Fruit
Fruit
1. The word in its literal sense.-Before considering the use of this term in spiritual metaphor it will be convenient to enumerate those passages in the apostolic writings where it is employed in its natural sense. (a) General.-These are Jam 5:7; Jam 5:18 (in illustration of patience and prayer), Act 14:17 (Gods gift of rain and fruitful seasons), 1Co 9:7 (in support of the apostles right to sustenance; cf. 2Ti 2:6), Rev 18:14; Rev 22:2 -passages which, like some of the others, are on the borderland between the literal and the symbolic. Jud 1:12 compares the ungodly of the day with trees in late autumn when the fruit is past. In Act 2:30 the word is used in its physiological sense.
(b) Specific.-References to specific fruits are not numerous. Jam 3:12 asks whether a fig-tree can yield olives or a vine figs. St. Paul in Rom 11:17 f. uses the curious idea of grafting a wild olive on to a good olive tree (contrary to nature, Rom 11:24) to illustrate the participation of the Gentiles in the promises made to Israel. Rev 11:4 identifies the two witnesses (perhaps St. Peter and St. Paul) with the two olive trees of Zechariah 4; and Rev 6:13 in its mention of a fig-tree casting her unripe figs in the spring tempests recalls Isa 34:4, Rev 14:14-20 is a vision of the harvest and vintage of the earth when the grain and the grapes are fully ripe. St. Pauls use of the grain or wheat in the great Resurrection argument of 1 Corinthians 15 is familiar to all, and is an echo of Christs word in Joh 12:24-25.
2. The term in spiritual metaphor.-We may begin our study of the spiritual lessons inculcated under the image of fruit with another passage from Corinthians. In 1Co 3:9 the Apostle reminds his readers that they are Gods husbandry, i.e. His tilth or tilled land. This recalls the Parable of the Vineyard spoken by Jesus (Matthew 21, Luke 20); Christian churches and lives are fields and gardens from which the owner who has spent love and time and care over them may reasonably expect good results, fruit unto God (Rom 7:4). And those too who are His overseers, those who plant and water, naturally look for produce and the reward of their toil. Thus the Apostle hopes, as he looks forward to his visit to Rome, that he may have some fruit among the people of that city as he had in Corinth and Ephesus (Rom 1:13). Two passages in Phil. may be glanced at here: (a) the difficult reference in Rom 1:22, which probably means that, though death would be gain, yet if continuance in living means fruitful labour (fruit of work = fruit which fallows and issues from toil), St. Paul is quite ready to waive his own preference; (b) Rom 4:17, where, thanking the Philippians for their kindly gift, he says he welcomes it not so much for himself as on their behalf; it is a token that they are not unfruitful in love, and it will, like all such evidences of Christian thought and ministry, enrich the givers as much as the recipient (cf. 2Co 9:6).
(1) The way is now clear for a brief survey of the main topic-the fruits of the new life in Christ Jesus. The fruit of the light, says St. Paul (Eph 5:9), is in all goodness and righteousness and truth, and the more familiar passage in Gal 5:22 speaks of the fruit of the Spirit as love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control. Trees are known by their fruit, and the existence of these virtues in an individual or a community are the surest, if not the sole, signs that the life is rooted with Christ in God, that the branches are abiding in the True Vine. It was the Apostles greatest joy when he could congratulate a church like that at Colossae on its share in the fruit-bearing which the gospel was accomplishing wherever it was proclaimed and accepted (Col 1:6), when it bore fruit in every good work (Col 1:10). The fruit of the new life is regarded in Rom 6:22 as sanctification. On the other hand, St. James (Jam 3:17) gives it as one of the characteristics of the wisdom that is from above-which is perhaps his way of speaking of the Spirit-that it is full of good fruits, by which he no doubt means good works. In the next verse he says that the fruit (i.e. the seed which bears the fruit) of righteousness is sown in peace for them that make peace. The fruit of righteousness is an OT phrase, and meets us again in Php 1:11 and Heb 12:11, where righteousness, or conformity to the highest moral standard, is described as the peaceful fruit of discipline patiently endured.
