It is about fruit that gives life

NORSK
Three weeks ago I wrote that holiness is about reproduction,  and some days later about the dream about fruit in abundance. Both reflections point towards the great possibility and quality of the fruit Solomon describes:

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life
Proverbs 11:30

A tree of life is synonym with eternal life (1). The fruit of a life lived in intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit, is to communicate eternal life to others. Then we really start talking about producing ‘fruit in keeping with repentance’ (2).

I have met people who are like a “tree of life” in the world. 
Last week I had the honour of being present at the funeral of Pavel Ivanovitch Bukalov (picture). He was that kind of tree. In the large congregation of 2-300 people, many were a direct fruit of Pavel’s passion to see people saved. In addition I know many who today are spread all over the world, whom Pavel by God’s grace has led to eternal life and who looks upon him as their spiritual father.

More than ever the world needs people whose fruit is a tree of life.

‘Manna’ for today:

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life

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(1) Gen 3:24
(2) Matt 3:8

It is about being what he is

NORSK
It is interesting to notice that in the middle of the teaching about the vine, Jesus declared that he no longer calls his disciples servants, but friends (1). It is a result of the divine love, of which Jesus says: “Remain in my love!” (2)
This love is also the root of the fifth quality of the Fruit of the Spirit:

Kindness (3)

They who know me well, will also know that I strongly dislike kindness or friendliness that is not genuine. It is very evident in situations where I am a potential “customer”. Sellers are often “kind” to the extreme, and I am sure it is correct business-etiquette, but this method puts me off rather than on.

When Jesus spoke about peace, he said: “my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives” (4) I believe that the same could be said about all the other qualities of the fruit as well. “My kindness I give you – not as the world gives”. The kindness which he speaks about, comes from within. 

We notice it when we come to a church. Most churches have ushers or welcome-sergeants, who will receive people in a good way. You will sense when the kindness come from within, from the same source as all fruit.

And when we sense the fruit of the Spirit, we know that the Lord is near (5).

‘Manna’ for today:

The fruit of the Spirit brings Jesus near.

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(1) John 15:15
(2) John 15:9b
(3) The fruit of the Spirit is … kindness – Gal 5:22 The Norwegian translation of kindness is friendliness - this means that there connection between friend and friendliness is lost in translation. The same is true with (5) where the Norwegian translation is: "Let your friendliness be evident to all".
But it also confirms the "oneness" of the fruit of the Spirit with regard to the fact that the qualities are synonyms - meaning that you cannot have one without the other.
(4) John 14:27
(5) Phil 4:5

It is about fruit that gives inner tranquility

NORSK
Yesterday our corps officer, Captain Alexander Yacubovski, preached about the vine and the fruit of joy. He has more knowledge about the vine than I have, and that gave me new insight. He told that the vine has hormones that influence the growth, and some species depend upon the plant’s hormones being ‘stressed’ so that the fruit will get the right quality.

It is very interesting to keep this in mind when I now look at “peace”, which is the third quality of the fruit of the Spirit. Peace is often regarded as antidote to stress, but I was quite young when I discovered that the divine peace is different. Because when I was 16, I memorized this verse:

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
John 14:27

Still, I managed sometimes to give the wrong answer when people asked me how they could know what was the will of God: “Do what you have peace to do!”. It is more correct to say “Do that which make you uneasy!”. The uneasiness can be God’s way of stressing the branches of the vine so that the fruit of peace can grow when the disciple is doing his Master’s will.

Even in the stress of this world’s chaos, there can be a fruit of peace, like Magna and I experienced in the terrorist attack in Istanbul and made the journalist chose this heading on the article in the War Cry: “Peace in the midst of terror”.

God's children are called to bear the fruit of peace:

Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Matt 5:9

And the link between peace and holiness is very clear in the Bible:

Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.
Hebr 12:14

 ‘Manna’ for today:

Holiness is about a peace that gives inner tranquility

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(1) The fruit of the Spirit is ….peace – Gal 5:22

It is about a good tree

NORSK

Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.
Matt 12:33

I chose a good tree when I began to write about fruit and holiness, because I began with vine. Therefore, the fruit will resemble the tree. Jesus is the vine, thus the fruit will resemble him. In other words, it’s most prominent attribute will the most prominent attribute of God.

