The Word

Vol. 9 No. 11

March 14, 2010

 

Upper Room Discourse

John 15:2-8

Divine Good Production

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Previously we have translated verse 2 of John 15 up to “But everyone bearing fruit He (God the Father) prunes (undeserved suffering) it.” That led us to the Doctrine of Suffering for Blessing. There we noted that adversity is designed by God to intensify the blessing and happiness of the mature believer while at the same time narrowing his focus so that he produces more Divine Good. When the believer reaches spiritual adulthood he is beginning to produce fruit on a regular basis and God is going to come in with testing in his life with certain types of adversity that are tailor made to the personality,  strength and weaknesses of that believer’s sin nature, to his background and everything he is. He is going to bring these tests into that believer’s life so that he is forced to make decisions related to priority.

 

The problem with the branch is that it just grows a lot of stems and leaves and therefore its energy is diverted in all kinds of directions other than the fruit production. What needs to be done is prune these leaves and stems off so that all of the energy of the branch is forced into fruit production. So once the believer reaches spiritual adulthood God brings this pruning, (momentum testing), to bear so that you are forced to decide that although there are a lot of good things in life that you like to do, you are not going to do them any more because they distract from doctrine and fruit production. So the whole process is designed to speed up and intensify your spiritual growth. 

 

The other aspect of fruit production is the Vine with the branch analogy. There we noted that being a branch in the Vine means that the believer is eternally united to Christ and shares His life. It also tells us that all of our spiritual nutrition comes from Christ and we must “abide” in Him in order to receive that nutrition and produce fruit. As we abide in Him, His Word and Spirit flow through us and we produce fruit.

 

It is possible for the carnal Christian to produce “works,” but only the spiritual Christian can bear lasting fruit. So the fruitful branches are “pruned”, (KATHAIREI, same word as “clean” in vs. 3), so that they will bear more fruit. That means that God cleanses us through His Word and pruning to make us more fruitful, which helps to explain why a dedicated Christian often has to go through suffering.

 

As believers move from producing “fruit” to “more fruit”, to “much fruit”, in verse 8, they glorify the Father and the Son, Phil 1:29.  

 

Phil 1:29, “For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.”

 

So the pruning process is the mature believer getting occasional adversity, suffering, trial, etc. in order that he might produce more and be blessed even more. The mature believer has capacity for suffering and he has capacity for blessing in suffering.

 

Adversity is designed by God to intensify the blessing and happiness of the mature believer. Therefore, pruning only makes the branch stronger and more productive while at the same time producing inner peace and happiness.

 

We now pick up the final clause of verse 2, “so that it may bear more fruit”, which in the Greek is líá êáñð’í ðëåßïíá öÝñw. Transliterated it is HINA KARPON PLEIONA PHERE.

 

HINA introduces a dependent clause and because this is speaking of the will of God or His Divine intention, it is categorized as a Purpose-Result clause. This indicates both the intention and its sure accomplishment. So we can say that the purpose for and the result of pruning is more Divine good production as noted in the next two words. We will translate HINA as “in order that.”

 

KARPON is a Greek Noun in the Accusative, Masculine, Singular of KARPOS that means “fruit”. It is used as an analogy for Divine Good production which Gal 5:22 calls “the Fruit of the Spirit.”

 

PLEIONA is from PLEION (pleh’-on) which is the Comparative use of the Adjective POLUS in the Accusative, Masculine, Singular. POLUS means “much or many”, yet in the Comparative it means “more or larger” both of number and size. It is used in this way several times in scripture including the message to Thyatira in Rev 2:19, “I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first.” So we see that we are speaking in terms of quantity and quality. As a result of God’s pruning process we will have “more” in the number of divine works we perform and “larger” in the size, quality or impact our Divine Good works will have.

 

PHERE is a Verb in the Present, Active, Subjunctive, Third Person, Singular of PHERO that means “to bear, carry, or bring forth.” Remember this is referring to the branch that is already bearing fruit, which is reiterate in the Third Person, Singular, telling us it is on a branch by branch basis, i.e. an individual by individual basis as to pruning and subsequent fruit bearing.

 

The Present Tense is a Futuristic Present indicating future action subsequent to the pruning process. Once the branch has been pruned, and not until then, will it produce more fruit in quantity and quality.

 

The Active Voice, the branch producing fruit, (mature believer) will produce even more fruit as a result of Suffering for Blessing and passing Momentum Testing.

 

The Subjunctive Mood is for potential. Coupled with HINA above in this Purpose-Result clause it carries some sense of an Indicative Mood of reality where probability of occurrence is likely. In other words it is the intention of God the Father that as a result of pruning the mature believer would bear more fruit. But this is not a slam dunk or automatic reality as would be indicated by an Indicative Mood. The Subjunctive is for potential based on whether the spiritual adult believer will continue to be positive towards the Word and Plan of God or not.  So we say, “It should bear.”

 

Our complete translation of verse 2 is, “Every branch, (Church Age believer), in Me, (in union with Jesus Christ the Vine), that does not bear fruit, (no Divine good production), He, (God the Father), takes it, (non fruit bearing Church Age believer), away, (divine discipline); But everyone bearing fruit (mature believers) He (God the Father) prunes it (Undeserved Suffering) in order that it should bear more fruit (Divine good production).”

 

Principles:

1) It does not matter what stage of spiritual growth you are in, you must continue to have positive volition if you are going to continue to advance in the Plan of God. 

