brotherjim
Member
I notice as a recurring problem on many threads on Christian forums, a general misunderstanding regarding the Fruits of the Spirit, and specifically their manifestation or lack thereof.
First someone must understand that Spirit Fruits are just that, of the Spirit and not of man. While we can learn about them (mostly to assist in God opening our eyes to the fact that we are not manifesting them as we had assumed and justified ourselves), we cannot perform them; we cannot learn the how tos of them. The Fruits are performed by God via His Spirit as we as Christians get out, and stay out, of their/His Way. This is also why the Fruits are given as Graces just as instantly and completely as is the New Birth. Ive posted often before on this, and will of necessity continue, that it is the error of the church to teach and believe that Fruits are gradually grown in the Christian.
God does not need to gradually and further develop, of course, so since the Fruits are of His Spirit and not man, they come already fully developed and are able to meet every need faced by the Christian. The overall absence of mature Fruits in the lives of Christians and in the church is a testament to just how erroneous teachings concerning such have been, and also why man continues to live in denial and justify their lack by him insisting they are gradually grown and not instantly received in all their fullness. With each passing decade the church seems to demonstrate less and less Fruits, while life, at least here in the West, becomes seemingly less taxing and more conducive to Fruits being manifestedhow ironic and revealing.
But since the Word declares that Gods Fruits are more precious than gold, "yea, than fine gold," since the Christian continues to chase after the world rather than mature degrees of Fruit, it is also testament to the lack of wisdom of believers today: so it would be unrealistic for anyone reading this to expect they will receive its assertions fully as absolute Truthapart from a miraculous intervening by God of course, which I believe possible, for the Love of God "believes all things, hopes all things."
Now that that foundation has been laid:
It is gross error to assume that someone lacks this, that or the other Fruit of the Spirit based on your observation of them. You just do not know. "Father, forgive them, for they do not know."
Let us take, for example, the best example available, Christ Jesus Himself. Surely all would admit that if any "Man" had all the Fruits of the Spirit without measure, it was Jesus. Surely, as further example, Jesus had all the fullness of Gods Love during His time of ministry here in the flesh, correct? So then kindly allow my asking a few rhetorical questions:
Was Jesus manifesting Gods Love when He said, "O generation of vipers, who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come?"? Or how about when He said, ". . . hypocrites, you are like whitewashed tombs . . . full of dead mens bones, and of all uncleanness." Was Jesus Loving when He said, ". . . you are of your father the devil"?
Hopefully no one reading thisalthough "you" seem to feel you have right to judge one anotherwill dare judge Jesus as lacking Gods Love; and yet if someone were to judge by appearances during those times Jesus said such as the above, or when He went about with a cat-o-nine-tails chasing money lovers from a temple, then they would have to at least suspect that Jesus was not Loving. And yet we know by all that is elsewhere in the Holy Word, Jesus walked in Love.
So someone should see, then, that when God commands we as His born-again children be perfected in His Love (not to mention lists it as a requirement for inheriting eternal Life1 Jn. 2:3-5; 4:16-18; Lk 10:25-28; etc.), that He does so in the sense that it is to be a condition of the heart and a prosperity of the soul (3Jn2)at all times and in all situations; and beyond that, whether or not that Love is outwardly manifested, then, is irrelevantit is completely up to God, as long as we are cooperating by not hindering its flow by getting in Gods way.
This of course flies in the face of those modern psycho-babble Christian saying makers, who coin such fleshly clichés as "love is not love until you give it away." Nonsense. Love is the Love of God when He has instantly and completely given it as a Grace subsequent to the Grace of the New Birth, and that regardless of any observers acknowledgment. Furthermore, Gods Love is manifested in outward deed if and when He, God, wills it, and it is withheld, as we see in the above given examples of Christ, when God so wills it withheld. The heart attitude of Loves recipient is unchanged, always ready to express Love whenever it is brought forth of the Spirithopefully and further.
