Getting to know the Holly Spirit: The Fruit of the Spirit - Part 2 What kind of fruit are Christians to bear?

 Let’s have a look at what else Jesus tells us about bearing fruit:

John 15:16 (NIV)

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.

Now what kind of fruit will last? We know that the flesh bears the perishable, but the Spirit bears the imperishable!

1 Peter 1:23 (NIV)

For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

As born-again Christians we are born of the Spirit – imperishable seed!

John 3:5-8 (NLT)

⁵ Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. ⁶ Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. ⁷ So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ ⁸ The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”

And as we are now born of imperishable seed, we need to be producing fruit that will last! The fruit that will last is the fruit of the Spirit.

If we walk by the Spirit, we won’t be pleasing ourselves and gratifying our sinful nature, but we will be walking in the will of God – His good, pleasing and perfect will and we will be empowered to do the things Jesus did – and even greater things.

John 14:12 (NIV)

Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 

Galatians 5:16-18 (NIV)

¹⁶ So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

When we are living life in the spirit and operating in the gifts of the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit will be naturally produced in and through us and will become evident for all to see.

Let’s now compare the fruit or acts of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit that Paul tells us about in Galatians 5 so that we know exactly what kind of imperishable fruit we need to be producing in our lives as born-again Christians.

Acts (fruit) of the flesh – verses 19-21

Sexual immorality – Impurity - Lustful pleasures – Idolatry – Sorcery – Hostility – Quarrelling – Jealousy – Outbursts of anger - Selfish ambition – Dissension – Division – Envy – Drunkenness – Wild parties – Other things like these          

Fruit of the Spirit – verses 22-23

Love – Joy – Peace – Patience – Kindness – Goodness – Faithfulness – Gentleness – Self-control

Galatians 5:24-26 (NLT)

²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature (the flesh) to his cross and crucified them there. ²⁵ Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.²⁶ Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.

The supernatural things that come to us as born-again Christians come to us through the Holy Spirit, so it stands to reason that it is our responsibility to believe in the things of the Spirit and to be filled with the Spirit.

1 Corinthians 2:14

The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.

The above scripture implies that if we do not accept the things that come from the Spirit, and we are not Spirit filled, then our walk as Christians will not be able to reach its full potential and calling in Christ Jesus!

TO JESUS BELONGS ALL GLORY, HONOUR AND PRAISE!

Next week part 3: What is the fruit of righteousness?

An extract from my book: Fan Into Flame: Life in the Spirit available on Paperback:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1798692120

Getting to know the Holy Spirit: The Fruit of the Spirit - Part 1 What did Jesus teach on Fruit?

Paul’s letter to the Galatian Church in chapter 5 of the Book of Galatians speaks to us about life in the Spirit and tells us about the fruit of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. Now where did this concept of fruit originate? Well it originated with the teachings of Jesus of course when he was leading and teaching his disciples and preaching to the Jewish people.

But one of the first teachings on fruit came through John the Baptist who we all know was filled with the Holy Spirit from when he was in his mother’s womb (Luke 1:15). John’s word on fruit went like this:

Matthew 3:7-10 (NLT)

⁷ But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to watch him baptize, he denounced them. “You brood of snakes!” he exclaimed. “Who warned you to flee the coming wrath? ⁸ Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. ⁹ Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones. ¹⁰ Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.

This was a harsh word to the religious leaders of the day – repent and start producing good fruit, or you end up in hell!

Jesus is our focal point and the reason why we exist as born-again Christians. Everything we are and everything we do should be done to ensure that we become His imitators – to be conformed to His image day by day. We can’t do this unless we are Spirit filled, obedient to His every word and loving our neighbours as we love ourselves!

In the book of John, we will find the most significant teaching Jesus gave on the bearing of fruit in our lives that we will be able to find in the Bible. Let’s examine the Lord’s teachings on fruit before we actually move into Paul’s teaching in Galatians.

Jesus, the True Vine

John 15:1-7 (NIV)

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.² He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes^[cleans] so that it will be even more fruitful. ³ You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. ⁴ Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

⁵ “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

Let’s do an analysis of the above eight verses to try and emphasise the importance of what we are being told.

