FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT VS WORKS OF THE FLESH
A fresh look at recognizing the "fruit the Spirit" & its "power for good" versus "the works of the flesh" & its "power for harm"
There are many messages about “the fruit of the Spirit.” And there is no doubt that most Christians have heard their share; but let's take a fresh look! There are important dynamics, benefits and costs to the fruit of the Holy Spirit, as well as there are dynamics, results and costs to the works (fruit) of the flesh.
First let us consider the parable of the sower. The Lord says “the seed” is the Word of God and "the ground" represents the hearts the seed is sown into.
Jesus gave the interpretation to the disciples, regarding the parable of the seed and the sower.
Notice verse 15b, "Having heard the word with a good and noble heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience."
But what is fruit? Fruit is what a tree or plant bears of its own kind that when lands on fertile ground, can reproduce more of its own kind. And as we are the planting of the Lord, what kind of fruit do we bear? If the Lord is the vine and we are the branches, we should be bearing the fruit of the Lord.
If He abides in us; if the Word of God abides in us. If we abide in Christ; if we abide in the Word of God and He abides in us, we will bear much fruit. This the power of the Seed of God!
Jesus came to please to the Father. And He glorified the Father and He bore much fruit. Today, we are His extensions. The Father sent us the Holy Spirit to convict, save, lead and guide us and also to help us bear much fruit. In sharing of the fruit of the Holy Spirit, by having Him flow through us, others can see and feel “Him” - the fruit of His ways, His love, His personality... through the Holy Spirit in us, the body of Christ grows individually and corporately, in maturity and also in new additions.
In the "world" we live in, there is a lot of "production" but not necessarily of the Lord.
This world is a “me, me, me” world. A “self-interested” and “self- serving” world... and its production does not "glorify the Father." The fruit that comes from this setting is carnal; "fruit of the flesh" if you will.
All of us bear some kind of fruit.
The "fruit of our carnal nature" is usually called the works of the flesh. But no matter what its called, it is still fruit. Hate easily gives birth to more hate, bitterness to more bitterness etc. Thank God, when "the fruit of the Spirit is flowing" it is life producing! When "works of the flesh" come against us and we return with "the fruit of the Spirit" then we open the door for God to work. When we honor our Father as Lord, in our decisions and behavior, then the fruit of His Spirit is "helping us" and is also "helping" to those around us. Good choices glorify the Father and give the Holy Spirit the opportunity to work. This is the fruit of Christ in us. He works through His fruit!
We partake of each others fruit.
Whether someone is "sowing to the Spirit" or "sowing to the flesh" - our actions effect others. Love is spiritual. Joy is spiritual. Kindness is spiritual. Things that are spiritual are not mystical. We are spiritual beings in physical housing. This is why when we "receive" hurt from something gone awry, we feel it in our heart. We feel with much more than our physical brain. The brain is physical. When we send out a "hurt" to someone else, it is spiritual also. The physical world and spiritual world are simultaneously happening all day, every day, but many people only realize the physical.
When Jesus said the Father wants us to worship Him in "spirit and in truth" - He said it because what He was really saying is: The Father wants sincerity and worship "truly from the heart." Things of the spirit are just as real as things of the physical, only invisible. We see the evidence of where the spiritual goes but we cannot see things of the spirit.
Look at one of the verses in the Bible that talks about the fruit of the Spirit.
All very real and all very invisible.
These are good things that benefit everyone. When received or given, they bless. Consider the opposites. They do not build up or produce life.
For all of us, "our actions" are "the fruit" of our choices. For the Holy Spirit, He is pure and good and can only be good. Does it mean that He does not hate evil or bring about tough justice? He does whatever He does, from being good. And He wants us to do the same, making our decisions daily from the good place of our born-again spirits under the direction of the Holy Spirit. If we are walking with Him daily as our Lord and Guide, our actions will be life-producing in blessing us, others and Father God. Good choices empower heaven to work.
Look at some of these invisible, good attributes of the Spirit (good fruit).
