Abide in the Vine

We have talked about the Fruit of the Spirit for the past few months, and each week boiled down to the same ultimate principle. We would probably all agree that love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control are important to have in our lives. We may even try to pursue some of them, but are we doing what is necessary to obtain them? What is the most effective, and really the only, way to grow spiritual fruit?

In order to bear fruit of the Spirit, we have to be in the Spirit. We have to seek the Spirit. We can’t live for ourselves with little or no thought to the things of the Spirit and expect to grow anything of the Spirit.

Beware of Weeds

Any gardener knows that in order for plants to grow and produce, they have to be cultivated, and they need a few basic elements: water, light, soil. If the plants are inundated by weeds which steal those three essentials, the plants will not do well. In the same way, if we are inundated by anything ungodly, or worldly, we will not produce well. The things of the world rob us of our spiritual vitality. They pull us away from God and make us more like them. In order to produce God’s fruit we need to be immersed in God so that He is our greatest influence. We need to jealously guard our time with Him so that nothing of the world steals that life from us.

Be Immersed in God

Colossians 3:1-3 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

We have died to the things of the world. Christ died to save us from it and when we accept His sacrifice we enter the same death and life He did: death to the world and life to God. We cannot tolerate anything which tries to steal that from us, anything which dulls our desire for God, anything which encourages us to compromise. That does not mean that we should never be around unbelievers, or be entertained by anything outside of God, but we need to be careful what and how much influence we allow.

We must be fully immersed in the things of God first so that the things of the world cannot taint us or pull us away. If that sounds dull and boring, will total immersion in God in heaven be satisfying?

Walk in the Spirit

Galatians 5:16-17 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.

We cannot have the world and the Spirit. We cannot live according to what our flesh wants and still please God and grow His fruit. We have to choose one or the other; flesh or Spirit, because they are opposed to one another, mortal enemies, and we cannot walk both lines.

If we want to bear the fruit of the Spirit, then we have to walk in the Spirit. We have to seek the Spirit and pursue it relentlessly. It is not enough to be politely interested, we have to be zealous, passionate, on fire. Walking in the Spirit means that we live according to the Spirit, according to God and His Word, directed by the Spirit of God and not our own wishes or desires. It means sacrificing ourselves for the sake of following Christ, giving up our will for His. We have to be totally sold out for God.

Abide in the Vine

In order to do this, though, we have to abide in Him.

John 15:5 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

This is the crux of our spiritual lives, the basis of bearing spiritual fruit! We have to abide in Christ to do anything worthy of Him. We can’t possibly do it on our own because everything we have to bring is worse than filthy rags. The beauty of this is that when we abide in Him, He gives us what we need to live for Him. We really don’t have to do anything but seek Him and allow Him to work in us. If we are totally immersed in Him, totally surrendered to His will, we will naturally produce His fruit. The fruit of the Spirit is a byproduct of abiding in the Spirit.

Even though growing spiritual fruit seems really hard and difficult, it isn’t. It is actually very simple. We let Him do the work. We are merely the soil, He is the gardener. The trick is that we have to submit to Him entirely. We have to surrender our wills, our desires, our wants, for His. We have to give up our right and freedom to do what we want and instead do as He wants. We have to sacrifice our enjoyment of the world for the sake of knowing Him. It is the hardest, most beautiful sacrifice we will ever make. But it is worth so much more than we could ever imagine. We give up temporary pleasures and selfishness which never satisfies for true, eternal joy and satisfaction. It is the most rewarding sacrifice we will ever make!

Are you willing to do what it takes? Are you willing to sacrifice your selfishness for the sake of pursuing Christ? Will you give up the world to gain the eternal? Abide in Him and know satisfaction.