Bearing Fruit for His Glory: What God Wants to Do in and Through Us

By Robert A. Haggard

This book discusses the indispensability of the fruit of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer in Jesus Christ. The author, Robert A. Haggard, beseeches the reader to seek the Person of Jesus Christ -- to know and love Him -- and to expect the fruit of His Spirit that glorifies God the Father as a byproduct of that close relationship. The author’s main purposes in this book are: 1) That it would glorify God; 2) That it would edify its readers; and 3) That it would inject life into its readers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jul 26, 2022
• ISBN: 9781664271692

Robert A. Haggard

Robert A. Haggard MD, FAAFP is a recently retired family physician with a wealth of life experiences in relationships, health, family life, church life, writing of numerous Christian articles for his church, the military as a US Air Force physician, numerous Christian medical missions to Romania and Haiti, scriptural study, and leadership roles in the military, medicine and several churches. He and his lovely wife, Lisa, have been happily married for 37 years and have three wonderful adult daughters -- Anna, Laura and Erin -- and two delightful, young grandsons. Robert and Lisa have lived in Lebanon, Pennsylvania for the past 29 years.

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ISBN: 978-1-6642-7170-8 (sc)

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2022912486

WestBow Press rev. date: 07/21/2022

CONTENTS

Introduction

Chapter One The Indwelling Holy Spirit

Chapter Two Love

Chapter Three Joy

Chapter Four Peace

Chapter Five Patience

Chapter Six Kindness

Chapter Seven Goodness

Chapter Eight Faithfulness

Chapter Nine Gentleness

Chapter Ten Self-Control

Chapter Eleven Conclusion

Acknowledgments

Bibliography

Appendix 1: The Athanasian Creed

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,

kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-

control. Against such things there is no law.

—Galatians 5:22–23

INTRODUCTION

My desire to give full expression to the crucial importance and indispensability of the fruit of the Holy Spirit in the Christian life began many years ago. There are many examples I could give, but one sticks out in my mind most strikingly. I recall one particular high school basketball game I was watching between two private Christian schools. It was a home game for the school all my daughters were attending. Our coach considered Christian character more important than winning. Unfortunately, the opposing team’s coach apparently did not.

The difference in the character of the two coaches and, not surprisingly, their players was diametric. The foul mouths and poor sportsmanship that emanated from the opposing coach and players were embarrassing. If you had asked both coaches and probably all the players on each team, they all would have said they were born-again Christians. I don’t question their faith, but I strongly disagree with their apparent view of the Christian life.

Many Christians and Christian denominations emphasize the act of salvation to the near exclusion of subsequent behavior. To be sure, salvation is absolutely necessary to enter this eternal kingdom, but as many have stated over the years, if God intended only that, He could have gently drowned each of us at baptism so He wouldn’t have risked the certainty of our future sins, bad mistakes, and unwise decisions.

Jesus, speaking to His disciples in Matthew 7:15–20, says, "Watch out for the false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them" (emphasis mine).

Lest we assume from this that only non-Christians can bear bad fruit (Jesus is likely using some hyperbole above), James, speaking to believers regarding the taming of the tongue, says, "With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water" (James 3:9–12, emphasis mine).

To be sure, salvation is by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8–9), and without that, we cannot become Christians. Where does that lead us, however? Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand (Rom. 5:1–2). We go from grace to grace. And where does grace take us? For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled [self-control is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22–23)], upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own [goodness is another fruit of the Holy Spirit [(Gal. 5:22–23)], eager to do what is good (Titus 2:11–14). God, by His grace, builds in us an eagerness to produce good fruit in His kingdom.

It’s a shame that much of the church hasn’t understood these verses fully or just hasn’t taken them seriously. How many of us consistently love our neighbor as ourselves (Matt. 19:19)? Or even more—love each other as He has loved us (John 15:12)? Do we rejoice (fruit of joy) in the Lord always (Phil. 4:4)? How many of us are kept in perfect peace (Isa. 26:3)? Do many of us have great endurance and patience (Col. 1:11)? How many of us always try to be kind to each other (1 Thess. 5:15)? Are we always eager to do what is good (Titus 2:14)? Are we faithful even to the point of death (Rev. 2:10)? Is our gentleness evident to all (Phil. 4:5)? Do we sometimes allow Satan to tempt us because of our lack of self-control (1 Cor. 7:5)? If the fruit of the Holy Spirit were evident in the lives of those in the body of Christ even a little more than it is, our witness would be powerful.

What is the fruit of the Holy Spirit? Some consider it exclusively the nine fruits listed in Galatians 5:22–23—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Note that the list is introduced as fruit (singular). The Greek word karpos in this passage means fruit—literally or figuratively. It is followed by the Greek verb esti, which means is (third person, singular). Hence, in a sense these nine characteristics are considered as one. God intends for us to have all of them together as one. I believe this is very important.

I recall as a young Christian in the late 1970s and early 1980s during the charismatic movement that people (myself included) were very enthusiastic about receiving the gifts of the Holy Spirit. We often talked about certain people having this or that gift. I don’t believe God wants it to be that way with the fruit of the Holy Spirit. He wants each of us to have all the fruit, not just one or a few. Fruit has to do with character, and God’s ultimate purpose for us is to build His character in each of us (see Rom. 8:29; 2 Cor. 3:18; Eph. 1:4), thereby bringing utmost glory to Him and the most optimal effectiveness in spreading the gospel to a world that is in desperate need to hear it in all its fullness. If each of us had one or two fruits of the Holy Spirit and not all of them, we might have Christians who were kind but not patient or joyful but without goodness. This wouldn’t represent Jesus Christ well to a world that needs to know the real Jesus.

I don’t believe these nine fruits listed in Galatians 5:22–23 are the only fruit of the Holy Spirit. The following list of fruit (twenty-six in number) is perhaps not exhaustive, but it gives more of an idea of the vastness of fruit God wants to produce in each of us (see Rom. 5:3–5; 14:17; 15:4; 1 Cor. 4:20; 2 Cor. 4:15; 6:6–7; 7:11; 8:7; 9:10–11; Gal. 5:22–23; Eph. 5:9; Col. 2:7; 3:12, 16; 1 Tim. 6:11; 2 Tim. 1:7; 2; 2:22; James 1:2–4; 2 Peter 1:5–7). These include brotherly love, character, compassion, eager desire (and earnestness) to do good, faith, faithfulness, generosity, gentleness (meekness), godliness, gratitude (thankfulness), hope, humility, indignation (righteous), joy, kindness, love (unconditional), patience (perseverance, long-suffering, understanding), peace, power, righteousness, self-control (temperance), self-discipline, truth, truthful speech, and vengeance (against evil). That is quite a litany! But it does encourage us, knowing that God is producing all these characteristics in us as we surrender, obey, and cooperate with Him.

In defining the fruit of the Holy Spirit, let us not confuse the fruit of the Holy Spirit with the gifts of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 12:6–8; 1 Cor. 12:4–11, 28–31; Eph. 4:7–13; 1 Peter 4:10–11). The gifts of the Holy Spirit are just as presented—gifts. God blesses us with them, and we have little to do but receive them. Fruit, on the other hand, like that produced by trees, must be developed. God has His part in it, and we have ours. Jesus gives a wonderful picture of the process of producing fruit in us in John 15:1–8.

I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in Him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.