Being Fruitful

John 15:16 (NET) You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that remains, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.

When the Lord Jesus came to the world over 2000 years ago, apart from His disciples, the Jews did not believe that he was the messiah because they expected the messiah to come and take over the kingdoms of this world and establish his government in Israel (Acts 1:6, Mark 14:61, Matt 11:3). The Lord did not do that in His first coming, but He will in His second coming(Rev 20:40, Daniel 7:27, Matthew 19:28, Dan 7:18, 2 Tim 2:12). One of the reasons for this was that the Messiah was not going to reign and rule alone. He would need princes that would reign with him, and at that time, He didn’t have anyone He could commit to(see John 2:24). You see, the fall had so damaged human nature that the Lord needed to redeem and transform man in order for man to be fit to inherit His kingdom.

God has expectations in saving you. When you fulfill these expectations, you are fruitful. The power to be fruitful does not come from you but from the Lord. As long as you abide in Christ and let His word abide in you richly, you will be fruitful. I have seen many who believed in the Lord Jesus but went back to the world. Such did not remain in Christ. Abiding in Christ means abiding under His authority, and also abiding in the Church which is His body. Believers who have forsaken the gathering together of the saints and do not want to be accountable to anyone have stopped abiding.

Go into today remembering that the biggest measure of your fruitfulness is the degree to which you have been conformed to the image of Christ. Becoming like Christ is the object of Christianity. Those who will rule and reign with Christ are those who have become like Him. The purpose of the Church is to train and equip us, so we become mature; and grow into the fullness of the stature of Christ (see Ephesians 4:13-14)

Prayer: Lord, help me be like Jesus indeed. Help me truly forsake the Adamic nature.

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