Peacefulness, being joyful/happy, mature, orderly, pure, nice, courteous, encouraging, hopeful, loving & thankful, worshipful to God, having self-control & patience, good tempered, not irritable, having righteousness, being good, kind, gentle gracious and not critical of others, forgiving and not keeping records of others wrongs, respectful, considerate, tenderhearted and meek, humble, truthful, has integrity & honor, dignity, has faith (trusts in God) and is faithful to Him, dependable, is courageous, determined and enduring, generous, thoughtful and not self-serving, helps those in need, stands in the gap for those struggling or unable to stand, productive, righteous jealousy, having wisdom, knowledge, discernment, understanding, common sense, righteous anger when applicable.
All these types of fruit are edifying for us and those around us and give glory to the Father. Sometimes we have to take stands against corruption and ugliness, but even in those times, it is edifying.
In contrast, look at some of these invisible bad attributes of the flesh (bad fruit).
Pride, cruelty, harshness, mean, unloving, ungracious, unkind, having unrighteous anger, impatience, bitterness, rage, grudge-holding, record-keeping of wrongs, rude/quarrelsome, hateful, lovers of strife, discord and hostility, murderous, rebellious, hatred of authority, disrespectful, blasphemous, unrighteous jealousy, prideful, evil, ill-natured in letting the carnal nature have its way, self-serving, narcissistic, lack of self control, addictive to substances such as drugs and alcohol, wild revelries and parties, gluttonous, covetousness, envious, lying, cheating, corrupt, chaotic, greedy, power-hungry, idolatry, being involved in fortune-telling, astrology, witchcraft, sorcery, is unfaithful, not respectful of God, lustful, lewdness, depravity, fornication, sexually immoral, adulterous, homosexual, perverted, impurity, stupidity, careless, slothfulness and foolishness
All these kinds of fruit are not edifying for anyone. This kind of fruit are "the works of the flesh" and are self-gratifying, hurtful and destructive to the both the doer and any recipients involved. Not only does this evil displease the Lord, but in choosing such direction, it opens the door to empowering evil instead of good. Just as right choices empower God to work; wrong choices empower the dark side to work. Some people pray for God to work and yet empower evil to work by choosing things like unforgiveness and prejudice. Making evil choices (disobedience to God) empowers the devil to cause more hurt and more ugly from his bags of tricks.
The works (fruit) of the flesh are not only negative and destructive but also addictive. Gratifying the evil nature is a never ending cycle; the more it gets, the more it wants and the evil nature always wants more. What seems right to the worldly nature is always in direct conflict with the born-again spiritual nature. If the "evil nature" is allowed to "dominate," it will do its best to crush all that is good. For certain, it is destructive to the spirit-person but the damage and hurt does not stop there. In the long run, it is also destructive to the physical person. Bad habits are destructive to physical health all along the way and also to the end.
Worst of all though, listening to evil (our own carnal nature or the devil) separates us from God and makes it harder and harder to hear His voice. There is no 'life' on that road, while we are alive on earth or for all eternity.
The choices we make all day, every day are important.
We can choose for good or bad. We can allow our heavenly Father to lead us by His Spirit. He empowers us to do right. He knows when to turn and at what speed. Sometimes our choices have echoes far and wide. Why not let God be true Lord and do like Jesus and live to please the Father? If we abide in Him and He in us, this is everything!
As we abide and grow in the Lord, we are becoming more enlightened and are continuing in His plans for us.
We attain confidence in the ways of God. We learn to listen to the Holy Spirit and His guidance. Life will never be smooth sailing on this planet, but when Christ is the Captain, He knows how to take us through rough seas and He can even calm them.
Most people just move along through life without ever realizing the magnitude of our choices.
Our heavenly Father uses this “fruit synopsis” to help us be more aware of how life and death, good and evil work in our lives. We, in general, are going forward or we are going backwards. There really is no such thing as standing still. Every action we take, seen or unseen, is either life or death producing. We can choose life and give the Father the honor and glory He deserves. We can be a blessing to others. The Lord can bear much fruit through us. Or we can choose poorly, gratifying the flesh, which in so doing dishonors God and gives the enemy tools to work with.
We can be the planting of the Lord, allowing Father God to bless us and others through right choices. We can get forgiveness from the Lord for doing wrong, but the echoes and hurts sometimes still go on. Let's let our born-again spirits rule over our carnal natures and submit to the Holy Spirit. There is only goodness and life in choosing obedience to our Father. Let's abide in the Lord and have Him abide in us and glorify the Father. Let's go and bear much fruit by making life-producing, heaven-empowering choices under the direction of the Holy Spirit!
