Fruitbearing

by GEO. E. STOCKWELL | Category: General | Jul 1944

Towards the close of His earthly journey, the Lord Jesus spoke some most precious words of truth to His disciples. After telling them concerning the coming of the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, who would teach them all things and bring to their remembrance all that He said unto them, He went on to speak of Himself as the " True Vine." "I am the Vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit: for apart from Me ye can do nothing" (John is. 5).

From various scriptures we see that fruitbearing is very important. We cannot bear fruit of ourselves, by our own efforts. This the Lord made clear when He said-" As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; so neither can ye, except ye abide in Me" (John 15.4).

In Ezekiel 15. the question is asked concerning the wood of the vine. "Is it profitable for any work? " The answer is that it is meet for no work. The purpose in the vine is fruitbearing.

If we are to be fruitbearers, we must abide in Christ, the True Vine and His words must abide in us. There are greater possibilities to those who are already bearing fruit. The Lord speaks of such branches being "cleansed" in order that they "may bear more fruit."

In Isaiah 5. we see the great disappointment of the " Wellbeloved

after he had planted" the choicest vine "in his vineyard and had done so much for it. We read, "He looked that it should bring - forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes." The Lord looks for precious fruit in each disciple, after having done so much for each one, but we feel that He must oftentimes be disappointed in us, like the "Wellbeloved " in the song referred to. May we lay this to heart, lest we be a disappointment to Him.

Another desire of the Lord in this connection is "that ye should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should abide." It is possible for those abiding in the Vine to be like the good seed in the parable of the sower, like " those ... that were sown upon the good ground; such as hear the Word, and accept it, and bear fruit, thirtyfold, and sixtyfold, and a hundredfold " (Mark 4.20).

Besides telling the Gospel message to others and thus bringing forth fruit after that kind, there is also another aspect of fruitbearing which is very precious to God. - This we find in Galatians 5.22, 23, "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, temperance (self-control)."

Here are nine precious things which rejoice the heart of the Lord as He sees them developing in our hearts. Shall we not then seek to bear fruit and thus please Him who died for us?

We close with the words of Peter, "If these things are yours and abound, they make you to be not idle nor unfruitful unto the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 1.8).

GEO. E. STOCKWELL | Jul 1944
General