Returning to the locus classicus, Gal 5:22, it is worth noticing that St. Paul introduces the nine virtues which he enumerates as one fruit. Like the chain of graces in 2Pe 1:5-7, they are all linked together as though to suggest that the absence of any one means the nullity of all. We need not press too heavily the suggestion that the nine fall into three groups describing (a) the soul in relation to God; (b) its attitude to others (this is to make faith = faithfulness, and though St. Paul usually thinks of faith as the basis of Christian character, he was not so rigidly systematic as not to see in it, or at least in an increase of it, a fruit of the Spirit); (c) principles of daily conduct. There is more perhaps in the antithesis between the works of the flesh (2Pe 1:19) and the fruit of the Spirit. Yet the dispositions enumerated show themselves in good works, though these are not expressly specified, being infinitely varied and adaptable to changing conditions. The list may be supplemented, for example, by Heb 13:15, where praise is the fruit of a thankful heart expressed by the lips, and Rom 15:28, where the generosity of the Gentile Christians towards the Judaea n poor is the fruit of the spiritual blessing which St. Pauls converts had received.
(2) The unfruitful.-The other side of the picture can be briefly dismissed. Those who walk in darkness are spoken of as unfruitful (Eph 5:11). What fruit had you then in those things of which you are ashamed? asks St. Paul in Rom 6:21, though we might possibly translate, What fruit had you then?-Things (gratifications of sense) of which you are now ashamed. In Rom 7:4 the Apostle describes the unregenerate life as producing fruit unto death, and if we desire an enumeration of these poisonous products we shall find them in Gal 5:19-21 (cf. Col 3:5-9). For the final harvesting we have the picture of Revelation 14.
(3) The time of fruit-bearing.-It is the will of Jesus that His disciples should bear much fruit; in His words on this theme (John 15) He does not seem to contemplate the possibility of bearing a little. It is much or none. The trouble is that churches and individuals only too often look like orchards stricken by a blight, and where a little fruit is found it is not so mellow as it might be. We need not be in too great a hurry to see the full fruit in young lives. There is a time for blossom and a time for ripe fruit, and the intervening stage is not attractive though it is necessary. There is a time for the blade and a time for the full corn in the ear, but before we get this harvest there is the period of the green and unsatisfying ear. We sometimes speak of a harvest of souls following on a series of revival or mission services; but it is only the blade pushing up into the light-the harvest is still far distant.
A day now and again with a fruit-grower on his farm will have much to teach the preacher as to natural law in the spiritual world. He will learn amongst other things how vital is the process of pruning, and how no stroke is made at random. He will learn how to guard the nascent life against frosts and chills, its need of nutriment from soil and sun and rain. The wonderful exploits of the Californian fruit-grower, Luther Burbank, will open up a whole universe of possibilities; the story of what irrigation and scientific culture have done in Australia will show how deserts may become orchards. And as palm trees are said to bear their heaviest clusters in old age, the life that abides in Christ may be confident of escaping the reproach or crabbed and withered senility-it shall bring forth fruit in old age. But it need not wait for old age-it shall be like the tree of life that bears its fruit every month-fruit that is for the delectation and the healing of the world.
A. J. Grieve.
Fuente: Dictionary of the Apostolic Church
Fruit
(properly , peri’, ), an extensive term, denoting produce in general, whether vegetable or animal, and also used in a figurative sense (see Gesenius’s Heb. Lex. and Robinson’s Greek Lex.). The Hebrews had three generic terms designating three great classes of the fruits of the land, closely corresponding to what may be expressed in English as, 1. Corn- fruit, or field produce; 2. Vintage-fruit; 3. Orchard-fruit. The term , ka’yits, “summer-fruits,” appears to denote those less important species of fruit which were adapted only to immediate consumption, or could not easily or conveniently be conserved for winter use (Jer 40:10; Jer 40:12). The three terms spoken of as being so frequently associated in the Scriptures, and expressive of a most comprehensive triad of blessings, are thefollowing: 1. , dagan’, “fruit of the field,” or agricultural produce. Under this term the Hebrews classed almost every object of field-culture SEE AGRICULTURE. Jahn says, “The word is of general signification, and comprehends in itself different kinds of grain and pulse, such as wheat, millet, spelt, wall-barley, barley, beans, lentils, meadow-cumin, pepper- wort, flax, cotton, various species of the cucumber, and perhaps rice” (Bib. Archaeol. 58). There is now no doubt among scholars that dagan comprehends the largest and most valuable species of vegetable produce, and therefore it will be allowed that the rendering of the word in the common version by “corn,” and sometimes by “wheat,” instead of “every species of corn” or field produce, tends to limit our conceptions of the divine bounty, as well as to impair the beauty of the passages where it occurs. SEE CORN.
