Tag: abide in Christ

We Must Bear Fruit to the Father’s Glory

We Must Bear Fruit to the Father’s Glory

How does a Christian bear fruit?  If, as believers, we pursue goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love, we will be fruitful no matter where we are called.

This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.  (Joh 15:8 NIV)

 I pray that you will then be filled with the fruit of righteousness, which comes from Jesus Christ, in order to give glory and praise to God.  (Phil 1:11 CEB)

I am the vine, you are the branches. The one who abides in me while I abide in him produces much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.  (Joh 15:5 ISV)

When we bear fruit, we bring glory to God the Father, and we prove ourselves to be the Lord’s followers.  The key to fruitfulness is abiding in Christ and being aware, moment by moment, of His presence and His love at work in our lives.

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  (Gal 5:22-23)  Every GOOD tree bears GOOD fruit.  (Mt 7:17)  Each and every believer is a good tree, and every believer has been given the fruit of the Spirit.

The Lord tells us clearly in John 15:5:

“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.” 

We must abide in Christ always, because without Him, we are powerless and can accomplish nothing.  But with Him, nothing is impossible!  Hallelujah!

God Knows You

God Knows You

O Lord, You have searched me and known me.  2 You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off.  3 You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.  4 For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.  (Ps 139:1-4)

God has explored and examined humanity.  He knows each one of us better than we know ourselves. 

According to the Bible verses above, God knows where we’re going; what our plans are; when we will sleep; and all about our individual personalities.  He even knows what each one of us is about to say!  Wow!

Jesus is our Savior and Intercessor.  He intercedes and even pleads for us before the throne of God continuously.  (Rom 8:34; 1 Tim 2:5) 

Jesus always lives to make intercession for us.  (Heb 7:25)

He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.  (Rom 8:27-28 MSG)

Everything that we do out of love for God and in serving God, He has promised He will work out for our good.  Glory to His name.

“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.”  (Joh 15:5)

In the above Scripture, we’re reminded that as the vine and branches are one entity, even so we’re united with Jesus Christ into a unique, spiritual entity.  Since we are united with Christ, we also have the mind of Christ. (1 Cor 2:16) We can know His will and plans for us.

Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.  (1 Cor 12:27)  Even though we are members or individual parts of the body of Christ, we are still unique and individual.  God uses every matchless part of His body to minister in distinct and irreplaceable ways. 

Rejoice in the truth that God knows you very well.

Bearing Fruit

Bearing Fruit

The Scriptures remind us that, as believers, we need to bear fruit to the Lord.  Let’s see what the Bible says.

He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.  (Joh 15:5)

Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  (Mt 7:17-19)

But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.  (Mt 13:23)

But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.  (Lk 8:15)

By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.  (Joh 15:8)

Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.  (Rom 7:4)

After reading these passages, it’s clear to see that as we abide in Christ, He causes us to bear fruit.  And the Christian life is intended by God to be a fruitful life.  Disciples of Christ bear fruit—that’s very clear. 

Good fruit is produced by the Holy Spirit.  Galatians 5:22 reveals the fruit of the spirit to us.  It is evidenced in a good character; by contributing to the world and the people in it; and by sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with others.  We can’t do any of this without abiding in Christ and staying closely connected to Him.  He gives us eternal life, and the fruit of the spirit is eternal fruit.  Glory to God!

Proclaiming His Death

Proclaiming His Death

. . .  and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”  26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.   (1 Cor. 11:24-26)

To proclaim means to announce, declare, make known, broadcast, or state publicly.  In the verse shown above, Jesus tells us to remember Him through the Communion ceremony.  He also says that as often as we take Communion, we proclaim His death till He comes.  Why is it important to proclaim His death?

As often as we announce Jesus’ death, we are making known the New Covenant He established by His blood.  (1 Cor. 11:25)  We are declaring the Good News that we have been reconciled to God through Jesus. 

We are broadcasting Jesus’:

  • Resurrection (Acts 4:33);
  • Triumph over sin and evil (2 Cor. 2:14; Eph. 4:8-10);
  • Soon return. (1 Cor. 11:26; John 14:3)

We are stating that we:

  • Are united together in the likeness of His death and in the likeness of His resurrection (Rom. 6:5);
  • Abide in Christ and He abides in us (John 6:56);
  • Are under the covenant of grace (2 Cor. 13:14);
  • Live in covenant with the One who has destroyed the works of the devil.  (1 John 3:1)

The Bible teaches us the importance of declaring the Truth in Christ:

He who speaks truth declares righteousness, but a false witness, deceit.  (Pro 12:17)

A man’s stomach shall be satisfied from the fruit of his mouth; from the produce of his lips he shall be filled.  (Pro 18:20)

Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled. Who among them can declare this, and show us former things? Let them bring out their witnesses, that they may be justified; or let them hear and say, “It is truth.”  (Isa 43:9)

But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach) . . . (Rom 10:8)

Partaking of Communion is a prophetic act—a declaration.  Did you know that actions can speak?  They announce our faith, obedience, and allegiance to Jesus Christ.  It’s good to remember when we take communion that in doing so, we proclaim His death in obedience to the Word of God.