Morning Moments

FRUIT

Jesus said, “a tree is known by its fruit; a good tree produces good fruit and an evil tree produces evil fruit”.  Proverbs says, “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life and he that winneth souls is wise”.  Paul writes “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, faith, meekness, and temperance; against such there is no law”.

In the first place, there can be no such “fruit” without the Holy Spirit.  The believer received the Holy Spirit when “born from above” or “born again”, for if any have not the Holy Spirit, he is none of His.  It is the Holy Spirit who conforms us to the image of Christ by the “new image” that God creates in us at the new birth, which is a nature or image of righteousness and true holiness.  The “promise of the Father” which IS the Holy Spirit, is the Agent of the Godhead who does the work in us of conforming us to the image of God’s dear Son.

It is why Paul could write that He who “began a good work IN you WILL perform it unto the Day of Jesus Christ”.  He doesn’t quit the work He started until He is finished!  

The quantity of that fruit is as it is with ANY tree in that in varies with the maturity of the tree in its times and seasons.  The Spirit bears the fruit AS we ABIDE, just as the branch produces fruit as it abides in the vine.  The quality of that fruit cannot be denied, for it is unfeigned or without dissimulation.

The Father is glorified as we bear MUCH fruit (Jn 15; Gal 5:22-23).  DO NOT CONFUSE GIFTS WITH FRUIT!  You may, as the Corinthians be gifted, but fruitless and divisive with schisms and factions, BUT you cannot be that by producing the FRUIT of the HOLY SPIRIT, for the very first aspect of His fruit is love, not tongues or any other gift.  THAT love, God’s love IN us is greater than gifts, for THAT love is described by Paul In 1 Corinthians 13 as follows:

“(13:4) Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily. (5) It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God's love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong]. (6) It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail. (7) Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening]. (8) Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]. As for prophecy (the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), it will be fulfilled and pass away; as for tongues, they will be destroyed and cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away [it will lose its value and be superseded by truth]... (13) And so faith, hope, love abide [faith—conviction and belief respecting man's relation to God and divine things; hope—joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation; love—true affection for God and man, growing out of God's love for and in us], these three; but the greatest of these is love”.  Jesus said, “By THIS shall all men know that you are my disciples...”

DIVISIVENESS is a sign of carnality, NOT spiritually!

BLESSINGS!