2. , tirosh’, “the fruit of the vine” in its natural or its solid state, comprehending grapes, moist or dried, and the fruit in general, whether in the early cluster or the mature and ripened condition (Isa 65:8, which is rendered by , grape, in the Sept., refers to the young grape; while Jdg 9:13, where the vine said, Shall I leave my tirosh [fruit], which cheereth God and man?” as evidently refers to the ripened produce which was placed on the altar as a first-fruit offering in grateful acknowledgment of the divine goodness). “Sometimes,” says Jahn, “the grapes were dried in the sun, and preserved in masses, which were called , anabim’, , ashishim’, and , tsimmukim’ (1Sa 25:18; 2Sa 16:1; 1Ch 12:40; Hos 3:1)” (Bib. Archol. 69). It is also distinctly referred to as the yielder of wine, and therefore was not wine itself, but the raw material from which it was expressed or prepared, as is evident from its distinctive contrast with wine in Amos 6:15, last clause. SEE WINE.
3. , yitshar’, “orchard-fruits,” especially winter or keeping fruits, as dates, figs, olives, pomegranates, citrons, nuts, etc. As we distinguish dagan from (wheat), and tirosh from and , so must we yitshar from (oil), which are unfortunately confounded together in the common version. Shemen, beyond question, is the proper word for oil, not yitshar; hence, being a specific thing, we find it in connection with a great variety of specific purposes, as sacrificial and holy uses, edibles, traffic, vessels, and used in illustration of taste, smoothness, plumpness, insinuation, condition, fertility, and luxury. Yitshar, as to the mode of its use, presents a complete contrast to shemen. It is not, even in a single passage, employed either by way of comparison or in illustration of any particular quality common to it with other specific articles. In one passage only is it joined with , zayith, “olive,” the oil of which it has erroneously been supposed to signify, and even here (2Ki 18:32) it retains as an adjective the generic sense of the noun, “preserving-fruit.” It should be read, “a land of preserving-olives (zeyth-yitshas) and dates (debash).” Cato has a similar expression, oleam conditivam, “preserving-olive tree” (De Re Rust. 6). It may be observed that the Latin terms ma’um and pomumn had an extended meaning very analogous to the Hebrew yitshar. Thus Varro asks, “Is not Italy so planted with fruit-trees as to seem one entire pomarium?” i.e., orchard (De Re Rust. 1:2). SEE OLIVE; SEE OIL.
Thus the triad of terms we have been considering would comprehend every vegetable substance of necessity and luxury commonly consumed by the Hebrews of which first-fruits were presented or tithes paid, and this view of their meaning will also explain why the injunctions concerning offerings and tithes were sufficiently expressed by these terms alone (Num 18:12; Deu 14:23). SEE ORCHARD.
On the terms rendered in our version fruitful field,” “fruitful place,” etc., SEE CARMEL.
