"Every branch that does not bear fruit in me, my Father will take it away; and every one that bears fruit, he will cleanse it, that it may bear more fruit "Jn. 15: 2
When the Lord Jesus Christ manifested these words to his disciples, he wanted to make them understand that the fruit was necessary in their personal relationship with Him. To bear fruit in Jesus means to allow His Spirit to do in us the will of God.
However, these words of Christ require a more than superficial consideration. It is easy to read them and come to the conclusion that if we stop bearing fruit, God will take away the salvation he has given us; whereas if we continue to bear fruit, God will continue to cleanse us so that we may bear more fruit.
In relation to this same text, some believers think that Jesus is teaching us that we have to do good works to maintain our salvation. However, this interpretation is contrary to the biblical doctrine that reveals that salvation is not by works, but by faith in the Grace of God.
We should look at the second part of the verse, which describes two types of fruit:
The fruit of God's Grace when it cleanses the believer.
The fruit as a result of that cleaning.
The first is the step of the faith that a person gives when he recognizes himself as a sinner and receives the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior. There is no other way for God to cleanse from all sin those who repent and seek his forgiveness.
The second refers to the certainty of bearing more fruit in Jesus. The key is how we keep our personal relationship with Him daily, that is, the closer we live to the Lord, the better we will come to know His will and the more fruit we can bring from Him and for Him. And as we allow the Holy Spirit to produce in us the conforming fruit
to the will of God, we will be grateful for having helped us to bring that first fruit in Jesus, which has made us move from death to life.
All this should serve to teach us that, if we want to do God's will, we can not be satisfied with that first fruit, because the Lord wants us to continue growing in our spiritual life and carry daily the fruit that manifests the presence of his Spirit in us. .