¹I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.       

Jesus is the source of our salvation and through Him we receive all that God has for us. God the Father lovingly tends and nurtures us through Jesus as a gardener tends a garden. We are connected to God through Jesus and His Holy Spirit.

²He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes^[cleans] so that it will be even more fruitful.         

If we don’t bear good fruit, then it is God (the gardener) that cuts us off! When we are bearing good fruit, God prunes us – this can be quite painful at times – so that we will produce more fruit.

³You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.   

We are cleansed from our sin by the Word and work of Jesus on the Cross. Jesus is the Word.

⁴Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

We must stay connected to Jesus (keep your eyes on Him) because without Him we can do nothing, and we will not bear good fruit.

⁵I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.  

Repeat of the previous verse. Jesus emphasizing the importance of remaining in Him and Him alone.

⁶If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.        

If we don’t remain in Him, we will be cut off and end up in hell.

⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.                                       

When we remain in Jesus, our voice (prayers) is heard by God through Jesus and the Holy Spirit interceding on our behalf.

⁸ This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.                                               

When we bear much fruit, we prove that we are Jesus’ disciples, doing this is to the glory of the Father and Jesus the Son!

A very strong word from the Lord about remaining in Him and bearing good fruit and the consequences if we do not! 

TO JESUS BELONGS ALL GLORY, HONOUR AND PRAISE!

Next week: What kind of Fruit will last?

An extract from my book: Fan Into Flame: Life in the Spirit available on Paperback:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1798692120

Getting to know the Holy Spirit: The Gifts of the Spirit Part 3 - Why does the Church need the Gifts of the Spirit?

The gifts of the Spirit are not given to us for our own selfish use, they are given to us to serve the body – to build up and edify the Church! When you are using your gifts to build up the Church, then you are living life in the Spirit.

Now why would Paul exhort us to eagerly desire the Spiritual gifts? For these reasons. The Spiritual gifts:

• Enable us to live life in the Spirit
• Enable us to express God’s love to others – He knows we need them to emulate Jesus, to be conformed to his image.
• Enable us to love others the way God wants us to, well not just wants us to but expects us to.
• Enable us to build up and edify the Church, our spiritual family in Christ Jesus.
• Enable us to receive God’s guidance for ourselves and to use us to give His guidance to others.
• Enable us to lift up and glorify the name of Jesus!
• Enable us to show God’s love in action to unbelievers and thus draw them to Jesus for salvation.
• Enable us to perform miracles, signs and wonders just as Jesus did.

Now that we know this, let’s do it!  Let’s follow the way of love and eagerly desire the gifts of the Spirit!!

How do I know what my spiritual gifts are? How do I identify them?

These are two questions that nearly all born-again Christians ask themselves more than once. They are good questions to ask ourselves, there is nothing wrong with doing so, but maybe we should ask this question first:

How can I serve the body?

And then go into the other two! After all the gifts are given to us not to serve ourselves but to serve the body – they are tools of service and go hand in hand with the gift that we have all been given and that is the gift of faith, faith in Christ Jesus.

James 2:14-17 (NIV)

¹⁴ What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? ¹⁵ Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. ¹⁶ If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?¹⁷ In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

Right then, getting back to how we can identify our spiritual gifts, let’s have a look at some guiding pointers:

1.       Find out what needs there are within your local body

Find out what the current serving needs are within your congregation and begin to serve in an area where your heart feels you need to be. Be proactive – don’t just do nothing. God created you and predestined you for works of service.

Matthew 20:26-28

²⁶ But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, ²⁷ and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. ²⁸ For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.

  

Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)

 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Once you begin to serve others faithfully and without complaining you will find that your primary gift/s will come to the fore. You will be known by the good fruit that you will produce in serving others.

2.       Pray

Keep praying and eagerly desire the gifts of the Spirit. Pray in your understanding and pray in the Spirit. The more you talk to God and read the Word the more God will speak to you. Ask people you trust to pray with you and pray for you and ask them what gifts they have noticed you operating in. Listen to wise counsel.