The term “fruit” is also used of persons (2Ki 19:30; Jer 12:2), and of offspring, children (Psa 21:10; Hos 9:16; Exo 21:22), so in the phrases “fruit of the womb” (Gen 30:2; Deu 7:13; Isa 13:18; Luk 1:42), “fruit of the loins” (Act 2:30), “fruit of the body” (Psa 132:13; Mic 6:7), and also for the progeny of beasts (Deu 28:51; Isa 14:29). This word is also used metaphorically in a variety of forms, the figure being often preserved: “They shall eat the fruit of their doings,” i.e., experience the consequences (Isa 3:10; Pro 1:31; Jer 6:19; Jer 17:10); “with the fruit of thy works (of God) is the earth satisfied,” i.e., is watered with rain, which is the fruit of the clouds (Psa 104:13); “fruit of the hands,” i.e., gain, profits (Pro 31:16); ” fruit of a proud heart,” i.e., boasting (Isa 10:12); “fruit of the mouth, i.e., what a man says, or his words (Pro 12:14; Pro 18:20); “fruit of the righteous,” i.e., counsel and example (Pro 11:30); ” to pay over the fruits,” i.e., produce as rent (Mat 21:41); “fruit of the vine,” i.e., wine (Mat 26:29; Mar 14:25; Luk 22:18); “fruits meet for repentance,” i.e., conduct becoming a profession of penitence (Mat 3:8); ” fruit of the lips,” i.e., what the lips utter (Heb 13:15; Hos 14:3); “fruits of righteousness,” i.e., holy actions springing from a renewed heart (Php 1:11). “Fruit,” in Rom 15:28, is the contribution produced by benevolence and zeal. “Fruit unto God,” and “fruit unto death,” i.e., to live worthy of God or of death (Rom 7:4-5). The “fruits of the Spirit” are enumerated in Gal 5:22-23; Eph 5:9; Jam 3:17-18. Fruitfulness in the divine life stands opposed to an empty, barren, and unproductive profession of religion (Joh 15:2-8; Col 1:10; 2Pe 1:5-8; Mat 7:16-20). SEE GARDEN.
FRUIT, “the product of the earth, as trees, plants, etc.
1. ‘Blessed shall be the fruit of thy ground and cattle.’ The fruit of the body signifies children: ‘Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body.’ By fruit is sometimes meant reward: ‘They shall eat of the fruit of their own ways’ (Pro 1:31); they shall receive the reward of their bad conduct, and punishment answerable to their sins. The fruit of the lips is the sacrifice of praise or thanksgiving (Heb 13:15). The fruit of the righteous that is, the counsel, example, instruction, and reproof of the righteous is a tree of life, is a means of much good, both temporal and eternal, and that not only to himself, but to others also (Pro 11:30). Solomon says, in Pro 12:14, ‘A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth;’ that is he shall receive abundant blessings from God as the reward of that good he has done by his pious and profitable discourses. ‘Fruits meet for repentance’ (Mat 3:8) is such a conduct as befits the profession of penitence.
2. The fruits of the Spirit are those gracious habits which the Holy Spirit of God produces in those in whom he dwelleth and worketh, with those acts which flow from them, as naturally as the tree produces its fruit. The apostle enumerates these fruits in Gal 1:22-23. The same apostle, in Eph 5:9, comprehends the fruits of the sanctifying Spirit in these three things, namely, goodness, righteousness, and truth. The fruits of righteousness are such good works and holy actions as spring from a gracious frame of heart: ‘Being filled with the fruits of righteousness,’ Php 1:11. Fruit is taken for a charitable contribution, which is the fruit or effect of faith and love: ‘When I have sealed unto them this fruit,’ Rom 15:28; when I have safely delivered this contribution. When fruit is spoken of good men, then it is to be understood of the fruits or works of holiness and righteousness; but when of evil men, then are mefant the fruits of sin, immorality, and wickedness. This is our Savior’s doctrine, Mat 7:16-18.”
FRUIT-TREE ( , ets-peri’, Gen 1:11, etc.). From the frequent mention of fruit in the Scriptures, we may infer that fruit-bearing trees of various sorts abounded in Palestine. Among the number are specially noticed the vine, olive, pomegranate, fig, sycamore, palm, pear, almond, quince, citron, orange, mulberry, carob, pistacia, and walnut. Other trees and plants also abounded, which yielded their produce in the form of odorous resins and oils, as the balsam, galbanum, frankincense, ladanum, balm, myrrh, spikenard, storax gum, and tragacanth gum. SEE PALESTINE. The ancient Egyptians bestowed great care upon fruit-trees, which are frequently delineated upon the monuments (Wilkinson, 1:36, 55, 57, abridgment). The Mosaic law contains the following prescriptions respecting fruit-trees:
1. The fruit of newly-planted trees was not to be plucked for the first four years (Lev 19:23 sq.). The economical effect of this provision was observed by Philo (Opp. 2:402). Michaelis remarks (Laws of Moses, art. 221), “Every gardener will teach us not to let fruit-trees bear in their earliest years, but to pluck off the blossoms; and for this reason, that they will thus thrive the better, and bear more abundantly afterwards. The very expression, ‘to regard them as uncircumcised,’ suggests the propriety of pinching them off.” Another object of this law may have been to exclude from use crude, immature, and therefore unwholesome fruits. When fruits are in season the Orientals consume great quantities of them. Chardin says the Persians and Turks are not only fond of almonds, plums, and melons in a mature state, but they are remarkable for eating them before they are ripe. But there was also a higher moral object in the Mosaic regulation. Trees were not regarded as full-grown until the fifth year, and all products were deemed immature () and unfit for use until consecrated to Jehovah (Josephu,.Ant. 4:8,19). SEE FORESKIN. The Talmud gives minute rules and many puerile distinctions on the subject (Orlah, 1:10). SEE FIRSTFRUITS.
