The Sixtyfold Bearing of the Fruit of the Spirit

We have discussed previously the fruit of the Spirit, the love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, and self-control that are created in us as we abide in the Spirit of God.

We have mentioned also the abolishing of the guilt, tendencies, and effects of the sins that plague us, the adultery, impurity, indecency, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousy, selfishness, dissension and arguing, sectarianism and party loyalty, envying, carousing, drunkenness, and every other deed of our flesh.

When we first are saved we show early signs of self-control and of the holy and righteous nature of the Lord Jesus Christ who has saved us. It is in the second area of redemption, that of sanctification, that the program of demolishing sin and creating righteousness, holiness, and obedience becomes intense.

Because we are being made the "temple of God" (II Corinthians 6:16), and because God has promised to receive us and be a Father to us, we are to be made perfect in holiness in the fear of God.

Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. (II Corinthians 7:1)

Because we possess "these promises" and because we "fear God" we are to cleanse ourselves. We are to cleanse ourselves from all filthiness, not only of our flesh but of our spirit as well.

God has given us His Word in the Scriptures and by personal revelation, speaking to our hearts and minds on appropriate occasions. He has given us the body and blood of His dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He has sent down to us His Holy Spirit.

By these three Divine virtues, which taken together are the grace of God under the new covenant, we are to cleanse ourselves from the moral filth of our actions, words, motives, and imaginations.

If we do not utilize the three elements of the grace of God to cleanse ourselves we have received the grace of God in vain.

We have the hope of seeing Jesus as He is when He appears. If we really possess this hope, and are not just mentally agreeing with the doctrine of His appearing, we indeed will purify our behavior.

And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. (I John 3:3)

Hebrews, James, and First John, as well as the remainder of the books written by the early Apostles, teach us that the main activity of the Christian discipleship is the pursuit of godly behavior—the perfecting of "holiness in the fear of God."

And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. (I John 2:3)

The only way by which we can be sure that we know Christ is by keeping His commandments. His commandments are found in His words in the Gospel accounts. He commands us to be perfect in love toward God and toward one another.

The books of the New Testament expand on the teaching of Christ. They exhort us to cast out the unfruitful works of darkness and to put on the holiness, righteousness, and purity of the Lord Jesus Christ. The grace of God teaches us to deny the lusts of the world and to live soberly, righteously, and in a godly manner in the present age. We are to keep ourselves unspotted by the uncleannesses of the world.

He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. (I John 2:4)

If we are not increasing in holiness of conduct and in the knowledge of the Lord each day, our faith in Christ is not affecting us as the Lord desires. James teaches us that faith without works is dead. The purpose of the grace of God is to keep us acceptable to God while we are being made perfect in holiness.

If we are not being strengthened in holy and righteous living, all we possess is a head belief in Christ. This kind of "acceptance" of Christ will not save us in the Day of the Lord.

The idea of the love of God being perfected in us as the result of our keeping the Word of Christ is a central concept of the new covenant.

The growth of the truth in us.

But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. (I John 2:5)

We find this truth in John 14:23 and II Peter 1:19. The thought is that we are to adhere, by the wisdom and enabling power of the Holy Spirit, to the teachings of Christ.

After a period of conscientious discipleship we discover that the law of the Spirit is assuming control in us.

We still walk in obedience to the teachings of Christ. In addition there is a sense of the developing of the Presence of Christ in us.

The perfecting of the love of God in us is the highest level of the working of the new covenant. The external Word of Christ keeps us on the right path until the Nature of Christ has been created in us.

As soon as the Nature of Christ has been formed in us we behave righteously by nature. There is a diminishing need for the external guidelines. This is the fulfillment of the new covenant.

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. (Hebrews 8:10,11)

We have also a more sure word of prophecy [the Scriptures]; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: (II Peter 1:19)

For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:13)

We have referred to this inner guidance as the fulfillment of the fourth day of creation. Prior to the time of inner revelation we have in us an empty heaven, to speak in a figure. Yet we do show the "grass" and the "fruit trees," symbolizing the fact that the work of the first three days of creation has brought forth some signs of Christ in us.

On the fourth day we have the "sun, moon, and stars" created in our "firmament." The purpose of these bodies is to "give light on the earth" and to "rule over the day and over the night."

As Christ is being formed in us we are able to discern between light and darkness. We are increasingly able to perceive the direction and timing of God's will for us and we become aware of the "signs and seasons" of the Lord Jesus.

