OK – I get it! It’s a lot easier to talk about bearing fruit than actually doing it. Jesus knew that fruit bearing was a difficult undertaking, and so He provided His disciples with a blueprint for doing so. He did this by using the illustration of a grape vine and its branches, with Jesus being the “trunk” of the vine and individual disciples the branches. He said that a branch must first be “in Me” in order to bear any fruit at all (Jn. 15:2). We are placed “in Christ” at the moment of conversion when we repent and by faith acknowledge Jesus as the only One who can forgive sin and bring us into a right relationship with God. Once we are “in Christ,” the Apostle Paul added,   

“If anyone is ‘in Christ’ he is a new creation, the old has passed away and the new has come” (2 Cor. 5:17).  

At one time or another, we have all been guilty of trying to bear fruit in our own strength, doing things in our own way. Jesus described this person as a branch that was still connected to the vine but had dropped onto the ground in order to send out its own root system in an attempt to extract nutrients from the soil and bear its own fruit. Such a branch will never bear any decent fruit, and so the keeper of the vineyard has to come along and prop up the branch with a forked stick (or today, tie it along a wire) to keep it off of the ground so that the only way it can bear fruit is to be attached to the trunk of the vine.  

Jesus knew that every branch needed to stay connected to the Vine (that is, Jesus Himself). The Greek word used in the text means to “abide” or “remain connected with.” Jesus said that, 

“…when a branch remains connected with Me, he will bear much fruit” (Jn. 15:4). 

That’s the good news. But then he added this profound truth that we all need to remember, 

“Apart from Me, you can do nothing” (Jn. 15:5).  

The key to fruit bearing is to not only be “in Christ,” but to also “remain in fellowship with Him.” This is a daily, moment by moment process of acknowledging His presence in our lives and allowing His strength to live and work through us. 

One final note of utmost importance:  BRANCHES DO NOT PRODUCE FRUIT, THEY ONLY BEAR IT!  You and I can bear the fruit of righteousness, but it’s not fruit that we have produced in our own strength. We must never forget that Jesus is the true source of the fruit that we bear. So, let’s remain in fellowship with Him, and witness the wonderful fruit that He will produce through us.