2. In besieging fortified places fruit-trees were not to be cut down for fuel (q.v.) nor for military purposes (Deu 20:19; compare Josephus, Ant. 4:8, 42; Philo, Opp. 2:400). SEE SIEGE. This humane prohibition, however, was not always observed (2Ki 2:25). SEE TREE.
Fuente: Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
Fruit
a word as used in Scripture denoting produce in general, whether vegetable or animal. The Hebrews divided the fruits of the land into three classes:,
(1.) The fruit of the field, “corn-fruit” (Heb. dagan); all kinds of grain and pulse.
(2.) The fruit of the vine, “vintage-fruit” (Heb. tirosh); grapes, whether moist or dried.
(3.) “Orchard-fruits” (Heb. yitshar), as dates, figs, citrons, etc.
Injunctions concerning offerings and tithes were expressed by these Hebrew terms alone (Num. 18:12; Deut. 14:23). This word “fruit” is also used of children or offspring (Gen. 30:2; Deut. 7:13; Luke 1:42; Ps. 21:10; 132:11); also of the progeny of beasts (Deut. 28:51; Isa. 14:29).
It is used metaphorically in a variety of forms (Ps. 104:13; Prov. 1:31; 11:30; 31:16; Isa. 3:10; 10:12; Matt. 3:8; 21:41; 26:29; Heb. 13:15; Rom. 7:4, 5; 15:28).
The fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22, 23; Eph. 5:9; James 3:17, 18) are those gracious dispositions and habits which the Spirit produces in those in whom he dwells and works.
Fuente: Easton’s Bible Dictionary
Fruit
FRUIT.The consideration of this term as it is used in the Gospels divides itself into three parts: (1) The natural application of the word fruit () to the products of the field and the orchard; (2) other references to fruit under their specific names; (3) the spiritual lessons derived from these allusions.
1. In its natural sense the word fruit is used: (a) in reference to grain-crops (Mat 13:8, Mar 4:7, Luk 8:8; Luk 12:17); (b) physiologically, of the fruit of the womb (Luk 1:42); (c) of the fruit of () trees generally (Mat 3:10, Luk 3:9); () the fig-tree (Mat 21:9, Mar 11:14, Luk 1:36); () the vine (Mat 21:41, Mar 12:2, Luk 20:10).
2. Other references to fruits under their specific names, without the use of the word fruit: (a) grapes (Mat 7:16, Luk 6:44); (b) figs (Mat 7:16, Mar 11:13, Luk 6:44); (c) husks (Luk 15:16, probably the fruit of the carob or locust-tree); (d) mulberry (Luk 17:16; (e) olives (Mat 21:1). Probably the thorns () alluded to in Mat 7:16 are not the so-called Apple of Sodom, but a generic term covering all sorts of prickly plants. The parallel use with thistles () suggests that the fruit was inconsiderable.
3. Spiritual lessons.Christ Himself is intimately associated with (a) the Divine quest of fruit; (b) the Divine creation of fruit; (c) the Divine suffering and sacrifice of fruit-production. The processes of agriculture and horticulture are also, in many ways, utilized as symbols of the Christians culture of the soul.
(a) Jesus descries Himself (Matthew 21, Luke 20) under the figure of the Son whom the Master of the Vineyard sends to ask fruit of the husbandman. Our life is a rich gift to us from God; it is a garden which God has designed with lavish care, endowed with unlimited possibilities, and handed over to our complete control. He has a right to expect that we should use our opportunities.
