Tend The Tree

We are starting a new series on the fruit of the Spirit. Over the next little while we will look at each of the nine fruits. Or, is there only one fruit? We will come back to that but today we will look at the context. We cannot understand the fruit of the Spirit without looking at the context.

READ Galatians 5:13-26.

The fruit of the Spirit consists of some really nice things, but they occur in the context of some really horrible things. We have fruit of the Spirit and the works of “the flesh”. Paul uses “the flesh” to refer to our natural desires. Some translations use the term “sinful natures” instead of flesh. The flesh wants one thing but the Holy Spirit wants the opposite. They are in conflict with one another. There is a war going on, and it matters who wins. V.21: those who gratify the desires of the sinful nature will not inherit the Kingdom of God. This is a salvation issue! And it is a bit confronting. Our natures are sinful. At our core, we are naturally anti-God. We want the opposite of what the Holy Spirit wants.

These two lists are polar opposites, and yet we have a foot in both camps. The lefthand side is true of us and the righthand side is true of us (hopefully). We are caught up in that battle. Paul personally understood that battle but he also knew that there is a solution. This passage is about the solution.

Most of the time, we cover our sinfulness with a veneer of decency. We can perhaps work hard and be kind and gentle, but sometimes, that veneer is removed and we see our real natures. And sometimes we put our real natures on full display.

How many of us watched the Olympic games opening ceremony? How many have heard of the controversy? The outrage centres on a drag queen, and transgender, performance that parodied the Last Supper and included sexually suggestive poses and some nudity. Why? Why would you take that moment when the eyes of the world are on you, to mock Jesus and His followers?

We saw the veneer being removed and true human nature revealed – depravity celebrated.

The report of the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care has revealed heart-breaking abuse of people in institutions that should have cared for them - including faith-based institutions. Again, we realise that strip away the veneer and underneath there is some shocking evil.

Those of us who are honest know that that is also true of us. There are things about my past and about my present that I am deeply ashamed of. My natural self desires some things that are very ungodly.

Paul groups these 15 works of the flesh into categories. Sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery are all related to sex. Sex is one of the main areas where human beings choose to defy God.

Idolatry and witchcraft are both spiritual: making other things more important in our lives than God is, and using spiritual forces to control other people and events. Self-centred, distorted, ungodly spirituality.

The third category is all about relationships; how we treat other people: hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, and envy. In other words, being nasty. Human nature is all about me. I want what I want and if anyone stands in my way, I will lash out and hurt.

Drunkenness and orgies related to sexual depravity and to idolatry. Paul might also be referring to drunkenness and sexual immorality in the context of pagan worship.

Our sinful natures are self-centred. I will do what I want to do sexually; I will worship what I want to worship and I will use it to control other people; I want what I want and if I don’t get it I will hurt you.

Verse 21 again: I warn you as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

That is the grim reality. That is “the human condition”. And it is true. The acts of the flesh are obvious. Watch the news any night and you will see human sinful on display. But – and this is the good news – what the passage says is that there is an alternative. V.22 starts with “but”. Thank God for that!

Over the next few weeks, we will look at the individual attributes of the fruit of the Spirit. Today I want to make some introductory comments to set the scene.

1. “Fruit” doesn’t mean apples and pears; it means results

It is common for materials about the fruit of the Spirit to include graphics of apples, peaches, bananas and grapes. There is some value in that. The metaphor of fruit is helpful but really all it means is the result. We talk about the fruit of our labours. We do not mean literal fruit; we mean the results.

Do you know the One New Zealand advertisement that starts with a young man sitting in a field in the Scottish Highlands, talking to a cow? We then go back in time to see him sitting in a spa pool and his father says to him, “Son, biologically speaking, you are not actually in fact the fruit of our loins”.

That ad is also, by the way, about sexual immorality it would seem, but when it talks about “the fruit of our loins” it is not talking about fruit. I do not imagine his mother giving birth to a pineapple.

The fruit of the Spirit means the result of the Spirit, or “the Holy Spirit produces”. If the Holy Spirit is in our lives, He will change us. The Holy Spirit produces love, joy, peace, etc..

2. The fruit of the Spirit is Christ-like character

The Holy Spirit will refine our character, our inner selves – making us more like Jesus. Jesus is loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle and self-controlled. In fact, if we want to understand what any one of them means, we can look to Jesus. His life illustrates each aspect of the fruit.

