BUT THE FRUIT
OF THE SPIRIT IS LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS,
FAITHFULNESS: O de karpos tou pneumatos estin (3SPAI) agape, chara,
eirene, makrothumia, chrestotes, agathosune, pistis: (Gal 5:16,
18; Ps 1:3; 92:14; Ho 14:8; Mt 12:33; Lk 8:14,15; 13:9; John 15:2,5,16;
Ro 6:22; 7:4; Ep 5:9; Php 1:11; Col 1:10 ) (Love - Gal 5:13; Ro 5:2, 3,
4, 5; 12:9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18; 15:3; 1Co 13:4, 5, 6, 7;
Ep 4:23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32; 5:1,2; Php 4:4, 5, 6, 7, 8,
9; Col 3:12, 13, 14, 15, 15, 16, 17; 1Th 1:3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10;
5:10-22; Titus 2:2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12; James 3:17,18;
1Peter 1:8,22; 2Pe 1:5, 6, 7, 8; 1John 4:7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14,
15, 16 ) (Goodness - Ro 15:14 ) (Faith - 1Co 13:7,13; 2Th 3:2; 1Ti 3:11;
4:12; 1Pe 5:12)
Note:
Hold mouse pointer over underlined links for pop up of Scripture (which
stays open and can be copied).
S Lewis Johnson writes the following summation of Galatians
5:22, 23, which he classifies as the evidence of the leading of the
Spirit (Gal 5:24)...
The evidence of the leading of the Spirit
lies in a cluster of nine virtues that make up "the fruit of the
Spirit." This fruit is the product of the life of the Spirit in the
believer. It is characterized by several interesting features.
First of all, in the fruit of the Spirit
there is unity. We notice that the word, "fruit," is in the singular
number. There is only one fruit of the Spirit, but it contains nine
virtues. If one of the virtues is missing, then we do not have the fruit
of the Spirit. The Spirit's product is like a watermelon with nine
flavors! Many commentators have suggested that the nine virtues
illustrate the full-orbed, symmetrical character of the Lord Jesus
Christ. It is His life that the Spirit produces in the believer.
Second, the fruit of the Spirit possesses a
notable' harmony, the first triad of virtues being inward in nature, the
second, outward, and the third upward.
Third, there is a necessity that believers
have the fruit of the Spirit. The lack of the virtues indicates sin
against the Holy Spirit who is engaged in producing the virtues in the
lives of the saints.
Finally, in the concluding words of Galatians 5:23 there is an important
point made by Paul. The Law of Moses finds no flaw in the fruit of the
Spirit. The flesh may imitate, or counterfeit, certain of the virtues,
but it can never produce them. The Spirit alone can do that, and the
result satisfies all the demands of the moral law in the believer's
life. It is sometimes forgotten that life by the Spirit is not a lower
standard than life by the moral law, or the Ten Commandments. It is, if
anything a higher standard. Arthur Way has caught that in his rendering
of Galatians 5:18 "But if you definitely surrender yourselves to the
Spirit's guidance, you are then not under the law, but ON A HIGHER
PLANE."
Wuest
explains the context writing
that...
These verses continue the exhortation
of Paul to the Galatians, not to make their liberty from the law a base
of operations from which to serve the flesh, but rather to live their
Christian lives motivated by divine love. As the repulsiveness of the
works of the flesh would deter the Galatians from yielding to the evil
nature, so the attractiveness of the fruit of the Spirit would influence
them to yield themselves to the Spirit.
(Wuest,
K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans
or
Logos)
But (1161) (de)
marks the contrast of the fruit of the Spirit with the rotten
deeds of the
flesh
Paul had just described
writing that...
the deeds (works) of the
flesh
are (present
tense =
continually) evident (readily known, clearly visible) which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality... (Galatians
5:19)
Deeds represent the
natural effect of self effort or fleshly effort (flesh
- the evil disposition dominating unbelievers and still present in
believers), in contrast to
fruit which represents the
supernatural produce of God's Spirit.
Lightfoot
comments that...
The Apostle had before mentioned the
works of the flesh; he here speaks of the fruit of the Spirit. This
change of terms is significant. The flesh is a rank weed which produces
no fruit properly so called (comp Eph 5:9
[note]; Eph 5:11
[note], Ro 6:21
[note - where "benefit" = karpos = "fruit"); and St Paul’s language here
recalls the contrast of the fig and vine with the thorn and the thistle
in the parable,
Matthew 7:16 [note]
(St. Paul's Epistle to the Galatians)
The fruit of
the Spirit - Not the fruit of believers per se but the fruit which
the Holy Spirit produces in and through the lives of believers as they
walk in His grace and power. And His fruit is always the outward
manifestation of the yielded believer's inner life.
