Read John 15:1-8.
Within thirty years of Jesus’s resurrection, His followers had taken the Gospel message to most of the Roman world. Why were they able to multiply so quickly? A couple of possible answers are that they took the call in the Great Commission seriously and that they believed the resurrection of Jesus was true. What keeps believers from multiplying today? That is trickier. Perhaps we are more complacent today. But it is clear that Christianity is a faith of multiplication. Jesus Himself spoke in today’s passage about multiplication, or “bearing fruit.”
It is an absolutely essential reality that followers of Jesus would bear fruit. There are three different kinds of fruit that are produced in the lives of disciples as we follow Jesus. First, there is the spiritual fruit of a changed character. When each of us becomes a believer, the Holy Spirit enters into our lives and words to transform us from the inside out, producing fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). Second, there is the spiritual fruit of good conduct. Good conduct is the outward expression of inner character transformed by the Holy Spirit. Finally, there is the spiritual fruit of conversion. Each of us should be participating in the mission of planting, watering, and harvesting. In this way, the Gospel message goes out and, by its power, people fall under conviction and can be saved (Rom. 1:16).
The key to fruit production, or multiplication, is our surrender to the Holy Spirit and His work in our lives. Make that a priority in your life beginning today.
Mark Riser - Apologist 