What does fruitfulness look like?
Let’s look at several types of fruitfulness.
Physical fruitfulness of humanity in the world
From creation: "So God created man in His own image; in the image of God, He created him; male and female He created them. (28) Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth." (Genesis 1:27-28 NKJV)
Noah: "So God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them: "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth." (Genesis 9:1 NKJV)
After the world became repopulated, the Lord picked out a particular person to bless and promised he would become a father of many nations.
Abraham: "No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. (6) "I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you." (Genesis 17:5-6)
Abraham had one son of the promise. There was only one – don't see much fruitfulness here.
Isaac: "And the LORD appeared to him the same night and said, "I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for My servant Abraham's sake." (Genesis 26:24)
Now we have two sons – this is going to take a long time.
Jacob/Israel: (Genesis 28:3-5) Isaac's blessing on Jacob – May God bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you. (Israel - Genesis 35:9-11) God changes Jacob to Israel. Be fruitful and multiply.
Okay, twelve is a more significant number – this is growing.
12 sons and their families enter Egypt which numbered 70. (Genesis 46:27)and they continued to grow. (Exodus 1:1-7) – They stayed in Egypt for 430 years.
by the time of the Exodus: Israel's men of war over 20 years old, counted to be 603,550. (Numbers 1:46) It is estimated that 25% of the population are in the military. Therefore: 4 x 603,550 = 2,414,200 people were leaving Egypt after that first Passover.
Wow! At the time of the Exodus, over 2 million people from that one man, Abraham.
The sand of the sea and stars in the sky: "Therefore from one man (Abraham), and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude--innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore." (Hebrews 11:12 NKJV)
God blessed the nation of Israel with physical growth, but the Lord desires that there would be a physical fruitfulness in the church.
Physical fruitfulness of the Spirit, the visible church
Consider how the Christian church grew. It started with one, Jesus.
12 disciples (Matthew 10:1)
70 (Luke 10:1, 17)
120 (Acts 1:15)
500 (1 Corinthians 15:1-6)
After the Holy Spirit is poured out upon Peter and the rest. Peter preaches the Gospel:
3000 believed at Pentecost: (Acts 2:41-47) Peter's first sermon: 3,000 believed, then daily added to the church.
Then a little later, Peter preached the Gospel again:
5,000 believed. "Now as they (John and Peter) spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, (2) being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus - the resurrection from the dead. (3) And they laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. (4) However, many of those who heard the Word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand." (Acts 4:1-4 NKJV)
It is not just about numbers: The Lord is concerned about one person as well:
Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch - Act 8:26-40 - "Then Philip opened his mouth and, beginning at this Scripture (Isaiah 53): preached Jesus to him." (Acts 8:35 NKJV)
It was through the Gospel message (Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection) that changed hearts, and the church grew.
1. How does the church grow today? Do you believe that the message of the Gospel still changes hearts and is sufficient?
Log in / create an account to enroll or continue where you left off.
Or does church growth come from smoke machines, flashing lights, and feel-good messages "I'm okay – you're okay. God loves everyone."
There is POWER in the Gospel that is to be preached from every passage in the Bible. Jesus, the Cross, and resurrection is our only hope.
I would suggest the study and book called "The Gospel for the Church," by Erick Hurt.