As Spurgeon
says...
Brethren, the Spirit of God is not
barren: if He be in you He must and will inevitably produce His own
legitimate fruit.
“Old leaves, if they remain upon the
trees through the autumn and the winter, fall off in the spring.” We
have seen a hedge all thick with dry leaves throughout the winter, and
neither frost nor wind has removed the withered foliage, but the spring
has soon made a clearance. The new life dislodges the old, pushing it
away as unsuitable to it. So our old corruptions are best removed by the
growth of new graces. “Old things are passed away; behold, all things
are become new.” It is as the new life buds and opens that the old
worn-out things of our former state are compelled to quit their hold of
us, Our wisdom lies in living near to God, that by the power of His Holy
Spirit all our graces may be vigorous, and may exercise a sin-expelling
power over our lives: the new leaves of grace pushing off our old sere
affections and habits of sin.
Wiersbe
notes that...
The contrast between works and fruit
is important. A machine in a factory works, and turns out a product, but
it could never manufacture fruit. Fruit must grow out of life, and, in
the case of the believer, it is the life of the Spirit (Gal. 5:25). When
you think of “works” you think of effort, labor, strain, and toil; when
you think of “fruit” you think of beauty, quietness, the unfolding of
life. The flesh produces “dead works” (Heb. 9:14), but the Spirit
produces living fruit. And this fruit has in it the seed for still more
fruit (Gen. 1:11). Love begets more love! Joy helps to produce more joy!
Jesus is concerned that we produce “fruit... more fruit... much fruit”
(John 15:2, 5), because this is the way we glorify Him. The old nature
cannot produce fruit; only the new nature can do that. (Wiersbe,
W: Bible Exposition Commentary. 1989. Victor
or
Logos)
Eadie adds
that in regard to the fruit...
Its origin is “the Spirit;” not man's
spirit, or the new and better mode of thinking and feeling to which men
are formed by the Holy Spirit (Brown), but the Holy Spirit Himself, the
Author of all spiritual good. Those who are led by the Spirit not only
do not do the works of the flesh, but they bring forth the fruit of the
Spirit.
(Eadie,
John: Epistle of St Paul to the Galatians)
The fruit -
Not fruits plural but fruit singular (in Greek). One fruit
manifest by 9 spiritual attitudes. Fruit in the singular also
underscores the unity of the 9 spiritual attitudes, and emphasizes that
all work together to produce a Christ like believer, our Lord Jesus
Christ being the perfect manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit. Paul
does not say fruits, as though portions of fruit might be present
in the believer and other portions might not. Instead, the sense of
wholeness and unity in will be manifest in the one born of God. By contrast the deeds of the flesh are plural,
and they hardly represent unity, nor do they produce unity but only
produce strife between men.
UBS Handbook
makes an important distinction writing that...
Paul talks elsewhere of the gifts
of the Spirit (1 Cor 12.1-11). These should not be confused with the
fruit of the Spirit. The gifts are functions and
capacities which are given to various people to enable them to serve the
Christian community. Obviously, then, all Christians would not share the
same gifts. However, the fruit which Paul talks about here is
found in its entirety in every believer whose life is led by the Spirit
of God. (The
United Bible Societies' New Testament Handbook Series
or
Logos)
As Wiersbe
says...
It is unfortunate that an overemphasis on gifts has led some Christians
to neglect the graces of the Spirit. Building Christian character must
take precedence over displaying special abilities. (Ibid)
And so even as the
flesh
of unbelievers will always
produce deeds of the flesh, so too believers now indwelt by the
Spirit will always produce some good fruit. It is not unexpected that
one aspect of the 9 fold fruit might be better developed than others,
but the point is that all are present in every believer. Our Lord's
desire for each believer is to produce a "bumper crop" as He explained
to His disciples...
By this is My Father glorified, that
you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. (John 15:8)
(Clearly fruit in this context refers not just to the fruit of
the Spirit but to all over aspects of spiritual fruit such as converts,
etc).
The amount of
fruit bore by believers is dependent on one's willingness to
abide in Jesus for as He said...
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)
In Galatians 5
abiding translates to yielding to and living by or walking by the
Spirit (see Gal 5:25) as opposed to the flesh.
McGee quips
that...
