The Father’s Glory
About this series
At the start of 2022 Russ, our Lead Elder, spoke about this being a year of ‘pruning for fruitfulness.’ The imagery comes from John 15 so we are going to preach through this chapter over seven Sundays.
The vine and branches are a wonderful and inspiring image but comes at a very intense point in Jesus’ journey to the cross.
There is also a clear Old Testament connection. In the OT “the vine” or “the vineyard” was a common picture of God’s people, and a symbol of the fruitfulness God intended for them. God had done all that was necessary for his people to be fruitful - chosen them, loved them, planted them in ‘fertile’ conditions - yet they continually turned away from him, and failed to be a prophetic witness to the nations of the one true God.
Fast-forward to John’s gospel where Jesus says, “I am the true vine” - I am the truly fruitful one sent by my Father, who himself is the gardener; stay intimately connected to me and dependent on me; your fruitfulness is directly related to that connection. It is by remaining in me that you will be enabled to be the distinct and faithful people of God and a prophetic witness of him.
We have a danger of immediately thinking of fruitfulness in terms of output, usefulness, and productivity - which is certainly part of what it means to be fruitful. But fruitfulness for God is the result of a life rooted in faithfulness to him. That is surely why God’s people produced bad fruit throughout the OT - because they had been unfaithful. Bearing good fruit is a matter of growth in godliness and character; it’s a holiness question as much as a usefulness one.
This series about abiding is not a set of seven ways to be fruitful but is a careful study in John 15. However, we hope that it is extremely practical, with the thread of abiding (as the way to be fruitful) weaving through it all. Each part of the series should help us consider how we can abide in Jesus.
For example
Through staying conscious of him at all times
Submitting our decisions to him
Keeping his glory as the goal
Connecting to fellow believers
Ensuring that we’re carving out time to be alone with him in personal devotions (prayer, Bible reading, worship, etc)
Growing in our understanding of who he is and who we are in him.
About this talk
Scripture: John 15:8
Why does anything exist? Or more personally: Why do we exist? Here’s that question famously phrased as a ‘what?’ in the Westminster Shorter Catechism (17th century): ‘What is the chief end of man?’ Answer: ‘Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.’
The glory of God is the answer to most ‘Why?’ questions. The great point of life is that God might be known and loved and magnified for the beautiful, awesome, supreme being that he is. Which is the point Jesus makes here in v 8: “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” The ESV translation - “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples” - makes the connection even clearer: bearing much fruit glorifies the Father as we demonstrate that we are Jesus’ disciples.
One of the tragedies of the church through the centuries has been its inability or unwillingness to bear fruit that shows the greatness of God to the world. Some examples could be cited. And yet God’s intention has always been that the people he calls to himself will be a witness of his greatness to a watching world - see, for example, Deuteronomy 4:1-8; Isaiah 49:5-7; 1 Peter 2:9-10;
Just as the Son brings glory to the Father (John 13:31; 14:13; 17:4), so those through whom the life of the Son flows will bring glory to the Father because the fruit of their lives will reflect that of the Son, the true vine and truly fruitful one. Hence, the imagery of pruning and cutting (v 2) is part of the process by which the gardener works to ensure that he is increasingly glorified in his people’s increasingly Christlike lives.
We look at:
Help people to grasp the concept of God’s glory, using NT teaching and illustrations.
Give some examples of how bearing fruit brings glory to God.
Help people to see abiding in Jesus not as a self-centered goal in itself, but as being filled with the life of Jesus so as to know God’s greatness more and to make his greatness known more.
Audio only
