Monthly Archives: November 2025

JOHN’S GOSPEL…THE SAGA OF THE SEED – 22b

Bible Study, ,

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

‭‭John‬ ‭15‬:‭5‬-‭9 NIV

Fruit exists for one purpose…to protect and nourish the seed. When the fruit falls to the ground, it feeds the seed until the seed takes root and grows. The better the fruit, the stronger and healthier will be the new plant growing from the seed. 

What does the Bible have to say about the nature  of this fruit? Let’s examine a few Scriptures. 

  1. The fruit of lifestyle

Jesus warned…

“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭15‬-‭20‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“In Matthew 7, “fruit” refers to the observable results and character of a person’s life, which can be used to identify a false prophet. It represents the actions, deeds, and righteous living that flow from a person’s genuine faith, just as a healthy tree naturally produces good fruit. In contrast, the “bad fruit” of a false teacher will be seen in their unrighteous actions and harmful teachings.” (Source: Google)

  1. The fruit of the tongue

“The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭18‬:‭21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.”

‭‭James‬ ‭3‬:‭9‬-‭12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus said that what comes out of the mouth reflects what is in the heart. A branch that is connected to Jesus should speak  what is Jesus’ nature. 

  1. The fruit of the New Covenant

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭22‬-‭23‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Why do I call this “the fruit of the New Covenant”? The New Covenant positions the believer in a new relationship with the Father.  We are no longer slaves obligated to obey rules. We are sons, born of God, in-dwelt by His Spirit, and in the process of being transformed into the image of His Son.  

Therefore, our new status is reflected in the attitudes, words, and behaviour that increasingly give evidence of our new nature. Fruit develops slowly and takes time to mature. As God’s children, we cannot expect to bear mature  fruit instantly. However, though yet immature, the fruit that is forming in our character must be recognisable as the character of Jesus. 

  1. The fruit of new life

Seeds are in the fruit. Seeds produce new life. Seeds produce the offspring of the parent plant.  Therefore, to fulfil the fruit’s ultimate purpose, the fruit must reproduce. How does this happen?

Jesus told a story about seeds. 

“A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.” When he said this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭8‬:‭5‬-‭8‬, ‭11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

God’s Word is the seed that the farmer scatters on the ground. It falls into a variety of soils and reproduces according to its environment. Most of the seed is unproductive because the soil cannot sustain it…but at least one quarter of the seed sown will germinate and grow into daughter plants. 

What is Jesus saying? Our role is to sow the seed because seed has a power-pack of life in itself. It will germinate wherever it falls. We cannot determine how and where it will grow. However, it will only reproduce in good soil. If the seed we sow comes from lives that reflect the nature of our union with Jesus, the new life that grows from the seed will also become a healthy plant like its parent plant. 

So, Jesus concluded, the Father is glorified when the cycle is complete. The fruit we bare depends entirely on the union with Jesus we cultivate in our intimacy with Him. Wherever that seed falls and grows, it will also become a plant just like the vine from which it came. 

“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

‭‭John 15:8-9 NIV

  1. The fruit of eternal life

“But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭6‬:‭22‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The final and greatest of all the fruits that grow from the seed of God’s word is the resurrection of our bodies and eternal life. Jesus said that He would be lifted up in death and buried like a seed but, of it dies, this seed would produce many seeds. Since He would rise again as the first-fruits of a great harvest, so we, too, will rise to be part of the full harvest. 

“But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him… So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭15‬:‭20‬-‭23‬, ‭42‬-‭44‬, ‭48‬-‭49‬ ‭NIV‬‬

What a glorious declaration of the  completion to the saga of the seed! From death to eternal life as the seed passes through its various stages. 

JOHN’S GOSPEL…THE SAGA OF THE SEED – 22a

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“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener…Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

‭‭John‬ ‭15‬:‭1‬, ‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Fruit! What is the purpose of a vine? Much has been preached and taught about the union between the vine and the branches as the analogy of the union between Jesus and His followers…but what about the fruit? After all, viticulturists only grow vines for their grapes. 

What would the world do without grapes? Apart from delicious fruit, a world without wine would be unthinkable. Jesus’ first miracle recorded in John’s gospel happened because the wine vats were empty! Wine forms the centrepiece of the Lord’s Supper. There is no other fruit that can substitute for wine with all its symbolism. 

So, Jesus did not say “I am the apple tree and you are the branches…” or something like that. The vine also forms an important part of Old Testament imagery for Israel.  For example, God saw Israel as the choice vine He had planted and tended, only for them only to bear inferior grapes. 

“I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭5‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus picked up on the picture, significantly to teach the men, who would form the nucleus of this “vine” of the New Covenant, a very significant lesson. Their union with Him would guarantee that the fruit they bore would reflect the nature of the vine…Jesus Himself. 