(b) Jesus uses the figure of the John 15) and the Branches to express the vital and mysterious connexion that exists between Himself and His disciples, and the necessity for our dependence upon Him and His continuous inspiration, if we are to bring forth fruit. It is our responsibility to abide in Him by keeping His commandments. But it is His obligation to create the fruit. We who cannot so much as make a blade of grass grow without His co-operation, are not expected to accomplish the impossible and bring forth fruit of ourselves.
(c) Jesus manifestly alludes to His own death and sacrifice (Joh 12:24) under the allegory of the grain of wheat which falls into the ground and dies, and afterwards rises in the new life of the fruit. This figure betokens the utter consecration and determination of the holiness of God to our redemption. We are apt to shudder and tremble before the holiness of God, as a thing of terrible and inaccessible majesty associated with the Great White Throne. That is because we have not taken full views, but have isolated one part from the rest. God is glorious in His holiness (Psalms 145); it is such holiness as man praises when he sees it; it is hospitable, friendly, and devoted to our welfare. It is determined even unto death to share its joy and health and purity with us (Joh 12:24; Joh 17:19).
In the Museum of the Vatican there is a little glass relic, taken from the Catacombs; it was made as an ornament to be worn round the neck of a woman, and was found in her grave; it represents Christ bringing again the fruit of the Tree of Life.* [Note: See Rex Regum by Sir Wyke Bayliss.] That relic summarizes the Divine aspects of the question of fruit as it is presented in the Gospels. It is Christ who loves fruit, and who desires to find it in us; and it is He who, in the inspiration and creation of the fruit, virtually gives Himself to us.
But, as in agriculture and horticulture the farmer and the gardener are co-operators with God in the production of the fruits of the earth and the fruit of the trees, so, in many ways, the Gospels lay upon us the injunctions of our duty.
(1) We are the ground which brings forth fruit, according as we receive the Word (Mat 13:19 ff., Mar 4:15 ff., Luk 8:12 ff.). If our hearts be like the wayside, trampled over and hardened by the interests and engagements of the world, or if they be readily affected by the opinions of men, or if they be choked by the cares of this life and the deceitfulness of riches, there can be no fruitfulness. It is our duty to prepare the ground by thought and prayer and a regulated life for the reception of Gods truth. The harvest will correspond with the tillage.
(2) We are the branches which bear fruit according as we abide in the Vine (John 15). Just as the gardener prunes and purges a tree so that it may bring forth more fruit, so there are afflictions in this life which are only Gods way of increasing our fruitfulness. The branches which draw most sustenance from the vine are the most productive, so the soul which keeps most faithfully the Lords commandments abides the most in His love and is most fruitful.
(3) We are the grain of wheat which comes to fruit, if it dies (Joh 12:24-25). In the first place, the Master alludes to His own death. But the second reference of the figure is to the essential principle of ethical lifeDie to live.
To Hegel, the great aphorism (of Joh 12:25), in which the Christian ethics and theology may be said to be summed up, is no mere epigrammatic saying, whose self-contradiction is not to be regarded too closely; it is rather the first distinct, though as yet undeveloped, expression of the exact truth as to the nature of spirit. The true interpretation of the maximDie to live,is, that the individual must die to an isolated life,i.e. a life for and in himself, a life in which the immediate satisfaction of desire as his desire is an end in itself,in order that he may live the spiritual life, the universal life which really belongs to him as a spiritual or self-conscious being (Edward Caird, Hegel, p. 213).
(4) We are the husbandmen, who are expected to tend the Vineyard (Luke 20), and to make it fruitful, and to yield up a proportion of the fruit at rightful times to the Lord of the vineyard. The original application of the parable is, doubtless, to the scribes and the chief priests who rejected Jesus, but it is equally applicable to any who think they can do as they please with their life and ignore all obligations to the Giver and Lord.
(5) We are the trees which are known by their fruit (Mat 7:20). Men do not gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles. A tree which is true to its nature and to its destiny brings forth its appropriate fruit. Man, who is by nature a child of God and by destiny an heir of Heaven, should produce the fruit of the Spirit of God.
