“God said …. BE FRUITFUL …”

This was the first POSITIVE command God gave to mankind. It was rendered impossible by REBELLION & DISOBEDIENCE through the deception of Eve by Satan and the wilful submission of Adam to the temptation of his wife. Being fruitful was rendered an impossibility until Christ the redeemer came, who restored the prospect. The second part of God’s command – and MULTIPLY – has been carried out all too effectively and with good and bad consequences. There are around three billon of us – some a blessing and some a great curse.

Jesus said, “If you abide in me and my word abides in you, you WILL bear much fruit.” Fruit bearing in life and Christian experience results from Christ’s life in us. That is the sap that flows through our spiritual blood vessels. So FRUIT is not the influence of our lives but of CHRIST’S viz. of His Character and Nature.

Recently a friend of mine denigrated himself and his ministry by comparing his own perceived success – a church of 1,500 people – with that of his son who succeeded him as pastor – 10,000 church attendees. I told him it had nothing to do with numbers and that his whole perception was wrong. When you compare on the basis of numbers there is always someone who will trump another. Yongii Cho, with his Buddism or the Mormons with their “Maroni ball only” or the Vatican with its idol worship. On these bases alone FRUITFULNESS can have nothing to with numbers or perceived influence. Fruitfulness relates to the degree of the CHARACTER of Christ seen in His followers.

Christ’s LIFE, NATURE and CHARACTER are instilled and worked out by the Holy Spirit whom the Lord gives to those who obey Him –

“Now the FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT is … Love, joy, peace, long differing, gentleness … etc… Against which THERE IS NO LAW … ”

And BTW it is not FRUITS (plural) but FRUIT singular, but that’s another TRUTH that we will look at later.

Love, Joy and. Peace in Jesus,