What is meant by bearing fruit? How can a Christian bear fruit?

TL;DR:

“Bearing fruit” is a phrase that describes the outward actions that result from the inward condition of a person’s heart. As Christians, we want to bear fruit in keeping with our relationship with God and that demonstrates we have been made new in Christ.

what does the bible say?

The Bible teaches us that there are two types of fruit that our lives can bear: fruit that is of the Holy Spirit and fruit that comes from the flesh, or our sinful desires. Since we are naturally sinful, we can easily bear the things that Galatians 5:16-21 lists such as idolatry, jealousy, and fits of anger. We have to rely on God to bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit, which includes attributes like love, peace, patience, and kindness (Galatians 5:22-23). These fruits that come from the Holy Spirit are visible evidence of our relationship with Christ and His work in our lives (Galatians 5:24). Jesus teaches us in John 15:4-5 that the key to bearing this good fruit is to stay close to Him and that apart from Him we will not be able to accomplish our goal. 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us that, once we have accepted Christ as Lord, we are a new creation. What we used to be, in our sinful nature, is gone, and the new, our connection with the Holy Spirit, has come. This change from the old to the new changes what we bear from the fruit of the sinful world to the fruit of the Holy Spirit. As we actively move away from the sinful desires told to us in Galatians 5: 19-21 and draw closer to God, we will continue to bear the fruit He desires to see in our lives.

from the old testament

Psalm 119:11: When we read God’s Word and keep it in our minds constantly, we will not bear sinful fruit but rather good fruit.
Proverbs 11:30: The fruit that a believer bears should be uplifting and life-giving to themselves and those around them.

from the new testament

Matthew 5:16: The good fruit we bear as Christians should not be kept hidden from others but rather act as a light that shows them God’s glory.
Matthew 7:17-18: Jesus tells us in these verses that good trees bear good fruit, while bad trees bear bad fruit. This illustration reminds us that our sinful nature bears sinful fruit, while the Spirit of God in our lives results in us bearing good fruit.
Matthew 7:20: We are recognizable as believers in Christ to the world around us by the good, God-honoring fruit we bear.
Matthew 13:3-9: In the parable of the sower, Jesus tells of four types of soil, or heart conditions, of those who hear the Gospel. The best soil in this parable is the person that hears the Gospel, receives it, and grows into a mature, fruitful believer because of the condition of his heart toward God.
Matthew 15:19: The condition of our heart, either good or bad, will determine the fruit that we bear.
John 15:4-5: In this passage, Jesus tells us that He is the vine, and we are the branches. If we stay connected to Him, we will remain strong, healthy believers who bear good fruit. If we do not remain connected to Jesus, we cannot bear the fruit He desires from our lives.
2 Corinthians 3:18: As we become more like Jesus through His work in our lives, we bear fruit that is more glorying to Him.
2 Corinthians 5:17: When we accept Christ into our lives, we become a new creation. We no longer bear fruit in keeping with our former sinful nature but instead bear fruit that is a result of our faith.
Galatians 5:16-24: This passage outlines the different fruits a person can bear, those from the sinful nature and those from the Holy Spirit. Fruit of the sinful nature includes things like hatred, selfishness, envy, and idolatry. The fruit that comes from the Holy Spirit includes such attributes as peace, perseverance, gentleness, and self-control.
Ephesians 5:10: We should work at finding out what pleases God and then do those things in order to bear good fruit.

implications for today

Every person bears fruit, whether it be sinful or not. Believers must desire to produce fruit in keeping with our connection to God and His Spirit. That fruit comes from a growing relationship with Him. To bear fruit, we must spend time learning what pleases God as Ephesians 5:10 tells us. We can do this by regularly spending time in God’s Word and in prayer. The more time we spend meditating and focusing on the things of God, the more we will become like Him. Then, we will be bearers of good fruit that brings glory to God. We must also, at times, actively flee from the desires of our human, sinful nature that can cause us to bear sinful fruit. We must flee from the lusts of the flesh that we read about in Galatians 5:19-21 so that we do not fall into temptation and bear harmful, sinful fruit. Bearing good fruit is something we become better at as we continue to grow in Christ and allow Him to transform our hearts and minds to be more like Him and less like the world.

understand

The fruit we bear is a direct result of the condition of our hearts.
In order to bear good fruit, we must be connected with God and allow Him to transform our hearts to be more like Him.
We can maintain our connection to God by regularly reading His Word, spending time in prayer, and avoiding things that pull us toward our sinful nature.

reflect

What kind of fruit do you see in your life, and how does it reflect the current condition of your heart?
How can staying connected to God through prayer and Scripture shape the type of fruit you bear?
In what areas of your life do you need to actively turn away from sinful desires to bear fruit that glorifies God?

engage

What role does the Holy Spirit versus individual responsibility play in bearing fruit in a Christian’s life?
What practical steps can we take to identify and flee from the sinful desires mentioned in Galatians 5:19-21?
How can the fruits of the Spirit serve as a witness to others about the transformative power of a relationship with Christ?