Being Fruitful God does not only desire fruitfulness but He expects and demands fruitfulness from all who are in Christ. It is because God gives to all who are in Christ the fruit bearing power of the Christ-life to be fruitful. In the well known parable of the Vine Jesus referred to Himself as the true Vine and His disciples, who are all who believe in Him, as His branches. And He pointed out that all His branches must be bearing fruit otherwise they are divinely cut off from Him. In this parable the fruit of the Vine yielded by the branches are the righteous and godly virtues of Christ manifested in the personalities of believers in Christ. A notable truth in the parable of the Vine is that all who are in Christ are fruitful otherwise they would not be kept in Christ but would be cut out from the Body of Christ. God allows no unfruitful person in Christ. Everyone of us who is in Christ is spiritually nurtured and empowered by the life-giving flow of the Spirit of Christ to be fruitful, to produce much fruit, to abound in manifesting the character of Christ in our behaviour. In Christ we have the Divine nature and power to deal in true righteousness and holiness with every situation that confronts us. And so, being spiritually fruitful is actually the outcome or yield of the operation of the fruitful life of Christ in us who are in Christ and not any behaviour generated by our own human efforts without Christ. Being fruitful is our manifestation of the righteousness of God in Christ and not display of self righteousness. John 15:5-6: “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.” Ephesians 4:21-24: “Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from Him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.”
Posted on: Wed, 15 Oct 2014 10:01:15 +0000
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