241. Filled with Fruit
Philippians 1:11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.
Because we have the promise of being filled with the fruit of righteousness Paul prays that the Philippians may abound in love and approve what is excellent. The power to love and approve comes from this promise: we are filled with fruit. The fruit of the tree comes from the vine, which is Christ. When we “abide in the Vine” we will produce fruit. This is the fruit of the Spirit, here called the fruit of righteousness. The fruit looks like love, joy, peace, etc.
Faith in Christ is the key: faith is being filled, abiding in Christ, and receiving the Gospel of Jesus Christ. “Fruit” should be translated singular, not plural. The fruit of righteousness is one whole thing; it is what the whole life looks like. This fruit of righteousness is “by Jesus Christ,” for it is He who does it all and gets the credit. His love abounds more and more and He approves what is excellent; and He does it all to the glory of God. We do not get the credit, but we do enjoy the benefits.
Paul prays for us, and we also pray for ourselves and others, that the Christ who lives in us by faith, and the Holy Spirit of God who fills us, will actually be evident in the life we live. The world (other people, including our own selves) cannot see Christ, but they can see the evidence of His indwelling: they will glorify God, and not us. When people see our good life they will say, or at least ought to think: “God is good; God is here.” They should not say: “He is a good man.” Of course, it doesn’t work that way, but in the ideal world of the Kingdom that is the way it is. Our prayer is that this inner fruit will be outwardly evident. This is how we are taught to pray: “Hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done” in us,in me individually, in my family, in my church, and in all fellow believers. Luther teaches that each of these petitions ends with “among us.”
This prayer for Name, Kingdom and Will among us is daily repentance and faith in the Gospel. Doing good works and living out the inner faith will be done among us when we get out of the way, die to self, and trust the Savior. This involves prayer, according to Jesus command and promise (“when you pray, say…”). Evidencing inward faith resulting in good works does not involve outward show, trying to do better, working harder, fleshly effort or self-willpower. It does involve contrition and faith, receiving forgiveness, trusting Jesus, and then getting up from your knees and going about living.