THE FRUIT OF LIGHT

“For the FRUIT of the LIGHT consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth” – Ephesians 5:9 (NIV)

A vital product of living as light is the FRUIT of LIGHT: “For the FRUIT of LIGHT consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth” (Eph.5:9, NIV). These constitute “what is acceptable to the Lord” (v.10). The King James Bible calls it “the fruit of the Spirit” just like Galatians 5:22. Here are two other translations of Ephesians 5:9: “For it is the light that brings a rich harvest of every kind of goodness, righteousness, and truth” (Good News Translation); “For the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true” (English Standard Version); “For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true” (New Living Translation).

The Believer as a living light is empowered and expected to produce fruit consistent with light. The Light of God is productive. God does not waste His Light. And the Fruit of Light is at least threefold: goodness, righteousness, and truth!

Goodness: refers to anything that is morally excellent, including generosity; “love in action.” Goodness focuses on our relationship to others, including meeting their needs, serving them, and caring for them. “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do GOOD TO ALL PEOPLE, especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Gal.6:10). Light does not discriminate; yet it is attracted by and prioritises those who belong to the family of believers. Goodness is the opposite of selfishness and apathy towards the needs of others. Like Christ, who is the light, we must go out of our way to serve and minister to the needs of the world, and especially to believers. Are you bearing the fruit of goodness? Or are you sowing selfishness and cultivating apathy?

Righteousness: there are two aspects to this fruit. First, it has to do with our relationship with God: “But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness” (Rom.4:5). In salvation, God gives us His Son’s righteousness to make us acceptable in His eyes. The second aspect of this fruit has to do with how we live. As those justified and made righteous by God, we must daily practice righteousness: “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (Jam.2:17). 1 John 2:29 also says: “If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who PRACTICES RIGHTEOUSNESS is born of Him.” True believers practice a lifestyle of righteousness. As these fruits are continually borne in the Believer’s life, there’ll be no room for the fruits of evil and or sinful works of the flesh.

Truth: this third fruit of the light relates to honesty, reliability, trustworthiness, and integrity – in contrast to the deceptive, hypocritical, and false ways of the old life of darkness.  Ephesians 5:15-28 reveal how truth is demonstrated in the Christian’s daily life through seeking Wisdom, Spirit-filled Worship, and living by the Word, especially in the arena of marriage. Truth is conformity to the Word of God in thought and action. Is the fruit of truth growing in your life? Or is hypocrisy and deception?

It has often been suggested that goodness seems to focus primarily on how we relate to others, righteousness on how we relate to God, and truth on how we relate to ourselves. The real question is: How can we produce the fruit of light?

As with any fruit, once the seed is planted, it will thrive in the right environment. The Seed is God’s Word (Lk.8:11; 1Pet.1:23). The Soil is the human heart (Lk.8:12). The right environment is our relationship with Christ: ‘I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (Jh.15:5). As individuals and families, our lives and homes must abide in Christ through Worship, Prayer, His Word, fellowship with the saints, witnessing, and service. As we do this, the Fruit of Light – goodness, righteousness, and truth – thrives and multiplies. We are to bear the fruit of light, not manifest the deeds of darkness!