2) It does not matter what stage of spiritual growth you are in, if you have negative volition toward the Will and Plan of God you will not advance further.

3) The potential always exists; will you learn from Momentum Testing and continue to advance in the spiritual life or will you fail Momentum Testing and not advance in the spiritual life.

4) Achieving Spiritual Self Esteem does not guarantee passing Providential Preventative Suffering.

5) Achieving Spiritual Autonomy does not guarantee passing Momentum Testing.

6) Achieving Spiritual Maturity does not guarantee passing Evidence Testing.

7) Since our souls are the battle ground for the Appeal Trial of the Angelic Conflict and we have free will volition, there is always the potential for failure as well as potential for success.

8) Certainly the desired intention of the Vinedresser (God the Father) and the Vine (Jesus Christ) is that we do produce “more fruit” and then “much fruit.”

 

That leads us to the Doctrine of Divine Good Production.

 

Doctrine of Divine Good
John 15:2-8; James 1:19-25

 

A. Definition:

 

1. Divine Good is the work performed by a believer in exhale of Bible Doctrine from their soul when filled with the Holy Spirit.

 

2. The production of Divine Good in the human race is impossible. Therefore God has provided the means of producing Divine Good. The only way this can be accomplished is for a person to be born again into the family of God and to utilize grace provision. Once the believer utilizes grace provision he helps to resolve the Angelic Conflict. So the Angelic Conflict is resolved by the production of Divine Good in the human race, Rom 12:21.

 

3. Divine Good is primarily the production of the mature believer, but it can also be the production of the growing believer. It is the maximum and most effective production a believer can have in his life.

 

4. The production of Divine Good comes from the source of God directly, that is, all three members of the Trinity, (the Vinedresser, Vine and Fruit of the Spirit), 1 Cor 15:10.

 

1 Cor 15:10, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.”

 

5. Mechanically, Divine Good is produced by the branch (mature believer) when abiding in the spiritual nutrition of the vine and the enabling power of God the Holy Spirit. That is what we call the Balance of Residency: Maximum Bible Doctrine (the mind of Christ) in the Soul Ready for Application plus the Filling of God the Holy Spirit, (M.B.D.S.R.4.A.+ F.G.H.S.).

 

6. Divine Good is both verbal and mental, 2 Thes 2:16‑17.

 

2 Thes 2:16‑17, “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, 17comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.”

 

          a. The production of Divine Good coexists with stability of soul in phase two.

          b. Every good word and production is in your right lobe. Your right lobe is strengthened every time you produce Divine Good, whether verbally or mentally.

 

7. There are three sources of Divine Good:

          a. From the Holy Spirit - The Filling of the Holy Spirit enables the believer to learn and apply God’s Word, Eph 5:18.

          b. From the Human Spirit - Exhale of Bible Doctrine from the human spirit to the right lobe of your soul in order to be applied.

1) Bible doctrine in the soul is through the persistent function of the Grace Apparatus for Perception (GAP) which increases production.

                   2) GAP is the means for the production of Divine Good in the grace perspective, 2 Cor 9:8; Col 1:9-12; 2 Tim 2:21; Titus 2:7.

 

2 Cor 9:8, “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.”

 

Titus 2:7-8, “In all things show yourself to be an example of the production of divine good by means of soundness of doctrine, dignified, 8sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us..”

 

2 Tim 2:21, “Therefore, if any-one cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.” 

 

Col 1:9-12, “For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11streng-thened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously 12giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.”

 

          c. From the Soul - Production of the Edification Complex of the Soul (ECS) resulting in the supergrace life, 2Tim 3:16-17.

 

                   1) In Spiritual Maturity, the mature believer filled with the Holy Spirit can only produce Divine Good.

                   2) In ultra supergrace status, the mature believer produces Divine Good under maximum pressure and Undeserved Suffering.

 

2 Tim 3:16‑17, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

 

8. There are four keys to the production of Divine Good.

          a. Status quo. This means being in the directive Will of God, which means we are walking in the light of Christ, filled with the Holy Spirit, resident inside God’s Power System (GPS), under the enabling power of God the Holy Spirit.

                   1) Whatever counts for good in our lives must be related to the filling of the Spirit. There is no effective function of good in our lives or effective Christian service apart from the filling of the Holy Spirit, Gal 5:22f; Eph 5:18f.

          b. Momentum. This means that Bible doctrine is important in everything. Momentum is under-standing and applying Bible doctrine.

          c. Attainment. This is advance to spiritual maturity through the execution of the Plan of God. Bible doctrine must be learned before Divine Good can be produced.

          d. Impact. This is the function of the mature believer as an invisible hero in the Church Age.

                   1) It is possible for any of us to get sucked into a system that appears to be good. We think we are doing something for God when in reality we are fighting against God's Plan. This is often true of Christian activism.

                   2) We have to understand how good relates to our impact. Are we here to be visible heroes? Are we here to have a visible glorification of God? No. We are to have invisible impact. And because we are witnesses in the appeal trial of the Angelic Conflict our greatest impact is with angels, not necessarily with people.

 

Rom 12:21, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with Divine Good production.”

 

If you would like more information on this subject,

you may listen to lessons  # 10-028 and 10-029.

 

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Grace Fellowship Church, Pastor James H. Rickard

James H. Rickard Bible Ministries ã

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