“Thy Kingdom Come” Session 5 – spiritual fruitfulness
“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him,
bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5, NKJV)
What would you say is the most foundational spiritual discipline for realizing the presence, the power, and the promise of the kingdom of God? The practice of prayer is a likely contender for that distinction. Prayer is the voice of faith, an expression of our relationship with God, and a means for kingdom growth. God affixes great promise to our prayer.
But there is a discipline even more basic than prayer. One hundred percent of Christians surveyed will tell you that they fall short in their prayer lives. In contrast, a negligible number will likely tell you that they fall short in this other area and not because they do so well at it. Rather, it is because they are not aware of it.
Our Lord Jesus alerts us to this fundamental of discipleship. “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:4–5).
Do we hear what our Lord is saying? Negatively, He is stressing that we cannot bear fruit – the fruit of the Spirit, the fruit of righteousness, the fruit of our kingdom labor – unless we abide in Him. Positively, in His larger teaching on the vine and the branches, Jesus assures us that by abiding in Him we will bear fruit – fruit that is authentic, abounding, and abiding.
Authentic fruit grows organically in our relationship with Christ and dependence upon Him. It is not the product of religious motions and self-reformation. Abounding fruit speaks to the rich harvest of God’s grace, what Jesus describes as “much fruit.” Abiding fruit is “fruit that will last” as we grow and mature in faith.
Abiding in Christ is essential for our spiritual life, health, maturity, vitality, and fruitfulness. It reminds us that without Him we can do nothing, meaning that which is authentic, abounding, and abiding. We are dependent on Jesus for any progress, any produce, any power.
Yet how often do we find instruction on abiding in Christ in a curriculum for discipleship? Are they taught the need to abide, what it means, and how to go about it? How many believers pinpoint abiding as an area of deficiency for themselves? How many Christians see themselves lethargic, anemic, and barren, yet fail to consider Christ’s words in John 15?
Prayer is a key discipline for the Christian, but prayer must be rooted in abiding in Christ, as it expresses union with Christ for all spiritual blessing and bounty.
How does Paul’s prayer in Philippians 1:9-11 reflect the fruit of abiding in Christ?
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This course will involve self-paced study under the direction of a mentor. Each lesson will feature a video interview related to a book I have written and will include a study guide. Links to books and supporting materials will be provided.
The course is free. Watch for an announcement about the availability of Thy Kingdom Come later this summer.
The featured book for this session of Kingdom Disciplines is A Vine-Ripened Life: Spiritual Fruitfulness through Abiding in Christ (Stanley D. Gale, Reformation Heritage Books, 2014).
