Much

Jesus said in John 15.5-9— “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.”

Simple really—If you abide in Christ you will bear much fruit. Not a little. He said “much”. That means a lot. When you’re dealing with a vine, no one cares if they look pretty or provide shade in the summer. What they care about is that the fruit is good. 

When a Vineyard checks the vine, they are mostly concerned with the branches and leaves, their condition determines the outcome of the fruit. The vinedresser will pay close attention to these more than anything. It shows signs of the results. If there is a problem in the vine, of course the entire project is over for that particular vine. But the passage tells us in verse five that Jesus is the Vine. So, that gets a check mark. Now we look to the branches. The branches are us, the disciples of Jesus according to verse 5 again. If the branches (us) are not abiding the nutrients do not flow through the branches to the production of fruit. If though the branch is abiding well, then the nutrients of the vine can flow into the production of much fruit. 

So it is imperative that we know what abiding is. Abiding is to be intimately close. It means to be in constant cooperation. Imagine if you would, the branch of a vine decides to slip away from the vine itself. That doesn’t even make sense does it? But the branch here is you and me. Do you think you and I are capable of slipping away from Jesus? Yes. It’s clear that the text isn’t about our position in Christ in relation to our relationship in Him by salvation. The text is about the disciples in their personal discipleship to Jesus. It’s more about their fellowship or ‘follow-ship’. We tend to drift. Therefore Jesus makes it clear we must abide to be productive for Him in producing spiritual fruit. In fact, without Him we can do nothing (verse 5).

Now back to the owner of the vines, the Vinedresser or Vineyard. Here He is called “Husbandman”. He is a loving, tender Father, who takes gentle care of the branches. He touches them, speaks to them, heals their scraps, and makes sure they get enough rain and sun to make them thrive in the vine. He also prunes them in order for them to make even more fruit. In 2 Timothy 2.21 Paul said to Timothy— “If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.” In other words, give the Father something to work with. Or as Jesus said in John 15.2— “Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.” Let Him have His way, and you will see fruit, or dare I say, much fruit! If you desire to be productive for Jesus, you need to yield to His ways, to His voice, to His touches. Abide in Christ in times of pain, and you will bring forth more fruit. Abide in times of plenty, and you will bring forth much fruit as well. 

I found it interesting in my study of the Vine that in France, deep in old wine country, there are Vineyards who gently sing to the vines as they walk among them checking them. They call them a “consolateur” or comforter. Amazing isn’t it?! You also have a Comforter within you singing to the branches from the inside. 

The deeper the experience of Christ’s tenderness, the Father’s love, and the Spirit’s voice, you will be exhorted to submit Him so that He can flow through you in bearing MUCH fruit. This brings Him glory. The surrender of self and self-will is essential then if you wish the Father’s desire for fruit by pruning your old man away. This will lead you to yield yourself afresh, and more than ever, to Him, and to say that now you have but one object in life—making known and conveying His wonderful love to fellowmen. You will be a fruit producer.