The Fruitful Life

Headline: How can we put on the garments of grace? As we become serious followers of Christ, we want to live loving, joyful, anxiety-free lives. Yet loving our enemies seems impossible. Even being patient with our family is often difficult. How can we put on the gentle garments of grace when we're so busy battling our old behavior patterns? In The Fruitful Life, beloved author Jerry Bridges explores the nine aspects of the “fruit of the Spirit” described in Galatians 5:22-23: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. He clarifies the cultivation process by showing us how to practice them in real life. Bridges says these qualities of character can truly mark our lives if we devote ourselves to a two-fold pursuit: God-centeredness and God-likeness. This book will guide you on that quest by focusing on God's nature as revealed in Scripture and by helping you cultivate the beautiful fruit given by the Holy Spirit. Dr. Jerry Bridges is the best-selling author of such books as The Pursuit of Holiness, Transforming Grace, and The Practice of Godliness, from which this book is derived. Jerry is on staff with The Navigators' collegiate ministry. A popular speaker known around the world, Jerry lives with his wife, Jane, in Colorado Springs. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. The Fruitful Life By Jerry Bridges NavPress Copyright © 2006 Jerry BridgesAll rights reserved.ISBN: 978-1-60006-027-4 Contents Preface, v, Chapter 1: Taking On God's Character, 1, Chapter 2: Devotion to God, 17, Chapter 3: Humility, 33, Chapter 4: Love, 47, Chapter 5: Joy, 61, Chapter 6: Peace, 73, Chapter 7: Patience, 85, Chapter 8: Kindness and Goodness, 99, Chapter 9: Faithfulness, 111, Chapter 10: Gentleness, 121, Chapter 11: Self-Control, 131, Chapter 12: Seeking a Deeper Devotion, 145, DISCUSSION GUIDE, Lesson 1: Taking On God's Character, 157, Lesson 2: Devotion to God, 161, Lesson 3: Humility, 165, Lesson 4: Love, 169, Lesson 5: Joy, 173, Lesson 6: Peace, 177, Lesson 7: Patience, 181, Lesson 8: Kindness and Goodness, 185, Lesson 9: Faithfulness, 189, Lesson 10: Gentleness, 191, Lesson 11: Self-Control, 195, Lesson 12: Seeking a Deeper Devotion, 199, Notes, 203, Author, 207, CHAPTER 1 TAKING ON GOD'S CHARACTER You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. EPHESIANS 4:22-24 Fruitful character comes from a great devotion, and the greatest devotion of all is the love of God. A life that grows in loving God becomes like God. John Owen writes, "[Love] begets a likeness between the mind loving and the object beloved. ... A mind filled with the love of Christ as crucified ... will be changed into his image and likeness." The apostle Paul writes, And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. 2 CORINTHIANS 3:18, ESV Christian character flows out of devotion to God, and it confirms the reality of that devotion in practical ways. We may express a reverence for God, we may lift our hearts in worship to Him, but we demonstrate the genuineness of our devotion to God by our earnest desire and sincere effort to be like Him. Paul not only wanted to know Christ, he wanted to be like Him, and he pressed forward with utmost intensity toward that goal. In the Scripture text that opened this chapter, Paul says we must "put on the new self" and "be made new in the attitude of your minds." What is this new attitude of mind, and where does it come from? Again, John Owen helps us here. He writes that this is the "image of God" and "the divine nature" that is wrought in us by God and that we partake of by the Spirit of God. It is a "supernatural habit" or a "habit of grace" that is "nothing but the word changed into grace in our hearts." What are the character traits that distinguish the person who is increasing in this habit of grace — the person who is becoming godlike? A good place to start is the list of nine gracious qualities, which Paul calls the fruit of the Spirit, in Galatians 5:22-23. In chapters to come, we will concentrate on these qualities. It seems obvious, however, that Paul did not intend to limit the traits of the Spirit's fruit just to this well-known list. Any other trait commended in Scripture as befitting a believer is also a fruit of the Spirit, since its evidence is a result only of the Spirit's ministry in our hearts. To the qualities listed in Galatians 5 — love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control — we can also add such traits as holiness, humility, compassion, forbearance, contentment, thankfulness, considerateness, sincerity, and perseverance. We devote a whole chapter of this book (chapter 3) to humility because it is so foundational to the other traits. This is an awesome list of character traits to pursue, and our first reaction, if we are realistic at all, is probably to say, "I can't work on all of these." That is indeed true, if we were left to our own devices. But these traits are the fruit of the Spirit, the result of His work within us. This means not that we bear no responsibility for the development of Christian character but rather that we fulfill our responsibility under His direction and by His enablement. It is this divine dimension that makes Christian character possible, and it is only this divine dimension that can keep us from becoming frustrated and defeated in our desire to exemplify godly character traits in our lives. Chapters 4 to 11 focus on the nine individual traits Paul calls "the fruit of the Spirit." There are some basic principles, however, that apply to all aspects of godly character. THE RIGHT MOTIVE The first principle of the "habit of grace" (or what I will often call "godliness," "godlikeness," or "Christlikeness" in this book) is that devotion to God is the only acceptable motive for actions that are pleasing to God. This devotion may express itself in one of several different ways. We may have a sincere desire to please God or to glorify Him; we may do or not do a particular action because we love God or because