Good Works Are The Fruit Of The Holy Spirit

John 15 and the Call to Abide in Christ

Please turn your Bible to John chapter 15. I Could be found on page 901 of the pew Bible in front of you when you have that please stand for the reading of God's Word. I'll read verses 1 through 11 for context.

I am the true vine and my father is the vine dresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit He takes away and every branch that does bear fruit. He prunes that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken.

Abide in me and I in you the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine. Neither can you unless you abide me? I am the vine you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him he it is that bears much fruit for apart from me.

You can do nothing if anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers and The branches are gathered Thrown into the fire and burned. If you abide in me and my words abide in you ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you by this my father is glorified that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples as The father has loved me.

So have I loved you abide in my love. If you keep my commandments you will abide my love just as I have kept my father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be full.

Amen, you may be seated Dear my father. We thank you this day for your promise Of union with Jesus Christ. We thank you for your spirit by which that union is accomplished. We asked you we would understand this truth more in order that we may appreciate it more and take advantage of it more.

In the Christian Life we ask that this would be for the glory of your kingdom Jesus name.

Amen.

Fruitful Christian Living Through Abiding in Christ

So this is something that Christians should desire to do and most do desire to do is to live Fruitful lives to live a fruitful life. Maybe you want to live a fruitful life and you look at your life and you wonder why it is not more fruitful.

What would bring about more fruit? Well, the answer here is found in this passage. It is abiding in Christ and understanding that in a lot of ways is key to a fruitful Christian life. So I'd like you to understand this today what it means to abide in Christ.

You'll notice that this is by the title of the sermon written in your bulletin Sermon about the Holy Spirit that good works are the fruit of the Holy Spirit and previous sermons. We looked at how the father has ordained good works beforehand for us.

How we are a new creation in the Sun for good works and say we'll be looking at the work of the Spirit. To produce fruit in us to produce good works in us. And so considering this passage here verses four and five By to me and I and you as a branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in vine.

Neither can you unless you abide in me? So he talks about a vine and branches in this analogy Christians are the branches. Christ is the vine just as the branches of a plant receive life from the vine.

So we receive life from Jesus Christ and it talks about this producing fruit. He says I am the vine and you are the branches whoever bides me and I and him. He it is that bears much fruit for apart from me.

You can do nothing. So given that he talks about doing something, you know that what he's talking about here is good works this fruit. It's good works. Now. We've defined good works in the past is sincere obedience.

This is not just external things that are special that God has not called everyone to. Some of those are the case. Some acts of charity that God has not called everyone to but this also includes Thoughts words and deeds that God would call everyone to resisting temptation even your inner Peace, etc.

The joy of the Spirit. These are all good works because they are all sincere obedience to the Lord so he speaks of Speaks of all these things and this is something that he said is accomplished by abiding in him through that.

Through that union now you might wonder If I wish to teach on the Holy Spirit, why would I choose this particular passage? Which does not even explicitly mention the Holy Spirit. In fact, the whole paragraph Does not mention the Holy Spirit why this why this passage?

Well point out first of all that in our confession. When it speaks of the work of the Spirit in our hearts where we can do nothing. But only by the Spirit can we do good. It chooses this particular text John 15 4 through 5 as the proof text that we need the Spirit or to do this work so my point is that many saints and ages past have seen this as a a Standard text to show the need of the work of the Spirit in our hearts.

Now I'll show you why that is the case in context in John 14 this Union with Christ is abiding in him and him and us is spoken of as being accomplished by the Holy Spirit. If you look in the previous chapter at verse 15 Says if you love me You will keep my commandments and I will ask the Father and he will give you another helper to be with you forever.

Even the Spirit of truth in the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him for he dwells with you and will be in you. And so he speaks of the Spirit being the one who Helps us who gives us the power to keep the commandments of God to produce any kind of fruit and Then he says in the next few verses Speaking of Pentecost I will not leave you as orphans.

