15:2 does not bear fruit. No branch that is Christ’s can be wholly fruitless. But branches that belong to Christ will bear fruit, and undergo the pruning necessary to increase. The lack of fruit described in Ps. 80, Is. 5:1, and Jer. 2:21 is failure to be obedient to God. These Old Testament discussions of the vine and its fruit, combined with Christ’s command to love in this chapter, indicate that “fruit” refers to a Christ-like life produced by the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22, 23), rather than to the number of people converted under a believer’s ministry.