By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. | John 15:8–11
On Sunday, we started our new sermon series on the Fruit of the Spirit. In the sermon, we looked at Galatians 5, to draw out what spiritual fruit is and what it does. From the text, we wrote a five-part definition of the fruit of the Spirit:
- they are the way God leads His people and protects them from the destructive results of following their own fleshly desires.
- they are the means of sanctification.
- they are the product of sanctification.
- they are the lens by which we view all of the options of the world.
- they assist us in separating the good that God designed into us from the sin that has corrupted.
One of the difficulties in tying yourself to a text (and a roughly 45 minute sermon) is that some details get left on the cutting room floor. Which is to say, while these five things are a robust description of what the Spiritual fruit do, it is by no means exhaustive. One of the amazing things about having a sovereign God, is that nothing in this world is ever limited. The fruit of the Spirit can accomplish what God states, as well as other outcomes that God does not tell us about. Each and every action He calls us to has infinite possibilities.
In this case, I want to point to another stated use of the spiritual fruit that we simply did not cover: the role of the fruit in our witness. As we bear the fruit of righteousness, we prove to be disciples, as Jesus says above in John 15. He goes even further in the Sermon on the Mount, when he says:
In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. | Matthew 5:16
Our good fruit is not just part of our sanctification and our assurance, it is also a part of how we declare the glory of God. It is not just that God uses our good fruit to reflect His goodness, but as He produces powerful fruit from our weakness, He reveals the work of the Spirit in us. For a dead tree to produce good fruit requires life to be given to it. As we act as people given life and freed from the bondage of sin, we show clearly that there is a life-giving Spirit at work! Our good works become a reason for people to trust in the truth of the gospel.
This is just one more reason why we can trust in God’s way, seeing that He uses even our limited efforts for our good and His glory.