I will come to you yet a little while and the world will see me no more. But you will see me because I live you also will live in that day. You will know that I am in my father and you and me and I and you and what day he speaks of the coming Of the Spirit speaks particularly of the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost and in that day, what will they know?

They will know that I am in my father and you are in me and I in you it is through the work of the Spirit. That we are in Christ and Christ is in us. We are in the vine. The branches are in the vine. This is a real union, but it is not a union that is formed apart from the work of the Spirit is the Spirit who Performs that work.

And so how is it that we are to bear fruit? The answer is abiding in Christ abiding in Christ and so this this matter of abiding in Christ. While you might immediately think okay, this has to do with my relationship with Christ certainly does certainly dice does but most immediately Given what we've seen in the previous chapter.

It has to do with your relationship with the Holy Spirit. And so God has not just left us with information about Christ that we might Understand how to abide in him and bear fruit. He has left us with information about the Spirit in order that we might abide in him and bear fruit.

The Spirit as Christ's Presence in Us

So let us consider some things about this union with the Spirit first of all it is The Spirit who is Christ presence in us the Spirit being in us. This is said in Scripture to be Christ in us. Consider what it says in verse 18 of chapter 14.

I will not leave you as orphans. I Will come to you. How is it that Jesus comes? He's talking about when he has ascended and departed and he comes. Not speaking of the second coming but speaking of Pentecost.

He comes through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. And so it is through the Spirit in the life of the Christian that Christ is present in the Christian Romans 8 8 through 10. I'll quote this a few times, but listen to these words you however are not in the flesh.

But in the Spirit if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you though, the body is dead of sin.

The Spirit is life because of righteousness. So it says if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Okay, so that's what verse 9 said in Romans chapter 8 then it says in verse 10. But if Christ is in you.

So it just swaps out one for the other talks about the Spirit dwelling in you and then next verse. Speaking of the very same thing it talks about Christ dwelling in you. It is the Spirit who is the presence of Christ in you.

Christ is bodily in heaven and he is represented by a spirit in us. And so he is truly in us because of the union between Him and the Spirit. He is truly in us when the Spirit is in us and This is something that is not just a spiritual union.

A lot of people think when they hear that this union is established by the Spirit that it is one that is therefore merely spiritual. Certainly it is spiritual in the sense of being affected by the Spirit.

But it's not one that just involves our spirit. It's not just that our spirit is united to Christ and then our bodies are Not united to him. Our bodies are also United to Christ. It says in 1st Corinthians 6 15.

Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? It talks about our bodies themselves being united to Christ. In fact, it is this union between Christ and our bodies. That accomplishes the resurrection if life comes through union with Christ.

How is it that the body is supposed to receive life? It is is it not union with Christ? And this is what guarantees the resurrection too because we are united with him and our bodies even while in the grave.

Being united with him. It is guaranteed that they must receive some life from him eventually and be raised from the dead. So this union between Christ and his people that is accomplished by the Spirit is not one that is merely with our spirits.

But also with our bodies and this is one that is mutual. It is a mutual Union is not one that is just us being connected to him. And so there is only a one-way relationship. This is in many ways a two-ways relationship.

Certainly when it comes to life that is coming from him to us. But this is said that we are in Christ and Christ is in us so frequently those are paired together to let us know that this is a mutual relationship that Our presence or his presence in us is our presence in him.

These are all. This is all accomplished and explained with this wonderful analogy of the vine last week in Ephesians we looked at the three different analogies that Ephesians gives if you remember what those were husband and wife body and head and the temple they all the stones in the cornerstone and Here is the fourth analogy that scripture gives these are the four main analogies that scripture gives for the union between Christ and church.

The fourth one is the vine and the branches and it really is a very good analogy because if you think about well The branch truly remains its own thing. Vine remains its own thing and yet there is such a union between them that there are also one thing at the same time.

