Abiding in the Vine: A Study of John 15:1-8 (Verse 8)

John 15:1-8
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is 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 given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

Verse 8: This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

Finally we are given a main objective: Bring glory to the Father. That's the whole point of bearing fruit! When we bear good fruit, we resemble Jesus. And Jesus brings glory to God. (If A = B and B = C then A = C)

Like I've said before, anyone can profess to know and love Christ. Only those who bear fruit are true disciples of Him. Only those who bear fruit are truly saved. Now, don't misunderstand what I'm saying. The belief and the profession come before the fruit. The fruit (or works or behavior) do not save. But our works prove that we are saved.

Ephesians 2:8-10 - For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

James discusses faith and deeds in James 2:14-26. A few verses stand out more than others:

Verse 14 - What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?

Verse 18 - But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.

Verse 24 - You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. 

Verse 26 - As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

I don't know about you, but I want to spiritually look like Christ. When I stand (kneel/prostate myself?) before the LORD, I want Him to see His Son, not only in my words, but also in my actions. I know that I have failed to exemplify Christ in more ways than I can count. But I pray that as I continue my Christian walk, I will keep close the words of Jesus telling me to bear much fruit so that I can SHOW that I am His disciple.

I pray also that you would remain in Christ. Be connected to Him through prayer and the reading of the word; and most importantly, live your life as a testimony of what God has done for you.