Bearing Fruit
“Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age.”
Our Lord taught us before His crucifixion that “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.”[1] It is appropriate after having recently remembered the Lord’s death and resurrection that we now reflect back on our own baptism, our burial and resurrection with the Lord,[2] and consider the fruit in our own lives. Fruit brings glory to the Father[3] and is the desire of the healthy follower of Christ (and Christ’s desire for us)[4] as reflected in our shared church purpose.[5] We too, must die to self if we desire to be fruitful in the spirit.
Abiding in Christ
“He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”[6] Spiritual fruit is inevitable if we abide in Christ and impossible if we do not. This is a spiritual law as definite and irresistible as gravity. The sweet fruit of the Spirit cannot be manufactured but is nourished by Christ as the true vine[7] through the quickening of the Holy Spirit.[8] If we desire to grow in love, joy, peace, patience, and kindness, we must first (and always) draw close to Christ, “the author and finisher of our faith,”[9] who will complete the good work He has begun in us.[10] To abide is to remain in and dwell with the Lord, having one mind, one heart, and one will. In earthly terms, our closest analogy is a long and happy marriage, which requires devotion - diligent love - over the span of many years rooted in deep adoration, intimate trust, consistent communication, and unwavering faithfulness.[11] As the Psalmist writes, “a day in thy courts is better than a thousand,”[12] and the one who delights in the Lord, “bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.[13]
The Fruit of the Spirit as a Unity
“There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling.”[14] As we abide in Christ, resting in the “one God,”[15] it is helpful to view the fruit of the Spirit as a unity, inseparably related and interwoven. While it can be useful to consider the fruits of the Spirit individually, they collectively embody attributes of Spirit which cannot be contained within any single word or phrase. Just as the rainbow reveals the attributes of pure light, the fruit of the Spirit reveals the excellency and attributes of the True Vine.
This teaches us an important point about growth in the fruit of the Spirit. No one can deepen a particular color of a rainbow by somehow adding more color. Rather, by amplifying the intensity of the light that is the source of the rainbow, the individual colors are all made brighter. We will be more fruitful in all aspects of life when we allow the Holy Spirit to shine more intensely through us.
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Paradoxically, if we are discouraged by a seeming lack of growth in a particular aspect of the fruit of the Spirit, we can practice other aspects of the fruit of the Spirit, and growing in the whole, find new capacity within our area of struggle. Stated differently, knowing that the fruit of the Spirit is interwoven and derived from the same source, if one readily exhibits compassion, but struggles in patience, practicing compassion in a situation can give birth to patience in that situation.
Consider this illustration. Imagine a careful driver who can be frustrated and impatient with reckless behavior in others. Now imagine such a driver driving 90 MPH in the family van, racing to the hospital 45 minutes away with his wife in unexpected early labor. When they arrive 15 minutes before their child is born, the nurse says that she and the staff have been praying for them. How wonderful! Now when this driver sees a reckless driver, he can ask himself, “Could there be a good reason? Can I have compassion in this situation?” When we allow such compassion to lead us into prayer, we find grace to grow in patience. Fruit is born and matures.
Grieve Not the Spirit
“And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”[16] As we consider the call to abide in Christ and grow in the fruit of the Spirit, it’s important to also observe the many scriptural warnings against grieving the Spirit. In Ephesians 4:29-31, we are warned against corrupt communications, not because it is unloving or hurtful (though it certainly is), but more importantly because such unwholesome words grieve the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the Apostle Paul urges us to put aside “all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking.”[17]
The devastating effects of bitterness and wrath are demonstrated throughout the scriptures. Consider the painting of the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant by Domenico Fetti.[18] You will recall the parable[19] – a servant with an enormous debt finds mercy with the master who forgives the debt and frees the servant from impending slavery. On receiving this freedom, however, the servant deals cruelly with his debtor and throws him into prison. In response, the master then imprisons the unforgiving servant. With remarkable insight, capturing the moment when the unforgiving servant casts the lesser debtor into prison, the painter features a grapevine in the background, stripped of all fruit. The man who was forgiven and released from bondage to bear fruit instead yields to bitterness and wrath and so finds himself again bound up in a fruitless life.
Come and Dine
“Thou shalt eat bread at my table continually.”[20] The True Vine desires to nourish and lead us in a fruitful life by the Holy Spirit. As we meditate on abiding with Christ, we can think of the account of King David’s care for Mephibosheth, the crippled heir of King Saul. David invites Mephibosheth to come and eat continually at the king’s table.[21] Can you imagine Mephibosheth declining the invitation? Neither should we who also were once lame, halt, and blind, cease to give thanks for the invitation to dwell with the Lord and be nourished in the True Vine. So let us go to His table with gladness and abide there, yielding that sweet spiritual fruit that glorifies His holy name.
[1] John 12:24
[2] Romans 6:4
[3] John 15:8
[4] Cf. Ephesians 2:10 and Titus 2:14
[5] To glorify God by loving as Jesus loves.
[6] John 15:5
[7] John 15:1-8
[8] Galatians 5:16-26
[9] Hebrews 12:2
[10] Philippians 1:6-7
[11] For an edifying discussion of abiding in Christ, we encourage the reader to listen to Bro. Tom Klotzle’s sermon on Fruit Bearing at the 2022 Brotherhood Conference.
[12] Psalm 84:10a
[13] Psalm 1:3
[14] Ephesians 4:4
[15] Ephesians 4:6 and Deuteronomy 6:4
[16] Ephesians 4:30
[17] Ephesians 4:31
[18] https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Domenico_Fetti_001.jpg
[19] See generally Matthew 18:21-35
[20] 2 Samuel 9:7b
[21] See generally 2 Samuel 9