You could try to come up with other sorts of analogies of this that would fail. For example, a lot of times people getting surgeries will get parts from other animals often pigs, right? Like skin grafts or things like that from pigs yet.

Really doesn't that part of the body doesn't remain swine, you know, it ceases to be swine. I know that at some point not too terribly long ago. They did the first Transplant of a believe it was a pig's heart or something like that or at least the Part of a pig's heart to a human, you know, it's not at this point.

Well, it starts producing pigs blood in the human body. No, it it just works like a human vessel at that point. But with a vine, you know, if you have a graft into it It would produce whatever kind of fruit that branch would produce but with the life of the vine and so While we are not Absorbed into Christ losing our own identity at the same time We are in him and have his identity while at the same time having our own.

It is a it is a really wonderful and a very literal sense a wonderful thing like full of full of wonder now this union is not something that is merely established with Christ just because.

Because.

The spirits union with Christ establishes Christ in us. When the Spirit is in us He is also united to the father. And that means it is also a union that is established with the father. This can be first seen in the fact that the father and the son both are sending the Spirit in this mission of outpouring.

In.

Mission refers to the outward God's outward activities towards his people as opposed to procession what talks about his Inwardly what's happening the son being begotten of the father, etc. Missions refer to how we experience him the son being incarnate the spirit being sent by the father in the son.

And.

So if you consider What it says here about the the son being sent? Once again Romans or excuse me. Yeah, the spirit being sent by the father and the son consider that verse again Romans 8 8 through 9.

Excuse me 9 through 10 you however are not in the flesh. But in the spirit if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone do does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. There's another swapping that just happened in that verse without you know any thought to it, right? or without any kind of introduction or or Explanation talks about the Spirit of God being in you the Spirit of Christ being in you.

How is it that he's able to? Use these so synonymously. Well, it is the Spirit that proceeds from God the Father. It is the Spirit. He is the Spirit who proceeds from the Son. He is the Spirit who proceeds from both of them and We also see this in the the next chapter as well says in verse 5th, sorry in this chapter here.

No, then Excuse me. Verse.

26 When the Helper comes whom I will send to you from the Father the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father He will bear witness about me. So who is sending well as the Son who sends the Spirit and who's he sent him from the Father?

And so the the Spirit is being sent by both the Father and the Son. This in formal theology is known as the filio quay. Because in the Nicene Creed the first Christian document that really tried to nail down the Trinity in a formal way Speaks of The Spirit proceeding from the Father and the Son now the original version of the Nicene Creed Didn't mention this but later versions did.

I've mentioned Eastern Orthodoxy the past two weeks for whatever reason that has been a relevant topic so once again, I'll mention them and where they differ from. From the Western Church on these things not just in blending Christ with the with the individual and not maintaining the distinct identities, etc.

But also here they would deny that the Spirit proceeds from the Son and I would say he just proceeds from the Father. So he proceeds from the Father and the Son and this is this is part of how this is establishing on.

On a union with not just the Son but also also with the Spirit in John Chapter 16 verse 14. It says he will glorify me for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine.

Therefore I said he will take what is mine and declare it to you. Consider that chain of logic all that the Father has is mine. Therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. So there is a Unity between the Father and Son and there's a sharedness.

There's a communion between them the Spirit coming.

Implies.

That he will establish that communion in believers. All right, the Spirit really is that bond between the Father and the Son. Augustine famously spoke of the Spirit as the love between the Father and the Son when I was Yeah, I guess younger and hearing that for the first time that just sounded so mystical.

Reading Augustine more and what he meant it Makes a lot of sense that the Spirit that one that is establishing that bond in us is also One who is that bond between them? Bringing that bond to us. So he is he is accomplishing not just unity with the Son But also with the Father.

And think about how that applies in the notion of our adoption. Says in Galatians 4 6 that God has sent the Spirit of the Son into our hearts that we might cry Abba Father. So what is being accomplished by the Spirit there we?

Having.

