60_Faith as a Fruit.pdf

Volume XV, Issue 5

L EGACY

OF D EREK P RINCE

Faith as a Fruit

In my previous letter, we looked at the nine spiritual gifts listed by Paul in 1 Corinthians

12:8–10. Now we turn to the list of the nine forms of spiritual fruit Paul gives in

Galatians 5:22–23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness,

goodness, faith, meekness, temperance” ( KJV ). The seventh form of fruit listed here is faith.

Recent versions offer a variety of translations, such as “faithfulness,” “fidelity,” or

“trustfulness.” However, the Greek noun Paul uses is pistis . This is the basic word for

faith throughout the New Testament.

Fruit vs. Gifts

Let us apply this simple analogy to the spiritual realm.

A spiritual gift is both imparted and received by a single,

brief transaction. It tells us nothing about the nature of

the person who exercises it. On the other hand, spiritual

fruit expresses the nature of the life from which it

proceeds; it comes only as the result of a process of

growth. To attain the best fruit, a life must be carefully

cultivated—with time, skill and labor.

We may express the difference in another way by saying

that gifts express ability , fruit expresses character .

Which is more important? In the long run,

undoubtedly, character is more important than ability.

The exercise of gifts is temporary. As Paul explains in

1 Corinthians 13:8–13, there will come a time when gifts

will no longer be needed. But character is permanent. The

character we develop in this life will determine what we will

be throughout eternity. One day we will leave our gifts

behind; our character will remain forever.

However, we do not need to choose one at the expense

of another. Gifts do not exclude fruit; fruit does not

exclude gifts. Rather, they are intended to complement

ne way to bring the difference into focus is to

picture a Christmas tree and an apple tree. A

Christmas tree bears gifts; an apple tree bears

fruit. A gift is both attached to a Christmas tree and

removed from it by a single, brief act. There is no direct

connection between the tree and the gift: one may be a

garment, the other a fir tree. The gift tells us nothing about the

nature of the tree from which it is taken.

On the other hand, there is a direct connection

between an apple and the tree that bears it. The nature of

the tree determines the nature of the fruit—both its kind

and its quality. An apple tree can never bear an orange. A

healthy tree will never bear unhealthy fruit (see Matthew

7:17–20). The fruit on the apple tree is not produced by

a single act, but is the result of a steady, continuing

process of growth and development. To produce the best

fruit, the tree must be carefully cultivated. This requires

time, skill and labor.

T HE T EACHING

Volume XV, Issue 5

each other. Gifts should provide

practical expressions for character,

just as they did perfectly in the person

of Jesus Himself. His loving, gracious

character was expressed by the fullest

possible exercise of spiritual gifts. Only

through the gifts could He meet the

needs of the people to whom He had

come to minister, fully expressing to

them the nature of His heavenly

Father whom He had come to

represent (see John 14:9–11).

We should seek to follow Christ’s

pattern. The more we develop the

attributes that characterized Jesus—

love, concern, and compassion—the

more we will need the same gifts He

exercised in order to give practical

expression to these attributes. The

more fully we are equipped with

these gifts, the greater will be our

ability to glorify God our Father, just

as Jesus did.

Fruit, then, expresses character.

When all nine forms of spiritual fruit

are present and fully developed, they

represent the totality of Christian

character, each form of fruit satis-

fying a specific need and each com-

plementing the rest. Within this

totality, the fruit of faith may be

viewed from two aspects that

correspond to two different but

related uses of the Greek word pistis .

The first is trust; the second is

trustworthiness.

Matthew 18:1–4; 19:13–14; Mark

10:13–16; Luke 18:15–17). There is

probably no quality more distinc-

tively characteristic of childhood

than trustfulness. And yet, paradox-

ically, it is a quality that is seen at its

perfection in the most mature men

of God—men such as Abraham,

Moses, David, and Paul. We may

conclude, therefore, that the degree

to which we cultivate trustfulness is

a good measure of our spiritual

maturity.

More fully, the fruit of faith—in

this aspect—may be defined as a

quiet, steady, unwavering trust in the

goodness, wisdom and faithfulness

of God. No matter what trials or

seeming disasters may be encoun-

tered, the person who has cultivated

this form of fruit remains calm and

restful in the midst of it all. He has

an unshakable confidence that God

is still in complete control of every

situation and that, in and through all

circumstances, God is working out

His own purpose of blessing for each

one of His children.

The outward expression of this

kind of trust is stability. This is

beautifully pictured by David in

Psalm 125:1: “Those who trust in the

L ORD are like Mount Zion, which

cannot be moved, but abides forever.”

All earth’s mountains may tremble

and shake and even be totally

removed—except for one. Zion can

never be moved. God has chosen it

for His own dwelling place, and it

alone will abide forever.

So it is with the believer who has

learned to trust. Others all around

him may give way to panic and

confusion, but he remains calm and

secure. “His foundation is in the holy

mountains” (Psalm 87:1).

