The Bible talks about how we should become more like Christ, but that doesn’t happen through wishful thinking or even by our own will. Our ability to become more like Christ has nothing to do with our ability and everything to do with God’s ability to work through us.
Why Did Jesus Use the Vine and Branches Analogy?
It’s a perfect analogy. Anyone can look at a tree and see if it’s dead or alive. What do we do with dead trees in our yards? We throw them away. How do we know if our trees are thriving and doing well? A deep root system is established that feeds the branches so it can produce fruit. This is true for us spiritually as well. If we aren’t plugged into Jesus like a tree’s roots are plugged into the earth, we won’t produce fruit. We will be dead and useless.
John 15:4-8 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. “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. Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned.
Jesus uses the word “remain” (Greek “meno,” meaning to “endure” or “abide”) ten times in John 15:1-11. Clearly this word is important. If we are going to be useful and productive in this world, we have to remain plugged in to Jesus and his ways. We have to read our Bibles, pray, serve, and spend time with people in obedience to Jesus. When we “remain” in him we are changed.
We Can Live Like New Creations
This is the first benefit to being plugged in to the “true vine,” which is Jesus. In order to produce the quality of fruit God is looking for, we have to be infused with a new spiritual “genetic code” of sorts. The Bible teaches that when we put our trust in Jesus, our nature is changed. We are new creations in Jesus Christ He changes us and rewrites our spiritual “genetic code” which allows us to orient ourselves toward him and away from sin.
2 Corinthians 5:17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
This is where the Spirit of God comes into play as well. Through Jesus, we are changed and the Holy Spirit enters our hearts and helps us to say “no” to the flesh and “yes” to the Spirit..
Galatians 5:16-17 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.
We now have the power to choose to live for God. And we will continue to grow as we allow God to prune the “dead” stuff still at work in our lives.
We Are Known By Our Fruit
When we live by the Spirit and surrendered our lives to Jesus and following the leading of the Holy Spirit, we will produce fruit that looks like the character of Jesus. The fruit of the Spirit is grown by the Spirit working in us. We don’t grow the fruit, the Holy Spirit grows the fruit. And this fruit will look vastly different than the regular fruit our human nature could produce.
Matthew 7:16, 20 You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.
People should be able to look at our lives and see if the fruit we produce is average or something extra special. Let’s choose to be people who surrender our lives to God and allow him to produce his fruit in us.
Discussion Questions:
- Watch the video together or invite someone to summarize the topic.
- What is your initial reaction to this video? Do you disagree with any of it? What jumped out at you?
- Share your personal story of how you came to know Jesus.
- In your own words, describe what it looks like to be totally plugged in to Jesus. How does your current spiritual life compare to that picture?
- What are some of the things competing for your attention right now? How have those things taken you away from your pursuit of God?
- Read 2 Corinthians 5:17. What do you think it means to be a new creation in Christ? How have you been changed since you started following Jesus?
- Read Galatians 5:16-17. What are some typical sinful desires we all struggle to overcome? How has the Holy Spirit helped you to have victory over sin?
- Read Matthew 7:16-20. As Christians, why is it important to be aware of the way we act, especially around unbelievers? What makes Christians unattractive to the world?
- Write a personal action step based on this conversation.
Adapted from the book The Fruit of the Spirit: Becoming The Person God Wants You to Be by Thomas Trask and Wayde Goodall.
