Abiding in Christ: Bearing Fruit by Living in Grace and Truth

Today’s Gospel reading from John, situated within Jesus’ final discourse at the Last Supper, brings us profound insights into the essence of Christian life and discipleship. 

You Cannot Bear Fruit Apart from Jesus

In John 15, Jesus uses the metaphor of a vine and its branches to illustrate the vital connection between abiding in Him and bearing fruit. Consider a branch severed from a bush—it may look good temporarily, akin to cut flowers, but its fate is inevitable decay unless there is intervention (such as grafting back on). Similarly, we are told that apart from Christ, we can do nothing. Take care to note that it doesn’t say, “not much,” or “less than you otherwise could.” It is the kingdom of Jesus and so everything starts with and is based in being connected to Jesus — abiding in Jesus. 
It is not possible to avoid the pain of being cut. Jesus said that every branch that does not bear fruit faces removal, while fruitful branches undergo pruning for increased productivity. 

What Does It Mean to Bear Fruit?

Fruit, in the context of Christian life, symbolizes the visible outcomes of a life rooted in Christ, reflecting character, actions, and beliefs. Just as John the Baptist urged bearing fruit in keeping with repentance, our lives should manifest the transformative power of Christ within us. 

The Bible talks about the fruit we bear in several ways. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is fruitfulness in prayer, a life of good deeds, praise toward God, and making disciples.

The scriptures make much of the importance of bearing fruit. It is important to examine ourselves to see if we are bearing fruit in all the ways that scripture talks about.

But what do you do if you do not see the fruit of the faith you profess? The answer is not to try harder to do those things. Remember, apart from Jesus, you can do nothing.

If a tree is not producing good fruit, the first place to check is the soil. If you do not see the fruit of the Christian faith in your life, the thing to do is to examine yourself to see if you are abiding in Christ. The soil of grace and truth in Jesus is what creates the environment within us that produces the fruit of Christian faith.

What Does It Mean to Abide in Jesus?

The crux of bearing fruit lies in abiding in Jesus. This involves trust, discipleship, and a wholehearted commitment to His teachings. Trusting in Jesus, not just intellectually but with every aspect of our lives, is foundational. Our hearts must be open to Christ as well as our minds. Being His disciples means letting His words permeate our thoughts and actions. Abiding in Jesus is a holistic, transformative process that shapes our entire being.

Living Truthfully and Graciously

Abiding in Christ is a lifelong venture with as many details as there are individuals. But abiding in Christ can be boiled down to basic ideas. They are simple but not easy.

The Gospel of John tells us that Jesus came to the Earth full of grace and truth. To abide in Christ is to commit to live truthfully and graciously.

Truthful living involves more than avoiding lies; it encompasses authenticity, transparency, and integrity. Living wholeheartedly is something we grow toward. But let’s start simply. If you need one simple thing to do, here it is. Do not lie. Period. This alone will change your life. The scriptures say it very clearly: “Do not lie to each other.” (Colossians 3:9) This doesn’t mean you have to tell everyone everything. You have private stuff. But if you tell lies, you are almost always trying to protect yourself. Here’s the problem: Lies, whether overt or subtle, hinder our connection with Christ and impede the growth of good fruit in our lives. 

Here's a simple example. “Is everything ok?” “I’m fine.” But you’re not. You just don’t want to talk about it for whatever reason. Why not say that instead? Or say, “I’ve got a long bouncing around in my head right now. How are you?” Or “It’s kind of a struggle day, but I’ll be ok. How are you?” Or whatever. There are a million different ways to respond without lying.

Grace involves treating everyone equally, being kind and compassionate toward all regardless of who they are or what their relationship is to you. The scriptures tell us that there is to be no division within the church. People may have different jobs or roles, but those are not of different value. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” [Galatians 3:28 (ESV)] Anything that sets people up to feel higher or lower in the church should be viewed with skepticism. We are all equal and whatever we do as a church must reflect this as a basic tenet of our faith. Any activity or system that makes people feel less-than needs to be redesigned or tossed out altogether.

In Corinth, there was a big divide in the church between the wealthy and the poor. They would come together as a church and the wealthy would drink all the wine and eat all the food while the poor would get leftovers or nothing. Paul said that they were not recognizing the body of Christ – that we are all equal before God and should treat all equally. People were leaving the Christian faith because it wasn’t any different than the rest of the world with its class-based divisions. Paul instructs every Christian: “in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” [Philippians 2:3–4 (ESV)]
A church that wants to live out the kingdom of God must take great care to ensure that grace is the foundation of every action and truth is the foundation of every communication, whether between two individuals or among the entire congregation.

Abide in Christ to Bear Fruit

Live your life as a believer in Jesus by grounding everything in grace and truth. This is how we abide in Christ. Paul wrote that “speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.” [Ephesians 4:15 (ESV)]

If you don’t see the fruit of your faith, don’t just try harder. Consider whether you are abiding in Christ. Are you letting His words dwell in you, to shape your heart and mind?

Much grace and peace to you!

Pastor John