“He cuts off (lifts up) every branch in Me that bears no fruit, and every branch that does bear fruit, He prunes to make it even more fruitful.”

— John 15:2

#3 in The Ministry of the Holy Spirit

This week's sermon is about bearing the fruits of the spirit, but I want to focus on a specific point for this article. In Jesus' teachings about the Holy Spirit in John chapters 14-16, he makes what seems to be an alarming statement at the beginning of chapter 15.

If you read it at face value, Jesus seems to say that God will throw you into hell if you don't bear fruit. But this is NOT what he is saying.

If you look at the footnotes in your Bible for this passage, you'll notice that the phrase "cuts off" or "takes away" can also be translated "lifts up." The idea is that a grapevine that is sagging, weak, and struggling to grow grapes needs to be staked up so it can breathe and catch the sunlight.

If you aren't bearing fruit in Jesus, he will lift you up, not throw you away. Why does it say "takes away?" The English translators regularly translated at their discretion, sometimes getting words and phrases wrong from their original meaning. It doesn't mean God's written word has errors, it just means phrases don't always translate well to other languages from the original Greek in which it was written.

In John 15, Jesus says he desires fruit from you, and the only way you can bear fruit is to be in him. Why would he cut you off and throw you away for not bearing fruit if you need to be in him to bear fruit? It doesn't make sense.

We have to understand Jesus' warning for this passage to make sense. Jesus is warning his followers to keep the faith in him. He knows a time is coming when his followers would be persecuted, and many would leave "the way" and return to the sacrifices under the former covenant. Paul warns of the same thing many times in his letters.

Jesus desires that his followers keep trusting and believing in him, not to draw back from their faith in him. He makes a remarkable statement in verse 7 for those who remain in him or continue to keep their trust in him; "If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." All I can say is WOW!!

You don't have to worry about Jesus abandoning you to hell if you aren't a good enough Christian. Just keep believing in him, and he will lift you up and carry you when you are weak. You can trust him with your life, and your eternal destiny is secure in him.

There is much to be said about bearing the fruits of the spirit, but this is the basis. Allow his words to abide in you. Remain in him, and you will effortlessly produce fruit that brings great glory to the name of God.

I hope you watch the sermon above for a more complete teaching on the fruits of the spirit.

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