Explore the Bible: Remain In Me 

• The Explore the Bible lesson for April 2 focuses on John 15:1-17.

Up to this point in Jesus’ farewell discourse, there has been a great deal of comfort and assurance in his words. While that motif continues here, Jesus also inserts an existential warning to his disciples as he says, “Apart from me, you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

After all, Jesus is the “ I Am” (from the Greek, “ego eimi;” John 15:1), linking his very identity to God (see Exodus 3:14). Moreover, Jesus is the “true vine” of Israel, and his “Father is the gardener” tending to the works of Jesus (John 15:1). As his followers, their purpose is to “bear much fruit,” but this can only be achieved through their adherence to him.

We do not get an explanation for what fruit-bearing exactly entails. We may infer some possibilities: (1) fruit-bearing is the internal effect of increasing in godliness through faithfulness to Jesus; (2) fruit-bearing is the external effect of making disciples of Jesus through faithfulness to the God’s mission; or (3) both.

Perhaps the ambiguity of Jesus’ metaphor is intentional, lending itself to a broader application to our lives. Both the internal and external applications of this metaphor are worthy of our attention and practice as followers of Jesus.

The critical piece of the metaphor, however, is the necessity of having our foundation in Jesus. Our efforts to grow in holiness or to continue the mission of God in this world are futile if not rooted in Jesus, the “pioneer and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). By submitting to him in all ways, we will find that our lives naturally bear fruit—and increasingly so. Yet, this process does not come without some discomfort.

He Prunes (John 15:2)

Pruning, in agricultural terms, is the process of cutting away portions of a branch to promote growth and increase fruitfulness. When we consider the ways God may prune our very lives in order to for us to grow and be more fruitful, we must prepare ourselves for the discipline this requires.

Our faithfulness to God comes with surrendering our desires over to God and welcoming change should anything get in the way of serving God’s kingdom. While this may seem painful and hard, knowing God is actively removing the parts of us that hinder our growth should give us great comfort in knowing that God finds favor in us.

Jesus says, “He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful” (John 15:2). If God is pruning anything in our lives, if we sense that God is challenging us to change so that we may grow, we should be glad to know that God sees potential in us to bear more fruit.

Ask Whatever You Wish (John 15:7)

It is easy for words such as “ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” to be misinterpreted and misrepresented to imply that Christians believe God will always give us exactly that for which we pray. Of course, misunderstanding these words can cause frustration and doubt when we do not always receive what we specifically ask from God.

It is important to note the conditional phrase preceding these words in verse 7, though—“If you remain in me and my words remain in you”—all within the greater context of bearing fruit to the glory of God. When we “ask whatever [we] wish” in contexts separate from the one Jesus is addressing in this passage, we should not expect this promise to apply (see also John 15:16).

We may still lift our requests in faith to God and trust that God is able to deliver our requests based on God’s power and faithfulness to us, but we should never expect God to bend to our desires should they conflict with God’s will.

Moreover, in the specific context of being fruit-bearers rooted in Jesus, when we ask for God’s aid in growing more fruit, we can trust that God will provide whatever is needed to accomplish the task that brings God glory (“This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples;” John 15:8).

Now Remain in My Love (John 15:9)

While we are left to interpret what fruit-bearing entails, we do not need to wonder what being rooted in Jesus looks like. Jesus spells it out clearly: “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you” (John 15:12). He exemplifies the virtue of love to the greatest extent as the very one “to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13).

Whatever fruit is borne comes out of the practice of loving one another as Jesus loves. Attempts to produce fruit outside of practicing love are distinct from the ways of Jesus and thereby will only produce artificial fruit. The likes of such branches are not ones rooted in Jesus, and their efforts will wither to nothing.

The Apostle Paul argues a similar point in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3, suggesting even our greatest efforts amount to “nothing” if we “do not have love.” As we seek to live in this world as Jesus’ disciples, we must center our lives on Jesus fully, to the great lengths of his love, that we might find our lives to bear fruit, which God had created and called us to do.

Jordan Davis is NextGen pastor at First Baptist Church in Plano.