CHRISTIAN LIFE 101 – FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT – PART 6
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
[Dr. Grace] “Good morning, class! My name is Dr. Grace and welcome back to Introduction to the Christian life. Today, we are going to conclude our roadmap for how to live the Christian life by examining the fruit of the Spirit.”
[Dr. Grace] “By way of introduction, what are some of the ways in which God has revealed Himself to us?”
[Class raises hands.] [Dr. Grace] “Mr. Law.”
[Mr. Law] “Creation.”
[Dr. Grace] “Correct! ‘Since the creation of the world God’s invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made.’ Thus, from creation alone we can deduce that God exists and that He is infinite, all-powerful, and incredibly intelligent. However, we cannot fully comprehend how holy, faithful, merciful, and loving He is… unless, of course, He were to reveal these things more explicitly, which brings us to our second mode of revelation:
[Dr. Grace] ‘In the past God spoke to our ancestors at many times and in various ways through the…”
[Christian] “Prophets!”
[Dr. Grace] “Correct again! Through the prophets, the Lord called people to repentance, warned of the consequences for disobedience, and revealed His compassion and faithfulness as He foretold of the coming Messiah.”
[Dr. Grace] “God spoke to our ancestors at many times and in various ways but in these last days He has spoken to us through his…”
[Mr. Law] “Son! Beat you on that one.”
[Dr. Grace] “Yes, indeed! Class, if you want to know what God is like, look no further than Jesus Christ, for He is the exact representation of God in bodily form.”
[Dr. Grace] “Of course, many of the words spoken by the prophets and many of the things Jesus said and did during His life and after his resurrection were written down and preserved in…”
[Christian] “The Bible!”
[Dr. Grace] “That’s right! God’s Word contains a combination of history, prophecy, wisdom, and instruction—all of which is inspired by the Holy Spirit and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness.”
[Dr. Grace] “In the Old Testament, there was a nation that was to be glorified and beautiful, a city on a hill…”
[Mr. Law and Christian] “The Nation of Israel!”
[Dr. Grace] “Precisely! During Solomon’s reign, people came to Jerusalem from all over the world to see and hear Solomon’s wisdom and they glorified God.”
[Dr. Grace] “In the New Testament, there is a new body of believers…”
[Mr. Law and Christian] “The Church!”
[Dr. Grace] “Amen! Correct again! This new body of believers is the fulfillment of God’s promises to Abraham. People from all nations, tribes, and tongues are invited to receive the redemption that is through Christ Jesus.”
[Dr. Grace] “Class, do nonbelievers you know hang out with prophets, spend time with Jesus, and read their Bibles?”
[Dr. Grace] “They don’t, do they? Therefore, which mode of revelation do nonbelievers interact with the most?”
[Christian] “The Church?”
[Dr. Grace] “That’s right, Christian, the Church, the Body of Christ! It is a profound privilege and very sobering thought that the all-powerful, all-knowing, all-present, righteous, holy, infinite, Almighty God, chooses to reveal Himself to the world through you and me. Now let me ask you… when a nonbeliever looks at the fruit of your life, what do they see?”
[Dr. Grace] “Have you ever walked up to a fruit tree and heard it straining and groaning to produce fruit?”
[Dr. Grace] “Of course, not. When the right conditions are met, the tree naturally does what it was designed to do. The same is true for us. When the right conditions are met, that is, when we walk in the Spirit, we will produce spiritual fruit.”
[Dr. Grace] “Have you ever seen a fruit tree eating its own fruit?”
[Dr. Grace] “Of course, not. While the fruit of the Spirit does provide tremendous benefits to us, the fruit is intended to glorify God by blessing other people in our lives. This is one of the ways God reveals Himself to the world.”
[Dr. Grace] “Now, class… Imagine one day you exhibit genuine, selfless love to someone who is being unlovable and extremely difficult towards you. Now, the next day, this person learns about your family crisis, health problems, and intense workload. Unbeknownst to you, over the days and weeks that follow, this person watches you from a distance and they are astonished by your joyful disposition and calm inner peace that you seem to exhibit on a daily basis, even the really bad days. How do you think this person will respond?”
[Mr. Law] “I suppose… at some point they will look at their own life and recognize that given the same circumstances they would not be as loving, joyful, peaceful or patient.”
[Dr. Grace] “Absolutely, Mr. Law! And then what?”
[Mr. Law is thinking.] [Christian] “Well… eventually we are going to share the Gospel with them, right?”
[Dr. Grace] “Absolutely, Christian! And the fruit of the Spirit will be the cause. One day, this person who has been watching you will express their observations in some form of question or a statement that will give you the opportunity to say, ‘It’s not me, but Christ in me. I have a restored relationship with God the Father through Jesus Christ the Son. You can, too. Would you like to know how?’”
[Bell rings.]
[Dr. Grace] “That’s all the time we have for today. Remember, class, the power to live the Christian life doesn’t originate from you, but Christ in you, the hope of glory. God bless you and class dismissed.”
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