John 15:8, Jeremiah 17:7,8 Bear Much Fruit

My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. (John 15:8 NASB)

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord And whose trust is the Lord. "For he will be like a tree planted by the water, That extends its roots by a stream And will not fear when the heat comes; But its leaves will be green, And it will not be anxious in a year of drought Nor cease to yield fruit. (Jeremiah 17:7,8)

Observation:

Here we learn how to glorify the Father: bear much fruit.  What is the fruit God is talking about? it is the fruit of the Holy Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23 (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control). It is often the prayer of Christians to live in such a manner as to glorify God. Here we are given direct teaching as to how to do this. Bearing fruit is the means of proving or displaying gOd transforming love in your life, or in other words "discipleship". There is no meaningful way of demonstrating the reality of discipleship outside of our manner of life. This is exactly the point of James in James 2:14-24: the demonstration of faith by consistent actions. 

It stands to reason, then, that fruitless branches are not, by definition, disciples. This is why they are taken away. An interesting question to ask yourself is how long does it take as a new Christian to bear fruit? Well after doing some research, I've concluded that there are many factors that determine how quickly a branch will bear fruit. Factors like climate, type of fruit, area planted, etc. I think the same is for us. So we need to be careful in concluding in our own wisdom that someone is not a disciple. God could be doing an incredible work, and we just haven't seen the evidence of that yet.

 Application: 

What is interesting to me is that all three texts, John 15:8, Jeremiah 17:7-8, and Galatians 5:22-23, use the word fruit and not fruits. This means that all of the fruits appear together. People might be naturally inclined to one or a couple, but only the indwelling of the Holy Spirit can produce all the fruits at the same time. So I think it is important to have an accurate, godly, definition of each fruit. I won't do that in this SOAP, but I will give you an example of what I'm talking about. Many people think joy is happiness, but it is not. The godly definition of joy is an assurance in our salvation. So that even in sadness we can have joy. Our view is not limited by a moment in time, we know the end of the story so our hearts do not despair. I know I bear fruit for God, not because of anything I have done, I've just been willing, and He is able. Bearing fruit begins with complete surrender and allowing the Vinedresser to do His work in your life. You lay down your plans, your rights, and you say "God, have Your way in me".

Prayer:

Father, I love You. All glory belongs to You. Any of Your fruit that is evidenced in me is because of You. Please continue to have Your way in my life.