Before we gain proficiency in being able to respond correctly to the inner guidance of the Spirit of God we are to govern our conduct under the discipline of the New Testament writings. Then, as we cooperate with the Holy Spirit in the creating of Christ in us, we begin to receive inner help in our attempts to please God.

We never, never are to forsake daily meditation in the Scriptures—Old and New Testaments. But now we are receiving assistance from Christ who is being formed in us.

We are not to despair. Sometimes we fall into the snare of attempting to be holy in our own strength and we strive fretfully in confusion. This is not the victorious Christian discipleship. It is well for a person in this condition to relax a bit and realize he is being saved by Divine grace and not by his own efforts.

There is a method of working together with the Holy Spirit that will bring about the desired result of holiness—a method that is of God's grace, that works by faith, and that allows the believer to rest joyfully in the love of God. This is the true grace of God.

If we are abiding in the true grace of God there will be a steady growth of righteousness, holiness, and obedience in our life. If, however, there is no change in our behavior over a period of time but we are continuing to live as a worldly person, the grace of God is not at work in our life. It is as simple as that.

The Law of Moses gave us light, but that light was ineffective because an accompanying grace was not extended so we could keep the Law. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ is more fruitful than the Law of Moses because now we possess the virtue of God that enables us to resist sin and to choose to obey righteousness.

He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked. (I John 2:6)

Here is one of the most extraordinary directives of the Bible. We are to walk in holiness as Jesus walked. This is not merely difficult, it is impossible.

God never commands us to perform the impossible in order to frustrate us. When the Holy Spirit gives us such a word by His Apostle we are to obey it.

What, then, are we to do? If we mock the commandment because of the impossibility of its demands, we are sitting in the seat of the scornful (Psalms One) and we will never become the Lord's tree of life.

The expected approach to such a command is to give God glory, being persuaded that if He has commanded us to walk as Christ walked He will make it possible for us to do so.

It is our responsibility to refrain from staggering at the promise of God through unbelief and to present ourselves every day in the most scrupulous and diligent manner possible, expecting the Holy Spirit to perform in us that which He spoke by the pen of the Apostle John.

But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes. (I John 2:11)

Whether or not we are a Christian, if we are walking in hatred toward another person we are walking in the darkness of Satan.

There are at least five major branches of demon-inspired wickedness, and many of the sins that we commit can be categorized under one of these five: lust, murder, idolatry, reveling, and sorcery.

One of the main purposes of the Holy Spirit in the present age is to abolish, in the Body of Christ, every trace of the guilt, tendencies, and effects of lust, murder, idolatry, reveling, and sorcery. In the place of these five the Holy Spirit is creating the fruit of the Spirit.

If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him. (I John 2:29)

The holy and righteous fruit of the Spirit in us is the test of true Christianity. If we are righteous we have been born of Christ. If we are behaving unrighteously there is part of our personality that still is in the bondage of the devil.

For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. (I John 5:4)

If we keep our faith in Christ strong, the Divine virtue that has been given us will begin to overthrow the power in us that keeps us in rebellion against the Lord. If we allow our faith in Christ's Word to become weak we will not be able to overcome the evil influences of the world, Satan, and our own flesh and self-will.

There is a law in the physical universe that operates such that the force of gravity decreases as we move away from the center of a mass. The farther we are from the earth the less we weigh. When we are far enough away our weight (attraction to the center of the earth) is reduced nearly to zero.

So it is that as we fight our way toward the good atmosphere of the Holy Spirit our attraction toward the world lessens. If we keep pressing forward we begin to come under the "gravitational influence" of Christ. We begin to "fall upward" toward God instead of downward toward the lusts of the flesh and soul.

The closer we come to Christ the stronger the pull of Christ is on us and the weaker the pull of the world becomes. There is hope. The struggle against the world will not go on forever.

We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not. (I John 5:18)

The proof we have been born of God is that we are learning not to sin. If we have been born of God we are keeping ourselves—that is, we are endeavoring diligently to overcome the world through the grace of Christ. We are continuing to walk carefully in the Spirit of God and are not allowing Satan to rule us through the weaknesses of our flesh.

It is our cooperation with the Holy Spirit that makes it possible for us to overcome the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.

More fruit: the result of pruning.

Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. (John 15:2)

Every level of redemption has places of attainment. There is a security and the deep sense of satisfaction that we have done God's will. His blessing has made us rich and He has added no sorrow with it. Our fruit extends into many places, and ordinarily we have friends and a certain amount of comfort in our circumstances.