How could this happen? 

First, be sure to be in the true vine. 

The original vine, Israel, failed. Membership of the nation of Israel, however much they prided themselves on being the covenant people of God, could never guarantee that the fruit of that union would be good. Their history was nothing but rebellion and failure. 

“It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭9‬:‭6‬-‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

There is an exclusive section of Abraham’s offspring that are the fruit of faith…a union established with Jesus, the real vine, brought about by the power of God. This is God’s “vine” towards which all His energies are concentrated. 

Second, the vine  exists for one purpose…to bear fruit. Everything else about the vine will go up in flames when the vine no longer bears fruit. Jesus said that every branch that bears no fruit will be pruned from the vine. There is no place in the vine for useless branches. 

Fruit is the natural extension of the vine. Jesus said that a tree is identified by its fruit. A tree cannot say, “I am an apple tree,” when the fruit is obviously lemons. So too with the fruit that grows on our “tree”! 

Third, the fruit a tree bears is not an end in itself. Inside the fruit is hidden its most precious part…the seeds that reproduce its kind. The fruit’s purpose is to nourish the seed in the ground until the environment in which the seed grows takes over the task. 

Now, let’s return to Jesus’s teaching. 

A branch can only produce fruit when it is connected to the vine. The Father, the gardener, carefully tends the vine for one purpose…fruit…because fruit has in it the seeds that guarantee the vine’s continued reproduction, of the same quality as the vine that produced the fruit. Seedless grapes, for example, are pleasant to eat but have no further value for the gardener. 

What is Jesus intending to convey? Unbroken union between the branch and the vine is the only way to bear fruit. The fruit must be of the same quality as the vine to reproduce itself faithfully. The Father’s pleasure is in the fruit since the fruit guarantees the continuation of the vine. 

What is the nature of the “fruit” that pleases the Father?

To be continued…

JOHN’S GOSPEL…THE FAMILY BUSINESS – 21

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“If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

‭‭John‬ ‭14‬:‭15‬-‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Imagine the CEO of a large company, on the eve of a long trip overseas on business, gathering his entire staff around him, including janitors and cleaners, to give them instructions on running his enterprise while he is away. 

How will he ensure that his company will continue to flourish during his absence? Will he install CCTV cameras throughout the building to monitor their behaviour? Will he employ security guards to watch their every move and report on their actions?

Jesus is the CEO of God’s great eternal business enterprise, His kingdom on earth. He has a representative to whom He has delegated the task of administering the kingdom until He returns, His own “other self”,   the one just like Him…the Holy Sprit. 

What was Jesus’ method of ensuring that His ministry would continue exactly as He had initiated it?

None of the above, according to the world’s way even if it were possible! Jesus required one condition that would ensure the continuation of His business during His “absence”…our love for Him. He promised to give us one overseer to keep His business on track until His return…His Spirit in us. 

“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭5‬:‭3‬-‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

How unlike the ways of the world! No CEO requires his staff to love him as the guarantee of their faithfulness. No CEO promises another person, with the same goals and modus operandi exactly like his own, to help them run his business efficiently during his absence because they love Him!

Jesus promised His people that relationship…the love-bond between Himself and us and our response of love to Him…is all that is needed to keep us in union with His “business plan”, extending God’s rule in the hearts of His people everywhere. More than that, He promised never to leave us to carry out the task alone. He would replace His own physical presence with His counterpart, the Holy Spirit. 

For Jesus, God’s kingdom is much more than the Father’s business in which we are His “employees”. The kingdom of God is a family business in which we all have a share.  

“But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭12‬:‭31‬-‭32‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Our faithful involvement in spreading the good news of the kingdom and ensuring that its citizens adhere to its constitution, also guarantees God’s provision for us, His co-workers.  

“But seek his kingdom, and these things (our everyday needs) will be given to you as well.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭12‬:‭31‬ ‭NIV‬‬

This “family business” of the kingdom means that we are all in it together. There’s no place for private interpretation of the constitution, personal ambition, conflicts, or differences of opinion.  We are one, we have one CEO, Jesus, one Administrator, the Holy Spirit, and we are all subject to one authority. 

When we keep these facts in mind, our role in the spread of God’s rule in people’s hearts and in our faithful living and teaching the principles of God’s rule, Jesus said that we would no longer be orphans, homeless waifs. We are sons…those who, with Jesus and the Holy Spirit, are intimately and personally involved in the family business of the kingdom. 

To be continued…

JOHN’S GOSPEL…HE EMPTIED HIMSELF – 20

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“It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.”