Our problem is that we offer
ourselves to God as a living sacrifice, but when the altar gets hot, we
crawl off. We are to abide in Christ if we are to produce fruit.
Paul is stating the principle of
fruit-bearing so that we can understand it. The fruit is produced by
yielding—by yielding to the sweet influences that are about us. I am not
talking about the world and neither is Paul. We are to yield to the Holy
Spirit who indwells us. The Holy Spirit wants to produce fruit—it is
called the fruit of the Spirit. (McGee,
J V: Thru the Bible Commentary: Thomas Nelson
or
Logos)
Wiersbe
reminds us that...
Life, not law, changes behavior; and
as you yield to the Spirit, Christ’s life is manifest in the fruit of
the Spirit. (Wiersbe,
W: With the Word: Chapter-by-Chapter Bible Handbook. Nelson
or
Logos)
Martin Luther
comments that...
The Apostle says not, the works of
the Spirit, as he said the works of the flesh, but he adorns these
Christian virtues with a more honorable name, calling them the fruit of
the Spirit. For they bring with them most excellent fruits and maximum
usefulness, for they that have them give glory to God, and with the same
do allure and provoke others to embrace the doctrine and faith of
Christ. (Commentary on Galatians)
Richards
asks...
Have you ever noticed that along the
banks of a stream the vegetation is always abundant and luxurious? This
is what the Bible says about us. As the Holy Spirit flows freely in our
lives, a rich and beautiful character grows. We are filled with love,
with joy, with peace. In every relationship we exhibit that patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control that mark
us as God’s own. There is no way, however much we plow and harrow, or
cultivate and hoe our character, to produce this crop by ourselves. This
crop is produced only by God the Holy Spirit, and only in those who live
by Him (Richards, L.. The 365 Day Devotional Commentary)
I like the way
Phil Newton introduces Galatians 5:22-24 with a question...
Have you ever walked through a
garbage dump? I'm sure that none of us desire to take a casual stroll
through mounds of garbage. But you almost get the feeling that you are
doing this when you read through the list of "deeds of the flesh" which
Paul identifies in our context. I have noticed that in our day of
environmental concerns companies which deal with garbage have changed
the explanation of their work to "waste management." They try to
beautify their grounds surrounding garbage landfills. But whatever they
do, they still have garbage. You still see it and smell it.
Such is the case with the
flesh.
The unregenerate nature of man produces its characteristic deeds. An
unbeliever can attempt to cover the "garbage" of sin in his life. He can
give his actions new, improved names. But garbage is still garbage. Not
so with the believer!
The contrast between the flesh and the Spirit are most evident when we
observe what each produces. Neutrality does not exist between them.
Those who remain in the flesh, i.e., the unregenerate condition, will
generate the evidence of a life dominated by sin. In distinction, those
who are in Christ will manifest the evidence of His character by the
indwelling Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is not an option for a
Christian but the necessary evidence that a person is truly a Christian.
Here we see the character of Christ being demonstrated through those
whom He redeems.
As C.R. Vaughan put it,
The presence of these [i.e., the
fruit of the Spirit] affections and qualities in the mind is proof of
the saving energy of the Holy Ghost in regenerating the human soul; the
absence of them proves the want of it....The prevalence of these
qualities, clear and unquestionable in the consciousness, leaves the
question of regeneration settled beyond a doubt [The Gifts of the Holy
Spirit, 193-194].
At the heart of our assurance as a
Christian is the manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.
It's absence should tell us immediately that the Holy Spirit has never
applied His regenerating power to our lives, so that we remain lost in
sin and under the judgment of God.
Is the fruit of the Spirit being
manifest in your life? Let
us consider together the evidence of true conversion in the fruit of the
Spirit.
There is a big difference between the
"gifts of the Spirit" and "the fruit of the Spirit." The gifts are for
the purpose of ministry in the church, while the fruit of the Spirit
helps us to have assurance and to give power to our Christian witness.
Gifts may vary from one believer to another, while the fruit of the
Spirit manifests itself in solidarity within every believer. Gifts as
acts of service can be imitated, while the fruit of the Spirit as
character cannot.
The premise which Paul builds in this portion of Galatians is that in
the same way the unregenerate nature produces "deeds of the flesh" the
regenerated nature will be a well-spring of "the fruit of the Spirit."