Literature.For 1 and 2 see Hasting’s Dictionary of the Bible and Encyc. Bibl. art. Fruit. For 3, Expos. Times viii. [1897] 403 f., ix. [1898] 211 ff.; Expositor ii. vii. [1884] 121 ff.; Maclaren, Holy of Holies, 168189; Hull, Sermons, i. 51 ff.; A. Murray, Abide in Christ, 30 ff., 140 ff.; Macmillan, Bible Teachings in Nature, 174 ff.
H. Herbert Snell.
Fuente: A Dictionary Of Christ And The Gospels
Fruit
FRUIT.See Food, 4.
Fuente: Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible
Fruit
FRUIT, FRUITS
In addition to what hath been already offered under the title of First Fruits (which see,) it may not be amiss to observe, that the holy Scriptures are full of expressions to denote the blessedness of the fruits of the Spirit. The Lord in the Old Testament Scripture gave exceeding great and precious promises of blessings, which were to be expected in the fruits and effects under the New Testament dispensation; and in the gospel the Lord Jesus confirmed the whole, when promising to send the Holy Ghost, and testified of his manifold gifts which should follow. (Isa 44:3-5 Joh 14:1-31 Joh 15:1-27 and Joh 16:1-33 chapters throughout; 1Co 12:1-31 throughout.)
Fuente: The Poor Mans Concordance and Dictionary to the Sacred Scriptures
Fruit
froot. See FOOD; BOTANY, and special articles on APPLE; FIG; VINE, etc.
Fuente: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Fruit
the product of the earth, as trees, plants, &c. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy ground and cattle. The fruit of the body signifies children: Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body. By fruit is sometimes meant reward: They shall eat of the fruit of their own ways, Pro 1:31; they shall receive the reward of their bad conduct, and punishment answerable to their sins. The fruit of the lips is the sacrifice of praise or thanksgiving, Heb 13:15. The fruit of the righteous, that is, the counsel, example, instruction, and reproof of the righteous, is a tree of life, is a means of much good, both temporal and eternal; and that not only to himself, but to others also, Pro 11:30. Solomon says, in Pro 12:14, A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth; that is, he shall receive abundant blessings from God as the reward of that good he has done, by his pious and profitable discourses. Fruits meet for repentance, Mat 3:8, is such a conduct as befits the profession of penitence.
2. The fruits of the Spirit are those gracious habits which the Holy Spirit of God produces in those in whom he dwelleth and worketh, with those acts which flow from them, as naturally as the tree produces its fruit. The Apostle enumerates these fruits in Gal 5:22-23. The same Apostle, in Eph 5:9, comprehends the fruits of the sanctifying Spirit in these three things; namely, goodness, righteousness, and truth.
The fruits of righteousness are such good works and holy actions as spring from a gracious frame of heart: Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, Php 1:11. Fruit is taken for a charitable contribution, which is the fruit or effect of faith and love: When I have sealed unto them this fruit, Rom 15:28; when I have safely delivered this contribution. When fruit is spoken of good men, then it is to be understood of the fruits or works of holiness and righteousness; but when of evil men, then are meant the fruits of sin, immorality, and wickedness. This is our Saviour’s doctrine, Mat 7:16-18.
3. Uncircumcised fruit, or impure, of which there is mention in Lev 19:23, is the fruit for the first three years of a tree newly planted; it was reputed unclean, and no one was permitted to eat of it in all that time. In the fourth year it was offered to the Lord; after which it was common, and generally eaten. Various reasons are assigned for this precept. As
(1.) Because the first-fruits were to be offered to God, who required the best: but in this time the fruit was not come to perfection.
(2.) It was serviceable to the trees themselves, which grew the better and faster; being early stripped of those fruits which otherwise would have derived to themselves, and drawn away, much of the strength from the root and tree.
(3.) It tended to the advantage of men, both because the fruit was then waterish, undigestible, and unwholesome; and because hereby men were taught to bridle their appetites, a lesson of great use and absolute necessity in a godly life.
Fuente: Biblical and Theological Dictionary
Fruit
Gen 1:29 (c) This type may be used as a symbol of the blessed results which come from preaching the Gospel. The tree bearing fruit may represent great Christians with great visions and talents. The bushes and herbs may represent lesser ones not so widely known but who also bear fruit after their kind. The grass may be taken to mean the great mass of obscure Christians who tell the story in their own way and win hearts for CHRIST in their own sphere. The fruit is those who are saved. (See Gen 1:11-12).
