Fruitfulness

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“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." ~ Jesus

John 15:5

...be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God

Col. 1:9,10

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As Christians we recognize that we are made for kingdom fruitfulness. As we read the accounts of the life of Jesus and hear of the miraculous and benevolent works of the disciples we are spurred unto good works. These good works are done under the lead of the Holy Spirit, even as the Word of God works in us to bring forth a transformation of a greater resemblance of Jesus. Carnal man, from the flesh, can never produce the works that are pleasing to God. What pleases God is a walk of faith, the working of the faith of the Son of God within us - a life that solely preaches Christ Jesus. Paul wrote, "For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake." (2 Cor. 4:5).

In Christ alone is the power to bear fruit for the kingdom of God. Solely through Christ is living fruit produced. This living fruit grows from the abiding living word within us. Outside of Christ is barren deadness and religious much-a-do-about-nothing. An assumption is commonly made that because something is done in the name of Christianity and for the Lord, that it is birthed by the Spirit of God and is life-giving. We can often jump into fast action because of a desire to do something for God. When we do that, we forfeit the hearing of the Word and the lead of the Holy Spirit. The truth that we read in the Bible is that without the hearing of faith, we can not produce living works for God.

The purpose of kingdom fruitfulness is to glorify God on Earth and to bring honour to His Name. Fruitfulness in the kingdom of God is not for our justification - to show God our zeal for Him and make ourselves look good before God. We have already been made right before God through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus and now this divine righteousness that has been imputed to us is propelling us into good works that magnify the ultimate work of Jesus - the reconciliation of man to God. A lack of revelation of this imputed righteousness can often lead to dead works - justifying and magnifying the flesh of man rather than God.

The works that bring honour to God are those borne of the Spirit of God and not from one's desire to be right with God, i.e. to earn righteousness and justification. This is what Apostle Paul's correction was to the Galatians - they wanted to earn righteousness through the outer working of the flesh rather than a reliance on what Christ has already done. In Galatians 3:2-5, the Apostle Paul writes that only by the working of the Spirit of God, which is by the hearing of faith, that miracles are worked among us. These are living works. Living works alone bring glory to God as they are done in faith under the inspiration of the Spirit. These are the works of the Spirit of God, worked through our Christ nature, as we abide in the Word of God.

Our fruitfulness for God is based on a revelation of being justified by God through the death of Christ. His atoning sacrifice has placed us in the vine of Christ. Therefore fruit for God is produced through our abiding in the truth of the Word and by a persuasion that the sacrifice of Jesus is sufficient for us. This revelation and life-application is what motivates our working for God. God is worthy of our lives bearing much fruit for Him and His Kingdom - fruit that will eternally remain to give Him glory.