Producing Fruit From Your Branch

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King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]

Date: Friday, December 15, 2023
Chapters: BOOKS OF COLOSSIANS & PHILEMON
Message: Producing Fruit From Your Branch

Hello My Brother/Sister/Friend,

As I read the chapters for today, this passage came to mind, [John 15:1-2,5-7  I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.  2  Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. 5  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.  6  If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.  7  If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.]

It does not matter how good we are or how much we do for people, unless we know Christ as our Saviour He does not know us and therefore, He sees nothing that we do. On the other hand, to those who do know Him as their Saviour, He knows everything they do, even the things that we do not realize, [Matthew 25:34-35,40  Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:  35  For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 40  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.]

The Book of Colossians was written by Paul in approximately 64 AD. The epistle (letter) was written to the church of Colosse, who were instructed to share it with other churches. The purpose of the letter was to address doctrinal issues within the church. What we are to learn is that we are complete in Christ, who is the Head of the Church, God in the flesh, created all things, and all things are created for Him, [Colossians 2:10  And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:]

We know that Paul spent the last two years of his life as a prisoner in Rome, when he wrote these letters, he did so with the anticipation that he would get out of there and visit with these towns that had learned of their faith in Christ. When Paul got word of the Colossians and their faith in Christ he was ecstatic.

[Colossians 1:1-7  Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother,  2  To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  3  We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,  4  Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints,  5  For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;  6  Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth:  7  As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ;]

[who is for you a faithful minister of Christ;] All it takes is one person to make an impact on the lives of others not only in regards to their faith in Christ, but their faithfulness and willingness to witness to the lost. Faithful, saved, born again Christians are the branches from the Vine that produces the fruit of the Gospel. What exactly is it that the branches do that produce that fruit? Paul, describes what produces a fruitful Christian.

[Colossians 1:9-14  For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;  10  That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;  11  Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;  12  Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: 13  Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:  14  In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:]

[unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;] Okay, in addition to our praying for one another that we might know God’s will for our lives and seeking knowledge and wisdom from Him, we are to live each day with patience and long suffering with joyfulness no matter what life brings. There is a slight difference between patience and long suffering, while they both require some waiting, patience means that you persevere through the pain and suffering without murmuring or complaint while long suffering means to be patient for a long time. Now, with that said we are able to bring our complaints before God yet without complaining about them, [Psalms 102:1  A Prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed, and poureth out his complaint before the LORD. Hear my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come unto thee.]

You see, God, is our Father and He treats us like any decent earthly parent would, with love, nurturing, instruction, and discipline. None of this would even be possible if we are not attached to the Vine first. We need to be attached to Christ first in order to be one of His children, otherwise, we have no communication with God whatever, and are alienated from Him.

[Colossians 1:21-24,28  And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled  22  In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:  23  If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;  24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church: 28  Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:]

[that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:] Being perfect means that we complete, also meaning that we have accepted Christ as our Saviour. Until we receive Christ as our Saviour we incomplete, or as it is written, come short of the glory of God, [Romans 3:23-24  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24  Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:]

When we do receive Christ as our Saviour and begin to allow Him to shape, mold, and nourish us by His example and the Holy Spirit guiding us that is when He starts to purge away those impurities that marred us. This includes people, places, and things that would ruin our testimony and that is why we need to be careful of our surroundings. All it takes is one sly weed to entice us into going their way. You see, some false doctrine was being used in Colosse that Paul was concerned of, so he decided that it was best to let them know what the truth is before anything escalated.

[Colossians 2:1-6  For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh;  2  That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;  3  In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.  4  And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words.  5  For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ.  6  As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:]

[beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ.] Much of their doctrine had come from the people in Laodicea, which was not far from Colosse. He cautions them against devices which lead to their falling away from grace such as Judaizing teachers, carnal wisdom, human inventions, and traditions being brought in, as these were not consistent with the full assurance of Christ. Believe it or not, by our seeing how the world deals with things through their eyes and our increasing knowledge of God, we are able to discern the truth from the lies. Most religions are not about the truth of the Gospel, they are about tradition and submission to their will, not God’s. We, who are faithful, are testimonies that we are complete in Christ.

[Colossians 2:8-12,16-18  Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.  9  For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.  10  And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:  11  In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:  12  Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. 16  Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:  17  Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.  18  Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,]

[your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels,] This was not Paul encouraging them to worship angels, this was actually the opposite, he was trying to show them that Jesus is to be worshiped above the angels, of which the Jews held to such high respect. Paul, goes on to explain why he said that, [Colossians 2:20-23  Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,  21  (Touch not; taste not; handle not;  22  Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?  23  Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.]

[are ye subject to ordinances, (Touch not; taste not; handle not;] While we are definitely not under the Law anymore, but we ought to be living our lives in a way that does reflects Jesus. Why? We were dead in our sins, and now alive in Him. These people were vainly worshiping angels, believing themselves to be unworthy to speak directly to God, they believed them to be their intercessor so to speak to God. The worst thing was that it was out of a pretend humility that they worshiped angels, as to not daringly plead immediately to God.

