The Vine and the Branches

Fruit is the tangible evidence of life. Only live plants can produce fruit. Nourishment travels from the roots to the branches, sustaining the fruit. Stay with me Now. Jesus refers to Himself as the vine and to us as branches. Unless we are attached to the vine, we are not receiving spiritual nourishment. We become grafted  into the vine by faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. His power then flows through us, producing spiritual fruit.

The fruit we bear is consistent with His character. Just as apple trees bear apples, we bear spiritual fruit that reflects Him. Now make no mistake, Good works won’t save you, any more than bearing fruit causes a branch to become attached to a vine. It’s the other way around. It’s not that the branch bears fruit independently and thereby earns its way onto the vine. No, the branch is attached to the vine, and that is why and how it bears fruit.

Ephesians 2:8-10 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

You can’t be walking around holding grudges, not forgiving ,back biting, etc… thinking you are bearing good fruit just because you are doing some good works. Spiritual fruit consists of God’s qualities: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,faithfulness, gentleness, and self -control. The fruit of the Spirit cannot be grown by our own efforts. We must remain in the vine.

How do we abide in Him? We acknowledge that our spiritual sustenance comes from the Lord. We spend time with Him. We seek His will and wisdom. We are obedient and follow where He leads. When we remain attached to Him, spiritual fruit will be the evidence of His life within us.

So instead of seeing how little of Christ you can get by with, try seeing how much of Christ you can get. Let me repeat this! Don’t see how little of Jesus you can get by with, instead see how much of Him you can get. Abide in the vine and be Fruitful!

John 15:5 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.