This verse has occurred earlier in the “well of holiness”, but once again, it nourishes me:

Whoever does not love does not know God,
because God is love.
1 John 4:8

It is no surprise that the fruit of the Spirit’s first attribute is love (1). It is no surprise that it is love that characterizes the testimony of Samuel Logan Brengle whom I have quoted many times. It is no surprise that it is love that Jesus describes as the “new commandment” (2). And it is no surprise that Juan Carlos Ortiz wrote his book “Disciple” which I read in my teens: “Love is the oxygen of God’s kingdom”. That is the reason why I can say that it is in him, in love, that I live, move and have my being (3).

‘Manna’ for today:

Holiness is about belonging to the right tree.

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(1) The fruit of the Spirit is love – Gal 5:22
(2) As I have loved you, so you must love one another. John 13:34b
(3) Acts 17:28

It is about durability

NORSK
Before I start to look closer at the qualities of the fruit of the Spirit, it is good to know something about its durability. 

Again, Jesus is very clear:

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.
John 15:16

It is a fruit that will last. That is contrary to the fruit of this world – whether we think concrete or abstract. Everything that is of the Kingdom is lasting, actually everlasting.

The verse that confirms the durability, does also state that if I want to be a disciple, I am appointed to bear fruit in the world. As previously outlined, this is not my product, but possible only through remaining in him, in the Vine. It is a fruit of his life, not of mine. The fruit of his life is eternal, the fruit of my life is temporary.

‘Manna’ for today:

Holiness is about fruit that will last!

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It is about glory

NORSK
It is many years since I first heard Heidi Baker preach. Her testimony made a strong impact, but it was her longing for “fresh fruit” to bring to the Father that I could identify with on the depth of my own longing. I often feel that the only fruit I have to bring is a dry raisin, while he deserves honour and glory through me bringing him abundance of fresh fruit – or grapes, which are the fruit in Jesus’ speech about the vine:

This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
John 15:8

When Isaiah prophesied about the outpouring of the Spirit, he saw this vision:

And the wilderness becomes a fruitful field,
And the fruitful field is counted as a forest.
Isa 32:15b

This is the ideal picture of a life in the Spirit, abundance of fruit to the glory of the Creator – because he rejoices when he sees abundance of all goodness. But the fruit is also pleasing to the people around us, and here is the apparent link to discipleship.

I really like that Jesus uses the verb “to be” my disciples. It shows that discipleship is an ongoing process, as is the fruit bearing and the life of holiness. It is a lifelong process. 

Unfortunately, lack of fruit can lead to “religious ingenuity” – which means that I try to create something that resembles fruit. It can be a nice piece of art. In the world of art we have the term “Still life”, which very often is a painting of a bowl of fruit. But even if this can be very beautiful, a painting or a picture can never substitute real life. Fruit bearing and discipleship are about life that springs from unity with the Holy Spirit. Everything else becomes religion.

‘Manna’ for today:

Holiness is about glorifying the Father by producing fruit

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It is about an absolute condition

NORSK
When the theme is holiness and fruit, it is good to establish an absolute. It is 100% logical, and even a child will soon learn that a picked flower or a broken branch will wither and die.

Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
John 15:4

Jesus speaks about the fruit of the Spirit and that kind of fruit is a result of the life that comes from the vine. The picture is likely to be one of the clearest in John’s gospel. It is impossible to misunderstand. Therefore there are no traces of the kind of questions I often find in the other recorded stories and dialogs in the gospel. This is pure education. Jesus is telling me that I cannot bear spiritual fruit on my own.

The previous verse gave a hint as how to preserve this unity with the vine. It is about the word. To remain in the Word is synonym to remain in him who is also the true vine. That is where I will be, because in that word is life. A life that is always fresh.

We often sing the hymn: “Abide with me!” - I believe that our Father in heaven sings the same hymn – to me, to us!

‘Manna’ for today:

It is about remaining in the vine.