First let us consider the parable of the sower. The Lord says “the seed” is the Word of God and "the ground" represents the hearts the seed is sown into.
Jesus gave the interpretation to the disciples, regarding the parable of the seed and the sower.
- Luke 8:11-15 "Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
12 Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
13 But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.
14 Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.
15 But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience."
Notice verse 15b, "Having heard the word with a good and noble heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience."
But what is fruit? Fruit is what a tree or plant bears of its own kind that when lands on fertile ground, can reproduce more of its own kind. And as we are the planting of the Lord, what kind of fruit do we bear? If the Lord is the vine and we are the branches, we should be bearing the fruit of the Lord.
- John 15:1-8 "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.
2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.
4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.
7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples."
If He abides in us; if the Word of God abides in us. If we abide in Christ; if we abide in the Word of God and He abides in us, we will bear much fruit. This the power of the Seed of God!
Jesus came to please to the Father. And He glorified the Father and He bore much fruit. Today, we are His extensions. The Father sent us the Holy Spirit to convict, save, lead and guide us and also to help us bear much fruit. In sharing of the fruit of the Holy Spirit, by having Him flow through us, others can see and feel “Him” - the fruit of His ways, His love, His personality... through the Holy Spirit in us, the body of Christ grows individually and corporately, in maturity and also in new additions.
- Galatians 6:7b-8 ... for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.
In the "world" we live in, there is a lot of "production" but not necessarily of the Lord.
This world is a “me, me, me” world. A “self-interested” and “self- serving” world... and its production does not "glorify the Father." The fruit that comes from this setting is carnal; "fruit of the flesh" if you will.
All of us bear some kind of fruit.
The "fruit of our carnal nature" is usually called the works of the flesh. But no matter what its called, it is still fruit. Hate easily gives birth to more hate, bitterness to more bitterness etc. Thank God, when "the fruit of the Spirit is flowing" it is life producing! When "works of the flesh" come against us and we return with "the fruit of the Spirit" then we open the door for God to work. When we honor our Father as Lord, in our decisions and behavior, then the fruit of His Spirit is "helping us" and is also "helping" to those around us. Good choices glorify the Father and give the Holy Spirit the opportunity to work. This is the fruit of Christ in us. He works through His fruit!
We partake of each others fruit.
Whether someone is "sowing to the Spirit" or "sowing to the flesh" - our actions effect others. Love is spiritual. Joy is spiritual. Kindness is spiritual. Things that are spiritual are not mystical. We are spiritual beings in physical housing. This is why when we "receive" hurt from something gone awry, we feel it in our heart. We feel with much more than our physical brain. The brain is physical. When we send out a "hurt" to someone else, it is spiritual also. The physical world and spiritual world are simultaneously happening all day, every day, but many people only realize the physical.
When Jesus said the Father wants us to worship Him in "spirit and in truth" - He said it because what He was really saying is: The Father wants sincerity and worship "truly from the heart." Things of the spirit are just as real as things of the physical, only invisible. We see the evidence of where the spiritual goes but we cannot see things of the spirit.
Look at one of the verses in the Bible that talks about the fruit of the Spirit.
- Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
All very real and all very invisible.
These are good things that benefit everyone. When received or given, they bless. Consider the opposites. They do not build up or produce life.
For all of us, "our actions" are "the fruit" of our choices. For the Holy Spirit, He is pure and good and can only be good. Does it mean that He does not hate evil or bring about tough justice? He does whatever He does, from being good. And He wants us to do the same, making our decisions daily from the good place of our born-again spirits under the direction of the Holy Spirit. If we are walking with Him daily as our Lord and Guide, our actions will be life-producing in blessing us, others and Father God. Good choices empower heaven to work.
Look at some of these invisible, good attributes of the Spirit (good fruit).
Peacefulness, being joyful/happy, mature, orderly, pure, nice, courteous, encouraging, hopeful, loving & thankful, worshipful to God, having self-control & patience, good tempered, not irritable, having righteousness, being good, kind, gentle gracious and not critical of others, forgiving and not keeping records of others wrongs, respectful, considerate, tenderhearted and meek, humble, truthful, has integrity & honor, dignity, has faith (trusts in God) and is faithful to Him, dependable, is courageous, determined and enduring, generous, thoughtful and not self-serving, helps those in need, stands in the gap for those struggling or unable to stand, productive, righteous jealousy, having wisdom, knowledge, discernment, understanding, common sense, righteous anger when applicable.
