Living in the Vine 5

The Fruit

John 15:2; Genesis 1:11-12; Galatians 5:13-26

The purpose of every seed, bud, blossom, vine or branch, is to bear fruit after its kind; that is why Father God created it. Without the expectation of bearing fruit, gardening would be purely ornamental – very beautiful probably – but, quite literally, a fruitless exercise! 

We are created to bear fruit for God’s Kingdom. To do so is the very purpose we were created and made a branch of the Vine! As we understand that the vital life of Jesus literally lives and flows in us by the Holy Spirit, then the spiritual ‘fruit’ we are called to develop and bear is those characteristics and traits of Jesus’ life and death that bear an authentic witness of what it means to follow Him to those amongst whom we live: to be a true believer and to live daily in the power of His transformative indwelling presence. 

This fruit does not grow overnight; it is a process of long-term growth. Just as a young tender branch has to be nurtured and trained in order to bear any significant levels of fruit, so it takes years of gradual adjustment and learning to submit our will, desires, thoughts and emotions to the life and control of the Holy Spirit. This appears to be a tall order, even complicated, but it is not, because all it requires is for us is to stop trying to make it happen in our own strength and allow Him to do what is needed in us.

The branch has to be fully yielded to the Vine to bear good fruit; this is a beautiful picture of what it means to surrender. 

The branch has to be fully yielded to the Vine to bear good fruit; this is a beautiful picture of what it means to surrender. 

We can trust Father God completely and it is, therefore, safe to let go of the control we have grown up exercising over our lives. In so doing, we allow Him, bit by bit, little by little, more room and freedom within us for the fruit of His Spirit to grow, develop and be manifest in and through us.

This is discipleship: the process of dying to all our inbuilt instincts to be our own top daily priority (Luke 14: 26-27; Colossians 3:3); allowing God’s word to rebuke, correct and train us in how to live in a way that pleases and honours Him (2 Timothy 3:16); and learning how to walk in obedience and put into practice the things He shares with us (John 14:23; Luke 7:24).

When we surrender ourselves to the life of the True Vine, allowing His nature and fruit to be formed in our daily lives, then it will go on to bear fruit either in us – through deeper personal discipleship – or in the lives of others – through new salvations and discipling them on their own journey into fruitfulness. 

Additional reading: Matthew 7:16-20; Luke 14:25-35; Romans 7:4.

Prayer time

Matthew 7:20 says we shall be recognised by our fruit. Following Jesus wholeheartedly is a costly challenge.

• What is the personal challenge you have received today?
• What do you think Father might be asking of you?
• What might be the cost to you of being obedient?

Talk to Him about it all. 

Give some time to just being still, making yourself available to Father God. Invite the Holy Spirit to make His presence known. Enjoy your time.


Previous installments of this series are available:
Part 1 - the gardener
Part 2 - the root
Part 3 - the true vine
Part 4 - the branches