The Holy Spirit cannot indwell a life without evidence of His holy
presence and influence. He permeates the whole of the believer's
character. He changes him at the root of his nature so that a "moral
energy" as it were, works the holy character of Jesus Christ in and
through the believer [Vaughan, 194]. The fruit of the Spirit is not a
choice we make, but an inevitable manifestation in those who are truly
born of God. (Galatians
5:22-24 True Conversion: The Fruit of the Spirit)
Maclaren
adds that Paul describes...
not the fruits, as we might
more naturally have expected, and as the phrase is most often quoted;
all this rich variety of graces, of conduct and character, is thought of
as one. The individual members are not isolated graces, but all
connected, springing from one root and constituting an organic whole.
There is further to be noted that the
Apostle designates the results of the Spirit as fruit, in strong and
intentional contrast with the results of the flesh, the grim catalogue
of which precedes the radiant list in our text. The works of the
flesh have no such unity, and are not worthy of being called fruit.
They are not what a man ought to bring forth, and when the great
Husbandman comes, He finds no fruit there, however full of activity the
life has been.
We have then here an ideal of the
noblest Christian character, and a distinct and profound teaching as
to how to attain it. I venture to take the whole of this list for my
text, because the very beauty of each element in it depends on its being
but part of a whole, and because there are important lessons to be
gathered from the grouping. (Galatians
5:22-23 The Fruit of the Spirit)
In Ephesians Paul mentions 4
components of the fruit of the Spirit with the result being
unity...
I, therefore, the prisoner of the
Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which
you have been called (cf walking in the Spirit, Galatians 5:16), 2 with
all humility and gentleness, with patience (fruit of the
Spirit in Galatians 5:22), showing forbearance to one another in love,
3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of
peace (another fruit of the Spirit). (See notes
Ephesians 4:1;
4:2;
4:3)
C Norman Bartlett comments on
Paul's use of fruit in the singular writing that...
The use of the singular "fruit"
instead of the plural "fruits" is instructive. It suggests the common
root and interdependence of these several spiritual graces mentioned.
They can be produced only in a life that is rooted in the Spirit; they
cannot be hung outwardly upon a life like the toys and ornaments on a
Christmas tree. Fruitage in the Spirit requires rootage in the Spirit.
As it has been well put,
Christian character is Christ's
excellency reproduced by the Spirit in a renewed life.
To bring forth the fruit of the
Spirit is not only the Christian's happy privilege; it is his bound duty
as well. In a soul born of the Spirit there is to be fruit borne in the
Spirit. The fact that we could do nothing to earn our salvation is by no
means to be interpreted as implying that, having been saved by grace, we
can do nothing to show our gratitude for the salvation we have received.
Dare we be unmindful of the words of our Saviour to the effect that our
heavenly Father is glorified when we bring forth much fruit: "Herein is
my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my
disciples" (John 15:8)?
(C.
Norman Bartlett: Galatians and You: Studies in the Epistle of Paul to
the Galatians, 1948)
Fruit (2590)(karpos)
can be used in its literal sense
to refer to fruit, produce or offspring, which describes that which is
produced by the inherent energy of a living organism.
When used
figuratively karpos describes
the consequence of physical,
mental, or spiritual action. In the NT the figurative
use predominates (especially in the Gospels) where
human actions and words are viewed as fruit growing out of a
person's essential being or character. This is also the way Paul uses
karpos in the present passage, as an expression for desirable,
righteous qualities in one’s life, the fruit of the Spirit.
The concept of
fruit is a frequent subject in both the Old Testament (106 mentions) and
the New Testament (some 70 mentions). It is notable that spiritual fruit
in the OT like in the NT was the product of God not man's efforts. For
example in Hosea Jehovah asked Israel (Ephraim)...
what more have I to do with idols? It
is I who answer and look after you. I am like a luxuriant cypress; from
Me comes your fruit (Hosea 14:8)
Scripture describes 3 general kinds of spiritual fruit...
1)
Spiritual attitude fruit
- As described here in
Galatians 5:22-23.
Every believer manifests all the aspects of this fruit to some
degree, although often one or several traits will be predominant. This
spiritual attitude fruit precedes spiritual action fruit described
below. If the spiritual attitudes are present, the fruit of good deeds
will invariably follow.
2)
Spiritual action fruit
- Col 1:10
(note)
In Colossians Paul describes believers filled with or controlled by the
knowledge of God's will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding and
thereby walking worthy of the Lord, pleasing him and bearing fruit
in every good work. Note that "spiritual action" fruit is preceded
by the "spiritual attitude" fruit Paul describes in this section of
Galatians.
