As I pondered about working on this post- Bear Fruit – Lift Up or Cut Off, I read Proverbs 30. It is addressed to King Lemuel and called an oracle (NIV); it had a footnote. The note said it could be “Lemuel king of Massa”. Massa and Nasa were words from the post Bear Fruit. So, I started on this post today. It may help to read Massa | The amazing name Massa: meaning and etymology. In Bear Fruit I studied John 15:2 about the idea of lifting branches up or cutting them off in the context of bearing fruit. In Hebrew nasa means to lift up.

Topics, words, and ideas that branched out from this study:

• Hebrews 5:13,14 to 6:1,2.
• Good Fruit verses Bad Fruit
• Are you producing enough fruit?
• Who do you let tell you about your fruit production?
• Cut off verses pruning, especially in Greek.
• Verses with cut down or lift up in them. Use your favorite Bible app and its wordsearch function. It could give you a great Bible study.

John 15:2, John 15:2 Greek Text Analysis , uses the word prune. Any gardener will tell you that means cutting something off, usually to improve it. So, it is important and possibly gave context to the idea of “cutting off” in the first part of the verse, but the word kathairō is used once in the New Testament. Strong’s Greek: 2508. καθαίρω (kathairó) — To cleanse, to purify, to prune. There is a related Greek word that is used many times for “clean”. Strong’s Greek: 2513. καθαρός (katharos) — Clean, pure, clear. The word that started this study is Strong’s Greek: 142. αἴρω (airó) — To lift, to take up, to raise, to remove, to carry away. I hope you see the connection in the root word.

God removing someone (or many people) or things is seen with Noah. The words or phrases may change but the fact does not. A few teachings from John the Baptist and Jesus may help.

John – Matthew 3:10 is John talking to Pharisees and Sadducees about the axe at the root of the tree. “Every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

Jesus – Matthew 7:19 repeats that thought for false prophets. If good fruit is not being produced, trees are cut down and burned.

Luke 13:6 – A fig tree has been planted. The owner has been looking for fruit for three years and has found none, he orders it cut down. Why use up the soil? A worker asked for one more year, he will give it special attention. (Ask the Father to send laborers into the field.) This parable is connected to Leviticus 19:23 and the planting and eating of fruit from trees you plant. For the first three years the fruit is holy.

Why Hebrews? 6:1,2 is the framework for many beginning classes in Christianity. These are the six foundational stones that you may be presented. Foundations are important, they need to be strong because your very spiritual life is setting on them. I have watched many things get built and I know that before you put down the foundation the soil underneath it has to be prepared correctly or the foundation may have problems. 5:13,14 is the preparation for laying a foundation. Righteousness and knowing good from evil are the soil your foundation is sitting on. If these are off, there will be problems. Then comes the question of what has been built on top of the foundation?

Please, consider Job and his three friends. It seems that they had shared experiences and had seen similar things in their lifetime. The dialogue is strong and the comments serious, but in the end the Lord prunes Job so he can produce more fruit and lifts the friends up to know Him better.

There are other questions about fruit that must be address. Who are you listening to about the fruit you are producing? Is it good or bad, how much is needed, is it coming fast enough, you should be doing more are things you may hear about your fruit. Who are those people helping; the Father, you, or themselves?

Lift up, prune, or cut off; yes, the Father does all three because He wants good fruit. So, how is your relationship with the Father?