3. The fruit reveals the health of the tree

Matthew 7:15-20

“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

We can tell the character of a person by observing what he/she does and says. By their fruit you will know them. When we see sexual immorality, or anger and divisiveness, we know what sort of person that is. When we see gentleness and kindness, we see the results of the Holy Spirit.

In John 13;34-35, Jesus said, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another”. Our natural inclinations are not so good, so love is a sign that we have chosen to follow Jesus.

4. There is only one fruit of the Spirit

The passage says, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace etc., not “the fruits of the Spirit are”. The grammar seems odd, but it makes sense. The result of the Spirit is growth in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. The Holy Spirit produces Christ-like character. We cannot choose from different fruits. “I choose joy. I am not interested in patience.”

5. The fruit of the Spirit is the fruit of the Spirit

The fruit of the Spirit is the result of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It is not the result of our New Year’s resolutions or our determination to do better.

In this passage, there is no command to love or to be patient or be kind. What are we told to do? The command in v.16 is “walk by the Spirit”. That is the command: walk by the Spirit.

If we do that, the promise is, “Walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh”. On the contrary, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Wow, walk by the Spirit and we will become Christ-like people!

Paul does not tell us to work feverishly producing fruit; he tells us to walk in the Spirit and the Spirit will produce the fruit. In other words, our focus should be on our spiritual lives. If we look after the tree, the fruit will take care of itself. If we deepen our walk by the Spirit, He will produce the fruit.

What does it mean to walk in the Spirit? Look at the other phrases Paul uses here:

• V.16 – walk by the Spirit

• V.18 – be led by the Spirit

• V.25 – live by the Spirit

• V.25 – keep in step with the Spirit

To walk by the Spirit means to live in a close relationship with the Spirit of God, talking to Him, listening to Him, reading the Bible, praying, obeying Him, being led by Him, drawing strength from Him, being encouraged by Him. Keeping in step with the Spirit means being synchronised with the Holy Spirit. If He takes a step, we take a step. If He stops, we stop and wait until He moves again. If He runs, we run. It means that we look to the Holy Spirit, and we act in response to what He does, in sync with Him.

Walking by the Spirit is exactly the same as what Jesus meant when He said “Abide in me” – living in a continuous relationship with Jesus. Interestingly, Jesus said, “Abide in me and you will bear much fruit”.

That sounds simple. We know it is not. There is a battle. Our sinful natures pull us in one direction while the Holy Spirit is urging us in the other direction. Sometimes the sinful nature wins and we are very grateful that God is forgiving. We need God’s forgiveness. But this passage says that as we walk by the Spirit, we change. When we walk by the Spirit, He produces in us Christ-likeness: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Those beautiful character attributes are the fruit of the Spirit and therefore the key is allowing the Holy Spirit to be central in our lives. If we tend the tree, the fruit will grow. If we allow the Holy Spirit to be central in our lives, the result will be love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. If you want to be more like Jesus, nurture your spiritual life; walk by the Spirit.

French police are now investigating complaints that the performers have had death threats and online abuse. Does that align with the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace…? What will the world now think of Christians? Christians are, apparently, angry and nasty. Sometimes the veneer is self-righteous outrage, but the same horrible natural desires lurk underneath. I wonder if there are some other possible responses.

• Weeping for France just like Jesus wept over Jerusalem. Would heart-break rather than anger be the Christ-like response?

• Praying for the people who were part of that scene. Have we done that? Jesus prayed for the forgiveness of those who killed Him and He taught us to pray for our enemies.

• Giving money to Christian missions working in France because we want to see France transformed by the gospel. Jesus said the harvest is plentiful but the labourers are few.

• Recommitting ourselves to sharing that Good News in our own country because we are no better. People here also need to hear about Jesus and that is up to us.

Maybe one response is to recognise our need for deep Holy Spirit transformation. How will people know that we are disciples of Jesus? By our love for one another. Jesus said that if we bear much fruit we show ourselves to be His disciples (John 15:8). Deep transformation of our characters is possible. God says, “Walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” The Holy Spirit produces Christ-likeness, therefore walk by the Holy Spirit.

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