How we enjoy the place of achievement in the Lord! There may be much evidence of the blessing of God on our life. Soon, without our realizing it, much "growth" takes place that is not actually part of the fruit desired by the heavenly "Farmer."

Then we come to the time of pruning. The only Christians who believe that pruning is a time of rejoicing are the Christians who have never been pruned. The pruning knife of the Lord is sharp. We do not enjoy it.

Often the knife of the Lord is in the form of people and circumstances that come to us and deprive us of blessings we hold to be of value and necessary to our well-being. Unless we are prayerful we may begin to rage against the people and circumstances that the Lord is using to prune us.

The temptation to blame people, circumstances, or God for our misfortunes can be a powerful test of our consecration to the Lord. One of the major signs that we are growing in the Lord is the refusal to blame anyone or anything for our problems. The mature saint looks to God alone for the easing of his pain.

No one can possibly harm the individual who is walking conscientiously before the Lord. The Lord will permit Satan or people to afflict us, to prune us, to unwrap the graveclothes of sin and self-will. But then we go to the Lord for the solution. We are not to strive against people, becoming bitter and hateful. All things and incidents will work together for our good if we look only to the Lord for our safety and comfort.

The result of the pruning is that we lose much that is visible and "desirable" in our life. Our roots are never pruned. It is the branches that are cut back after the fruit has been picked.

We do not want to lose our "branches," our associations, our reputation, our identity, our fame, our money, our opportunities for ministry, our pleasures, our relationships with people, our possessions—all that go together to make up the cozy nest in which we have been resting so securely and comfortably.

God loves us dearly but He never is sentimental toward us. He can cut back quickly and heavily with seeming unconcern for our howling. Whenever we doubt the love of God we need only to think about the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. Then our perspective is restored concerning the attitude and intentions of God toward us.

People, circumstances, and evil spirits never are the primary cause of our problems provided we are following the Lord Jesus. Every person, every circumstance, and every evil spirit without exception is working to conform us to the image of God's Son. It may take us quite a while before we become assured of that fact.

One of the greatest victories we achieve in the wilderness is the ability to trust the love, wisdom, and control of God concerning the smallest of the circumstances that touch us.

It is eternally true. There is not a word spoken to or about us that is not under the strict control of the Lord, when we are following after Christ.

All things, without exception, are working together for our good when we love God and are being changed into the image of Christ. If you can receive the word all as meaning every detail of your circumstances you are an overcomer. You possess faith and trust in Christ. You are conquering Satan by the word of your testimony.

To the believer who is undergoing pruning we say, "Keep on trusting the Lord. Remain steadfast. God understands your turmoil and grief. He has not forsaken you. The more severely He prunes, the more confidence He is revealing in your ability to endure the cutting and the more fruit you will bring forth."

Every individual for whom an outstanding destiny has been prepared will first be made barren, will experience the temporary hiding of God's Face, and will experience many sorrows and frustrations. Consider the patriarch Joseph!

Pruning is not a pleasurable experience. It is far from that. But pruning is necessary. The Father never causes a creature to suffer without a purpose. To take away the rights of a person without cause is not the way of God. He prunes with our greater good in mind. Can we trust Him for that?

Have unswerving faith in the written Word. Be assured that God loves you and that He is setting you free from slavery to things, relationships with people, and circumstances. Nothing of eternal value will be lost—not the least particle. Everything that is returned to you after the pruning knife has accomplished its work will be yours for eternity because it has been raised again from the dead.

After a branch in Christ has borne fruit it is pruned so that it may bring forth more fruit. Perhaps you are at that point. You are saved and there has been a fair amount of fruit in your life. You have been blessed on every side, like the patriarch Job. You are a godly person and your joy in life is to serve the Lord Jesus.

Unaccountably, things are beginning to become troublesome. You have blamed people, your situation, and even yourself for your inability to keep matters as peaceful as before. Can it be that the Lord is pruning you? If such is the case, arm yourself to suffer in the flesh. Just remember, there is light at the end of the tunnel no matter how long and dark your tunnel may be.

Keep on serving the Lord. Keep your confidence in Christ. As far as possible, live at peace with all people.

You day of victory will come. When your blessing is restored you will bear fruit of a superior quality and greater quantity. God is bringing into being a larger area of joy for you. Have faith in His love and you will come forth victoriously, as Job did, with everything of value given back to you in abundance.

Job's first family was killed, they were not restored to live with Job on the earth. God gave Job another family. We must trust in the love and goodness of God for this kind of circumstance. We are persuaded that He knows what is best for us.

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