(And even beyond thatas if the above were not enough, is the further "personal" development of the Christian whereby they, again subsequent to salvation [and contrary to popular opinion of the verse], have entered into the sabbatismos rest of Hebrews 4:10, resting from doing any self-righteous, fleshly, so-called "well-meaning" good works, simply because the Holy Ghost did not specifically dictate them.)
Many fail to notice how Jesus responded to those questioning or otherwise approaching Him. He rarely, for instance, answered their questions directly, at times even addressing something seemingly unrelated. God is more interested in uncovering the motive behind the asking of a question, than He is in satisfying some fleshly lust of the mind in someones wanting to knowafter all, lust can never be truly, lastingly satisfied (even though many waste their lives trying), and by the platform provided by one persons question, many might have an opportunity to hear spoken/written some precious pearl from Above.
I particularly admire how the Father had Jesus respond to Nicodemus, and especially that which is found in John 3:10. I wonder how many realize when reading that verse, just how satirical Jesus was actually being towards Nicodemus, that man so sure within himself that he was a child of Abraham just because he was of Hebraic descent. Swatttttt!!! Nicodemuss only chance at eternal Life was if he was first knocked of the horse on which he rode inalbeit a small chance indeed.
Oh, how often godly Love is truly expressed simply through the speaking of absolute, eternally profitable Truths, however painful to hear and entertainthe proclaimer more desiring the praise and Love of God than that of man. Sorrowfully, though, while Truth can be Life for some, it brings forth death for others: let us all who can accept such doctrine, seek to speak only prophetically, i.e., if and when the Holy Ghost dictates, and otherwise remain silent and prayerful and ready.
Not only is the above the absolute, apostolic, [allegedly] prophetically brought forth Truth of God, it is the only Waycontrary to popular Christian opinion. And, at the great risk of seeming arrogantly boastful, it is the only known-by-me source for such teaching, so may I suggest that you who are reading it, print it out and/or save it on file for future reference and use as the Spirit leads. The door may soon close.
"Freely youve been given: freely give," brotherjim
[email protected]
First someone must understand that Spirit Fruits are just that, of the Spirit and not of man. While we can learn about them (mostly to assist in God opening our eyes to the fact that we are not manifesting them as we had assumed and justified ourselves), we cannot perform them; we cannot learn the how tos of them. The Fruits are performed by God via His Spirit as we as Christians get out, and stay out, of their/His Way. This is also why the Fruits are given as Graces just as instantly and completely as is the New Birth. Ive posted often before on this, and will of necessity continue, that it is the error of the church to teach and believe that Fruits are gradually grown in the Christian.
God does not need to gradually and further develop, of course, so since the Fruits are of His Spirit and not man, they come already fully developed and are able to meet every need faced by the Christian. The overall absence of mature Fruits in the lives of Christians and in the church is a testament to just how erroneous teachings concerning such have been, and also why man continues to live in denial and justify their lack by him insisting they are gradually grown and not instantly received in all their fullness. With each passing decade the church seems to demonstrate less and less Fruits, while life, at least here in the West, becomes seemingly less taxing and more conducive to Fruits being manifestedhow ironic and revealing.
But since the Word declares that Gods Fruits are more precious than gold, "yea, than fine gold," since the Christian continues to chase after the world rather than mature degrees of Fruit, it is also testament to the lack of wisdom of believers today: so it would be unrealistic for anyone reading this to expect they will receive its assertions fully as absolute Truthapart from a miraculous intervening by God of course, which I believe possible, for the Love of God "believes all things, hopes all things."
Now that that foundation has been laid:
It is gross error to assume that someone lacks this, that or the other Fruit of the Spirit based on your observation of them. You just do not know. "Father, forgive them, for they do not know."
