Abiding in Christ

The principle of abiding must be clearly understood so we
avoid trying to bear fruit in our own strength. The Scriptures teach
that these true Christian virtues are the fruit of the Spirit, not the
fruit of human effort.

Many people today are attempting to produce the fruit of
the Spirit through natural efforts and character-building. They
exercise their wills to produce character through philosophy,
education, ethics, anthropology, mental sciences or controlled
environment. The results achieved from this human effort, though they
may involve temporal good, are not the eternal fruitfulness that is
produced by the work of the Holy Spirit.

The fruit of the Spirit is the character of Christ
produced by the Spirit of Christ in the believer’s life. The more
completely one is filled with the Holy Spirit, the greater will be the
manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit in his life and work.

Only when a believer is full of the Holy Spirit,
continually yielding to Him, can he exhibit the full fruition of
Christian virtues. When Christ is formed in the believer through the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit, true Christlike character will be as
natural a result as pears growing on a pear tree. It follows then that
if one who professes to be a Christian is devoid of fruit, he obviously
does not have the Spirit of Christ. The fruit of the Spirit is produced
automatically when we are yielded to the Holy Spirit and are walking in
obedience to Him.

When Paul describes the fruit of the Spirit in writing to
the Galatians, he is restating the Sermon on the Mount. This
description is the ideal Christian life presented in concentrated
expression.

Paul’s love chapter to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 13)
is the summary of his list of the fruit of the Spirit. He is teaching
the very same principle of Christian life when he writes to the
Philippians: “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is
right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good
repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise,
let your mind dwell on these things” (Phil. 4:8). Any concept of
Christianity that does not have as its basis the character of the fruit
of the Spirit is a false teaching of Christianity.

The Scriptures clearly teach that natural man cannot hope
to develop godly character without the work of the Holy Spirit in his
life. Paul describes the striking contrast between the works of the
flesh and the fruit of the Spirit:

“Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are:
immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife,
jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying,
drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you
just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall
not inherit the kingdom of God” (Gal. 5:19-21).

Spirit-filled men and women can be distinguished by their
fruit in the same way that a carnal person can be identified by fleshly
works. If we are abiding in Christ, the fruit of the Spirit will be
manifest in our lives; it cannot be hidden. So, also, are the works of
the flesh manifest in one who is not abiding in Christ.

A carnal person is one who is not governed by the
indwelling Spirit of God. This egocentric, self-centered life manifests
the works of the flesh, while a Christ-centered life manifests the
fruit of the Spirit.

The great struggle within each believer is the struggle
between self and Christ. If self wins, it becomes the central force of
life, causing a person to be completely self-centered. Every
descriptive characteristic of a self-centered person starts with the
word “self”: selfish, self-pitying, self-glorying, perhaps even
self-hating. The list of “self” words seems unending.

If Christ wins this battle against our self-life, He
becomes the center of our personalities, and we become Christ-centered.
The happy consequence of a Christ-centered life is the manifestation of
the fruit of the Spirit.

The principle of fruit-bearing is a “life-principle.”
Life develops from a life-source; it cannot be manufactured. Fruit is
not made; it grows as the requirements of the life-principle are met.
In contrast, the works of the flesh are described in the Scriptures as
a negative result of human effort without the Holy Spirit.

The Scriptures clearly teach the life-principle involved
in bearing fruit. The flesh can produce nothing but evil works, while
the Holy Spirit produces Christ-life fruit. The former requires
self-effort and results in death; the latter requires obedience to the
Holy Spirit and produces life and peace.