That same Spirit of the Son ourselves. Recognize our son our own Sonship him being the only begotten Son, but us and him being sons. We recognize our Sonship and are bound to the Father not in just a legal way.

Like an adoption that were just signed on paper, but in a full organic way so that we experience Sonship with a father. And these are all. And so all the all the benefits that are poured out on the Sun We receive because of that union with him.

It's not. Some people may imagine it and I imagine this is kind of the natural way of imagining it. Father have some benefits. He pours out lots of blessings on the Sun because of all the Sun does and the Sun out of his Graciousness and generosity has shared some of that with us.

Bible says that he has given us all things right he has given us his son. More will he give us all things all the benefits of the Sun we have through our union with him. We are co-heirs with him. We're not sub heirs with him where he gives us some small portion of what he got.

We share all this with him in perfect communion having been joined together with him. Through that Spirit who binds us to both the Son and the Father. Giving us the Spirit of the Son that we are bound to the Father.

So all of this is the union created Established by the Spirit in our hearts. And so what is this communion? Remember communion is the term that describes those things that are shared with Christ. Okay, union is the bond between us communion is the the things that are shared that sharing.

So what is it? It is life. It is primarily life and you can think about that in various different ways. First of all, there's the the life that happens at the beginning of the Christian life regeneration.

Ezekiel 36 26 through 27 says the following. And I will give you a new heart and a new spirit I will put within you. Now we'll remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh and I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

It describes us as having hearts of stone and needing hearts of flesh the spirit being in us and giving us life. If you imagine a branch what happens it withers and dries up and it's very hard and and dead.

But then when it has life it becomes very soft and is able to bear fruit. Same thing same analogy here with the heart heart of stone needs to be soft. It needs life. Christ gives us life how through the working of a spirit through uniting us to him by His spirit and this continues throughout the Christian life, too.

This is not just a new life that happens at the beginning, but this is a new life continually throughout the Christians life. Galatians 5 22 to 23 says. But the fruit of the Spirit is love joy peace patience kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness self-control.

Against such things there is no law all these all these good works all these Virtues are fruit of the Spirit because they are life from the Son to us. And he is the one who is accomplishing these things immediately.

This life this new creation being formed in us is being accomplished by the Spirit. Why is it that the Spirit of God in Genesis 1 2 is said to move on the face of the waters? If you think about that God is creating the world.

He's creating it through his word his son, but then What is the?

Immediate.

Agent who is bringing that about that is directly in contact with the creation. It is him the Spirit who is moving over the face of the waters. And so the same with us. How are we being shaped? We're being given new life by God through his word the Son but then most immediately the one bringing about that bond that transfer of life is The Holy Spirit he is moving on the surface of our hearts.

Transforming us making us this new creation. So we are made it created as a new creation crisis. We learned about last week from Ephesians 2 10 and how most immediately is that taking place by the agency of the Holy Spirit?

By the agency of the Holy Spirit. It may help to think of this with some vocabulary. There is in the Aristotle a notion of four causes if you've never heard of this before. It's really a question about answering.

Why like when you ask why a lot of times you get the wrong answer because it wasn't clear what you meant by why a Lot of times in Bible studies. I'll ask why do you think the Apostle said that and most frequent?

I answer answer I get is because it's true. It's like that's not really what I was that's not really what I was going for. Of course. It's true. I'm reminded of a kid who Had spilt water on the floor and his mother asked him.

Why did you spill water on the floor? And he said because we were out of milk. Right. So there's this is not what was being asked, you know, there's more context needed here. So what are you what are you asking when you ask the why of good works?

Why do good works come about? How do they come about? You could speak of this in different ways. And so just to use an analogy of a car, right you could say well it exists in order to drive. Okay, so that would be the final cause the purpose of it the final cause you could say will exist because you know there's steel and Plastic in this arrangement.

