The Fruit in Our Life

His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, in this sermon, speaks about the necessity of being fruitful in spiritual life, based on Christ’s words: “I am the true vine, and you are the branches… every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away” (John 15). True spiritual life is measured by its fruits, not by words or knowledge alone.

1. God’s call for fruitfulness from the beginning
From creation, God commanded humanity to be fruitful, saying to Adam and Eve: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.” God desires that human life be fruitful in every aspect—thought, work, service, and spirit.

2. Types of fruit in life

• Fruit of the flesh leads to corruption.

• Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, meekness, temperance, and goodness (Galatians 5).
  True fruit is what the Holy Spirit produces in the heart, not what comes from the flesh.

3. Conditions for spiritual fruitfulness

• The soul must be good soil that receives God’s word and bears thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.

• The soul must be nourished spiritually: through Scripture, prayer, Holy Communion, and spiritual fellowship.

• The soul must be purified from spiritual pests—sin, bad company, and neglect.

• God must work in the person, for Christ said: “Without Me, you can do nothing.”

4. Forms of fruit in the believer’s life

• Fruit of repentance: tears, humility, life change, and not returning to sin.

• Fruit of service: saving souls, spreading love, and building others in faith.

• Fruit of the lips: words of grace, comfort, wisdom, and benefit.

• Fruit of the hands: blessed work that continues even after one’s death.

• Fruit of children: raising godly offspring as offerings to the Lord.

5. Examples of fruitful lives
Saint Anthony, Saint Athanasius, Saint Augustine, and Archdeacon Habib Girgis—all bore great fruit that filled generations and nations with faith and divine teaching.

6. Self-examination and lasting fruit
His Holiness urges everyone to ask: What is my fruit? In prayer, in service, in family, in spiritual growth?
For the tree is known by its fruits: “By their fruits you shall know them.”
The true believer is a “tree ever-bearing fruit,” whose leaf does not wither and who bears fruit in season.

Conclusion
His Holiness concludes by calling all believers to live fruitful lives in God, for God is glorified in those who bear fruit. Whoever abides in the Holy Spirit and is rooted in God’s love will bring forth abundant fruit that endures forever.

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