“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.
- 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)
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
- 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.