3.       Let your faith rise up

If you desire to prophesy then step out and prophesy, if you desire to speak in tongues or to interpret tongues then step out and do so, if it is leadership, then lead, if it is serving, then serve. Keep praying and let your faith arise – let your faith be accompanied by your actions! Faith needs to be accompanied by actions!

Romans 12:6-8

⁶ We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; ⁷ if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; ⁸ if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

 4.       Understand the scriptures pertaining to Spiritual gifts

Study the relevant scriptures pertaining to Spiritual gifts and make sure you fully understand them. Ask the Lord to open your mind to fully understand the scriptures.

Luke 24:45 (NLT)

Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.

5.       Ask yourself what you enjoy doing

Serving the Lord should be a joyful task, not one of struggle and strife, and your service will bring joy to others! If the Spirit has gifted us, and if we are growing in grace, then we will enjoy serving the Lord and the body. The Lord may also have equipped you with certain natural skills like sewing, woodwork, cooking etc – use them to serve the body of Christ! Exodus 31:1-6.

Exodus 31:3 (NIV)

 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills

TO JESUS BELONGS ALL GLORY, HONOUR AND PRAISE.

JESUS THE NAME ABOVE ALL NAMES

Next week we will be looking at The Fruit of the Spirit!

An extract from my book: Fan Into Flame: Life in the Spirit available on Paperback:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1798692120

Getting to know the Holy Spirit: The Gifts of the Spirit - Part 2

The gifts that Christ gave to the Church:

Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers (The five-fold ministry)

These are the gifts that Jesus himself gave to the Church and are often referred to as ‘the five-fold ministry’.

Ephesians 4:7-8 (NLT)

⁷ However, he has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ. ⁸ That is why the Scriptures say,

“When he ascended to the heights,
    he led a crowd of captives
    and gave gifts to his people.”^{[Psalm 68:18]}

Ephesians 4:11-13 (NLT)

¹¹ Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. ¹² Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. ¹³ This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.

The function of the ‘Five-fold Ministry’ is to equip the body of Christ to do his work and to build and lead it into maturity in Christ Jesus. This is done in an attitude of servanthood – serving the body - just as the ministry of Jesus was. When we look at verse 13 above, we see that this function of the five-fold ministry is not to stop until we reach full maturity and unity as a body which, in all likelihood, will only be when our Lord returns, and we are clothed in our imperishable bodies!

The gifts of Christ in the ‘Five-fold Ministry’ are not just gifts alone but are also positions or offices within the local church. We also find that these gifts also come, sort of naturally, with the gift of Leadership! The Church, including every local body, needs every part of the five-fold ministry that Jesus has given to us. One or two are not enough; we need all of the five-fold ministries working in unity to build a vibrant and Spirit-filled body!

As God restores these ministries to the Church, we must correctly respond to them. God’s purposes will not be fulfilled outside of His divinely appointed leadership. The more we flow in God’s gifts and the more we live life in the Spirit, so the more we will become like rivers of living water – more like Jesus.

The gifts of prophecy, serving, teaching, encouraging, giving, leadership, showing mercy

As you read the following scriptures allow them to permeate your very being and ask God to write them indelibly on your heart.

Luke 11:13

If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

Romans 12:6-8 (NLT)

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 (or mercy) to others, do it gladly.

1 Corinthians 12:27-28 (NLT)

²⁷ All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it. ²⁸ Here are some of the parts God has appointed for the church:

first are apostles, second are prophets,
third are teachers,
then those who do miracles,
those who have the gift of healing,
those who can help others,
those who have the gift of leadership,
those who speak in unknown languages.

1 Peter 4:10-11
¹⁰ Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. ¹¹ If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

TO JESUS BELONGS ALL GLORY, HONOUR AND PRAISE.
JESUS THE NAME ABOVE ALL NAMES

Part 3 'Why Does the Church Need the Gifts of the Spirit?" will be published next week.

An extract from my book: Fan Into Flame: Life in the Spirit available on Paperback:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1798692120