Part 2

We’ve just seen the varied details related to the Lord Jesus as our pattern for fruitfulness. He was and is and forever will be the chiefest One we must gaze upon as we seek to grow our own fruit unto God. Yet, as we’ve said, our discovery is not over yet! If all of these aforementioned thoughts are indeed true, we must now ask a series of important questions. Firstly, what is the nature of Jesus’ own fruitfulness? How did it appear during His earthly ministry, and how does it continue to show up today? These are vital thoughts for us to reflect on, for Jesus’ own richness is that which will supply our own.If Jesus truly is God’s divinely-set pattern, we would do well to turn our thoughts more-fully toward the many details of His fruit-bearing. As we ponder our Lord’s example, the many ways that He budded and bloomed, I pray pondering we will witness the abundant provision He now disperses to allow our own harvests to flourish! Dear reader, we must daily remind ourselves of one certain fact: We’re not sparsely attached to a weak earthen vine or upon a lame, helpless root! Rather, we’re privileged to be fixed upon God’s only “true vine”, and the root that girds us is the surest of all foundations (Jn. 15:1)! The sweet sap which our Lord well-dispenses toward us daily is unlike any life-source the world has ever seen (Ps. 104:16)! Truly, Jesus is the most precious cornerstone, the most well-tried foundation, and the surest of all assurances (2 Tim.  2:19). Those humble branches that rely on Him for their own rich harvests will by no means leave empty-handed!

“Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste” (Isa. 28:16).

Jesus Bears Divine Fruit

First and foremost, the nature of Jesus’ own fruitfulness is that of divinity: He alone bears divine fruit, and thus He alone can furnish bounty that meets divine expectation. Over and over the Scriptures declare His bounty to be the truest of the true, and the one-and-only perfect harvest amidst a vast sea of feeble counterfeits:

“This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:11-12).

Firstly, the Bible calls Jesus the “true light” (Jn. 1:4, 9). He’s called “true” because He shines a perfectly-fruitful display of God’s glory, and thereby perfectly-directs us unto completion. He shows mankind the brightness of God’s face, and, as a result, He repels all shadows and darkness (2 Cor. 4:6). His light is perfect and thus perfectly reveals the hidden depths of man’s heart. The Bible tells us that “darkness is past” and “the true light now shineth” (1 Jn. 2:8). This is but one aspect of the perfect harvest Jesus bears!

Next, Jesus is called the “true bread from heaven”, that is, the only fruit-bearing diet that gives life to those who will sup (Jn. 6:32). He feeds us with a perfectly-substantial provision, even manna from heaven (Rev. 2:17). Those who feast will be very well-fed, and those who drink will taste true living water (Jn. 4:10; 6:35). These saints will need no other meat, and they’ll have no real craving for earth’s far-lesser wine (Eph. 5:18). They will be full and overflowing because they’ve eaten divine fruit (Jn. 4:13-14).

Thirdly, Jesus is called the “true vine” (Jn. 15:1). He perfectly cares for and nurtures His branches, and thereby grows them up into fruit-bearing trees (Ps. 1:1-3). As the true vine, Jesus is perfectly-submitted to the Husbandman, His Father. His sap and life-blood can therefore flow perfectly-unhindered.

Similarly, Jesus is also said to be the only truly-fruitful “way” (Jn. 14:6). He is the only right course to trod, and the only true highway to God’s heart. He leads and directs us to a perfect glimpse of God’s great nature, and the only accurate depiction of His loving care for mankind (Jn. 14:7-9; 1:18; 1 Jn. 5:20). All other counterfeit paths will birth but rot and wind!

Next, the Bible declares King Jesus to be the only perfectly-personified “truth” (Jn. 14:6). He disperses the most-fruitful of all knowledge, the most-needful of all understanding, and the most-profitable of all wisdom (1 Tim. 1:17; 2 Tim. 2:7; Ps. 119:73; Eph. 1:17-18). He is the only true Word of God made flesh, that is, the only perfect message sent from God and read to men (Jn. 1:14). He is the most-fruitful message ever to be declared, and God is speaking unto mankind by Him even now (Heb. 1:1-2)! He is the only fully-truthful Son of Man, and His is the only fully-truthful Word to hear (Tit. 1:2). His Word of truth is a perfect “seed” (1 Pet. 1:23); it is most-eternal and of utmost power (Gen. 1:3; Jn. 1:1-3).

Moreover, the Bible portrays Jesus’ as the only fully-fruitful “life” (Jn. 14:6). He alone defeated hell and death, and thus He alone provides us with a thriving existence: Jesus graciously shares His lifeblood with His body, and now we too can live His life to the fullest (Gal. 2:20; 2 Cor. 4:11). The life of God has been deposited within us; we are heartily invited to grab hold of His well-watered vine (Jn. 4:10), bathe in His life-giving blood (Lev. 17:11; Jn. 6:54), and feast on the sap of His glories (Ps. 22:26; 104:16).

