Jesus and Paul

I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; the Spirit of truth...you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you... -Jn. 14:16-17

I am the vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit...Abide in Me, and I in you...he who abides in Me...he bears much fruit..." -Jn. 15:1-5

Scholars refer to the lengthy section of Jesus' teaching found in John 13 - 17 as the Upper Room Discourse, or the Farewell Discourse. These last, private words are Jesus' goodbye to His disciples. As part of this goodbye, Jesus announces the coming of the Holy Spirit. He also speaks about abiding in Him and bearing fruit.

While there is so much to be said about these verses, it amazes me how much of an impact they had on Paul. Paul loved this metaphor of bearing fruit. He must have spent countless hours in different seasons of his life reflecting on what it means to abide in Christ and bear much fruit. In Paul's earliest letter, Galatians, his famous "fruit of the Spirit" teaching echoes many of the themes present in Jesus' Farewell Discourse—fruit, the Spirit, love, joy, and peace. Paul thought of his ministry to the Romans as "fruit" (1:13). On behalf of the Philippians, Paul prays for "the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ..." (1:11). Again, on behalf of the Colossians, Paul prays they are "bearing fruit in every good work..." (1:10). While shepherding others and writing his letters, Paul is doing exactly what Jesus intended, bearing much fruit.

Clearly, Paul took Jesus' teaching to heart. Paul wove it all throughout his letters. Paul valued Jesus' words. He pondered them. He chewed on them. He was deeply affected by them. He let them shape his life. We should pray that Jesus' words would do the same to us.

If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. -Jn. 15:7