FRUITFULNESS.
I. Before Fruit there must be Life. "Severed from Me," says Christ, "ye can do nothing" (Joh_15:5). He is the Living One, and is come that we might have life. We never look for fruit from a dead tree. A soul dead in sin (Eph_2:1) can never bring forth the fruits of righteousness. There must first be a planting into Christ (Rom_4:5). "He that hath the Son hath life" (1Jn_5:12).
II. There must be Entire Surrender to the New Conditions. If the roots of the tree do not strike out into the new soil in which it has been transplanted it will not prosper. In Php_3:9-10 Paul speaks of being found in Him, the source of life, then he says: "That I may know Him"-a growing acquaintance with Him. The branch must be entirely passive to the power of the vine. Yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead (Rom_6:13). The fruit of the self-life is corrupt. Crucify the flesh with its lusts; grow in the knowledge of God. This whole-hearted surrender to the grace and power of the Spirit of God opens the way into the heart and life so that God can enter in and work mightily (Eph_3:16-17).
III. Fulness must come before Fruitfulness. The branch will not bear fruit until it has been filled to overflowing with the sustaining sap. The cup will not run over until it has been filled. If rivers of water are to flow out of us the unfailing spring must rise up and fill all within (Joh_7:38-39). A dissatisfied heart will bear but a poor, dissatisfying testimony for Christ. If the roots of our being are spread out by the river, by the way of the Holy Spirit, then we shall not cease from yielding fruit (Jer_17:8).
IV. The Character of the Fruit.
1. It will be new fruit (Eze_47:12). It does not belong to the unregenerate man. It is not the fruit of the flesh; not the outcome of an energetic self-life. The corrupt tree has been made good by being created anew by the Spirit of God. It is fruit unto holiness (Joh_1:13).
2. It will be fruit according to the nature of the tree. You cannot gather figs from thorns, or grapes from thistles. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, etc. (Gal_5:22), not the fruit of the Christian. The fruit of the Spirit, you observe, is just the likeness of Christ. Ye are partakers of the divine nature. As fruit is the result of the living, moving sap within, so the image and characteristics of Christ are wrought in the believer by the living, moving Spirit within. From Me is thy fruit found. It is the work of God, and the evidence of a soul being fully possessed by Him. Where there is the fulness of the indwelling Spirit there must be the manifestation of the Christ-likeness. Death is the way to life and fruitfulness. "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die it abideth alone; but if it die it bringeth forth much fruit" (Joh_12:24).
Autor: James Smith