we sense that He is worthy of our obedience. However our motivation expresses itself, if it is God-centered, it arises out of our devotion to God and is acceptable to Him. Unfortunately, too often our motives are self-centered rather than God-centered. We want to maintain our reputation before others, or we want to feel good about ourselves. Or we may even seek to live a decent and moral life or to do good deeds because such an ethic has been instilled in us from childhood. But that motivation is never related to God and thus is not acceptable to Him. When Joseph was enticed by Potiphar's wife, he did not refuse her on the basis, "If I did that and my master found out, he would have my head." No, he said, "How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?" (Genesis 39:9). His motivation for morality was centered in God, and because of that it was acceptable to God. I recall once being tempted with the opportunity to engage in a questionable business transaction, one of those gray-area situations in which we tend to rationalize our actions. As I pondered the matter, I thought, I better not; I might incur the discipline of God. Now, when all proper motives fail, it is certainly better to be checked by the fear of God's discipline than to go ahead with our sin. But that is not the right motive. In this situation, the Holy Spirit came to my aid, and I thought to myself, I realize that the fear of God's discipline is certainly an unworthy motive, but the real reason I should not do that is because God is worthy of my most honorable conduct. The Holy Spirit helped me recognize the self-centeredness of my initial motivation and correctly focus my motivation on God. When God commanded Abraham to offer up Isaac as a sacrifice, He tested his motive. As He stayed Abraham's knife from the fatal plunge, God said, "Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son" (Genesis 22:12). It was Abraham's fear of God that motivated him to go forward with that supreme act of obedience. We usually associate Abraham's obedience with his faith. It was by faith that Abraham was enabled to offer Isaac as a sacrifice, but it was the fear of God that motivated him. And it was this godward motivation that the Lord saw and accepted and commended. As we look into the New Testament, we see this godward motivation emphasized again and again. Jesus taught that all the Law and the Prophets hang on the two commandments of love for God and love for our neighbor (see Matthew 22:37-40). He was teaching not merely that these two commandments of love sum up all the other more specific commandments but rather that all the other commandments depend upon the motivation of love for their fulfillment. The fear of consequences may keep us from committing the outward acts of murder or adultery, but only love will keep us from committing murder or adultery in our hearts. In 1 Corinthians 10:31, Paul tells us that even our eating and drinking is to be done for the glory of God. As someone has observed, there is nothing more ordinary and routine than our eating and drinking; yet even this is to be done with a godward motivation. Slaves were enjoined to obey their earthly masters out of "reverence for the Lord" (Colossians 3:22). All of us are to submit ourselves to human authority "for the Lord's sake" (1 Peter 2:13). And our interpersonal relationships — our mutual submission to one another — is to be done "out of reverence for Christ" (Ephesians 5:21). All of our actions, to be acceptable to God, must be done out of a sense of devotion to God. THE SOURCE OF POWER The second principle of godly character is that the power or enablement for a godly life comes from the risen Christ. Paul says in relation to his ministry, "Our competence comes from God" (2 Corinthians 3:5), and "I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me" (Colossians 1:29). He says of his ability to be content in any situation, "I can do everything through him who gives me strength" (Philippians 4:13). It is very likely that God, in His sovereign calling and preparation of Paul for his tremendous task, had endowed him with more noble qualities and strength of character than any person since; yet Paul consistently attributes his spiritual strength and accomplishments to the Lord's power. I once heard someone say, "When I do something wrong, I have to take the blame, but when I do something right, God gets the credit." This person was complaining, but he was exactly correct. Certainly, God cannot be blamed for our sins, but only He can provide the spiritual power to enable us to live godly lives. As the source of power for Christlike character is Christ, so the means of experiencing that power is through our relationship with Him. This truth is Jesus' essential teaching in His illustration in John 15 of the vine and the branches. It is only by abiding in Him that we can bring forth the fruit of godly character. The most helpful explanation I have found of what it means to abide in Christ comes from the nineteenth-century Swiss theologian Frédéric Louis Godet: "'To abide in me' expresses the continual act by which the Christian sets aside everything which he might derive from his own wisdom, strength, merit, to draw all from Christ." Paul expresses this relationship as "living in Christ." He says in Colossians 2:6-7, "So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith." The context of this statement is that all the wisdom and power for living the Christian life are to be found in Christ rather than in man-made philosophies and moralisms (see verses 2-4, 8-10). This is what Godet is saying. We have to set aside any dependence upon our own wisdom and strength of character and draw all that we need from Christ through faith in Him. This faith, of course, is expressed concretely by prayer to Him. Psalm 119:33-37 is a good example of such a prayer of dependence. This relationship is also maintained by beholding the glory of Christ in His Word. As we learned at the beginning