We’re going through Paul’s letter to the Colossian church. In my last post we saw that Paul was praying for them. He wanted these people to be filled with God’s knowledge, wisdom, and understanding.
Now he continues with that thought.
And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God…
Colossians 1:10 NIV
This is a very interesting section of Scripture. It tells us to walk worthy of the Lord. That should be the desire of every Christian. Also, we should want to please the Lord.
Sometimes we’re given the idea that God is pleased with all of His children. However, that’s not the case. Being pleased is an emotional response to something a person does. The Bible talks about the fact that we could grieve the Lord. That’s the opposite of pleasing.
We should desire to bring enjoyment to the Lord. So, how does Paul describe this worthy and pleasing way of life? He starts by saying that it involves bearing fruit in what we do.
Paul emphasizes the fruit throughout his writings. He explains exactly what they are in his letter to the Galatian church.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23
This is one of the most popular passages with many Christians. Unfortunately, many believers have no clue what this section is actually saying.
What are fruit? Fruit are those yummy balls of sweet goodness that hang from various kinds of trees. How do they get there? Does the tree have to sweat and fret and work hard to push them out? Does a tree try and fail and get frustrated and try again to do better?
Of course not! Fruit are a natural result of being an apple tree. They are produced simply because the tree is healthy, and has access to everything it needs (air, minerals, water, and sunshine).
This is something that many Christians miss. They think that producing the fruit of the spirit only comes by hard work and a lot of will-power. That’s not what God intended. The fruit mentioned here will not be produced by reading the Bible or going to church. They will not even come by will power or guilt. These things are the fruit of the SPIRIT.
The fruit of the spirit are the natural product of a life lived in the realm of the spirit. As our spiritual relationship with the Lord grows, then so will the fruit. They will not be from our strength.
As a matter of fact, if you understand what these different fruits are, then you’ll know that you can’t fake them. You can’t be producing them on a habitual basis without the power of the Holy Spirit working in you.
That’s why Paul goes on in the Colossian verse, to say, he wants them to grow in their knowledge of God. It’s time spent in the spirit that gives us the ability to know God. I’m not saying we know about God, but a first-hand personal knowledge of the Lord.
The closer we get to God, the more we know Him, the greater the amount of fruit we’ll see in our lives.
Question: What’s the evidence of godly fruit seen in your life?
© 2023 Nick Zaccardi
The Spirit and the Word 