1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 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.”
The “Root of Jesse” is the True Vine and His Father, the Gardener. The branches depict both those who proclaim faith with their words yet remain lifeless to our Lord’s redeeming blood and those true believers whose branches pulsate with His life, His strength, His vigor, His beauty and His fertility which will most definitely evidence His fruit. In Christ are all supports and supplies needful to produce the fruitful spiritual life in the branch in which His sap flows. The bearing fruit in a believer is always shown in Scripture to be the result of a close and intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. The secret of the fruitful branch is found in its abiding in the Vine – the dead abide not. Where there is no fruit of the Spirit to be seen there is no vital faith in the heart. This should cause us to examine our own lives well. The Spirit of Jesus will always make Himself known in the daily conduct of those in whom He dwells. Just as there is the closest union between the branch and the main stem of a plant there is to be in the believer and Christ. The branches are many yet they are all of one vine which is as a spreading plant bringing salvation to the ends of the earth.
44 “Each tree is recognized by its own fruit”. Luke 6:44 (NIV)
"A tree is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love." St. Basil
Sadly, Scripture tells us there will always be the chaff found among the wheat – there will always be the false professors among the true. Indeed, in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus states similar Words:
15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. 21 Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23 Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'” Matt 7:15-23 (NIV)
It makes perfect sense to us for a gardener to look for fruit in what he plants – otherwise why would he bother to take the time to plant and cultivate and tend his garden? Likewise, God the Father – the Good Gardener - comes to look among the branches for fruit in His garden – ever tending and pruning to make each branch even more fruitful as well as cutting off the barren. In referring to God's vineyard the prophet Isaiah sets forth this sober warning:
1 I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. 2 He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit. 3 "Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. 4 What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad? 5 Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be destroyed; I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled. 6 I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and briers and thorns will grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it." Isaiah 5:1-6 (NIV)
The Father takes tender interest in each branch and is continually watching over the health, fruitfulness and fertility of it. God has the right to look for fruit in our lives. As believers in His Son do we manifest the fruit of the Spirit in ever increasing measure? Does the Sap of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control pulsate through our veins enabling us to manifest Christ’s behavior to our spheres? This fruit is not produced by the believer as if we could somehow strum it up by our own power rather it is produced by the Holy Spirit working in and through a Christian who remains in vital union with Christ.
“Contrary to the world's beliefs, the spiritual fruit of self-control does not come about through the discipline of self-mastery, but rather through surrendering ourselves to God's control. None of us fully have the power, capability, or wisdom to master our own lives. You cannot resist all the temptations that are hurled at you, control the behavior of those closest to you, or limit the ideas that pop into your mind. What you can do is surrender your life to the Holy Spirit. You can control how you respond, yield, and submit to Him.” Michael Youssef
God is ever about making us even more fruitful by purging off what is not profitable in our lives – even to the point of removing the good for the best - and that pruning oftentimes is painful. Yet through this process, God is purifying and sanctifying His people with the end result of making them more and more conformed to the image of His Son.
“By continually abiding in Christ, the one who has been pruned to bring forth much fruit will bring forth much fruit.” Elmer Towns
“The only priority that drives the Master of the vineyard is to bring us to fruitfulness. He will do whatever it takes to make that happen.” Wayne Jacobsen
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. Romans 8:28-30 (NIV)