SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/22/2016 10:26 PM
My Worship Time Focus: The Gospel Truth Reproduces Fruit
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Colossians 1:6b
Message of the verse: “it is
constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also
since the day you heard of it.”
Sometimes I am amazed at how my Spiritual Diaries that I do in the morning and the ones that I do in the evening have parallel thoughts as this one does this evening. In the morning we have been studying the 15th chapter of John’s gospel, and the first part of that chapter speaks about the vine and the branches, the Vinedresser, and the fruit. Another thing that we can see from this half verse is that the Colossians were passing on the good news of the gospel to others soon after they heard it, and I can absolutely understand that as I did the same thing soon after I became a believer.
The gospel
is not a stagnant system of ethics but it is a living moving and growing
reality. This is why John speaks of the
vine and the branches in the fifteenth chapter of his gospel. Beside that one has to use the Word of God in
order to tell someone else about the gospel and the writer of Hebrews writes “For the word of God is living and active
and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of
soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and
intentions of the heart (Heb. 4:12).”
The gospel will produce fruit both in the individual and also in the universal aspect. The universal aspect and also the individual aspect are why I take the time everyday to write my Spiritual Diaries and post them onto my blogs. It is interesting that of the almost 87,000 Spiritual Diaries that have been looked at almost 57% are read from those outside the United States, and for that I can say a hardy AMEN!
Paul is thankful for the believers in the Colossian church who not only have come to the knowledge of the truth, but have passed it along to others in a similar way that the Thessalonian church did “Finally, brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it did also with you (2 Thess. 3:1).”
The gospel produces fruit in the believers of a church which causes it to produce fruit in the church as a whole. This is done through the work of the Holy Spirit who causes growth and fruit to come from people and churches as a whole as the individuals reads, studies, prays, and listens to Pastor’s preach the Word to them.
It seems to me that the early church had great spiritual growth for a long period of time, but then as we see in the 2nd chapter of Revelation something happened that slowed the progress of the church: “4 ’But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 ’Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place-unless you repent (Rev. 2:4-5).” The churches in the book of Revelation were seven literal churches, but some believe that they are prophetic in the order that they were placed in the letter. The dominant church in different eras followed the order of the list in Revelation 2 and 3. Now that does not mean that there are different types of these churches throughout the church age, but we are speaking of the dominant church, and as we look at the order and the period of time we believe we are in now and most fundamental Bible Teachers believe we are in the Laodicean church age, but I am here to tell you that the church that I go to which last month turned 180 years old standing firm in preaching the gospel is not of the Laodicean mode. I guess I got off the track a bit, sorry.
John MacArthur concludes this section by writing “The living gospel is the power that transforms lives. As it does so, the witness of those transformed lives produce fruit, including new converts. So as the gospel produces fruit in individual lives, its influence spreads.”
12/22/2016 10:49 PM
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