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.
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.
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, loving God with all our heart 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
Let’s do an analysis of the above eight verses to try and emphasise the importance of what we are being told.
Verse 1. I 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.
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.
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.
3. You 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.
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.
We must stay connected to Jesus (keep your eyes on Him) because without Him and by the leading of the Holy Spirit we can do nothing, and we will not be able to bear good fruit.
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.
Repeat of the previous verse. Jesus emphasizing the importance of remaining in Him and Him alone.
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.
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’ true 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!
Let’s have a look at what else Jesus tells us about bearing fruit:
Now what kind of fruit will last? We know from the Bible that the flesh bears the perishable, but the Spirit bears the imperishable!
As born-again Christians we are born of the Spirit – imperishable seed!
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.
When we, the Church, 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 – Galatians 5 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 – Galatians 5 verses 22-23
Love – Joy – Peace – Patience – Kindness – Goodness – Faithfulness – Gentleness – Self-control
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.
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!
The fruit of righteousness
In the book of Philippians, Paul talks to us about ‘the fruit of righteousness’ and that we must be filled with it so that we can be pure and blameless when Jesus returns.
What is righteousness?
Righteousness is not something we can produce on our own. Our righteousness can only be achieved through Jesus Christ being the Lord of our life!
Apart from Christ we have no right standing (righteousness) with God. Apart from Jesus we can do nothing and are nothing. Jesus is the vine and God is the gardener – we must remain in Jesus in order to bear good fruit in the power of the Holy Spirit! This is our righteousness in Christ Jesus.
The Christian life is not a life that can be self-produced by our own efforts or bought with money. The Christian life is a life that can only be supplied to us by faith in Christ Jesus, believing the Word and being filled with the Holy Spirit.