[Maximum Joy Series] The Fruit of Fellowship Sample

Roots and Fruits–the Child of God

Are you experiencing deep intimacy with God? Are you soaring in the heavens? If your answer to this kind of life is no, it is because there are barriers chaining you to earth. You were designed to “fly” according to your new birth in Christ. If you are not “flying,” through this devotional we will help you to understand which are the chains that are preventing you from flying.  

Our reading for today deals with the most difficult section of 1 John for all interpreters. This is our second look at the purpose of right living. In our introduction to right living (1:5−2:2) we learned that known sin in the life of a believer is a barrier to a close walk with God, but through genuine confession of that sin, the barrier is removed. 

In this further development of right living (2:29−3:10a) we can see that when a Christian knowingly sins, he is acting out of character. He is living contrary to God’s design for him. He’s a golden eagle living like a prairie chicken, chained to the earth. 

So, if a Christian who knowingly sins is acting out of character and does not enjoy fellowship with our Lord, our question should be, “What does a child of God do, then? What is the sign or fruit of his or her actions?” The answer is found in verse 7: “Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous” (3:7 NKJV). Just as God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all (1:5), because it is His nature, in the same way, if you see someone doing divine righteousness (not human righteousness but divine) you can know it is coming from God’s divine nature in that person. In other words, the person doing divine righteousness must be born again, he must have God’s divine nature. John goes from the deeds to the character, from the fruit to the root. Divine roots produce divine fruits.

Having God’s divine nature does not mean that we are exactly like God. We have some of His nature which was given to us when we were born again. He “shares” some of His nature and through us He can produce love, truth, holiness, and so on. 

As children of God, we were designed to soar in the sky, to display God’s glory (essence) all around us. God is love, His Spirit in us produces love. God is holy, that is why He wants us to be holy, just as He is holy. God living in us produces divine fruit. It is natural, it is not mechanic, it is not something that we can produce out of our own strength. It comes from God. Be who you were designed to be, do not allow sin to hinder you from experiencing maximum joy.