We must know for sure that our

soul is safe in the Lord’s hands. The

key to this kind of trust is commit-

ment. We first make a definite,

personal commitment of our life to

Jesus Christ. Then in the hour of

testing—perhaps at the very

threshold of eternity—we do not

need to make any further commit-

ment. We need only rest in the

commitment we already made—one

that included both life and death,

time and eternity.

In Psalm 37:5 David says,

“Commit your way to the L ORD , trust

also in Him, and He shall bring it to

pass.” More literally the verse says,

“and He is doing it.” Two things are

here required of us. The first is an

act, “commit.” The second is an

attitude, “trust.” The act of commit-

ment leads to the attitude of trust. So

long as we continue in an attitude of

trust, David assures us, God “is

doing it.”

Committing a matter to the Lord

is like taking cash to the bank and

depositing it in our account. Once

we have received the teller’s receipt

for our deposit, we need no longer

be concerned about the safety of our

money. It is now the bank’s respon-

sibility. It is ironic that people who

have no difficulty in trusting a bank

to take care of their money find it

much harder to trust God concern-

ing some vital personal matter.

The example of the bank deposit

illustrates an important factor in

making a successful commitment.

When we walk out of the bank, we

carry an official receipt, indicating

the date, the place, and the amount

of our deposit. There are no uncer-

tainties. We need to be equally

specific concerning those things

Faith as Trust

The first aspect of faith as a fruit is

trust. The Jerusalem Bible translates

pistis as “trustfulness.” Many times

over, Jesus emphasized that one of

the requirements for all who would

enter the Kingdom of God is to

become as little children (see

the teaching legacy of derek prince | dpm archive

Volume XV, Issue 5

committed to God. We need to

know, without a shadow of doubt,

both what we have committed and

when and where the commitment

was made. We also need the Holy

Spirit’s official “receipt” acknowledg-

ing that God has accepted our

commitment.

influences at work in himself

simultaneously: trust and fear. Fear

is superficial, in the emotions; trust

is deeper down, in the spirit.

Mature trust is like a deep, strong

river, making its irresistible way to

the sea. At times, the winds of fear or

doubt may blow contrary to the

river’s course and whip up foaming

waves on its surface. But these winds

and waves cannot change or hinder

the deep, continuing flow of the

waters below the surface, as they

follow the path marked out for them

by the river’s bed to their pre-

determined end in the sea.

Trust in its full maturity is

beautifully exemplified by the

words of Paul in 2 Timothy 1:12:

“For this reason I also suffer these

things, but I am not ashamed; for I

know whom I have believed and I am

convinced that He is able to guard what

I have entrusted to Him until that day.”

By all worldly standards, at this stage

Paul was a failure. Some of his most

influential friends and supporters

had turned against him. Of all his

close coworkers, only Luke

remained with him. Demas had

actually abandoned him and turned

back to the world. Paul was infirm

and aged, a manacled prisoner in a

Roman jail, awaiting unjust trial and

execution at the hands of a cruel,

depraved despot. Yet his words ring

with serene, unshakable confidence.

Beyond the horizon of time he looks

forward to an unclouded day—“that

day” when the righteous Judge will

award him “the crown of righ-

teousness” (2 Timothy 4:8).

For Paul, as for David, trust was

the outcome of an act of commit-

ment. It is expressed in his own

words: “He is able to guard what I

have entrusted to Him.” “Trusting”

was the result of “entrusting.” Years

previously Paul had made an ir-

revocable commitment of himself to

Christ. Subsequent trials and

sufferings gradually brought forth an

ever-deepening trust that had now

come to its full fruition in a Roman

dungeon, its radiance all the brighter

by contrast with its gloomy setting.

Trust Must Be Cultivated

Trust is like all forms of fruit: it

needs to be cultivated and it passes

through various stages of develop-

ment before it reaches full maturity.

The words of David in Psalm 62 well

illustrate the development of trust:

“He [God] only is my rock and my

salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be

greatly shaken” (verse 2, NAS ). But

after making exactly the same

declaration of trust in God, he says,

“I shall not be shaken” (verse 6, NAS ).

Between verses 2 and 6, David

progressed from not being “greatly

shaken” to not being shaken at all.

We need to be as honest about

ourselves as David was. Before our

trust has come to maturity, the best

we can say is, “I shall not be greatly

shaken!” At this stage, troubles and

opposition will shake us, but they

will not overthrow us. However, if

we continue to cultivate our trust,

we will come to the stage where we

can say, “I shall not be shaken”—

period! Nothing will be able even to

shake us—much less overthrow us.

Trust of this kind is in the realm

of the spirit rather than the

emotions. We may turn once more

to the personal testimony of David

for an illustration. He says to the

Lord, “When I am afraid, I will put my

trust in Thee” (Psalm 56:3 NAS ). Here

David recognizes two conflicting

Faith as Trustworthiness

We turn now to the second aspect

of faith as a fruit: trustworthiness.