Gen 4:3 (b) By this type we probably understand that it represents our own self-made righteousness. It was the product of his own efforts.
Num 13:26 (c) We may understand this to be a type of the blessed results of walking with GOD in the promised land.
2Ki 19:30 (a) By this type is revealed that in the restoration Israel will be firmly rooted and grounded in their relationship to GOD, and they will be useful and fruitful in their relationships to the other nations.
Psa 92:14 (a) This is a word of encouragement to those who have come to advanced age in that they will still be useful, and be blessed in their ministry as they come to the end of the journey.
Pro 8:19 (b) We may understand from this picture the spiritual graces which GOD gives to the believer. It may also include rich and fruitful work in which the Christian engages, such as soul winning, Christian edification, missions and other ministries which flow from the hearts of those who are saved by grace.
Pro 10:16 (b) By this type GOD describes the results of wicked living and sinful practices.
Pro 11:30 (b) In contrast to the above, the Lord uses this type as a picture of the results of Godly living and Christian practices.
Son 2:3 (b) This is a symbol of the precious fellowship and the gracious results which come from feeding on CHRIST and His Word.
Jer 17:8 (a) This wonderful type is used to reveal the success that will follow a Godly walk in fellowship with the Lord, and a constant abiding in the Holy Spirit, and a constant feeding on the Word of GOD.
Mat 3:8 (a) This is a type of those works which prove that one is born again and has received the gift of eternal life. (See also Luk 3:8).
Mat 12:33 (b) Here is a type of the Godly actions and desires that emanate from the heart of the Christian.
Mat 13:23 (a) By this type is meant a Godly, fruitful life which brings glory to GOD and blessing to others.
Mat 13:26 (a) Here we see the Christian life in full bloom, so that it is well recognized. The hypocrites, however, are exposed and denounced.
Mat 21:19 (b) By this type the Lord is revealing His disappointment in the useless life lived by the nation of Israel. No good results followed in their train.
Mat 21:34 (b) This type represents good and blessed results that should have been found in the experience of Israel when the Lord JESUS came to live among them. Instead of being thus welcomed, exalted and received, He was rejected and despised.
Luk 13:6 (b) By this type we learn that there should be more in the life of the professing Christian than merely a profession. There must be the manifestation of the life of the Lord in our souls.
Joh 4:36 (a) Fruit in this place is also a type of the good results which follow in the service of the King. (See also Mar 4:20; Rom 1:13; Rom 6:21; Rom 15:28; Phi 4:17; Jam 3:18).
Joh 12:24 (a) This type represents the wonderful results that have come through the centuries from the death of the Lord JESUS at Calvary. Many have been saved, lives and homes have been enriched, the Gospel has been preached, the poor and the unfortunate have been relieved.
Joh 15:2, Joh 15:4, Joh 15:8 (a) In this case “fruit” is a type and an emblem of good and profitable works, holy endeavors and Christian activities which should normally come from the life, the heart and the soul of a saved person. (See also Mat 3:10; Mat 7:17, Mat 7:19; Luk 3:9; Luk 8:14).
Rom 1:13 (b) This symbol represents the salvation of souls, the upbuilding of Christians, the restoration of the backslider, and the teaching of GOD’s people.
2Co 9:10 (a) This type indicates the good results of the labors and the efforts of Christians. By their prayers, their activities, their gifts, and their influence, they bring glory to GOD, and blessing to men. (See also Phi 1:11).
Gal 5:22 (a) Here we find a type of the results which are manifest in the Spirit-filled life wherein the Holy Spirit has His place as the Lord of the life. Thereby He is permitted to produce the results GOD desires to have manifested.
Heb 12:11 (a) This type represents the results of godliness and godly living. It is pleasing to GOD, it brings glory to His Name, and brings blessing to our fellowmen. (See also Col 1:6).
Jud 1:12 (a) The type is used here to represent the evil results of the life lived by the ungodly, who care not for the instructions of GOD’s Word. These evil men produce no good results in the sight of GOD.