The fifth hallmark of discipleship comes from an agricultural metaphor and shows that God is serious about fruitfulness. In John 15 Jesus prepares the disciples and us for what living as His apprentices will be like on the resurrection side of the cross. Using the metaphor of grape vines and branches, He explains that it is our responsibility to “abide” in Him in the same way a branch is connected to a vine. It is not a suggestion, an elective, or something God does for us. It is what disciples do.
But to what end? The obvious answer is “fruit”. But He wants more than just fruit.
Jesus continues the metaphor to explain the results of abiding. First, fruit develops where no fruit previously existed. The divine Gardner cleans up and prunes the branches so that fruitlessness turns to fruitfulness.
“He cuts off (a better translation – lifts/cleans up – onto the trellis) every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and He prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more” (John 15:2 NLT).
No fruit …turns to fruit …which turns to more fruit…which turns to much fruit.
“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in Me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5 NLT).
But God wants even more than much fruit, He wants fruit that remains
“You didn’t choose Me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit” (John 15:16).
We can safely assume that God is pretty serious about fruit! It is the fruit that glorifies the Father and proves our discipleship.
“My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples” (John 15:8).
This then leads us to consider what Jesus meant by “fruit”. Organically fruit is the seed of the next generation. It is the overflow of life. Fruit in the New Testament is used in three ways:
- Character
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness gentleness and self-control” (Gal. 5:22) (See also Eph. 5:9).
- Good works
“… so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Col. 1:10).
- New converts to the Faith/kingdom expansion
“I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles” (Rom. 1:13 NASB).
Even though all three kinds of fruit are important and will result from abiding in Him, I would suggest that the context leans towards the #3 type of fruit: new believers/disciples in Christ. Later in the passage Jesus said:
“You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit,” (John 15:16).
Notice that the statement “go and bear fruit” parallels the Great Commission in Matt 28:19, “Go and make disciples”.
Fruit contains the seeds of the next generation and bearing fruit has always been God’s plan. In Genesis 1 God commands His image bearers to go and organically fill the earth with more people in His image (“be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and rule over it”). In the Old Testament the Israelites were to reach future generations by teaching their children to teach their children (Isaiah 59:21). Jesus expanded bearing fruit to include going into all the nations for the purpose of making disciples.
Spiritual fruitfulness is a hallmark of discipleship and a natural result of our abiding in Christ. It results in good works, godly character, and kingdom expansion.
Here is a summary of the five hallmarks of an apprentice of Jesus:
- Comprehensive alignment ( Luke 6:40)
- Sacrificial allegiance (Luke 14:26)
- Faithful obedience (John8:31-32)
- Servant love (John 13:34-35)
- Spiritual fruitfulness (John 15:8)
These timeless traits characterize disciples of Christ down through history. They are independent of personality or culture. If we are serious about our own apprenticeship, we need to honestly assess our life in light of what Jesus said are the evidence of discipleship. We also need to pray and coach others in these same traits teaching them to be apprentices of Jesus Christ.
Questions for reflection
- How does the lens of fruitfulness change how we look at our daily lives?
- The organic concept of fruitfulness involves seasons. What does “season” (They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do. Ps 1:3) add to our discussion of fruitfulness?