PHILIPPIANS 1:11

“having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, for the glory and praise of God.”

When I read this verse, I wondered what Paul meant by “fruit of righteousness.” I know from the Word that any righteousness I have comes from Jesus. This verse shows us what is expected of that righteousness once we have it. We produce fruit. I am getting ready to plant some vegetables to harvest later. I will expect fruit to come from those plants since I will water and fertilize and weed them. Hmmm, does that apply to this verse? Let’s see.

Paul uses the Greek word pléroó which means to fill or make complete. The important part about this word is this. That -oo ending means the result of the action of the word is more important than just the action. In this case, the fruit is more important than the filling. Do you follow me? If you just get filled and it stays there, what good is that? The filling causes fruit which you then can share.

APPLICATION

Albert Barnes describes this “fruit of righteousness” this way. “That which righteousness in the heart produces. The fruits, or results, will be seen in the life; and those fruits are – honesty, truth, charity, kindness, meekness, goodness. The wish of the apostle is, that they might show abundantly by their lives that they were truly righteous. He does not refer to liberality merely, but to everything which true piety in the heart is fitted to produce in the life.”

In the Septuagint (the Greek version of the Old Testament), we find this in Proverbs 11:30. “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and one who is wise gains souls.” In Proverbs 13:2 we read, “From the fruit of a person’s mouth he enjoys good, but the desire of the treacherous is violence.” So, we see that this concept of fruit and righteousness is not something Paul just dreamed up. It comes from the very heart of God in all His Word.

James referred to this “fruit of righteousness” in James 3:18. “And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” James, the half-brother of Christ, saw this lived out in Jesus. He watched Him exhibit this fruit to others. He saw the peaceful manner in which He dealt with others, even His enemies. James wanted that for himself and others.

Today, live out some of that fruit to others. Start with the ones Barnes referenced – honesty, truth, charity, kindness, meekness and goodness. That should keep you busy all day.

Lord, help me live out this fruit of righteousness to others I encounter today.