Dear Family,
I would like to share a bible passage that spoke to me recently. It's actually a very popular set of memory verses, which I believe all of you would have read them before.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)
The Greek word for fruit is the word "karpos", meaning, the fruit is in a singular form, ie. not "fruits". This one fruit, is made up of 9 godly aspects. If any one of these aspects is missing, then we do not have the fruit of the Spirit. But it also means if we have the fruit of the Spirit, then all 9 aspects will also be present in our lives.
A farther understanding of the verses would lead to a highlighting of the presence of unity, in the fruit of the Spirit. Nine different godly aspects, but working together to make up a singular fruit. Contrast this difference by comparing the "Deeds of the Flesh" with the "Fruit of the Spirit", and you will see that anything by the flesh is plural, which means disunity and strife. Of course, it is expected that some of the 9 aspects of the fruit of the Spirit, in a person's life, might be more developed than the others, but what I want to stress here is that, all 9 aspects are present in each and every true believer, regardless the stage of that person's christian walk.
"But the fruit of the Spirit is...." - Notice that the word "is", which is in present tense, indicating the process of growing this fruit of the Spirit is a continuous process. The fruit needs to be cultivated continously, and through time and effort. Effort being the continous and conscious effort of one, to be fed the word of God daily, to learn to pray and walk in the Spirit, to come together in a christian community...etc
We cannot pass on a heart to grow in the fruit of the Spirit, if we do not understand what it means to grow in the fruit of the Spirit in the first place. This leads to my next question...why is there a need for us, to grow in the fruit of the Spirit? Personally, I learned three reasons as to why there is a need for us, who are believers, to grow in the fruit of the Spirit, and I will share them below.
Reason #1: We are known by our fruit. For the first part of the answer, we look to the very words of Jesus, towards the end of the Sermon of the Mount.
You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits. (Matthew 7:16-20)
We, as born again, bible believing, God loving christians, will be known, by our fruit! We are recognised by our good fruit and bad fruits. A fruit produced, is meant to be eaten. If we have the fruit of the Spirit, it attracts people who do not have it, to yearn for it. This also relates to being the light of the world and salt of the earth, in Matthew 5:13-14.
Reason #2: It is evidence that we are really born again. The second part of the answer, for the need to grow in the fruit of the Spirit, is found in John 15:8.
By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. (John 15:8)
Recall Pastor Melyvn Mak's sermon on "Eternal Life", dated 25th Nov 2007. Having the fruit of the Spirit is an evidence to show that we are truly born again, and that the Holy Spirit is indeed living in you, and proof that we are disciples of Jesus. The outworkings of the Holy Spirit MUST BE a transformed life, depicted by a growth in all 9 aspects, made up of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Growing in the fruit of the Spirit, brings God glory, through the demonstrating of the character of Jesus to others, the very nature of God being manifested in our lives.
.....Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:23 partb)
Moveover, the law of Moses found nothing contradicting with regards to the fruit of the Spirit. The flesh may imitate and counterfeit some of the godly characteristics found in the fruit of the Spirit, but it will never be able to produce them. As I have shared earlier, if you are truly born again, you will have all nine aspects of the fruit of the Spirit.
Reason #3: Fruit of the Spirit is permanent. Through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, we grow in the fruit of the Spirit. And having this fruit of the Spirit distinguishes us from another person, who might say the sinners' prayer, accepts and receives Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior, gets excited for the first few weeks...and then subsequently falls away.Jesus had a good parable to explain this.
The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. (Matthew 13:20-21)
The person here, receives joy, but it does not last. The joy lasts only a short time and is temporary. He might also have love for others, peace on his heart, patience to bear things, but they are temporary as well. Once trouble and persecution comes and hit him, he falls away. Life itself is demanding, and has its full share of ups and downs. A born again believer will be tested and will need to show his or her character in Christ over time, which means not falling away when the rubber tire hits the road. The fruit of the Spirit will last year after year. You do want your love, your joy and your peace to be permanent, right?
To sum it up, the amount of the fruit we will bear is directly dependent on how much we are willing to abide in Jesus. And it is God's desire for His children to produce and bear a "bumper crop" in terms of the fruit.
I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)
But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. (Matthew 13:23)
God wants us to be fruitful! Lets grow together and enjoy the bumper harvest!
Serving in love together,
Caleb Wong
- READ ON!
...SUMMARY.
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