Fruits of the Spirit
"For the fruit of the Spirit
is in all goodness and righteousness and truth." Eph.
5:9. The fruits of the Spirit we are unable to bear
without the tree upon which they grow; viz., the Holy
Spirit. A man to grow apples must have an apple tree; and
a man to grow peaches must of necessity have a peach tree.
So with the spiritual fruits—to grow them we must have
the tree on which they grow. For a man to try to produce
the fruit of the Spirit would be like trying to gather
grapes from a bramble bush, or figs from thistles. We are
in our natural state corrupt; and "a corrupt tree
cannot bring forth good fruit" (Matt. 7:18), hence in
our natural state we cannot bring forth the fruit of the
Spirit, which "is in all goodness and righteousness
and truth."
Being destitute of any means
whereby we might come into possession of the Spirit, God
uses the grafting process, by which we are grafted into
the true and fruitful vine, Jesus Christ. "I am the
true vine." John 15:1. There is a peculiarity about
this grafting, in which it differs from natural grafting.
Paul says concerning it: "For if thou wert cut out of
the olive tree which is wild (sinful) by nature, and wert
grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how
much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be
grafted into their own olive tree?" Romans 11:24.
"Contrary to nature." To
understand this we must first understand the natural law
which governs grafting. In natural grafting the fruit is
always according to the nature of the scion, and not
according to the root or stock. In spiritual grafting we
are grafted into Christ, and, "contrary to
nature," we bear the fruit of the Spirit, or the
fruit of the true vine, Jesus Christ. Christ says, "I
am holy" (1 Pet. 1:16); and Paul says, "If the
root (Christ) be holy, so are the branches (His
people)." Again Christ says, "I am the
root." Rev. 22:16.
Here is formed a syllogism which
proves conclusively, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that we
may become holy, and be enabled to bear the fruit of the
Spirit. "If the root be holy, so are the
branches." Rom. 11:16. Christ the root is holy (Rev.
22:16; 1 Pet. 1:16), and men in him are the branches (John
15:6); consequently men who are in Christ are holy.
A holy tree brings forth good fruit. Luke 6:45. Men in
Christ are holy; consequently men in Christ bear good
fruit. This may seem to some to contradict the text which
says, "There is none good but one, that is God."
Mark 10:18. But we must remember that the Word also says
that Joseph was a good man. Luke 23:50. N is also said of
Barnabas, that he was a good man and full of the Holy
Spirit. God only is good in an independent sense; all men
that are good, are good because God has made them so.
Without God "there is none good, no not one."
While we cannot bear fruit without
the help of the Spirit, every child of God must bear fruit
in a justified state. In a justified state, of course, we
have not the fullness of the Spirit, and yet we are led by
the Spirit, and by Him enabled to bring forth fruit unto
God. The fruits of the Spirit are named in the fifth
chapter of Galatians as follows: Love, joy, peace, long.
suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness,
temperance. Here we have a magnificent cluster of precious
fruits. Every justified person must bear all these fruits,
and yet justification is not the more fruitful.
LOVE.—When we are forgiven
"we love God because He first loved us." 1 John
4:19. We love our brethren also; for "we know that we
have passed from death unto life, because we love the
brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in
death." 1 John 3:14. "He that loveth not knoweth
not God; for God is love." John 4:8.
JOY.—Joy is a very strengthening
fruit. "For the joy of the Lord is your
strength." Neh. 8:10. As well as having joy in times
of prosperity we often find, as a poet has said, "A
joy in sorrow." Like the apostle we should rejoice
with joy unspeakable when we are permitted to suffer for
Jesus' sake. Of course without the Spirit we would be
unable to rejoice in trials; but with His gracious
presence we are enabled to count all things joy for Jesus'
sake. James says, "My brethren, count it all joy when
ye fall into divers temptations." James 1:2.
"Count it all joy." This
brings to our minds the idea of counting. Below will be
found two examples which will illustrate the example of
joy.
|
1,000 |
|
Afflictions.
|
|
5,000 |
|
Persecution
|
| No. 1 |
8,572 |
No. 2 |
Financial trials
|
|
3, 050 |
|
Evil reports
|
|
17,622 |
|
JOY
|
In example No. 1 we have several
numbers added, which gives us the sum of 17,622. Naturally
the larger the numbers the larger the sum. In example No.
2 we have the example of "counting divers temptations
all joy." As in example No. 1, the larger the numbers
the larger the sum; so in example No. 2, the more the
trials and the temptations the greater the joy and the
richer the blessings; for "blessed is the man that
endureth temptation." James 1:12. However, the
blessing and the joy are not merely to the man that has
temptation, but to "the man that endureth."
"Now no chastening for the
present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless
afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness
unto them that are exercised thereby." Heb. 12:11.
After the chastening we are allowed to eat the fruit, and
in this the joy is found. As David says, "Weeping may
endure for a night: but joy cometh in the morning."