Jesus also serves as the only truly perfect “door of the sheep” (Jn. 10:7). This is the fruit that He bears! He is the one and only proper entrance into the blissful realms of God. He is our only door of “access unto the Father” (Eph. 2:18) and our only valid permission within that final veil (Heb. 6:19-20). Jesus is our door into glory (Rom. 5:1-2; Col. 1:27) and our only right toward the Spirit’s comfort, fellowship and communion (Rom. 8:15; Phil. 2:1; Jn. 16:7). Any other lesser route will no doubt end in dismal failure: It will prove quite fruitless, vain, and altogether barren.

Next, Scripture reveals Jesus as the only “true tabernacle”, that is, the truest of all true dwelling places, and the most-loving of all visitations from God (Heb. 8:2; 9:11). Jesus willfully came to “tabernacle among us” (Jn. 1:14), and He did so by the truest of motives. He came to meet our needs and wholly win a people unto Himself (Eph. 5:25-27, 32). He came with an altogether proper aim, never self-serving or self-indulgent (Jn. 3:16; 9:4). He simply sought to shine the true face of God, and to provide a “tabernacle” for our communion (Jn. 8:19; 9:5). He lived here in perfect obedience (Phil. 2:5-9), and with a vehement desire for the contents of man’s heart. This tabernacle proves to be so fruitful because it’s pitched by God rather than men (Heb. 8:2). It was to show God to the world and to tell of countless “good things to come” (Heb. 9:11). This visit declared God’s glory, and it revealed the nature of His grace and unfeigned love. It was a far-greater and most-perfect dwelling because it arrived upon most-special shoulders (Jn. 1:27; Col. 1:16-19), with a most-divine witness (Jn. 5:36; Matt. 3:17), and wrought a most-fruitful work (Jn. 17:4; 19:30; Col. 2:15).

Next, we learn that Jesus offered the only divinely-fruitful sacrifice to God, His Father (Heb. 9:23-24). Yes, His body was the only divine offering ever to be presented to the Father: It alone meets divine demands and holy standards (Heb. 10:4-9; Jn. 17:4-26). Jesus therefore becomes the one and only answer to man’s sin-problem, the only fitting solution for our uncleanness (Job 14:4), and the only hopeful assurance for an inward, fruitful washing. Jesus is the very substance that all other weak and earthly sacrificial shadows pointed to (Heb. 10:1). He is the best of all offered lambs, for He takes away the sins of all the world, rather than merely cover them (Heb. 10:10-11; Jn. 1:29).

Jesus also showed the most-fruitful reaction to trouble and the wisest response to earthly temptation and wilderness (Jn. 4:6). When He grew weary He decided to sit on a well of living water (Jn. 4:6), and when tempted He chose to cling to God’s truth (Lk. 4). What a needful example for us to behold and consider! What great fruit He has grown for us to eat! He knew the value of communion with His Father, and the protection found under the shadow of His wings (Ps. 23:1-6). Jesus lived His whole life with this state of mind: It sponsored all of His actions and protected Him from apathy. It proved to be a most-fruitful response to earth’s troubles, because it now equips us for our own trials.

Next, Jesus is seen as the most-fruitful of all Forerunners (Heb. 6:19-20). He entered into the Most Holy Place and fully displayed how we can follow His steps. He’s our fruitful example because He finished His trek and paved the whole way (Jn. 19:30).  His preeminent lead and prime entrance into glory is our very anchor toward the same harvest! He is personified hope that we will one-day follow in His priestly footsteps (Jn. 2:12; Heb. 2:10)!

Jesus is also the greatest of all “captains”, even the “Captain of our salvation” (Heb. 2:10). He has shown us how to bear much fruit in tribulation and thereby yield a perfect harvest. He is so fruitful simply because His example will bring many more sons unto glory (1 Jn. 3:1-2).

And finally, Jesus’ death and resurrection showed the most-fruitful love and most-generous gift (Jn. 3:16; 15:13). It was the highest expression of devotion and the truest revelation of His care for us. His resurrection is deemed ever-fruitful because it “hath begotten us” unto the same “lively hope” (1 Pet. 1:3). It proved to spoil all hindering principalities and powers, making a shew of them openly, and winning much triumph (Col. 2:15)! What fruit!

Oh reader, what more must be said! What further hope do we require? What more encouragement do we need? The pages of holy writ well-declare the wondrous and eternal fruit Jesus’ divinity has grown! His perfections have prepared us a feast! As we obey such wise counsel and do eat of His life, we can be sure that our own gardens will flourish, for to feast on our Lord’s fruit is to nurture our own. Will we take our place at His table today? Will we allow His perfection to grow us a similar harvest of “fruit unto God” (Rom. 7:4)!

To be continued…