Okay. Well, that would be the material cause the materials that are needed to bring it about. You could say well it exists this way because the engineer designed it like this. Okay, that will be the formal cause the thing that decided what form it would take.

But let's say you're asking well I'm asking but how did it actually get into place the way it is in place and I would answer ah. You want the efficient cause the thing that efficiently brought it about that is the machinist who put the car together.

Right. And so if you think about the the sermons that we've gone through in the previous weeks the passages that we've looked at. What was the final cause the final cause of our salvation was for good works.

We are Christ is purified of people for his own possession. For good works to be a people zealous for good works, right? That was tides 214. So this is the final cause that our purpose and then you could ask about the material cause well He has given us abundant grace as it says in 2nd Corinthians 9 8 is given us abundant grace.

That is the. You could call it some sort of substance of that Might imply too much, but that is the material cause of our good works. Then you could ask no, but how is it being designed? Oh, well the formal cause that would be the father has ordained These good works for us and we are new creation in the Sun.

Created for good works. This is the formal cause but what about the efficient cause what is making this take place? That is the Spirit working in us to produce fruit. He is the efficient cause when you go to Buy a car at the dealership or somewhere.

You know, they don't hand the car to you with an instruction manual and all the parts put together and they say this is for driving. Here are here's the form. It's supposed to take here's the instructions and here's all material now get to work.

Okay, that is also not how our good works happen. God doesn't just say alright. I've given you all the grace you need. The I've told you your purpose you are united to Christ so that there is a. So there's a design for all this that you're supposed to be following now get to work.

There is also an efficient cause he has given us the Spirit. So just like you don't have to assemble your own car when you go to the dealership. You don't have to symbol your own works is the Spirit who is the efficient cause?

Doing these things in you. He is the one at work.

The Means of Grace and the Spirit's Work in Believers

Now.

What does that mean? Does that mean that? Humans are supposed to be idle and just kind of wait for the Spirit to carry you along. No, not at all. There is a command here. The command is to abide in Christ.

What does it mean? What does it mean to abide in Christ the Spirit uses? The means of grace that God has given.

To.

To stir up that grace within us in order that we would perform good works. It is through the means of grace that God has given through his word through prayer through the Lord's Supper through baptism.

These are the means of grace that God has given in order to stir us up To good works and is by our exposure to those things that the Holy Spirit works. Think about someone on an island never hears the Word of God.

He's supposed to just wait and then the Spirit's going to do something. No, the Spirit is not going to do anything. He is going to work through the word like explains in Romans 10. How will they believe unless they have heard?

How will they hurt here unless someone? Preaches to them there needs to be some kind of application of the Word of God and the Spirit has chosen to glorify Himself through that same word that he has inspired.

This is how that is taking place. And so it is necessary for us to be exposed to the means of grace because these are the things that the Holy Spirit has chosen to use in Order to stir up the grace of God within us that we would to produce fruit in us.

That we would bear fruit that we would perform good works. This is accomplished in this way. So consider these various means of grace most primarily. This is the the Word of God. Jesus even spoke in this passage of the word dwelling in you right the idea being that is primarily through the word that.

You would understand the truth that but this truth would not just be known but in a very real way. The Spirit would communicate to you the goodness of it so that it's it's an experience truth, right? Not just one propositionally.

Oh, this truth is good. But I am experiencing that this truth is good so that I am I'm in alive and in zealous for this truth. So through hearing the Word of God through prayer. When you pray. You are asking for God to do some work in you.

This is what every prayer ultimately is if you. Even if you are praying for your daily bread if you're praying for the needs of others, etc. There is an implied and ought to be an implied Commitment to give him Thanksgiving a Commitment to bend your will to his if he should not answer that prayer to bend your will to his and being zealous for this Thing if it is his will right and so what you are praying for ultimately is for God.

To buy his spirit transform you more and more consider what Jesus says at the end of explaining the Lord's Prayer. He says the following in Luke 11 13. If then you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Heavenly Father?

