Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, He taketh away; and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring for more fruit. (John 15:2)
The key verse for this final lesson confirms it is God's desire that spiritual fruit be evident in your life. This chapter provides guidelines for developing spiritual fruit.
There are different levels of fruit bearing evident in the lives of believers. John chapter 15 identifies the various levels of fruit production:
-Fruit: John 15:2a
-More fruit: John 15:2b
-Much fruit: John 15:5,8
-Permanent Fruit: John 15:16
God's desire is that you bear much spiritual fruit and that it is permanent. He wants you to be productive in the outer fruit of evangelism and the inner fruit of Christ-likeness.
NATURAL AND SPIRITUAL TRUTHS The Bible contains important principles which you must identify in order to understand what God is saying to you through His Word. One of these principles is that of natural parallels of spiritual truths. The word "parallel" means to be similar to something or to "lay side by side". In a "natural parallel of a spiritual truth" God uses a natural example to explain or represent a spiritual truth.
The parables of Jesus were natural examples of spiritual truths. For example, in one parable He used the natural example of a woman searching intensely for a lost coin. He used this to illustrate the intense concern we should have for men and women who are lost in sin. This is just one of many examples of parables in which Jesus used natural examples to illustrate spiritual truths.
This principle of natural and spiritual parallels is explained in I Corinthians:
...There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
Howbeit that was not first which was spiritual but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. (I Corinthians 15:44-46)
In these verses the Apostle Paul shared one of the greatest examples of a natural parallel of a spiritual truth. The first man created by God was the natural man, Adam. Jesus, who is called the last Adam, was a spirit. Adam was a natural parallel of the spiritual truth God revealed through Jesus Christ. By the natural man came sin and death. By the spiritual man came salvation and life.
That which is natural is something you can observe with your senses; you can see, hear or touch it. That which is spiritual can only be observed with spiritual senses. Natural examples can be recognized with the physical senses. Their spiritual parallels can only be recognized through the revelation of the Holy Spirit. Understanding this principle of natural parallels of spiritual truths results in new insights in the study of God's Word.
DEVELOPING THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT Jesus used the term "fruit" of the Spirit as a natural parallel of a spiritual truth. Certain conditions are necessary to produce fruit in the natural world. These are spiritual parallels of things necessary for production of spiritual fruit. In the natural world, as well as the spiritual realm, there are specific conditions necessary to assure growth. These include the following: