Proof

How do we know if we are, or are not, walking in the Spirit?  In one word— fruit.  Fruit in scripture has been misdiagnosed, twisted out of context, and ratified as a fundamental litmus test.  In reality fruit is simply proof.  Good fruit is proof of a good tree and bad fruit is proof of a bad tree.  Pretty plain and simple!  So in a word, fruit is— proof. 

Spiritual fruit is like physical fruit in that it is a public display of what is happening on the inside.  Spiritual fruit is a testimony to a believer’s sensitivity to and dependency on the Spirit.  Fruit is the single thing that sets us apart from the those who go through motions doing it on their own. These are best described as “producers”.  They seem to have fruit when in fact, it is well manufactured replicas.  I find it funny, or maybe a little moronic, that producers are working so hard at something that comes so naturally to the true believer. 

The person who bears fruit is no longer just a possession of God, they are under His personal influence.  One who bears fruit naturally has no need to intimidate or be intimidated by what the producers are producing.  In fact, it is a trap to compete with them.  Intimidation is their game, not the path of a disciple.  Disciples of Jesus do not rely on personality and trumped-up enthusiasm to manufacture scores on a score board.  One of the most liberating things God has taught me is to ignore the score board of traditional churches.  God is not holding out a checklist for us to complete.  Rather, He is looking for our heart’s total surrender.  The game of the charlatan (producer) is to work a work instead of grow some fruit naturally.  No tree worries if it will make a quota or what it looks like to the other trees.  They simply bear fruit naturally and without extra stress or pressure from within or without. Maybe it is important to note at this point, this is why people usually do not surrender in the first place.  They feel like they could never do what the others do.  How sad!  The producer is doing it all from the flesh.  You would never know what you were capable of, and probably more, if you would be led by the Spirit and not try so hard in the flesh like the producers do.

Another proof mentioned in the scripture is sensitivity to the Spirit.  A sensitivity provides a disciple with an uncanny ability to know when they have offended or hurt someone.  They do so without being oversensitive or living on ‘pens and needles’.  They have reconciled themselves to the fact that they are sinners themselves and therefore sensitive to the works of the flesh which can take over one’s day.  They also recognize that they have within them the power to rise above their fleshly appetites and desires including their fears and dispositions.  This is also proof of the Spirit’s working in them.  The Spirit’s Fruit is a beautiful thing! 

Let’s look at the list of 9 signs of one who would walk in the Spirit:  Galatians 5.22-23— “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”  Normally when this text is mentioned it is detailed as separate and identifiably stand-alone fruits.  When the problem with analyzing the details of each of these, is you will find yourself misreading it.  For instance, you find yourself asking God to forgive you for not being very kind.  The problem is you will stop depending on the Holy Spirit and start trying to produce again.  ‘I need to be more kind’ you might say.  This was a list in a letter and not made to be directed as a litmus test of spirituality.  It was mentioned by Paul and moved on!  Secondly, this list is labeled “fruit”, singular.  It is not separated checklist items to test your spiritual awareness of the day.  It is, on the other hand, written as a complete thought of who Jesus is naturally and should be naturally through us, by His Spirit.  You can’t work on them, they are fruit!  This is why the text identifies the difference as “works of the flesh” versus “fruit of the Spirit”.

Other words, it is not what you do but what He does in you!  He is the producer and it is His produce— you are just the bearer.  Fruit of the Spirit was never intended to be a demonstration of our dedication and resolve.  It cannot be done by human will, but a dependency on the Spirit of God.  It is not a matter of the strength of the believer, but of surrender and closeness to the Holy Spirit.