Linguistically, trustworthiness is in

fact the original meaning of pistis . In

Arndt and Gingrich’s standard

lexicon of New Testament Greek, the

first specific definition given of pistis

is: “faithfulness, reliability.” If we go

back to the Old Testament, the same

applies to the Hebrew word for faith,

emunah . Its primary meaning is

“faithfulness”; its secondary meaning

is “faith.” The verb from which it is

derived gives us the word Amen —

“So be it” or “Let it be confirmed.”

Both meanings alike converge in

the person and nature of God

Himself. If we view faith as trust, its

only ultimate basis is God’s trust-

worthiness. If we view faith as trust-

worthiness, it is only through our

trust that the Holy Spirit is able to

impart to us God’s trustworthiness.

God Himself is both the beginning

and the end of faith. His trust-

worthiness is the only basis for our

trust: our trust in Him reproduces in

us His trustworthiness.

Probably no attribute of God is

more persistently emphasized through-

out the Scriptures than His trust-

worthiness. In the Old Testament

there is one special Hebrew word

the teaching legacy of derek prince | dpm archive

Volume XV, Issue 5

reserved for this attribute: chesed ,

which is variously translated “good-

ness,” “kindness,” “lovingkindness,”

or “mercy.” However, none of these

translations fully expresses its meaning.

There are two distinctive features

of God’s chesed . First, it is the

expression of God’s free, unmerited

grace. It goes beyond anything that

man can ever deserve or demand as

a right. Second, it is always based on

a covenant that God voluntarily

enters into. We may combine these

two features by saying that chesed is

God’s trustworthiness in fulfilling

His covenant commitments, which

go beyond anything that we can

deserve or demand.

We thus find a close connection

between three important Hebrew

concepts: emunah , faith or faithful-

ness; chesed , God’s trustworthiness;

berith , a covenant. This is the re-

current theme in this psalm:

reproduce the same characteristics in

us. It will make us persons of unfailing

integrity and honesty.

We have already seen that God’s

chesed , expressed in His covenant

commitments, is based on His grace,

going beyond anything that we, its

recipients, can ever deserve or

demand. This too will be reflected in

our covenant relationships with

fellow believers. We will not limit

ourselves to the mere requirements

of justice or some legal form of

contract. We will be ready to make

the full commitment God made in

establishing His covenant with us—

to lay down our lives for one

another. “We know love by this, that He

laid down His life for us: and we ought

to lay down our lives for the brethren”

(1 John 3:16). It is by the laying

down of our lives that we enter into

full covenant relationship with God

and with one another.

Scripture paints a fearful picture

of the breakdown of moral and

ethical standards that will mark the

close of this present age (see

2 Timothy 3:1–4). As the world thus

plunges deeper into darkness, God’s

people must—by contrast—be more

determined than ever to walk in the

light of fellowship. We must show

ourselves both willing and qualified

to enter into and maintain those

covenant relationships upon which

fellowship depends. For this pur-

pose we will need to cultivate to full

maturity the fruit of trustworthiness.

action; fruit must be cultivated by a

continuing process, requiring time,

skill and labor. Second, gifts are not

directly related to the character of

those who exercise them, while fruit

is an expression of character. Ideally,

fruit and gifts should balance one

another in a combination that

glorifies God and serves humanity.

As a form of fruit, faith may be

understood in two distinct ways: as

trust and as trustworthiness. Trust is

manifested in stability, which in-

creases as trust matures. It requires

an initial act of commitment. We

base our trust on God’s trustworthi-

ness. God demonstrates His trust-

worthiness toward us by fulfilling

His covenant commitments, which

are beyond anything we can deserve

or demand. In turn, it makes us the

kind of people who are willing and

able to enter into and maintain

covenant commitments, both with

God and with one another.

And My faithfulness [ emunah ]

and My lovingkindness [ chesed ]

will be with him...My lovingkind-

ness [ chesed ] I will keep for him

forever, and My covenant [ berith ]

shall be confirmed [ amen ] to

him....But I will not break off My

lovingkindness [ chesed ] from

him, nor deal falsely in My

faithfulness [ emunah ]. My cove-

nant [ berith ] I will not violate,

nor will I alter the utterance of

My lips.

Adapted from a New Wine article

entitled “Faith as a Fruit.”

For further study, we recom-

mend Derek Prince’s book:

Faith to Live By

We are making this material available to

you for a gift of any amount. Just use the

enclosed reply slip to request your copy.

Reproduction of articles from

the DPM Archive for free dis-

tribution is permitted. To

receive regular teaching and

encouragement by e-mail,

subscribe at derekprince.org.

Psalm 89:24, 28, 33–34

The last verse brings out a special

relationship between God’s trustwor-

thiness and the words of His mouth.

There are two things God will never do:

break His covenant or go back on what

He has said. God’s trustworthiness,

imparted by the Holy Spirit, will

Summary

Spiritual fruit differs from spiri-

tual gifts in two main ways. First, a

spiritual gift can be imparted and

received by a single, brief trans-

Derek Prince Ministries

P.O. Box 19501

Charlotte, NC 28219

704.357.3556

www.derekprince.org

TL075

the teaching legacy of derek prince | dpm archive

Plik z chomika:

Inne pliki z tego folderu:

Inne foldery tego chomika: