Verse 8
The granting of petitions to abiding believers glorifies the Father. Answered prayer is one form of fruitfulness. All fruitfulness springs ultimately from the Son, the vine. Therefore it is really the Son who is bringing glory to the Father through His abiding disciples (cf. John 13:31; John 14:13; John 17:4). The believer’s fruitfulness is one means by which the Son glorifies the Father.
Fruit-bearing demonstrates that a believer is one of Jesus’ disciples (cf. Matthew 7:20; Luke 6:43-44). Notice that Jesus did not say that a believer will inevitably produce fruit. It is possible for a believer to give little or no outward evidence of being a believer in Jesus (John 15:2). This is one of the greatest problems in the church today: genuine Christians who make little or no attempt to follow God’s will for their lives. However the presence of fruit in a believer’s life shows others that that disciple really does possess eternal life.
Some expositors argue that fruit is inevitable in the true Christian’s life by appealing to Matthew 7:20: "You will know them by their fruits." However in the context of that verse Jesus was talking about false teachers, not believers.
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