What Is the Fruit?

What Is the Fruit?

“But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit unto sanctification, and the end, everlasting life.” Rom. 6:22.

Here we see that sanctification is the fruit, not the work. Everything depends on the fruit. It is the fruit that is of significance.

First we must be set free from sin so we can serve God. What sin is has been revealed to us by the Ten Commandments. The world knows what sin is, and they know you are sinning when you are angry. You can end up in some difficult situations as a doorkeeper, and if you get angry, you will be a disgrace to the church. Then you cannot be used as a doorkeeper. You have to be set free from sin if you are to serve God, and once you have started serving God, you will have your fruit unto sanctification.

What is sanctification? It is finding your life—your human nature—and losing it, thus partaking of divine nature. 2 Pet. 1:4; Matt. 10:38-39. Paul asks the Corinthians: “Are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?” 1 Cor. 3:3-4. Our human nature manifests itself when we serve. The result will be division if we then do not understand to lose it. This had already begun in the church at Corinth, and it has been the norm throughout all the ages among religious people. There is no difficulty with those who sit quietly and don’t do anything, but the difficulties begin as soon as they start serving. They don’t begin to sin; not at all, for they do the best they know how. But they are not spiritual, they are mere men, and these “mere” men start colliding. Then they have opportunity to garner fruit from their work—sanctification—if they can see themselves and commit their lives into the death of Christ. However, there will be division if they are not sufficiently humble to do that.

Therefore division starts on the speaker’s platform, and the ones in the meeting hall take sides. But this is not how it went in Corinth because the leaders there were spiritual. If they wanted to have Cephas they also had to take Apollos and Paul, and the other way around.

When people think about the fruit of the Spirit, they think about certain works, such as being a member of a choir, holding meetings, handing out tracts, etc., but we don’t read anything about works when we read about the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, etc. Gal. 5:22. In 1 Corinthians 13 we read about those works that the entire religious world looks up to and admires; but those who do them are nothing if they don’t have love. In that case they haven’t received any fruit from their works. They are human and continue to behave like mere men.

It is great if a preacher has had a revival meeting and several people have been saved, but if the preacher leaves the meeting hall to catch the bus, and he gets impatient because the bus doesn’t come, then he is nothing. He does not have love. The work he does as an evangelist has not served him unto sanctification. We also see those who have been missionaries for many years being anxious for food and clothing. They are interested in earthly things and behave like mere men. They have not had any fruit from their work; they are nothing.

“God loves a cheerful giver.” The fruit of the Spirit is joy. It doesn’t help if you give away everything you possess if you are not cheerful when you do it. Then you are in bondage. You have to be cheerful if the work is to be a good work. “All things are pure to the pure,” and all works are good when you are good; but not a single work is good if you are evil.

The ministries vary, and our status here on earth is varied, but the fruit has to be sanctification. This is the same for all of us. “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus . . . .” And to the servants it is written, “For you serve the Lord Christ,” . . . “knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward . . . .” Col. 3:17-24.

No one gains an advantage over another by his works. The important thing is that we gain sanctification from our works, and this is where the stay-at-home mother has just as many opportunities as the evangelist. Through sanctification I become equipped to do works which I could not have done otherwise, and through sanctification the same works become a greater and greater blessing for the others.

Many people think of all kinds of things to do for God; others feel they are superfluous, for they don’t think they can do anything for God. Others, again, boast of doing this and that for God. Such people do not understand salvation in Christ. They have totally misunderstood life. They do not understand that it is not the work, but sanctification that is the fruit. They toil all life long, but they remain natural human beings; they behave like mere men.

God be praised who has given us faith to partake of divine nature and has given us this light that only a new creation avails anything. Gal. 6:15.