Fruit of the Spirit

“ The fruit of the Spirit.—The singular fruit, as compared with the plural works, suggests that the effect of the Spirit’s inworking is one harmonious whole, while carnality tends to multitudinousness, distraction, chaos. ”

“ And it is a true instinct, a wise faith, for it is by coming into touch with such links between humanity and God, that you and I in time will become divine. In Him that divine seed of Spirit has unfolded into flower and fruit. When you sow a seed in the soil of your garden, you sow it in the full belief that it will grow, that it will become a plant with leaf and flower and fruit. ”

“ These fruits, though they are the direct results of the indwelling Spirit and will never be produced without its presence, are none the less truly dependent upon our manner of receiving that Spirit and on our faithfulness and diligence in the use of its gifts. It is, alas! sadly too true, and matter of tragically common experience that instead of 'trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord' heavy with ruddy clusters, there are but dwarfed and scrubby bushes which have scarcely life enough to keep up a little show of green leaves and 'bring no fruit to perfection'. ”

“ It is indeed a pitiable exhibition when even spiritual gifts are made matter of ostentation, exciting the jealousy of inferior brethren, and creating discontent and envy. The cultivation of the fruit of the Spirit is the best remedy against all bitterness and strife. ”

“ Fruit in general represents good works, or the fruits of the Spirit, faith, hope and peace, and is accounted good; the vine is the emblem of Christ Himself, but the fruit, usually taken to be the apple,33 which grew on the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, is an accursed thing. ”

“ Unblamable - Having filled you with his Spirit, and written his law in your hearts, so that his love, shed abroad in your hearts, becomes the principle and motive to every action. The tree therefore being good, the fruit is also good. ”

“ From this tree spring infinite fruits, all mellow and very sweet, which nourish the soul in the life of grace, when it plucks them with the hand of free will, and eats them with holy eager desire. Whatever condition a person may be in, he tastes these fruits, if he has the light of discretion, in diverse ways, according to his state. He who is placed in the world, and has this light, gathers the fruit of obedience to the commands of God, and distaste for the world, of which he divests himself in mind, although he may be clothed with it in fact. ”

“ The Holy Spirit was poured out as the fruit of Resurrection and Ascension. And the Spirit is now the Power of God in us, working upwards towards Christ, to reproduce His life and Holiness in us, to fit us for fully receiving and showing forth Him in our lives. ”

“ When we regard faith, as we have been doing during this course of brief lectures, under the emblem of a fruit tree, we must remember that it is no standard rearing itself aloft in the pride of its strength, but a plant in itself but feeble, which must lean on the Rock of Ages; which, even when its branches are fullest of swelling fruit, needs the props, the supports which God’s grace only can give. ”

“ He does not stand in need of any fruit, which we can yield Him, and yet He condescends by various ways, by preachers, by good books, by holy inspirations, by superiors and directors, and by the influence of good example, to go forth and' sow in our hearts the seed of eternal salvation. Reflect how precious must be that seed whose fruit is everlasting life. ”

“ And as the seed in the good ground was not interrupted, and therefore produced fruit in abundance, so this spiritual principle, where it is not checked, but received and cherished, produces also abundance of spiritual fruit in the inward man, by putting him into the way of redemption from sin, or of holiness of life. ”

“ We regard this gracious work of the Saviour, as the blossoming of a precious plant, which has been long germinating in the earth, and on whose growth we have been waiting with the utmost anxiety;—now that it has at last sprung up, and is bearing beautiful flowers, may He cause it to prosper and bring forth fruit unto eternal life! ”

“ Much she needs the culture of the Husbandman, and well does she repay it. Abiding in Christ, the true source of fruitfulness, she brings forth clusters of grapes, luscious and refreshing, as well as sustaining, like the fruit of the palm—luscious and refreshing to Himself, the owner of the vineyard, as well as to the weary, thirsty world in which He has placed it. ”

“ Not till man sinned, was there thorn or thistle or barrenness on the earth. But, even now, though ages of sin have polluted the world, how rich, how beautiful, is still the face of God's creation! Orchards of delicious fruit grow here and there, and may be cultivated to any extent desirable ”

“ And he eats not, nor nourishes his soul with the fruit, of any tree that teaches or produces or strengthens a denial of the Lord, or an unwise or unholy life; but he sets up the love of the Lord within his heart, or rather permits the Lord to plant it there, as the source of all true life and holy joy and serene peace—of all truth, wisdom, and intelligence. It is of the fruit of this tree that he eats, and eating lives forever. ”

“ So when any one receives the word of God Into his heart in faith, it will strike deep root, spring up, grow and ripen with a rich increase, bringing forth abundantly those good fruits of the Spirit 'which are through Jesus Christ to the praise and glory of God.' But as, without proper attention, your tree would wither or grow into wildness, so also is it necessary to nourish the good seed sown in our hearts; and this can only be done by constant and fervent prayer. ”