So we should hope on till the morning dawns with its light
of joy, and not faint. Bear the divers temptations, and
count them joy. Suffer the chastisement, and eat the fruit
of righteousness. Weep through the night, and see the
morning of joy. As the brightest morning may follow the
darkest night, so the sweetest joy may follow the hardest
trial.
PEACE. "Therefore being
justified by faith, we have peace with God through our
Lord Jesus Christ." Rom. 5:1. Peace is a fruit
unknown to the children of this world. "There is no
peace, saith my God, to the wicked." Isa. 57:21. When
Jesus was about to depart from this world and be with the
Father He spoke to His disciples of this fruit of the
Spirit and said, "These things I have spoken unto
you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall
have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome
the world." John 16:33.
LONG SUFFERING.—How spontaneously
does this precious fruit grow out of a life sweetened and
controlled by the Holy Spirit. Long suffering in trials,
long suffering in sickness— long suffering in all
things. When we see the long suffering of God, how he
waited in the days of Noah, and how He suffers long with
this present sinful generation, it should exhort us to
treat one another "with all lowliness and meekness,
with long. suffering, forbearing one another in
love." Eph. 4:2. "Strengthened with all might,
according to his glorious power, unto all patience and
long suffering, with joyfulness." Col. 1:11. It means
quite another thing to have "long suffering with
joyfulness"; to suffer long and with joy in the
deepest and sorest trial. But even in this the deep rooted
tree of life will spring forth abundantly.
GENTLENESS. "Thou hast also
given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy gentleness
hath made me great." 2 Sam. Z2:36. What a priceless
jewel is gentleness! and what is more pleasant than to be
gentle to all we meet? Yea, the Holy Spirit will enable us
to be gentle to all men, even to those who despite fully
use us and persecute us.
GOODNESS.—As we have before said,
all our goodness must come from God, for without Him all
our goodness is as filthy rags. But God is good, and Paul
says that He is above all and through us all and in us
all; consequently we (God's people) are all good. Paul in
writing to the Romans said, "And I myself also am
persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of
goodness." Rom. 15:14. Let us then be filled with
goodness, that "others seeing our good work"
which God works in us "may glorify our Father which
is in heaven."
FAITH.—Faith is the Christian's
motor power, and is abundantly produced by the Holy
Spirit. In one sense we must have faith to receive the
Holy Spirit, and even to receive justification; but faith
is much expanded by the Holy Spirit. Faith like all other
fruits of the Spirit is a practical fruit; for "the
just shall live by faith." If all that might be said
of faith were written volumes would not contain it.
MEEKNESS. "Meekness signifies
a temper of mind that is not easily provoked and suffers
injuries without desire of revenge, and quietly submits to
the will of God." The servant of God must "show
all meekness unto all men," and "in meekness
instruct them that oppose themselves."
TEMPERANCE.—Temperance as here
used does not only mean to abstain from intoxicants, but
means to be temperate in all things; to let temperance
pervade our entire life. The very nature of the Holy
Spirit is temperate, and this blessed fruit is brought
forth by those who are led by Him. Paul was not only a
temperate man, but he also taught it to, and required it
of, those over whom the Holy Spirit had made him overseer.
"And," says he, "every man that striveth
for mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to
obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible."
1 Cor. 9:25. Paul here refers to those who strove for
masteries in the Olympic games of the Greeks.
"Temperate in all
things." These men spent the best efforts of their
lives training for the contests in which they were to
engage; such as boxing, wrestling, racing, etc. They were
also very temperate in their eating; eating only such
foods as would give them the needed strength.
"A corruptible crown."
When they had put forth such extraordinary efforts, and
deprived themselves of so many things, if they were able
to gain the victory over their opponents, all the reward
they received was a crown of leaves, made from the wild
olive, which began to wither as soon as they were plucked.
But the crown we strive for is an incorruptible one. The
following stanza from one of the poets will give the
reader a faint idea of what they endured:
"A youth who hopes the Olympic
prize to gain,
All arts must try, and every toil sustain;
The extremes of heat and cold must often prove,
And shun the weakening joys of wine and love."
—Francis.
Paul's argument is this: If they
would suffer want and deny themselves of almost every
pleasure to gain a fading crown of wild olive leaves, how
much more should we live a temperate life to gain "a
crown of glory that fadeth not away."
THE MORE FRUITFUL STATE.—After we
have been grafted into the true vine—Jesus Christ—and
have borne fruit, we have this promise from the Lord:
"Every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that
it may bring forth more fruit." John 15:2. After this
cleansing we are not to bring forth a new kind of fruit,
but "more fruit." When we are first grafted in
we bear the fruit of love; after we are purged we bear the
fruit of perfect love. I John 4:18. In the former state we
have joy, but in the "purged" state we have
fullness of joy (1 John 1:4); and so on through the whole
catalog of the fruits of the Spirit. So then in the more
fruitful, purged, or sanctified state, we not only
"bring forth more fruit," but our love is
perfected, our joy is made full, etc.