All these types of fruit are edifying for us and those around us and give glory to the Father. Sometimes we have to take stands against corruption and ugliness, but even in those times, it is edifying.
In contrast, look at some of these invisible bad attributes of the flesh (bad fruit).
Pride, cruelty, harshness, mean, unloving, ungracious, unkind, having unrighteous anger, impatience, bitterness, rage, grudge-holding, record-keeping of wrongs, rude/quarrelsome, hateful, lovers of strife, discord and hostility, murderous, rebellious, hatred of authority, disrespectful, blasphemous, unrighteous jealousy, prideful, evil, ill-natured in letting the carnal nature have its way, self-serving, narcissistic, lack of self control, addictive to substances such as drugs and alcohol, wild revelries and parties, gluttonous, covetousness, envious, lying, cheating, corrupt, chaotic, greedy, power-hungry, idolatry, being involved in fortune-telling, astrology, witchcraft, sorcery, is unfaithful, not respectful of God, lustful, lewdness, depravity, fornication, sexually immoral, adulterous, homosexual, perverted, impurity, stupidity, careless, slothfulness and foolishness
All these kinds of fruit are not edifying for anyone. This kind of fruit are "the works of the flesh" and are self-gratifying, hurtful and destructive to the both the doer and any recipients involved. Not only does this evil displease the Lord, but in choosing such direction, it opens the door to empowering evil instead of good. Just as right choices empower God to work; wrong choices empower the dark side to work. Some people pray for God to work and yet empower evil to work by choosing things like unforgiveness and prejudice. Making evil choices (disobedience to God) empowers the devil to cause more hurt and more ugly from his bags of tricks.
The works (fruit) of the flesh are not only negative and destructive but also addictive. Gratifying the evil nature is a never ending cycle; the more it gets, the more it wants and the evil nature always wants more. What seems right to the worldly nature is always in direct conflict with the born-again spiritual nature. If the "evil nature" is allowed to "dominate," it will do its best to crush all that is good. For certain, it is destructive to the spirit-person but the damage and hurt does not stop there. In the long run, it is also destructive to the physical person. Bad habits are destructive to physical health all along the way and also to the end.
Worst of all though, listening to evil (our own carnal nature or the devil) separates us from God and makes it harder and harder to hear His voice. There is no 'life' on that road, while we are alive on earth or for all eternity.
The choices we make all day, every day are important.
We can choose for good or bad. We can allow our heavenly Father to lead us by His Spirit. He empowers us to do right. He knows when to turn and at what speed. Sometimes our choices have echoes far and wide. Why not let God be true Lord and do like Jesus and live to please the Father? If we abide in Him and He in us, this is everything!
- John 15:7-8 "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples."
As we abide and grow in the Lord, we are becoming more enlightened and are continuing in His plans for us.
We attain confidence in the ways of God. We learn to listen to the Holy Spirit and His guidance. Life will never be smooth sailing on this planet, but when Christ is the Captain, He knows how to take us through rough seas and He can even calm them.
Most people just move along through life without ever realizing the magnitude of our choices.
Our heavenly Father uses this “fruit synopsis” to help us be more aware of how life and death, good and evil work in our lives. We, in general, are going forward or we are going backwards. There really is no such thing as standing still. Every action we take, seen or unseen, is either life or death producing. We can choose life and give the Father the honor and glory He deserves. We can be a blessing to others. The Lord can bear much fruit through us. Or we can choose poorly, gratifying the flesh, which in so doing dishonors God and gives the enemy tools to work with.
We can be the planting of the Lord, allowing Father God to bless us and others through right choices. We can get forgiveness from the Lord for doing wrong, but the echoes and hurts sometimes still go on. Let's let our born-again spirits rule over our carnal natures and submit to the Holy Spirit. There is only goodness and life in choosing obedience to our Father. Let's abide in the Lord and have Him abide in us and glorify the Father. Let's go and bear much fruit by making life-producing, heaven-empowering choices under the direction of the Holy Spirit!