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It is about purification

NORSK
All together, we have soon lived 4,5 years in Moldova. The country is known for its wine, and thus I should certainly have acquired more knowledge about maintenance of the vines, but my knowledge is limited to distance admiration of the beautiful fields of grapes of different species. Earlier in this series, I have mentioned the connection between spirit and wine (1), and between holiness and purification (2) which was the main focus for William Booth’s holiness-teaching (3).

Although I have no insight from the vineyards, I am able to understand what Jesus means when he says that the branches are "pure" when they become part of the stem and root of the vine:

You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.
John 15:3

In other words, there is nothing wrong with the starting point. The challenge is what kind of influence the branches will be exposed to along the way. It is now that the concept of having "part with him" is important. When I have "part with him", it immediately becomes apparent which characteristics in me that are ‘apart’ from him. Then the only solution is to give the gardener access. 

I have always seen a clear correlation between the story of the ‘vine and the pruning of the fresh branches’ and the ‘foot washing and Jesus discussion with Peter’ (4). I must have "part with Jesus" so that my life will bear more fruit. Although I am physically healthy, I need physical activity to stay healthy. The physical activity is a form of cleansing the body. To stay healthy with Jesus, I need to exercise with him.

Today 'manna':

Holiness is about an ongoing purification-exercise

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(1) See: e.g. Eph 5:18
(2) See: It is about purity
(3) See: William Booth’s book “Purity of heart”
(4) See: John 13:1-15

It is about the gardener

NORSK
When Jesus uses pictures from the agrarian culture of his time, I feel that I am on foreign soil. My fingers can be “multicoloured”, but the closest I come to have “green fingers” is when I on the rare occasions have to mow the grass. All the rest I leave to the specialist to whom I am happily married. I have no problem in understanding the picture, but I am glad that I do not have to prune a tree:

He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
John 15:2

Of course, I am able to see when a branch is completely withered and dead, but with regard to the pruning of a fresh branch so that it bears more fruit, I have nothing to contribute. Maybe that is the whole point?

In this picture I am the branch. The specialist is the gardener, and Jesus has already presented him as ‘my Father, the gardener’. A branch is not able to prune itself. It is the task of the specialist. My contribution to the process is to give him access. 

It is possible that I stretch the image a bit if I say that a branch can hide and try to make itself invisible to the gardener, but with a little imagination, I move to another 'vineyard'. I travel back to the Garden of Eden:

The two who were in the garden had no good fruits to show for when gardener came for an inspection: "… they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden." (1). The ‘branches’ that were supposed to carry good fruit had to hide among the trees because they had nothing to display, and God called out:

"Where are you?"

I think availability for God is a precondition for increasing the fertility in relation to the mission he has entrusted to the believers: Leading his lost children back to him through the production of fruit of the Spirit. Holiness is about being available for the gardener. Therefore, the 'manna' for today must be:

Here I am!

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(1) Gen 3:8b

It is about reproduction

NORSK
When I now have started on reflections linked to the combination ‘holiness and fruit’, memories from my first meeting with Terry Camsey in the late 80s come to mind. Both at that time and also later when I invited him to Norway to lecture on Church Growth, he had a focus that revived my thoughts.

He asked some simple questions:

“What is the purpose of the vine?”
The audience was quick to answer:
“To produce grapes!”
Terry continued:
“What is the purpose of the grape?”
Some hesitant reflection followed by several answers before Terry received the answer he wanted:
“To be the seed that produces a new tree!”

Terry then returned to his first question and concluded that the purpose of the vine is to produce new vines. The fruit is part of the strategy.

I do not think that it is a coincidence the Jesus’ last “I am”-saying was:

“I am the true vine”
John 15:1 

The purpose of the fruit that comes from the fact that I am a branch of that vine, is reproduction. The fruit should be attractive (1) so that the seeds spread all over. The physical and spiritual world reflect one another. It must be this way since both the physical and the spiritual have the same origin. To regard them as two separate worlds is heresy, and contradicts the concept of incarnation as God’s method of holiness (2).

The purpose of the fruit of a holy life is to lead people to Jesus. In other words reproduction. Then it is good to know that the “Father is the gardener”.

‘Manna’ for today:

The fruit of holiness is about reproduction

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(1) See: “It is about beauty” 
(2) See: "It is about secularisation"