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:
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