Jesus is our source of life and nourishment and he in us provides us with the mind of Christ and a Christ-likeness and in obedience we press on, even if suffering results, to produce fruit.

What does Jesus mean, “apart from me you can do nothing?” Clearly, it does not mean we can do nothing at all, for unbelievers can carry on the normal activities of life without abiding in or being a part of Jesus Christ. What it does mean is that we can do nothing of eternal value. In 2 Corinthians 3, Paul speaks of each of us being a letter from Christ, written with the Spirit of the living God on our hearts. That letter is a reflection of Christ in us, is only possible as we abide in Jesus. It is those letters which recommend Jesus to others and is an active ingredient in bearing fruit. The formation of these letters on our hearts provides us with confidence in our work to the glory of God. Paul makes it clear that we cannot claim anything as coming from us because of our sufficiency is from God. These letters are read by unbelievers as they observe us living out life, especially through hard or difficult times. What they read may produce fruit. Without this union with Jesus, these letters are impossible and without them any work accomplished is to our glory and not to God and does not count for anything. The work that counts is the work Jesus does as he lives his life through us.

Prayer

Father, as I wrote the last sentence of this lesson, I was deeply impressed with thoughts from Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (ESV). To bear fruit I no longer live for myself, but for Jesus Christ. I allow him to live through me and together we bear fruit to your glory. Father, without Jesus, there is no hope of being productive.