The Fruit of the Spirit

Last week we looked at the God Kind of Love which is an unconditional love. You and I don’t “earn” God’s love, He just loves us without any prerequisites. We all know that God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son, Jesus, to redeem us from the curse of sin and put us back in right standing with God the Father.

We also saw that Jesus loved the Father so much that He modeled what that love looks like by being obedient to die on the cross for us and pay the price of sin with His own blood.

So today we are beginning a new series looking at the Fruit of the Spirit. Now the first thing we need to know is that there is a difference between the Gifts and Fruit. So let’s begin by looking at this difference. Turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Romans and the 12th chapter.

Romans 12:4–8 NLT

4 Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. 6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

1. The abilities we have that come easy are because of God’s gifts!

Have you noticed that whatever you are gifted in comes natural to you? Say for instance you have a gift of being generous. You have no problem giving. You not only give finances, you give your time, you give material things away, and when you are say, baking, you’re thinking of making extra and who you will give the extra too. It comes natural! You don’t have any problem flowing in your gifting and you also excel in developing that gift.

I know people who can create things. Some are artists, painters and musicians, some are carpenters or metal fabricators and some are seamstresses or clothing designers but they all operate in their gifts. Now it takes effort to keep growing in your gift but even that comes natural because it’s a gift. It’s much different when it comes to fruit.

Matthew 7:15–20 AMP

15 Beware of false prophets, who come to you dressed as sheep, but inside they are devouring wolves. 16 You will fully recognize them by their fruits. Do people pick grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every healthy (sound) tree bears good fruit [worthy of admiration], but the sickly (decaying, worthless) tree bears bad (worthless) fruit. 18 A good (healthy) tree cannot bear bad (worthless) fruit, nor can a bad (diseased) tree bear excellent fruit [worthy of admiration]. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and cast into the fire. 20 Therefore, you will fully know them by their fruits.

Matthew 12:33 ESV

33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit.

2. We will be identified as Christ followers by our fruit!

Jesus said that the proof is in the fruit! A bad tree cannot produce good fruit and a good tree cannot produce bad fruit. The Christian life has to be consistent and that takes work. In the second passage we see that Jesus says to make the tree good and its fruit good or make the tree bad and its fruit bad because the tree is known by its fruit.

Making the tree good and its fruit good is where we want to go since we will be known by our fruit. Now I want to make sure we are all on the same page, we are the “tree” that needs to produce good “fruit” so others will know we are following Jesus by our fruit. That being said, because making our tree good takes work, many times we are tempted to just play off our gifts. You know the easy stuff that you can turn on and off. You can’t turn off fruit and it takes time Just think how long it took for those common mangos to develop!

John 15:1–8 AMP

1 I AM the True Vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser. 2 Any branch in Me that does not bear fruit [that stops bearing] He cuts away (trims off, takes away); and He cleanses and repeatedly prunes every branch that continues to bear fruit, to make it bear more and richer and more excellent fruit. 3 You are cleansed and pruned already, because of the word which I have given you [the teachings I have discussed with you]. 4 Dwell in Me, and I will dwell in you. [Live in Me, and I will live in you.] Just as no branch can bear fruit of itself without abiding in (being vitally united to) the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me. 5 I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing. 6 If a person does not dwell in Me, he is thrown out like a [broken-off] branch, and withers; such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you live in Me [abide vitally united to Me] and My words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you. 8 When you bear (produce) much fruit, My Father is honored and glorified, and you show and prove yourselves to be true followers of Mine.

3. Producing fruit takes work!

Now remember I said that it takes years for a tree to produce good fruit. But what takes place during those years when there is no fruit being produced is super important. The tree has to be watered, and fertilized properly. It has to be guarded against pests that can damage the tree or even inclimate weather. In others words work is not only when the tree bears fruit and it is harvest time. No the work is constant. Look at what Jesus says here, we have to be vitally united to Him constantly. We have to live in Him and allow Him to live in us. This is work because it is much easier to turn our time with God on and off. God is constantly pruning us, cutting off the dead branches so we can bear more and better fruit. It is constant and never ends. We never have arrived because there is always more fruit to bear in order to be more pleasing to God and to glorify Him.

Romans 7:4–6 The Living Bible

4 Your “husband,” your master, used to be the Jewish law; but you “died,” as it were, with Christ on the cross; and since you are “dead,” you are no longer “married to the law,” and it has no more control over you. Then you came back to life again when Christ did and are a new person. And now you are “married,” so to speak, to the one who rose from the dead, so that you can produce good fruit, that is, good deeds for God. 5 When your old nature was still active, sinful desires were at work within you, making you want to do whatever God said not to and producing sinful deeds, the rotting fruit of death. 6 But now you need no longer worry about the Jewish laws and customs because you “died” while in their captivity, and now you can really serve God; not in the old way, mechanically obeying a set of rules, but in the new way, with all of your hearts and minds.

4. We are “transplanted” and ready to bear good fruit!

Do you realize that bearing good fruit is not just for certain times? Why is that? Because we are no longer “married” to the old way, we have been transplanted. We are no longer our old self. So it is impossible for us to go back. Now I know we all believe that and model that when we’re in church or in the company of fellow believers. But how are we when we’re alone or in a place that no one knows us? Are we still bearing good fruit. We should because we have been transplanted! There is a popular saying that is used as a marketing technique and I’m sure you have all heard it. It goes like this, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!” That comes from the pit because there is a misperception that God is not there so you can do what you like. Listen to this, God is omnipresent. Anytime the devil or your flesh is tempted to do your thing because no one knows you there, remember God is there and watching if your are still producing fruit or taking a time out. If you are really transplanted, it does not matter where you find yourself, the tree is good and the fruit is good. It doesn’t matter if you’re all alone, the tree is good and the fruit is good! When someone steals your parking, or cuts in line, or posts about you and it is not so kind, the tree is good and the fruit is good. We have been transplanted and it is good! Well that’s my introduction to the series. Next week we will start going through the nine