“ Let us ask nothing of sense and science, except that they be willing servants of the Lord and love. Let us eat of no fruit that will exalt sense and drag down the soul, that will magnify self and degrade the Lord. Spiritual life and spiritual death are before us, according to the kind of fruit our souls eat or appropriate. Let us eat of the fruit of the tree of life and truly live! ”

“ The tree of life must first be planted in us, before we can eat of its fruit: and the heart that wishes to be quickened with heavenly comforts, ought first to be truly converted from the world to God. ”

“ Our own souls are our vineyards; they are, or should be, planted with vines and pomegranates, choice and useful trees. We are made keepers of these vineyards, and therefore are concerned often to look into them, to examine the state of our own souls, to seek whether the vine flourishes, whether our graces be in act and exercise, whether we be fruitful in the fruits of righteousness, and whether our fruit abound. ”

“ The divine nature contains the bread of life, which said, I am the bread of life and living water, and wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and the oil of gladness, and the whole variety of the food of the heavenly Spirit, and the heavenly raiment of light which comes from God. ”

“ Works are, in scripture, called fruits. "By their fruits ye shall know them"—that is by their works. "A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit." To carry out this figure, we would remark that, fruit can have no existence till the tree is first produced. ”

“ We have seen how necessary the root is to the branches. Only from it can our fruit be found. But let us humbly, yet gladly, believe that we are also necessary to Christ. He cannot do without us. The Son wants sons; angels will not suffice. Through redeemed men alone can He achieve His eternal purpose. I hear the Root pleading for more and yet more branch-life, that it may cover the world with goodly shadow and fruit.
II. FRUIT OR NO FRUIT.—From all that has been said, it is clear that the one purpose in the vine is fruit-bearing. See, here, how the Divine Teacher accentuates it. ”

“ We are in Christ when we believe in him and are accepted through the merit of his blood and brought by adoption into the family of God, but not until he abides in our hearts shall our lives become as beautiful as God means them to be. Fruitfulness,—that is the cry everywhere. Men are calling for intellectual fruitfulness and mechanical fruitfulness, and are bending their energies to find the soil which will develop at once the best quality and greatest amount of fruit. ”

“ Hear what Christ said of this, “Every branch that beareth fruit, He cleanseth it, that it may bear more fruit.” More fruit is what the Father seeks; more fruit is what the Father will Himself provide. ”

“ Is not the rising of some small seeds from the ground, with a multiplication of their numerous posterity, an effect of as great a power, as our Saviour’s feeding many thousands with a few loaves, by a secret augmentation of them?865 Is not the chemical producing so pleasant and delicious a fruit as the grape, from a dry earth, insipid rain, and a sour vine, as admirable a token of Divine power, as our Saviour’s turning water into wine? ”

“ The only real evidence, therefore, that we are born of God, is, that we [pg 199] have the fruits of the Spirit, love, joy, and peace. The tree is known by its fruits, and these are the appropriate fruits of the new life. ”

“ From me is thy fruit found - All thy goodness springs from the principle of grace which I have planted in thy soul; for as the earth cannot bring forth fruit without the blessing of God, sending the dews and rains, with the genial rays of the sun, so neither can the soul of man, even of the most pious, bear fruit, without a continual influence from the Most High. Without the former, neither grass could grow for cattle, nor corn for the service of man; without the latter, no seeds of righteousness could take root, no stalk of promise could grow, no fruit of grace could be produced. ”

“ It refers, naturally, to the various grains, such as wheat, barley, or rye, whose seed is a nutritious food for man. But spiritually it is a higher spiritual endeavor which produces something true and good. The fruit tree yielding fruit represents a still higher endeavor which bears the fruits of a yet more spiritual life. The idea is still enforced in the parable that even first endeavors at spiritual things have their degrees of effort, weak, stronger, stronger yet, good, better, better still, as life goes on. ”

“ It is the part of the vine to sustain the branches, and the part of the branches to bear fruit. The fruit is the production of the vine-life in the branches. The word of God teaches us that Christ is pure and holy, and in Rom. ”

“ Now those things are most manifest to us which appeal most to the senses: wherefore it seems that the word "fruition" is derived from sensible fruits. But sensible fruit is that which we expect the tree to produce in the last place, and in which a certain sweetness is to be perceived. ”

“ Secondly, Fruitful hearers, which is an evidence of their good understanding: which also beareth fruit. Fruit is to every seed its own body, a substantial product in the heart and life, agreeable to the seed of the word received. We then bear fruit, when we practise according to the word; when the temper of our minds and the tenour of our lives are conformable to the gospel we have received, and we do as we are taught. ”

“ For just as if one should cut away the fruit-bearing parts of a vine, it grows up again, and yields other branches flourishing and fruitful; even so the same thing happens with us. For the vine planted by God and Christ the Saviour is His people. But the rest of the prophecy shall be fulfilled at His second coming. ”