That We Should Bring Forth Fruit Unto God
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Fruit of the Womb
In my daily spiritual read on today, I came across a passage that inspired and encouraged my spirit as a follower of Messiah, The passage came from Psalms 127:3 which reads: Children are a heritage from the Lord. In this brief passage, the term heritage stood out to me on this read. By definition, the term heritage communicates that anything that is passed on not only to an heir or heirs, but to the succeeding generation or generations.
In this selected Psalms, the writer makes an allusion that children are called ‘the Fruit of the Womb.’ Keeping this in mind, Paul in the Book of Roman 7:4 admonishes followers in Messiah ‘to bear fruit for God.’ Paul’s intention is to encourage the followers that are now in Messiah, and that they are grafted and adopted into the Family of God via the New Birth experience. This reality is noted by the works that Messiah grants to each follower after His resurrection. Our spiritual heritage is passed on through Christ to each follower as noted in James 1:18. Of His own will He brought us forth by the Word of Truth that we should be a kind of First Fruits of His Creatures.
Each follower is expected to perform good works, which is classified in Scriptures as [Fruits of Righteousness] thus each follower are recipient of the rich spiritual heritage of the finished work of Christ. Because of Christ, the Holy Spirit empowers followers to perform good works until the return of Christ in the future. Due to each follower being married to Christ, Paul is challenging the Family of God to bring forth Fruits unto God as each follower is influenced and matured by the Holy Spirit in their respective life journey.
The power to bear fruit
With the Holy Spirit, one becomes spiritually alive, beginning a new life! God’s Spirit is like the life-giving sap that flows up the trunk of a tree to all its branches so they can yield fruit!
Notice God’s beautiful portrayal of His people as flourishing fruit trees: “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit” Jeremiah 17:7-8; Psalms 1:3). The apostle Paul said in Galatians 5, “Walk in the Spirit . . . If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit” Galatians 5:16; Galatians 5:25). God’s Spirit enables us to act according to God’s principles—to live a godly life!
Without God’s Spirit, we are merely mortal flesh, and the fruits of raw human nature are called the “works of the flesh” in Galatians 5:19-21. After listing these sinful “works,” Paul warns that “those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” ( Galatians 5:21).
Spirit-led people
With the help of God’s Spirit, however, we produce something far different: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering [or patience], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). That is truly good fruit! God wants us to bear much of this fruit!
Spirit-led people have these wonderful virtues of godly character as the result of God’s Spirit acting from within. The credit for this fruit belongs to God and Jesus Christ who supply that Spirit.
And God will let us bear this fruit only when we are trying to give of ourselves to others. This fruit is manifested in relationships. God’s Spirit is like a river ( John 7:38). It will flow into us only when it is also flowing out to others.
Fruit, though a collective noun, is singular.
The Life that has been united, with Christ at the center,
produces a harvest of Love,
which has many Expressions.
-Andrew W. Blackwood Jr.-
Grace and Peace
Brother Alonzo E. Thornton