[Colossians 3:1-10  If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.  2  Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.  3  For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.  4  When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.  5  Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:  6  For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:  7  In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them. 8  But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. 9  Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;  10  And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:]

[Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth;] [Mortify; To subdue; to abase; to humble; to reduce; to restrain;] Since we are saved by grace, we ought to do whatever we can to remove sin from our lives. Until I dedicated my life to Christ, I never knew that the life I was living was full of sin. We do not change overnight, it takes a lifetime to remove sin, and even then, it is not long enough, but we are more than complete, we are witnesses for Christ. Being saved and understanding the pain Jesus went through ought to motivate us to walk with Him, be more like Him, and live in a way the reveals Him through us.

[Colossians 3:17-24  And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.  18  Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.  19  Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.  20  Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.  21  Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.  22  Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God:  23  And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;  24  Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.]

[Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands,] My husband reminds me of this just about every day and while I have been submissive to my husband to some point, I am not so much on other things. Nevertheless, Christian wives acknowledge that their husbands are the head of the household in all matters that do not oppose the Word of God. That does not mean that their husbands are to be abusive and treat them like slaves, they are their help meet, which is why Paul also said that husbands ought not be bitter toward their wives. In any Christian home, an ideal marriage can and should be a partnership that is centered around Christ because we only have one Master and He is in heaven.

[Colossians 4:1-9  Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven.  2  Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;  3  Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds:  4  That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.  5  Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.  6  Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man. 7  All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is a beloved brother, and a faithful minister and fellowservant in the Lord:  8  Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that he might know your estate, and comfort your hearts;  9  With Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They shall make known unto you all things which are done here.]

[that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.] Since we are the body of Christ, and He is the Head of us, what better form of gratitude can we give then to live our lives in the newness that He has made us. By the way, man means mankind, so God is talking about men, women, and children that are belong to Jesus, and we need to love one another as the brothers and sisters in Christ that we are. Of course, we are not always going to get along with each other, but that is where the love of Jesus comes in. Now, the Book of Philemon was written to a convert named Philemon around 64 AD, who lived in Colosse and it was written to seek help for a runaway slave named Onesimus. What we are to learn from it is that Christian principles must be applied to social relationships as well as personal, [Philemon 1:6  That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.]

Life is so precious, so fast, and so hard sometimes, but did it ever occur to those who are so judgmental of those who have fallen from grace that that is their judgment? Some will learn, and repent of their sin and go on to be great testimonies, such as Onesimus did. Paul, wrote this short personal letter to a convert named Philemon, who lived in Colosse. Philemon, was sent to find Onesimus who actually penned the letter for Paul.

[Philemon 1:1-6  Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellowlabourer,  2  And to our beloved Apphia, and Archippus our fellowsoldier, and to the church in thy house:  3  Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  4  I thank my God, making mention of thee always in my prayers,  5  Hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints;  6  That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.]

[That the communication of thy faith may become effectual] We need to uplift one another in the things that we are good at as this is how more branches grow from the Vine. The more we encourage the lost to seek Christ by showing them that they have forgiveness and purpose in this life the more branches will grow from our branch. Paul, encourages the Colossians to be accepting to Onesimus.

[Philemon 1:10-15  I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds:  11  Which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me:  12  Whom I have sent again: thou therefore receive him, that is, mine own bowels:  13  Whom I would have retained with me, that in thy stead he might have ministered unto me in the bonds of the gospel:  14  But without thy mind would I do nothing; that thy benefit should not be as it were of necessity, but willingly.  15  For perhaps he therefore departed for a season, that thou shouldest receive him for ever;]

[Which in time past was to thee unprofitable,] Before we got saved we really were unprofitable for Christ anyway, servants to the world, and even if we did serve in the Church, it would count for nothing. Jesus only recognizes us if we have accepted Him as our Saviour, [Matthew 7:22-23  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?  23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.]

[Philemon 1:18-22  If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account;  19  I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it: albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides.  20  Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord: refresh my bowels in the Lord.  21  Having confidence in thy obedience I wrote unto thee, knowing that thou wilt also do more than I say.  22  But withal prepare me also a lodging: for I trust that through your prayers I shall be given unto you.]

[If he hath wronged thee…put that on mine account;] Paul, was so confident in how Onesimus had turned his life around that he was willing to take responsibility for any wrongdoing that he may have done. We are God’s ministers, and I am not talking about preachers, teachers, and evangelists, we are His servants and while we do need to mind people that we ought to live for Christ, we also need to love them as Christ loves is all, [John 15:12  This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.]

Today’s Prayer: Jesus, As many times as I have read that You are the Vine and I am the branch I have never heard it in such a way as I have today. You accepted me as I was, and since then You lovingly began reshaping and molding my life into something that reflects You. I am the branch and every branch that stems off me is that fruit that You said I would produce. I thank You that You will fulfill Your purpose in me, no matter what people believe, I thank You for Your grace that abounds so much, I thank You for using me to serve You, and I thank You for keeping me faithful. Lord, lead me and guide me, teach me, and show me Your will for me, let me not get caught up in ordinances to please man, rather live to please You, and fill me with Your wisdom so that I can be ready to answer those who are trying to discourage me. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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