‭‭John‬ ‭13‬:‭1‬-‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Imagine that! We have just meditated, in our previous post, on the majestic figure of the Word of God. He is the warrior king, riding on a white horse, fully armed with His powerful word and ready to exercise His authority over the whole earth. 

In the next breath, this warrior king, disrobed, is on His knees, washing the filthy feet of His servants! What a contradiction! What a contrast! How is it possible that this God could become a servant to His own servants?

The answer to this question comes to us in the preamble to His action. Let’s read it again. 

“Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so…”

Can you get the impact of John’s explanation? It was all about Jesus’ attitude. First, He was acutely aware that, for Him, time was running out. He had a few hours left with the men into whose hands He was to entrust His entire mission. How they carried out His ministry on earth would depend on how they viewed themselves. Why?

Throughout His entire public ministry, Jesus had lived in submission and obedience to the Father. Never did He put Himself above the Father or any other human. Get that! All His words and actions were subject to the Father and said and done in humility. He was the “Ebed Yahweh”, the Servant of Yahweh. A servant has no will of his own. A servant’s will is to do the will of the master. 

Second, it was this lesson, the servanthood of the servant, that He had to hammer home before He left His disciples. How better than to carry out His teaching in a practical demonstration! He had often spoken of humble service being the hallmark of a leader, but…the principle was lost on them. They were still arguing about their pecking order shortly before His departure. Teaching had obviously left them unimpressed.   The only way to get their attention was to show them!

How could Jesus degrade Himself to the position of the lowest of slaves? As I have already mentioned, His action depended on HIs attitude. John gives two reasons for Jesus’ attitude of humility, and absolute subservience to the Father. Notice that His attitude to His disciples depended on His own self-awareness…Lord of all but a slave on earth. 

First, He loved His disciples enough to degrade Himself in their eyes to get the lesson through to them. Peter couldn’t handle that! His exchange with Jesus makes this clear!

“He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.””

‭‭John‬ ‭13‬:‭6‬-‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Second, He knew exactly who He was and His position in the greater scheme of things. 

“Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so…”

Jesus had nothing to prove and nothing to defend. He was who He was, regardless of what anyone else thought of Him. In this security, He could lower Himself to the lowest without changing who He was. 

How vital are these lessons for the  Lord’s servants! This is not about instituting another “Christian ceremony”. This is about a self-image that will protect us against the pitfalls of the “flesh”, that old sin-nature that persistently demands recognition. 

Love serves others at our own expense, not for self-gratification. Humility accepts who we are in God’s estimation, viewing ourselves from God’s perspective,   not our own…neither too high nor too low. We are His children, deeply loved, highly favoured, and greatly blessed but, at the same time, His love-slaves, utterly at His beck and call. 

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭1‬:‭3‬-‭6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Like Jesus, armed with the correct perspective and attitude, we can serve without losing one iota of who were are. We can reflect the nature of Jesus to a world that is bent on self-preservation which, in the end, fails. 

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭16‬:‭24‬-‭26‬ ‭NIV‬‬

To be continued…

JOHN’S GOSPEL…THE WORD – 19

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“If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”

‭‭John‬ ‭12‬:‭47‬-‭50‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The words of Jesus are pivotal to who He is and what He does as equal partner in the divine “three-in-one”. John introduced Jesus as the Word of God who existed with God in the beginning. Through the Word, the universe came into being. 

 “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”

‭‭John‬ ‭1‬:‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Through His Word, Jesus upholds and sustains the universe…its cohesion, its functions, and its purpose. 

“The Son is the radiance God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word…”

Hebrews 1:3 NIV

The Word came into the world in human form to speak God’s will into being. Jesus spoke only what the Father told Him to speak…so He testified. 

“For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken.”

‭‭John‬ ‭12‬:‭49

The Word of God, spoken by the Word of God, has the power to arouse in us the faith that saves us from sin and gives us eternal life. 

“Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭10‬:‭17‬ ‭NIV‬‬

At the end of time, when Jesus returns to judge the world, to restore God’s earth to its original purpose, and to set up His kingdom on earth, He will accomplish the Father’s will through His Word. 

“There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day”

God has invested all of history and the destiny of all mankind in His Son. By the authority of His Word, He will wrap up history and usher in the eternal kingdom of God in all its fulness.  

“I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: king of kings and Lord of Lords.”

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭19‬:‭11‬-‭16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

 What a glorious picture of our Lord Jesus, the warrior king who defeated the enemy, who will purify the earth, and reign in righteousness over all creation forever through His Word! 

How important for us His followers, to heed His Word with diligence and faithfulness because, outside of His Word, we have nothing to show us the way or to keep us on track on our journey to the Father.  

“Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭4‬:‭4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

To be continued…