Being Fruitful
A group of Christians were having a meal together. As they were tucking into a fruit salad one of them asked,
“What does it mean to be a fruitful Christian?”
The following is a summary of the ensuing conversation.
The Lord at creation
At the beginning of Genesis the meaning of producing fruit is clear:
“The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.” Genesis 1:12
“God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” Genesis 1:22
“God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” Genesis 1:28
It means here, ‘Increase in numbers’.
Noah
After the flood God blessed Noah and his family saying to him,
“Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.” Genesis 9:1
Abraham
The Lord promised Abraham,
“I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you.” Genesis 17:6
Throughout the rest of Genesis being fruitful means to increase in numbers. This is the meaning of the phrase eleven times in the rest of Genesis
“As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it.” Genesis 9:7
In this context ‘frutifulness’ meant having many offspring.
Moses
When Moses editied the rest of the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, this meaning of ‘being fruitful’ again means an increase in numbers:
“. . . but the Israelites were exceedingly fruitful; they multiplied greatly, increased in numbers and became so numerous that the land was filled with them.” Exodus 1:7
“‘I will look on you with favour and make you fruitful and increase your numbers, and I will keep my covenant with you.” Leviticus 26:9
Proverbs
This unerstanding of bearing fruit is also seen in Proverbs:
“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever captures souls is wise.” Proverbs 11:30
Jesus
When Jesus used analogies they were very often taken from the Old Testament Scriptures and this applies to the idea of fruitfulness. Jesus was clear that his disciples were to be commissioned to go into all the world to spread the news about himself:
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Matthew 28:19-20
He had prepared them for this difficult role. In his final training seesion just prior to his execution he again emphasised that the role of his disciples was to produce fruit.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes it so that it will be more fruitful. . . Remain in me, and I will 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.” John 15:1-4
What is this fruit that Jesus disciples are expected to produce? To ‘remain in Christ’ must mean to stay close to him, learning from him and fulfilling his wishes. To be ‘holy’ and to develop a Christ-like character is a means to bearing fruit for him. Jesus goes on to explain how this fruit bearing will come about:
“ . . . and you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.” John15:27
They were to go out and tell the world what they had learned about and from Jesus. This is what Jesus meant when he said that they were to ‘bear fruit’ for him. In order to do this they would have to go out into the world and not remain in ‘holy huddles’.
“You did not choose me but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last.” John 15:16
Jesus is talking about the missionary endeavour his people would be undertaking.
A missionary in an open country admitted that he had not led anyone to Christ in his fifteen years of service but quickly added,
“We are called to be faithful not effective.”
If christlike characters is all that God wants to see in Christians his churches will quickly die out. The church has a message to share and is commissioned to pass this on effectively
People will be won when we enter into trusting relationships with others. This can be done in a few minutes or over many months. This is why the deveolpment of our personalities is so important. Ungodly behaviour turns people away from both ourselves and our Saviour and will result is us both being unfruitful for Christ and will result in ourselves being rejected by God:
“The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Galatians 5:19-21
In contrast, the characteristics that God’s Spirit is in someone will be the development of warm inter-personal features and a refusal to act in an ungodly way.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” Galatians 5:22-25
To be effective for Christ requires us to have a deep commitment to ‘crucify the flesh’.
The last command he gave personally to his whole church was:
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8
Paul
He clearly understood why he had been called, it was to persuade as many people as possible to become followers of Jesus and so become members of God’s eternal Kingdom.
“Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 1 Corinthians 9:19-24
When Paul wrote a short letter to Philemon about accepting back the escaped slave Onesimus, he begins his letter with a reminder that being a Christian is being a ‘fellow-worker’ and ‘fellow-soldier’ who is trying to advance the cause of his master. This is achieved by caring for God’s people and telling others about the ‘good news’ of salvation being possible through following Jesus Christ.
“I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints.” Philemon 5
People will only hear about our faith if we talk about Jesus.
I had a patient who was the church warden of a village Anglican church. After the medical issues were dealt with I asked her how the church was going.
“It is getting difficult. We are getting older and smaller.”
“Tell me, do people in the church talk about the Lord Jesus with others in the village?”
“Good gracious me, no! We don’t even talk about him amongst ourselves.”
What a tragedy. If that is all they think of Jesus that church must surely die.
BVP
Sept 2023
