No Roots, No Fruits

NO ROOTS, NO FRUITS

SCRIPTURE: John 15:8 “Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.”

INTRODUCTION:

Root (noun) 1. The descending axis of a plant usually growing underground, providing support and absorbing moisture from the soil. 4. That from which something derives its origin, growth, life, etc.

Root (verb) 1. To put forth roots and begin to grow. 2. To become firmly fixed or established.

Fruit (noun) 1. The seed-bearing part of a plant. 2. An edible, usually seed-bearing plant product, especially a sweet and succulent one. 5. A consequence, outcome, or result.

I. FRUIT REQUIRES DEATH

A. Death Comes Before Fruit.

The usual order of most things is that death occurs at the end of life, but with Christ death is the beginning of life.

John 12:24 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. 12:25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.”

Amplified Version John 12:24 “I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains [just one grain; never becomes more but lives] by itself alone. But if it dies, it produces many others and yields a rich harvest.”

The whole body or substance of the grain, except the germ, dies in the earth or is decomposed, and this decomposed substance constitutes the first nourishment of the tender germ a nutriment wonderfully adapted to it, and fitted to nourish it until it becomes vigorous enough to derive its support entirely from the ground. In this God has shown his wisdom and goodness. No one thing could be more evidently fitted for another than this provision made in the grain itself for the future wants of the tender germ. Barnes’ Notes

B. The Perfect Example

This is plainly a type of the Lord Jesus who had life in Himself and who, when buried, could not be kept down but rose the third day. It is a type also of the believer who has God's eternal life in him. The Holy Spirit is the gardener who takes the grain of corn, the Christian, plants him in His harvest field where He wants him to be, and places him where he will produce the best crop. A Dictionary of Bible Types

This grain is the Lord Jesus Himself. He was cut down and was buried, but came forth from the tomb to produce a tremendous crop of believers for eternity.

A Dictionary of Bible Types

C. Old Things Must Pass Away

II Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

The main body of the grain decays that it may become food and nourishment to the tender germ. Perhaps it is implied here also that there was a fitness that people should die in order to obtain the glorious body of the resurrection, in the same way as it is fit that the kernel should die, in order that there may be a new

and beautiful harvest. Barnes’ Notes

The Cross of Christ is therefore not only the place where we find the new life, but also the place where we lose our old life. Evans H. Hopkins “Conformity to the Death of Christ”

II. FRUIT REQUIRES ROOTS

A. The Root Is A Principle Structure

1. Without roots, death is certain.

Matthew 13:5 “Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: 13:6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.”

The teaching probably is that there was nothing in the heart of the hearer, nor in his mind, which would enable him to receive or understand God's Word.

A Dictionary of Bible Types

Jesus thus describes that kind of disposition, or soul, or heart, which sits unmoved under the sound of the gospel and does not respond in a permanent way. The person seems to be moved a little bit, and shows some interest, but this is not permanent. After while he refuses to return to the church, and avoids meeting the Christians. A Dictionary of Bible Types

Matthew 13:20 “But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; 13:21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.”