See other "spiritual action fruit" -
Ro 6:22-
note,
Phil 4:16, 17-note;
Heb 13:5-note
(fruit of lips that give thanks to
God)
3) New converts -
1Co 16:15
;
Ro 16:15-note
(where convert is literally "first
fruit")
Larry
Richards summarizes the Biblical concept of spiritual
fruit writing that...
Fruitfulness is a consistent
concept in the OT and the NT. The fruit God seeks in human beings
is expressed in righteous and loving acts that bring peace and harmony
to the individual and to society. But that fruit is foreign to
sinful human nature. Energized by sinful passions, fallen humanity acts
in ways that harm and bring dissension. God's solution is found in a
personal relationship with Jesus and in the supernatural working of
God's Spirit within the believer. As we live in intimate, obedient
relationship with Jesus, God's Spirit energizes us as we produce the
peaceable fruit of a righteousness that can come only from the
Lord. (Richards,
L O: Expository Dictionary of Bible Words: Regency)
W. E
Vine says that karpos is used in Galatians 5:22...
in a
derived sense, of the result, in the spiritual and moral sphere, of
the energy of the Holy Spirit operating in those who through faith are
brought into living union with Christ (see John 15:4, 5). Fruit is
thus the outward expression of power working inwardly, and so in itself
beyond observation, the character of the fruit giving evidence of the
character of the power that produces it, (Mt 7:16, 17, 18, 19, 20-note.
As lust (see
epithumia) manifests itself in works, the restless and disorderly
activities of the
flesh, or principle of evil, in man, so the Spirit
manifests His presence in His peaceable (Heb 12:11 -
note,
and orderly fruit. In this connection fruit presents an advance
upon works. (deeds) Works gives prominence to the notion
of activity; fruit directs attention to the power that works
within.
Fruit is...the manifestation
of the character of Christ in the lives of believers in consequence of
his ministry of the Word among them, Ro 1:13
(note);
and of the care of the believers for the poor, for this is the fruit, or
outward expression, of love, attesting its reality, Ro 15:28
(note);
and of the care of laborers in the gospel, for this is the fruit, or
outward expression, of thankfulness to God for spiritual blessings
enjoyed, attesting its reality, Php 4:17
(note).
The singular form, fruit, is
used here in Galatians 5 perhaps to suggest the unity and harmony of the character of
the Lord Jesus which is to be reproduced in the believer by the power of
the Holy Spirit, in contrast with the discordant and often mutually
antagonistic “works of the flesh.” In Christ actually, and in the
Christian potentially, the fruit of the Spirit is harmonious, the
various elements being mutually consistent, and each encouraging and
enhancing the rest in happy coordination and cooperation in that “new
man, which after God hath been created in righteousness and holiness of
truth,” (Eph 4:2-note.
(Vine,
W. Collected writings of W. E. Vine. Nashville: Thomas Nelson
)
As
noted spiritual fruit is a clear
marker of spiritual life, a sure proof that one has experienced
genuine conversion. A profession of faith in Christ cannot
produce holy fruit. Only a genuine possession of the life of Christ can
produce supernatural fruit. Let's look at a few texts that corroborate
this basic and vitally important spiritual principle.
Wiersbe
notes that...
It is possible for the old nature to
counterfeit some of the fruit of the Spirit, but the flesh can never
produce the fruit of the Spirit. One difference is this: when the Spirit
produces fruit, God gets the glory and the Christian is not conscious of
his spirituality; but when the flesh is at work, the person is inwardly
proud of himself and is pleased when others compliment him. The work of
the Spirit is to make us more like Christ for His glory, not for the
praise of men. (Wiersbe,
W: Bible Exposition Commentary. 1989. Victor
or
Logos)
In Matthew 3:8 John the
Baptist is addressing the "religious" professors, the Pharisees and
Sadducees who were seeking "baptism". John in the context of discussing
how to escape the "wrath to come" declared to these hypocritical
religious leaders...
Matthew 3:8 Therefore
bring
forth (aorist
imperative =
command with a sense of urgency = do this now!) fruit in keeping with
(or "worthy of" - see
axios) repentance (see in depth study
of
metanoia)".
Young's Literal
renders
Matthew 3:8
"bear, therefore, fruits worthy of
the reformation"
John rebuked the religious
"generation of vipers" calling for repentance and insisting that any
inner change produce fruit (e.g., love, joy, peace, patience,
etc) as evidence of the reality of that change. John demanded proof from
these men of the new life before he administered baptism to them. The
point is that spiritual fruit is not the change of heart itself, but the
acts which result from a new spiritually circumcised heart (see notes on
spiritual circumcision - Col 2:11-note).
