Appointed to bear fruit
- Apr 4, 2019
- 1 min read
Jesus has previously said that “no-one can come to me unless the Father draws them” (John 6:44) and again he makes it clear that ultimately he is the one who has chosen us, not we who have chosen him (16). Where our free-will fits into that is a mystery, though if we are honest with ourselves we recognise that unless God had taken the initiative we would never have found him on our own.
.
This means that there are no grounds for pride or boasting in our privileged position - it is all by God’s grace (Eph.2:8-9). And just as with Israel in the Old Testament, we have been chosen and appointed for a purpose. That purpose is to “go and bear fruit” (16) – the word go points to our evangelistic mission, which will bear fruit that will remain (meno). But that fruit is also about the Father making us like his Son, becoming conformed to the likeness of Jesus, in holiness and love (Rom.8:29; Eph.1:4).
.
That fruitfulness comes from our being in Jesus, a relationship which assures us of our prayers being answered providing we remain in him (16; 14:13-14; 15:7). So his final word in this section is a repetition of the essential condition for remaining in him, namely “love each other” (17; 15:10,12).
Comments