Like plants in your garden in the springtime, believers in Christ are supposed to be growing into the image of Christ. We’re also supposed to be bearing fruit.

How’s that going for you? Have you seen any leaves, flowers, or fruit lately? Any signs of a healthy and growing spiritual life? Or, have a few leaves turned brown and fallen off, indicating troubled times spiritually?

We all struggle in our Christian walk at times. When we look back, we know there are times of spiritual vitality and other times where we feel like we are in a desert wilderness.

The Psalms are filled with both highs and lows as the Psalmist goes from crying out to the Lord for help to praising God for his wonderful provision and salvation.

In times of growth and times of trouble, it is good to be reminded of the basics of how God grows us from babies in the faith to mature Christians, and ultimately to glory with him.

This progressive process whereby a person sins less and less as their Christian life moves forward is called sanctification. Paul describes it in Romans 6:22, “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.”

It was on the night before Jesus was crucified, in John 15, that he spoke to his disciples about how they would be able to grow spiritually even though he was soon no longer going to be physically present.

Let’s look first to Jesus’ words from John 15:1-3, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 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 to you.”

Jesus says he is the “true vine,” which is in contrast to faithless Israel, who was an unfruitful vine. Jesus then makes clear there are two types of branches - unfruitful and fruitful. In verse 3, he says the disciples (except Judas) are already clean, which in the language of the Old Testament means they are declared righteous and without sin (justified).

In saying this, Jesus identified his disciples as fruitful branches “because of the word” spoken to them. Jesus’ disciples -his followers, were made clean because they believed the words Jesus had spoken and thus believed in him.

The Apostle John in his Gospel uses “word” and “belief” together in a number of places to indicate faith in Jesus including John 4:41, “and many more believed because of his word.” (See also John 8:31, 5:46, 11:40).

This statement of Jesus indicates believing in his word, that is believing in Jesus, believing the gospel (justification) is the foundation or ground for spiritual growth; that is for growing into the image of Christ (sanctification).

Building on this, Jesus makes clear in the next two verses how they will grow, John 15:4-5, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in 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.”

Now Jesus is saying explicitly you cannot bear fruit, that is grow, on your own or by your own efforts; you can only grow spiritually when you are part of and attached to Christ. Abiding in Christ is the only way we can bear fruit as Christians.

As Jesus says, apart from him we “can do nothing.” We dare not miss this - it is only in Christ and through the power of his Spirit that he has sent to dwell in us that we can grow in our spiritual lives (John 7:37-39; 14:25-26).

Remember that truth the next time you hear a sermon or read a book or see on the Internet someone trying to persuade you that to lead the Christian life successfully you need to do more, try harder, follow their example, rely on your own strength, follow your heart, or look inside yourself.

By themselves, these are empty promises. It is only by looking to Jesus, trusting and abiding in him to empower us through the Spirit, that we can strive, however imperfectly, to bring glory to the Lord in our thoughts, words and deeds . . . as Jesus said, “apart from me you can do nothing.”