What kind of fruitfulness is acceptable to God?

We find an interesting contrast between Hosea 10 and Colossians 1 about fruitfulness.

In Hosea 10:1 the people of Israel are condemned for being an empty vine and only bringing forth fruit unto themselves. Unfortunately, the words of the prophet had no effect; the people were in the same state at the time of Christ. We see this in Matthew 21:19 in the parable of the fig tree (a symbol of Israel), which Christ cursed due to its lack of fruit. Christ’s words in his discourse on the mount also highlight Israel’s obsession with producing fruit purely for their own personal satisfaction. For instance, look at the words of Matthew 6: 1-5, where we see that their works were all about elevating themselves in the eyes of men.

Before we look at the contrast in Colossians 1, let’s remind ourselves how important this concept of fruitfulness is to our Heavenly Father. Right back in the beginning, in Genesis 1, God tells us on Day 3 that the earth brought forth fruit. In the parable of these days of creation we see how God wishes us to move from darkness to His light (day 1), to separate ourselves from the things on the earth (Day 2), and thereby bring forth fruit unto Him (Day 3). Again, on Day 6, in verse 28, man is told to be fruitful.

Unfortunately, as we all know, Eve partook of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Why? Not to bring forth fruit to God, but for her own selfish desires so that she might be wise. Thus, she set the pattern that Israel were still following thousands of years later. In Genesis 4, Cain, Eve’s son, though he offered to God the fruit of the ground that he had brought forth, it again just represented the work of his own hands, and not the fruit God required as sacrifice.

So, what is different in Colossians 1? We find there that we are called upon to fulfil the allegory of Genesis 1. In verse 5 the apostle states, “For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of truth of the gospel; Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit as it does also in you”. Also in verse 10, “That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work”. In Christ, we are called to be fruitful to God.

Before we look more closely at what this fruitfulness is exactly, let’s look at just how common this idea of fruitfulness is in the New Testament. Take the time to read the following verses:

• Matthew 7: 15-20
• John 15: 1-8
• Matthew 4: 7,8
• Romans 6: 21,22
• Romans 7: 4,5
• Ephesians 5:9
• Hebrews 12:1
• James 3:18

Of course, the verse everyone turns to when it comes to the idea of being fruitful is Galatians 5, where we read in verse 22 that “the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meek, temperance”.

So, what are the lessons for us in all of this. The key thing is that we need to learn the exhortation from Genesis 3 and Hosea 10, and make sure that we are not just bringing forth fruit for ourselves. It is too easy to see Galatians 5:22 as a ‘self-improvement’ exercise. We can so easily work through the list of spiritual fruit, applying our willpower to getting better at each one, and ticking them off once we have reached a suitable level of proficiency in our own eyes.

However, in God’s infinite wisdom, He has embedded in the very allegory of fruit the lesson He wants us to learn. Think about it for a minute: fruit is of no use to the plant or tree on which it grows. In fact, generally, a plant will sacrifice energy for its own growth in order to bear fruit. Any gardener will tell you that the way to help a fruit tree or vine get well established is to remove the fruit for the first few years so the plant can put that energy into its own growth instead. The fruit is only useful for two things: It can bring forth new life if it falls to the ground, or can sustain others if eaten.

The true fruit of the spirit has nothing to do with self. It is all about saving others. It is the atonement at work in our lives. Christ came to save us. Our focus, likewise, should not be on saving ourselves, but on saving others. The parable of judgment in Matthew 25:31–46 gives a clear indication of this. No time is spent examining the personal qualities of the two groups. The focus is all about what each has done in the service of others — or not done.

Thinking about Galatians 5:22 again. As I said, we can try and develop these characteristics by the application of our own effort, but this doesn’t work. These characteristics are the by-product of the spirit of self-sacrifice working in our lives. As it says in Galatians 6:9-10, “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men”.

Here then is a paradox that, in giving our own life for others, we will find life. We see this nowhere more graphically than on the cross. When they taunted, “He saved others, himself he cannot save”, they could not comprehend that in submitting to death for their sake the Lord, he would inherit eternal life.

In Proverbs 11: 30-31 it reads “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he that winneth souls is wise. Behold the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth”. If we follow our Lord’s example and bring forth fruit to help our fellow-servants, then we will be those trees spoken of in Revelation 22, bringing forth fruit, whose leaves are for the healing of the nations!