It was a bold deed for John thus to challenge as unworthy the very ones
who posed as lights and leaders of the Jewish people.
J. R. Miller wrote that
genuine repentance
amounts to nothing whatever if it
produces only a few tears, a spasm of regret, a little fright. We must
leave the sins we repent of and walk in the new, clean ways of holiness.
J Vernon McGee agrees
commenting that...
There must be evidence of this new
life. You can’t just go through the act of baptism. There must be fruit
in your life. (McGee,
J V: Thru the Bible Commentary: Thomas Nelson
or
Logos)
John MacArthur adds that...
Repentance itself is not a work, but
works are its inevitable fruit. Repentance and faith are inextricably
linked in Scripture. Repentance means turning from one’s sin, and faith
is turning to God (cf. 1Th 1:9-note).
They are like opposite sides of the same coin. That is why both are
linked to conversion (Mark 1:15; Acts 3:19; 20:21). Note that the works
John demanded to see were “fruits” of repentance. (MacArthur,
J.: The MacArthur Study Bible Nashville: Word
or
Logos)
Henry Morris explained that...
John's baptism was conditioned on
repentance--that is, a genuine change of mind and attitude toward God.
It symbolized a washing away of fleshly sins, as well as a new life
following death to the old life. Peter's exhortation after Pentecost was
very similar (Acts 2:38). In both cases, true repentance, as well as
faith in God and His promises, are assumed as conditions for forgiveness
of sins. Without these, baptism is meaningless. (Morris,
Henry: Defenders Study Bible. World Publishing)
Vance Havner rightly declared
that...
Repentance is almost a lost note in
our preaching and experience and the lack of it is filling our churches
with baptized sinners who have never felt the guilt of sin or the need
of a Savior...We are trying to get young people to say, ‘Here am I’
before they have ever said, ‘Woe is me!’ ” (Amen!)
The
Presbyterian shorter catechism
says
Repentance is a saving grace whereby
a sinner out a true sense of his sin and apprehension of the mercy of
God in Christ doth with faith and hatred turn from it to God with full
purpose of an endeavor after new obedience.
In the closing words of the Sermon on
the Mount, the Lord Jesus spoke these sobering words regarding
spiritual fruit...
Matthew 7:16-20 “You will
know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn
bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? 17 “So every good tree bears
good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 “A good
tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good
fruit.19 “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut
down and thrown into the fire. 20 So then, you will know them by their
fruits." (See notes on
Matthew 7:16;
17;
18;
19;
20)
Adam Clarke comments that
Both flesh-the sinful dispositions of
the human heart and spirit-the changed or purified state of the soul, by
the grace and Spirit of God, are represented by the apostle as trees,
one yielding good the other bad fruit; the productions of each being
according to the nature of the tree, as the tree is according to the
nature of the seed from which it sprung. The bad seed produced a bad
tree, yielding all manner of bad fruit; the good seed produced a good
tree, bringing forth fruits of the most excellent kind. The tree of the
flesh, with all its bad fruits, we have already seen; the tree of the
Spirit, with its good fruits, we shall now see.
Jesus explained to his audience that true inner
character (and evidence of a new heart, a spiritually circumcised heart)
is recognized by a person's good fruit or conversely bad fruits (the
only possible product of an unregenerate
heart). When a tree is rotten it naturally produces
rotten fruit. But when the indwelling Spirit of God begins to
express His mighty power in the inner being of believers, good, God
glorifying things
begin to happen. The nature of God Himself begins to manifest Himself in
our lives and the result is the fruit of the Spirit.
John 15:2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit
(karpos) He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit
(karpos), He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit....4 “Abide in Me,
and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit (karpos) of itself
unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.
5 “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....8 “My
Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit (karpos),
and so prove to be My disciples....16 “You did not choose Me but I chose
you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit (karpos),
and that your fruit (karpos) would remain, so that whatever you
ask of the Father in My name He may give to you."
Jesus takes the image of the vine, with God as gardener, from Isaiah. We
believers are carefully tended by the Father, pruned and cared for that
we may "bear much fruit." Fruitfulness is possible, he said, if we
remain in Him and His words remain in us. The point Jesus is making is that
fruitfulness is rooted in our personal relationship with Him, and our
personal relationship with Him is maintained by living His words: "If
you obey My commands you will remain in My love" -- John 15:10. God
has chosen us. It is His intention that we be fruitful. It is for this
reason that He has given us the most intimate of relationships and
Jesus' own words to guide us, and it is our responsibility to walk in
close fellowship with our Lord.