Let us take, for example, the best example available, Christ Jesus Himself. Surely all would admit that if any "Man" had all the Fruits of the Spirit without measure, it was Jesus. Surely, as further example, Jesus had all the fullness of Gods Love during His time of ministry here in the flesh, correct? So then kindly allow my asking a few rhetorical questions:
Was Jesus manifesting Gods Love when He said, "O generation of vipers, who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come?"? Or how about when He said, ". . . hypocrites, you are like whitewashed tombs . . . full of dead mens bones, and of all uncleanness." Was Jesus Loving when He said, ". . . you are of your father the devil"?
Hopefully no one reading thisalthough "you" seem to feel you have right to judge one anotherwill dare judge Jesus as lacking Gods Love; and yet if someone were to judge by appearances during those times Jesus said such as the above, or when He went about with a cat-o-nine-tails chasing money lovers from a temple, then they would have to at least suspect that Jesus was not Loving. And yet we know by all that is elsewhere in the Holy Word, Jesus walked in Love.
So someone should see, then, that when God commands we as His born-again children be perfected in His Love (not to mention lists it as a requirement for inheriting eternal Life1 Jn. 2:3-5; 4:16-18; Lk 10:25-28; etc.), that He does so in the sense that it is to be a condition of the heart and a prosperity of the soul (3Jn2)at all times and in all situations; and beyond that, whether or not that Love is outwardly manifested, then, is irrelevantit is completely up to God, as long as we are cooperating by not hindering its flow by getting in Gods way.
This of course flies in the face of those modern psycho-babble Christian saying makers, who coin such fleshly clichés as "love is not love until you give it away." Nonsense. Love is the Love of God when He has instantly and completely given it as a Grace subsequent to the Grace of the New Birth, and that regardless of any observers acknowledgment. Furthermore, Gods Love is manifested in outward deed if and when He, God, wills it, and it is withheld, as we see in the above given examples of Christ, when God so wills it withheld. The heart attitude of Loves recipient is unchanged, always ready to express Love whenever it is brought forth of the Spirithopefully and further.
(And even beyond thatas if the above were not enough, is the further "personal" development of the Christian whereby they, again subsequent to salvation [and contrary to popular opinion of the verse], have entered into the sabbatismos rest of Hebrews 4:10, resting from doing any self-righteous, fleshly, so-called "well-meaning" good works, simply because the Holy Ghost did not specifically dictate them.)
Many fail to notice how Jesus responded to those questioning or otherwise approaching Him. He rarely, for instance, answered their questions directly, at times even addressing something seemingly unrelated. God is more interested in uncovering the motive behind the asking of a question, than He is in satisfying some fleshly lust of the mind in someones wanting to knowafter all, lust can never be truly, lastingly satisfied (even though many waste their lives trying), and by the platform provided by one persons question, many might have an opportunity to hear spoken/written some precious pearl from Above.
I particularly admire how the Father had Jesus respond to Nicodemus, and especially that which is found in John 3:10. I wonder how many realize when reading that verse, just how satirical Jesus was actually being towards Nicodemus, that man so sure within himself that he was a child of Abraham just because he was of Hebraic descent. Swatttttt!!! Nicodemuss only chance at eternal Life was if he was first knocked of the horse on which he rode inalbeit a small chance indeed.
Oh, how often godly Love is truly expressed simply through the speaking of absolute, eternally profitable Truths, however painful to hear and entertainthe proclaimer more desiring the praise and Love of God than that of man. Sorrowfully, though, while Truth can be Life for some, it brings forth death for others: let us all who can accept such doctrine, seek to speak only prophetically, i.e., if and when the Holy Ghost dictates, and otherwise remain silent and prayerful and ready.
Not only is the above the absolute, apostolic, [allegedly] prophetically brought forth Truth of God, it is the only Waycontrary to popular Christian opinion. And, at the great risk of seeming arrogantly boastful, it is the only known-by-me source for such teaching, so may I suggest that you who are reading it, print it out and/or save it on file for future reference and use as the Spirit leads. The door may soon close.
"Freely youve been given: freely give," brotherjim
[email protected]