“that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;”
In verse 10, we see the first of four results of pleasing God: fruit.
“being fruitful in every good work “
“Being” is present tense = the Christian life is to constantly bear fruit, not simply on occasion. To be fruitful means to be productive (John 15:1-5). The words “being fruitful” and “increasing” were also used in verse six. This phrase directs attention to the life within. Knowledge without the appropriation of knowledge is vain.
Christ is the source and energy to produce the fruit. The Christian should produce fruit drawn from his Lord.
“In every good work” is active goodness of any kind (Eph 2:10; Gal 5:5; Titus 1:16; 2:7,14; 3:8,15). Works are not the foundation of a right relationship with God but the outcome of that relationship. “Work” here is any activity undertaken on behalf of Christ. Everything done for this reason is a mode of fruitfulness.
Note that it says we are to be fruitful in “every” good work. There are many good works in the Christian life. The Christian should work on every one of them.
We cannot come into eternal life by good works (Rom. 4:5; Eph. 2:8,9). If a person tries to curry brownie points with God to placate an angry God, he has missed the point of Christianity. The message of Christianity is that the death of Christ ALREADY placated God. Good works are the FRUIT, not the ROOT of salvation (Eph. 2:10; Titus 2:14; 3:8). God expects us to demonstrate to others that we have a personal relationship with him. Are you willing to serve God on earth (Joshua 24:15; Dan. 6:20; Rom. 1:9; 14:18; 1 Thes 1:9,10)?
Are you involved in the things of Christ? It will be a rude awakening for some of God’s people when they stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ. Our generation is infected with the erroneous idea that pervades Christianity that we hire a pastor and staff to do all the work while the congregation sits, observes, and criticizes. When we stand at the Judgment Seat, we will be accountable for the gifts and abilities God has given us. God does not have two standards, one for the pulpit and one for the pew. There is no one brand of Christianity for the plumber and one for the preacher. God expects all Christians to do ministry (Eph 4:11,12).
Principle:
God has a plan for ministry for every believer.
Application:
Do you have a ministry? Your ministry may not be public, but do you have a ministry? If you have come to Christ, you should have a ministry to demonstrate that you have come to know God. It need not be a spectacular or sensational service, but it needs to be real. We bring what we have to God’s service. God does not expect us to serve him beyond our ability. All he expects of us is to do what we can with what we have. Bring whatever you have and say, “Lord, I would like you to use me. I may not be brilliant, but here I am. I want to be used by you.”
