Abiding in Christ: The Key to Bearing Fruit

Abiding in Christ: Bearing the Fruit of the Spirit

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Galatians 5: 22-25

 

This post focuses on the relationship between abiding in Christ and bearing the fruit of the Holy Spirit. It is a continuation of my series on the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

 

In previous posts, we discussed who the Holy Spirit is, His role in salvation, what it means to be sealed with the Holy Spirit and how He empowers us to walk in the freedom that God has provided through Christ. We went on to discover what it means to keep in step with the Spirit, His role as our helper, and the meaning of “Christ in you.” In the last post on the series, my guest blogger, Funke, beautifully summarized the fruit of the Spirit.

 

As always, I write for myself as well as my readers. Therefore, I hope that studying through the Word will empower us to yield to the Holy Spirit and bear everlasting fruit to the glory of God.

 

Bearing The Fruit of the Spirit

Before we get to what the fruit of the Spirit is, lets, first of all, eliminate what it is not.

 

Most Christians can recite the fruit of the Spirit. However, mentally knowing something does not equate to having a revelation and experiencing it consistently through the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

The fruit of the Spirit is not behavior modification. Nor is it an attempt at becoming a better version of yourself. Godly fruit does not originate from our minds and does not hinge on our will-power or tenacity. The fruit of the Spirit comes from God, through Christ, by the Holy Spirit.  Therefore, you can try but will fail, at morphing yourself into the perfect picture of love, joy, peace, etc.

The fruit of the Spirit comes from God, through Christ, by the Holy Spirit.

Irrespective of your sincerity, you cannot motivate yourself to successfully walk in love. It is only possible through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit consistently prompting, leading, and guiding you. Relying on yourself, my dear is a recipe for frustration and failure.

 

What is the Fruit of the Spirit?

We already learned in previous posts that the Holy Spirit, aka the Spirit of Christ, establishes His dwelling place in our spirits at the point of salvation. (Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 6:19) We are then made new creatures and receive eternal life, which is the rich, abundant divine nature of God: the fullness of His love, joy, power, and ability. (2 Corinthians 5:17; John 3:36; 10:10; 20:31; 1 John 5:11.)

 

Therefore, the fruit of the Spirit is the result of the union between the Spirit of God and the spirit of man.

But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit. 1 Corinthians 6:17

 

The fruit of the Spirit is Christ in us, expressed through us, to the world around us.

To put it another way, the fruit of the Spirit is the outward expression of God’s nature within. It is the way of life for those who are led by the Spirit of God. They are signs of growth and maturity in a Christian and the product of a Spirit-controlled life.

 

For many years after giving my life to Christ, I bore little to no fruit. Although my heart desired to obey God’s command to love my husband, children, coworkers, etc., I consistently gave in to my selfishness. I have learned, and continue to learn, that the key to bearing fruit is to abide and remain in Christ.

 

Abiding in Christ

“Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.” John 15:4-10 NIV

The Scripture above emphasizes the word “remain.” Some versions, like the one below, use “abide” instead.

New King James Version

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. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. 

As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. John 15:4-10 NKJV

The Scriptures speak for themselves. Abiding in Christ is key to bearing fruit. Unless we do so, we will bear NO fruit, and we put ourselves at risk for destruction.

 

What Does Abiding in Christ Mean?

Abiding in Christ means that we remain permanently connected in a trusting, intimate relationship with Him. Jesus Christ is the vine. The Holy Spirit is the sap that runs through the vine and gives life to us, the branches. The branches cannot survive without consistent nourishment from the life of the vine. Therefore, when we abide in Christ and remain plugged-in to the life-sustaining power of the Holy Spirit, we bear fruit as a result of our unbroken communion with Christ.

 

Abiding means that we dwell in Christ. We do not visit Him intermittently. Instead, we sit permanently and learn from Him as we consistently partake of His love, joy, peace, etc.

 

How Do We Abide in Christ?

First, by receiving our salvation. Then, by yielding daily to God’s Word, meditating on the Word, spending time in prayer, praise, worship, practicing His presence, and obeying His commands.

 

As I abide in Christ and dwell in His presence, I get to know Him more intimately. When He speaks, I can discern His voice. We talk and commune. I exchange my anxiety for His peace, my fears for His power, the works of my flesh for the fruit of His Spirit. I learn and discern who I am in Him so that when pressure squeezes me, His fruit spills out. As I abide, I am led by the Holy Spirit and empowered by the Word to say “no” to my flesh and “yes” to God.

 

Abiding in Christ through Meditating on the Word and Renewing our Minds

 ^“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.  By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” John 15:7-8 NKJV

A person who abides is consistently being fed and nourished by the Word and is constantly pursuing obedience to God’s Word. (John 15:7; 10) Jesus and the Word are the same (John 1:1); therefore, to abide in Christ is to abide in His Word.

 

As I remain in Christ and stay connected to Him through diligently studying and meditating on the Word, He teaches me to renew my mind and change the way I think.

 

I have found that when I disconnect from Christ, my thoughts wander. But as I remain in Him, He teaches me to deliberately think of His Word instead of the random thoughts that come into my mind. (2 Corinthians 10:5)

 

As we remain in Christ, His Word gives us life. (John 6:63; 15:7) A believer who does not meditate on His Word will not bear fruit. In Psalm 1:2-3, the person who consistently meditates on the Word is likened to “a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.”

 

Abiding in Christ by Obeying the Word

“If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.” John 15:10 NKJV

As we abide in Christ, the Holy Spirit ignites our spirits and gives us the power to obey God. Abiding in Christ goes hand in hand with obeying His commands; the two are inseparable. “If we love him, we will keep his commandments.” (John 14:15; 15:10)

 

As we abide in Christ by feeding daily on the Word and pursuing obedience to all His commands, the Holy Spirit empowers us to put flesh away like a filthy garment and clothe ourselves with the new life we have in Christ.

Putting on our New Lives in Christ

Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh. Romans 13:14

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires to be made new in the attitude of your minds and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:22-24

Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Colossians 3:9-10

Conclusion

God requires us to be transformed into Christ’s character from one level of glory to another. He has filled us with His Spirit and the essence of who He is. However, we will still not bear fruit unless we abide in Christ.

 

Fruit does not develop in a day. However, Jesus promises that if we abide and continue in our intimate relationship with Him through consistent study, meditation, and obedience to His Word, the Holy Spirit will SURELY empower us to bear fruit.

Photo by Hari Nandakumar on Unsplash

Except indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New International Version (NIV).

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© 2020. Chizobam Idahosa @Beautiful in Jesus.