BEARING MUCH FRUIT
Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit” Jn. 15:5. This is stated so strongly that it should not be overlooked. Jesus pushes the narrative further by saying that any branch that does not bear fruit is cut off and thrown into the fire. In another scripture, He tells us to invest what blessings He has given us so it can bear fruit. We are not to let it remain dormant by burying it in the ground; if we do, we will be judged severely. He goes on to tell us that we are the salt of the earth and if the salt loses its effectiveness, it is good for nothing except to be thrown on the street and trampled under people’s feet. The message of judgment for producing no fruit is repeated in so many ways that we are compelled to study it deeper to see how this might affect us. You may be relieved and pleasantly surprised at what the scriptures reveal.
THE THIRD KIND OF FRUIT
We begin our discovery by defining Biblical fruit. When I was a young preacher I was conflicted, not knowing if the fruit mentioned in Scripture was souls being saved or the fruit of the Spirit that should be developing in a Christian’s life. After many years, I not only believe that Biblical fruit is both of these, but a third kind of fruit is also Biblical and must be included. I call this third type of fruit – kingdom development. It includes all kinds of Christian activity such as; advancing the gospel, helping the poor, building purposeful infrastructure, making disciples, training and activating disciples, and also ministering genuine care to family, church, and the community at large.
What kind of fruit are you yielding? Souls, godly character, or kingdom activity? Once you are in Christ you will definitely produce fruit, if you remain in Him. There is a lot of man-made judgment against Christians who produce a low yield of fruit, but almost all believers are producing some fruit.
Many are adjusting to the inner counsel of the Holy Spirit that reminds them to live with godly behavior. It is hard to be a committed Christian and not be changed into a better person. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, kindness, and self-control. Christians should be part of a Bible-believing church, and the main message in most churches is focused on developing godly character. If Christians embrace the fruit of the Spirit, it will eventually result in some form of kingdom activity. It may happen through the efforts of the church, or it may happen at the individual level for one’s family and community. If you abide in Christ, your life will inadvertently trend toward a positive outlook, demonstrating kindness toward others and the exercise of good works.
Five-Fold Fruit
Personality and spiritual gifting will determine what kind of fruit a Christian will produce most readily. The five-fold gifting of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher are different giftings that will tend to emphasize a different kind of fruit. There is, of course, a lot of overlap, and everyone should aim to be fruitful in all three areas of fruit-bearing.
The pastoral care, compassionate-giver type will focus on helping others who are in need. That points to the fruit of kingdom activity and building infrastructure that offers good works.
The teacher, organizer-type will emphasize the fruit of the Spirit and the fact that godly character advancement conforms us to the image of Christ.
The evangelist, prophet-type wants to see souls saved and is often compelled to make that the priority of every believer.
The apostle is one who will emphasize all of these fruitful areas knowing that each is vital in the life of a veteran disciple. Their task is to bring the five-fold ministry teams together in unity so that the people of God may be fruitful in every way. All believers should excel in their specific field of gifting, and also learn to exercise faith for the areas they find less compelling.
Every person should be a witness for Christ, and when we are, it produces the harvest the Lord is looking for. Jesus is the Savior of the world; He rescues people from every walk of life, and He is expecting a large family to be saved. We call it revival. That means that all Christians should intentionally look for ways to lead souls to salvation. It begins with prayer and intercession, watching for opportunities to share the gospel, and leading everyone and anyone to repent of their sins and confess Jesus as the Lord of their lives.
It is totally irresponsible to birth a child and leave that newborn on a street corner. The same is true with leading souls to Christ. They must be brought into the family of God, loved, and taught to be a disciple of Christ. We want every person to become a believer, every believer to become a disciple, and every disciple to be a minister.
That process involves developing infrastructure. We need churches, schools, hospitals, orphanages, food distribution centers, counseling ministries, hostels, clothing giveaways, homeless shelters, prison ministry teams, Sunday Schools, discipleship training initiatives, as well as ministries and missions of all kinds to demonstrate the love and care of Christ that is sustainable, accumulative, and permanent. The development of these kingdom dynamics is also one way of bringing forth much fruit.
The Apostle John tells us that producing godly fruit is the result of a life lived with Christ. Our fruitfulness is the Lord’s ultimate focus with us. The reason is that His Father will receive more and more praise and glory due to the work of His Spirit in and through His people. When The Lord sees people being fruitful, God always takes the process to the next level. Scripture says, “Every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful” Jn. 15:2. The word “every,” means that all of us will be cut back in some way so that we will be focused more on God’s mission on earth and become more effective.
Not all cutbacks or reductions are attacks of the devil against us. Some actually involve the Lord stopping us from entertaining unfruitful works, distractions, or misdirection. Some pruning is also designed to make us stronger and give us new abilities and gifting. Sometimes we cannot do something new until we let go of what we have been doing.
Whom the Lord loves, He chastens and disciplines (Hebrews 12:5-7). At the time, no discipline is pleasant but painful, however, it produces the training of the Lord in our lives (Hebrews 12:11-13). God is your loving Father and He has promised that all things will work together for good to those who are called and to those who work together for His good purpose. Therefore, go forward and be fruitful. Save souls, embrace the fruit of the Spirit, and help initiate and sustain lots of kingdom activity. The call of God on your life is to bring forth much fruit, and by His grace, you will do it.
We pray our monthly teaching
devotional empowers & inspires you
to live a supernatural Christian life.
DR. PETER WYNS
Founder & President
Christian for Messiah Ministries
Pastor at Antioch International Church
Instructions in Righteousness is produced by “Christians for Messiah Ministries” (CFM). Dr. Peter Wyns is the President of CFM and the Head Pastor of Antioch International Church. He has served as a pastor for 54 years and ministered in more than 45 nations.
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