Gifts and Fruit
Gifts of the Spirit and fruit of the Spirit. Is there a difference? You betcha! Let's see how God explains them.
1 Corinthians 12 English Standard Version (ESV)
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit. 4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
Galations 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Let's see how each are defined in the American Heritage Dictionary:
Gift - 1. Something that is bestowed voluntarily and without compensation
2. The act of giving:
3. A talent, endowment, aptitude, or inclination:
fruit
1. a. The ripened ovary or ovaries of a seed-bearing plant, together with accessory parts, containing the seeds and occurring in a wide variety of forms.
b. An edible, usually sweet and fleshy form of such a structure.
c. A part or an amount of such a plant product, served as food: fruit for dessert.
2. The fertile, often spore-bearing structure of a plant that does not bear seeds.
3. A plant crop or product: the fruits of the earth.
4. Result; outcome: the fruit of their labor.
5. Offspring; progeny.
So, let's assemble this information. Through our faith and belief in Jesus Christ as Lord, God, savior and redeemer, the Holy Spirit gives us gifts. These gifts are often complementary to the gifts our creator instills in us from birth. For example, I was gifted with ability to analyze and order information in such a way as to bring knowledge to others. As a result, I became a scientist. When I accepted Christ and was indwelled with His Spirit, the gift of pastor/teacher was given me. This gift needed practice, exercise and development and is still in process. I have been a teacher of science and math for over 25 years. I have been a teacher of the bible for about 10 years. Some gifts, however, are not intrinsic. The gifts of tongues, prophecy, words of knowledge/wisdom are some of those which are not. Healing can be both. This is very much compatible with the dictionary definitions. These are talents which are bestowed on us by God. They are given and empowered by the Holy Spirit. I like definition 1 above. Isn't our salvation right inline with it? Jesus Christ voluntarily gave his life in order that we can have eternal life? It was a gift.
Now let's talk about fruit. The fruit of a plant is the seed bearer. I often joke with my kids by telling them that all fruits are vegetables but not all vegetables are fruit. So in context with both the definition from the dictionary and description in the Bible (see above), what can we discern? I think that our understanding is very much the face value of what Paul wrote: "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control;" For the most part we think of these as the result of our walking with the Spirit and allowing them to grow in us as we draw closer to God and mature spiritually. Like fruit from a tree, the fruit of the Spirit are sweet, and wonderful to taste and experience. But there is another aspect to fruit that can sometimes be ignored. The seed bearing aspect. The fruit is not just there to improve us but to birth in others as well. If you look at each one can you not see that as they grow in you those whom you are with will also benefit from the taste but also from being planted in them. Yes, it requires the Spirit of God to nurture them and grow them but you are the place where His fruit is ripening. Even those unsaved around you will benefit from the fruit of the Spirit.
I have a lot to say about fruit and I will in future posts as the topic grows, matures, and ripens within me (all puns intended); however, I want to get back to the topic at hand. Both gifts, and fruit are given to us by God through his Spirit and our faith in Christ Jesus. I find it very interesting that with all gifts given, they must be accepted by the receiver. This includes salvation. I find it just as interesting that in order for them to be truly a gift, they must be given freely without hope of recompense and again, especially and above all others, this is true of the gift of salvation. Gifts can be rejected as well, Sadly, many Christians reject the gifts the Spirit has to offer and the empowerment they bring. But gifts are for what we do and fruit is what we become. Fruit is not a gift in the sense of an unexpected giving. They are an outcome of the work of the Spirit within us. But like with rejecting gifts, we can choose to not let that fruit grow by aligning ourselves with our flesh. I find it amazing and amusing that the fruit comes as a product of the gift of salvation. So Holy Spirit gifts and fruit are equally important but as you can see, very different. Chew on this a while (sorry I could not help it) and see if you agree or disagree. If you agree send me a fruit basket as a gift. LOL!
1 Corinthians 12 English Standard Version (ESV)
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit. 4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
Galations 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Let's see how each are defined in the American Heritage Dictionary:
Gift - 1. Something that is bestowed voluntarily and without compensation
2. The act of giving:
3. A talent, endowment, aptitude, or inclination:
fruit
1. a. The ripened ovary or ovaries of a seed-bearing plant, together with accessory parts, containing the seeds and occurring in a wide variety of forms.
b. An edible, usually sweet and fleshy form of such a structure.
c. A part or an amount of such a plant product, served as food: fruit for dessert.
2. The fertile, often spore-bearing structure of a plant that does not bear seeds.
3. A plant crop or product: the fruits of the earth.
4. Result; outcome: the fruit of their labor.
5. Offspring; progeny.
So, let's assemble this information. Through our faith and belief in Jesus Christ as Lord, God, savior and redeemer, the Holy Spirit gives us gifts. These gifts are often complementary to the gifts our creator instills in us from birth. For example, I was gifted with ability to analyze and order information in such a way as to bring knowledge to others. As a result, I became a scientist. When I accepted Christ and was indwelled with His Spirit, the gift of pastor/teacher was given me. This gift needed practice, exercise and development and is still in process. I have been a teacher of science and math for over 25 years. I have been a teacher of the bible for about 10 years. Some gifts, however, are not intrinsic. The gifts of tongues, prophecy, words of knowledge/wisdom are some of those which are not. Healing can be both. This is very much compatible with the dictionary definitions. These are talents which are bestowed on us by God. They are given and empowered by the Holy Spirit. I like definition 1 above. Isn't our salvation right inline with it? Jesus Christ voluntarily gave his life in order that we can have eternal life? It was a gift.
Now let's talk about fruit. The fruit of a plant is the seed bearer. I often joke with my kids by telling them that all fruits are vegetables but not all vegetables are fruit. So in context with both the definition from the dictionary and description in the Bible (see above), what can we discern? I think that our understanding is very much the face value of what Paul wrote: "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control;" For the most part we think of these as the result of our walking with the Spirit and allowing them to grow in us as we draw closer to God and mature spiritually. Like fruit from a tree, the fruit of the Spirit are sweet, and wonderful to taste and experience. But there is another aspect to fruit that can sometimes be ignored. The seed bearing aspect. The fruit is not just there to improve us but to birth in others as well. If you look at each one can you not see that as they grow in you those whom you are with will also benefit from the taste but also from being planted in them. Yes, it requires the Spirit of God to nurture them and grow them but you are the place where His fruit is ripening. Even those unsaved around you will benefit from the fruit of the Spirit.
I have a lot to say about fruit and I will in future posts as the topic grows, matures, and ripens within me (all puns intended); however, I want to get back to the topic at hand. Both gifts, and fruit are given to us by God through his Spirit and our faith in Christ Jesus. I find it very interesting that with all gifts given, they must be accepted by the receiver. This includes salvation. I find it just as interesting that in order for them to be truly a gift, they must be given freely without hope of recompense and again, especially and above all others, this is true of the gift of salvation. Gifts can be rejected as well, Sadly, many Christians reject the gifts the Spirit has to offer and the empowerment they bring. But gifts are for what we do and fruit is what we become. Fruit is not a gift in the sense of an unexpected giving. They are an outcome of the work of the Spirit within us. But like with rejecting gifts, we can choose to not let that fruit grow by aligning ourselves with our flesh. I find it amazing and amusing that the fruit comes as a product of the gift of salvation. So Holy Spirit gifts and fruit are equally important but as you can see, very different. Chew on this a while (sorry I could not help it) and see if you agree or disagree. If you agree send me a fruit basket as a gift. LOL!
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