How does Ezekiel 15:3 illustrate the value of spiritual fruitfulness in life? Setting the scene Ezekiel 15 opens with God comparing Jerusalem to a grapevine. Vines are prized not for their wood but for their grapes. Once fruit is absent, the wood is of little value—too flimsy for carpentry, too crooked for pegs. The lesson in Ezekiel 15:3 “Can wood be taken from it to make something useful? Or can men fashion a peg from it to hang things on?” What the verse teaches: • Vine wood has only one real purpose—bearing fruit. • When fruit is lacking, even the smallest household use (a peg) is impossible. • God’s people, designed to display His character, likewise lose purpose when spiritual fruit is missing. Fruitfulness echoed across Scripture • John 15:5-6—“The one who remains in Me… will bear much fruit… If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers.” • Matthew 7:19—“Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” • Galatians 5:22-23—listing the “fruit of the Spirit.” • Colossians 1:10—believers are to be “bearing fruit in every good work.” • Psalm 1:3—“yielding its fruit in season… prospers in all he does.” Together these passages reinforce Ezekiel’s point: God evaluates not by outward form but by the presence of Spirit-produced fruit. Practical takeaways for today 1. Identity and purpose go together. – Just as a vine exists to bear grapes, a disciple exists to reflect Christ. 2. Fruit is not optional décor; it is the evidence of real life within. 3. Religious activity minus fruit soon becomes as useless as vine-wood lumber. 4. Abiding in Christ (John 15) is the only path to lasting productivity. 5. Spiritual fruit benefits others—love, kindness, and goodness are God’s provision to the world through His people. Encouraged to abound in good fruit • Invite the Holy Spirit to cultivate Galatians 5 qualities daily. • Stay rooted in the Word; nourishment precedes harvest. • Serve where God places you; fruit ripens on branches exposed to sun and air, not hidden away. • Remember the end goal: “By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit” (John 15:8). Ezekiel 15:3, in its vivid picture of useless vine wood, quietly but powerfully underscores the priceless worth of a life that bears spiritual fruit. |
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