How God Purges Us

John 15:2

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.

Purging is necessary to being fruitful. My mother loved plants, and I remember her often pulling off dead leaves and replanting plants that had become root-bound in a pot so the plant could thrive and bring out the beauty she desired.

God compares the Christian life to a fruit-bearing tree. God wants His children to be fruitful in all we do, but to be fruitful means that He must purge us from that which hinders our growth. Let me share these five ways from John 15 that God uses to purge our lives from that which keeps us from being fruitful.

First, God purges by taking away. He takes away anything that would keep us from being fruitful. This taking away comes in several forms. He may have to take away the dead influences of our lives to purge us. Those dead influences could either be worldly influences or friends. God may have to take away finances or health to make us more fruitful for Him. He may have to take away a job to cause us to trust Him more so that we can be more fruitful for Him. Always remember that God’s purging that takes away is for the purpose of us being more fruitful for Him.

Second, God purges us through His Word. Verse 3 says, Now ye are clean through the word…. God’s Word has a way of cleaning up the believer of things that keep us from being fruitful for God. Reading God’s Word is a way of self-purging. You must read God’s Word daily and listen to the preaching of His Word so that It can purge you from those things in your life that keep you from being fruitful.

Third, God purges us through prayer. Jesus said in verse 4, Abide in me. To abide in Christ is to pray. Abiding in prayer is more than just saying a short prayer, but it is setting much time apart for prayer. Your prayer life is critical to being fruitful. It is critical because God uses the prayer life to purge you from that which keeps you from being fruitful. You will find that God can purge your life from the negative by walking with Him in a season of prayer. The more time you spend with God in prayer, the closer you will become to Him, which naturally purges you from that which keeps you from being fruitful.

Fourth, God purges us through His Holy Spirit’s power. Jesus said in verse 5, for without me ye can do nothing. You cannot walk in the Spirit and the flesh at the same time; therefore, God purges your life from that which is hurting your fruitfulness by being yielded to the Holy Spirit. The more you yield to the Holy Spirit, the more your flesh will die, resulting in God purging your life from that which keeps you from being fruitful.

Fifth, God purges us through soul winning. Jesus said in verse 8, Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. One reason it is critical for every believer to be a soul winner is because soul winning is one of God’s purging tools He uses to purge us from that which keeps us from being fruitful.

Purging is never easy and sometimes painful, but it results in God’s blessings and more fruit. You will find that as you do these things, the things that cause you not to bear fruit as you should naturally fall off. Keep your trust and eyes solely on God, and His vision He has for your life will become a reality.