Jesus said: 

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing… This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” (John 15:5,8)

Jesus gave us a model for how such a relationship with him happens just a few verses before when describing His relationship with Father God by the power of the Holy Spirit.

“How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. …Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father…

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”   (John 14:10,12,16-17)

Jesus appointed us to go into the world in Spirit-filled oneness with Him and the Father – that the world might know that Jesus is the Messiah. 

“As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world… My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, [21] that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” (John 17:18,20)

John 14:5-17; 17:16-23; 15:1-8, 9-12

The questions I must ask myself if I’m being honest and sincere about being a Christian are one and the same:

Am I filled with God’s Spirit?

Is Jesus at home In me and I in Him?

Either way that question is asked, it is life-changing. It recognizes that I am and all that I’ve been given to work with belong to Him. They are at his disposal and I wait upon him to fill me with the power and grace to go where he goes, do what he does, and say what he says. 

Much fruit

“Much fruit” from my life that gives it eternal value (worth) is when my life, as it is lived out over time, gives evidence to the fact of His abiding presence in my heart and answers the question with confidence: “Yes. I am filled with Him by the Spirit of God. He is at home in me and I’m at home in Him. Hallelujah!” 

God’s two gifts to help me bear “much fruit”: His Presence in our hearts, & time

• Himself — Good fruit takes good stock, consistently good nutrients 
• Time — Good fruit takes time, comes with maturity.

Good fruit as good works does not produce spiritual maturity in sync with God’s Spirit. Spiritual maturity in our heart, by his Spirit, proceeds much fruit — life manifesting Jesus wherever in the world we have followed him. 

Only God can measure the “muchness” in the fruit of my life. But what I consider of little consequence is much if GOD is in it. “Little is much when GOD is in it.” When the God who spoke life into existence measures my life he will do so from an eternal, absolutely sovereign and holy love perspective. So, I gladly rest my life in his hands.

For me, the age-old question of what good I am or what the purpose for my life is finally and eternally settled.

My Prayer for My Brothers and Sisters

My prayer is that God will help us clearly “get it”  — that a meaningful, eternally valuable life comes not from measuring accomplishments, but from GOD being at home in us and us remaining at home in Him. Hopefully, we’ll accept the truth that Christian maturity is marked by “much fruit” that is not self-generated achievement, but spiritual abundance produced by a life deeply connected to Christ and overflowing in love to others.

“Christ at home in me, and me at home in Christ”

Presence — “stay” / “remain” / “abide” / “resting place”

The impact we have on others will be very short-lived and useful only in today’s world, for the common good. But beyond the grave? Nothing, according to the Lord Jesus. 

[Additional Resource: YouTube Playlist to Pastor Dirk Gieser’s three-sermon series on John 15:1-5 (fall, 2023)]

Presence depends on: 

1. Faith in God (Galatians 2:20)
2. Intimacy with Him in prayer (Romans 8:14-16)
3. Humble and glad readiness to see, love, speak and move in response to the power and direction of His Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-25)

Little is much if God isn’t it.

(Mark 8:14-21 cf. Matthew 14:15-21; Hebrews 11:35-40; Ephesians 3:20-21)

• The work you started, but couldn’t finish…
• The godly counsel you gave your children, that didn’t seem to take hold…
• Your gift to the need of a friend that doesn’t cover everything…
• Your small measure strength in the morning when physical ailment has robbed you of sleep…
• Your cheery hello to neighbors who refuse to acknowledge God and surrender their lives to him…
• Your vote at the ballot box that seems lost in the rush of overwhelming social movement…
• You’re home or apartment where your cherished things collect dust…

All of the above can feel like it’s giving you purpose in life, but it’s only for this life.

For the abundant fruit of life that Jesus speaks about that lasts for eternity, there’s got to be God at home in it, God working through it, God giving you joy and peace in the midst of it all. (John 6:26-29; 1 Corinthians 3; 1 Peter 1:3-9)