Sunday, May 31, 2020
One definition of fruit is “the sweet and fleshy product of a tree or other plant that contains seed and can be eaten as food.” This is a wonderful way to describe the effect of the Holy Spirit’s presence in the lives and hearts of Christians who are serious about following Jesus.
FIRSTFRUIT
In fact, Paul tells us that we have the “firstfruits of the Spirit” (Romans 8:23); that Jesus was “the firstfruit” of the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:20) as we await His return to become His firstfruits of the resurrection along with everyone else that belong to Him (1 Corinthians 15:23). In 2 Thessalonians 2:13 Paul tells his audience that “God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.” James echoes this insight as well in James 1:18 as he describes us as “a kind of firstfruits of all He created.”
ALREADY…BUT NOT YET LIFESTYLE
This ‘Already…But Not Yet’ Lifestyle is both fruitful evidence of the Spirit’s work in our lives and it the vehicle through which the Gospel’s seed is planted in the hearts of others to reproduce itself. So, it should not be surprising that when Paul talks about “the fruits of the Spirit” he is talking about the evidence of God’s working in our lives that is easily digestible and seed bearing.
FRUIT MULTIPLIES
Even as the Spirit begins to manifest itself in our own lives, it does so with a view to one-day bringing us out of the world of flesh, death and decay. At the same time, the fruit of our lives is an appeal to others to eat, enjoy and to multiply.
How cool!
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