Give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him. This is a very surprising conclusion to all that Jesus has said before describing the Lord's Prayer. Describing the need for persistence and prayer and all the other ways that he speaks.

It's very surprising because none of that sounded like it was about asking for the Holy Spirit but then his conclusion to all this is. If you then who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children.

How much more will the Heavenly Father? Give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him his conclusion is he will give you the Holy Spirit if you ask him. What the summary is telling us that all these prayers?

Ultimately are asking for a work of the Spirit within us so likewise this other means of grace is it means that the Spirit works in us and.

Then.

There are the Ordinances also known as the sacraments of those things that God has used as signs of his grace at the Spirit. Uses to stir up in us that grace of God. So in baptism in the Lord's Supper, we are reminded of the truth of what God has done.

We're reminded of the New life that we receive in baptism. We're reminded of The of us being fed by Jesus Christ through the Lord's Supper these things.

Man.

Who experiences these things by faith? Receives benefit from them because the Spirit is working in him by faith. And that that is a port an important qualification. These are things that happen by faith.

They happen by understanding. They are not Things that have power on their own.

In.

Roman Catholicism, there's a phrase a Latin phrase called ex opere operato, which means by the working worked, which is that if you have Come to the Lord's Supper if you eat the elements if you are baptized any of these things doesn't really matter.

Whether or not you are engaged with it whether or not faith is present. They are still doing something. And they're accomplishing something. The Reformed have always rejected this that these are things which only have benefit to anyone by faith.

Receiving these truths. And so the Spirit by faith is. Yeah, he stirs up that grace of God within us. And so it is important then not to quench the Spirit. First Thessalonians 5 19 through 21 says following do not quench the Spirit.

Do not despise prophecies, but test everything hold. Fast what is good? We are not to quench the Spirit. We are supposed to be receptive to God's Word receptive to those means of grace. If you do not if you do not make use of the means of grace.

If you do not make use of the Word of God prayer Lord's Supper baptism, you will quench the Spirit. Those things that he has chosen to use to bring that life of Christ to you. You will not have that life of Christ if you do not have those things in your life that he has chosen to use.

In.

Isaiah 64 17 it says there's no one who calls on my name who rouses himself to take hold of you. We are called to rouse ourselves to take hold of God. You see a lot of things like this in Scripture. You know the man who prays.

I believe help my unbelief. You know, there's not such a. While we acknowledge the work of God of anything good in us, it is not something that ever absolves us of any kind of duty. We are called to. To use the means of grace the Holy Spirit might work in us.

We are to not be disobedient as the Israelites and Isaiah's time that would have this set of them. There's no one who rouses himself to take hold of the Lord. We ought to rouse ourselves to take hold of the Lord.

Calvin said of this passage that that the Lord has promised That his spirit will always be efficacious in us if we do not prevent him. He will always bring some effect if we do not prevent him if we abide in him.

If we make use of the means of grace that will accomplish its purposes. God has sent forth his word. It never returns to him void it accomplishes his purposes. I Make use means of grace. And so these are these are the things that we need to take to heart.

Do not quench the Spirit if you are if you are an unbeliever. If you have not trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ, if you do not have the life of Jesus Christ There is no hope of having any of his benefits apart from this work of the Spirit in you.

You must trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. You must not rest upon yourself. But you must rest upon the Spirit's agency in you. He is the only one who will accomplish any kind of fruit. You can't produce any real good fruit apart from him.

You might produce things that are outwardly good works. But because they are not done with the heart of faith that is established by him. They will not be truly good works that God finds pleasing. These are not things that will on the day of judgment reflect well on you.

In fact every single one of them no matter how good they may look to the world Will reflect poorly on you because they are things done for the glorification of self rather than the glorification of God.

If you are a believer. Do not do not quench the Spirit. Do not neglect the means of grace. Do not As it says here in Seth first Thessalonians 5 20 through 21 right after saying do not quench the Spirit.