of this chapter, in 2 Corinthians 3:18, Paul tells us that as we behold the Lord's glory, we are transformed more and more into His image. Beholding the Lord's glory in His Word is more than observing His humanity in the Gospels; it is observing His character, His attributes, and His will in every page of Scripture. And as we observe Him, as we maintain this relationship with Him through His Word, we are transformed more and more into His likeness; we are enabled by the Holy Spirit to progressively manifest the graces of godly character. So it is this relationship with Christ, expressed by beholding Him in His Word and depending upon Him in prayer, that enables us to draw from Him the power essential for a Christlike life. The Christian is not like an automobile with a self-contained power source; rather, he is like an electric motor that must be constantly connected to an outside current for its power. Our source of power is in the risen Christ, and we stay connected to Him by beholding Him in His Word and depending on Him in prayer. RESPONSIBILITY AND DEPENDENCE The third principle of godly character is that though the power for Christlike character comes from Christ, the responsibility for developing and displaying that character is ours. This principle seems to be one of the most difficult for us to understand and apply. One day we sense our personal responsibility and seek to live a godly life by the strength of our own willpower. The next day, realizing the futility of trusting in ourselves, we turn it all over to Christ and abdicate our responsibility, which is set forth in the Scriptures. We need to learn that the Bible teaches both total responsibility and total dependence in all aspects of the Christian life. I once read a statement to the effect that there is nothing a Christian can do to develop the fruit of the Spirit in his life; it is all the work of the Holy Spirit. Sensing that at best such a statement failed to present a balance of scriptural truth, I took out my concordance and looked up various passages that referred to one or more of the nine character traits listed as fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5. For every one of those traits, I found one or more passages in which we are commanded to exhibit them. We are enjoined to love, to rejoice, to live in peace with each other, and so forth. These commands address our responsibility. When Paul describes his own pursuit of a godlike life, he uses strong verbs such as "press on" and "straining toward" (Philippians 3:12-14). These words convey the idea of intense effort on his part and communicate forcefully his own sense of personal responsibility. He tells Timothy, "Train yourself to be godly" (1 Timothy 4:7). The Greek word rendered "train" here originally referred to the training of athletes. The solution to the seemingly incompatible statements that we are both totally responsible and totally dependent is found in Philippians 2:12-13: Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed — not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence — continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Commenting on this passage, Professor Jac J. Müller says, "The believer is called to self-activity, to the active pursuit of the will of God, to the promotion of the spiritual life in himself, to the realization of the virtues of the Christian life, and to a personal application of salvation." If we stopped at this point, it would appear that we are left to our own devices, to our own strength of character and our own willpower. But Paul does not stop with our responsibility. He says, "For it is God who works in you." The spiritual power that enables us to apply ourselves to the cultivation of Christian graces is of God, who works in us to will and to act. Nineteenth-century Dutch Reformed pastor George W. Bethune puts it this way: While, therefore, we grow in the Christian life by divine grace, it is our duty to grow in grace. Besides, the quality of grace is such that, though it is strength from God, we must use it. Grace gives no new faculty, but strengthens the faculties which we have. ... Hence the fruits of the Spirit are the qualities and actions of the renewed man, not produced without him, but wrought through him. ... Let us then be ever mindful of our entire dependence upon the Spirit of God ... [but] let us be ever mindful of our duty "to maintain good works." PUT OFF AND PUT ON The fourth principle of godly character is that the development of godly character entails both putting off and putting on character traits. As we saw at the beginning of this chapter, Paul says, You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. EPHESIANS 4:22-24, EMPHASIS ADDED In the succeeding verses (4:25–5:4), Paul makes some very specific applications of this principle. We are to put off falsehood and put on truthfulness. We are to put off stealing and put on generosity. Unwholesome talk must be put off and replaced with speech that is helpful for building others up. Bitterness, rage, anger, and slander are to be replaced with kindness, compassion, and forgiveness. Obscene or suggestive speech is to be replaced with thanksgiving. Even Paul's list of gracious qualities in Galatians 5, called the fruit of the Spirit, is set in contrast to a lengthy catalog of vices of the sinful nature that the godly person must put off. It was said of the Lord Jesus that He both loved righteousness and hated wickedness (see Hebrews 1:9). And we are to follow His example, for Paul instructs us to "hate what is evil; cling to what is good" (Romans 12:9). Surely we must put to death, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, the misdeeds of the body. But we must also, again with His enablement, clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. (Continues...) Excerpted from The Fruitful Life by Jerry Bridges . Copyright © 2006 Jerry Bridges. Excerpted by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site. Read more