Page 84 - Discipleship Ministries Student E-Book

Study Section 10: The Fruit of Discipleship

“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless.
Not to speak is to speak.
Not to act is to act.”
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer

10.1 Connect

I enjoy planting a garden in my yard. I plant lettuce, strawberries, peppers, tomatoes,
green beans, zucchini. To initiate my garden, I must purchase some quality seeds. They
come in different sizes, but it is guaranteed that if you plant a certain vegetable seed, that
vegetable will become the fruit of the seed. Most of the time, I obtain a fairly good harvest
of vegetables because the fruit of the vegetable seeds is the vegetables I grow.

In similar manner, the fruit of a disciple is what comes out of that disciple’s life. The Bible talks about
the fruit of the Spirit as a byproduct that is apparent in our lives when the Holy Spirit has control of our
lives. God told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply. Their fruit would be to have some babies to fill
the earth. So, fruit must mean producing more of what you are and demonstrating Godliness in your
lives in the process.

Today we want to look at how God can use you to help your disciple set fruit goals in their lives. Our
fruit goals are, as we have discussed, evangelism and in becoming more like Christ which is the process
of discipleship or sanctification. It involves walking with Christ daily and being daily filled with the Spirit
of God. Let’s get started…

10.2 Objectives

1. The student should be able to define the difference between the baptism (indwelling) of the
Holy Spirit and the filling of the Holy Spirit.

2. The student should be able to display in his/her life the results of a daily filling of the Holy
Spirit.

3. The student should be able to explain how walking in the Spirit produces special fruit in our lives
called the Fruit of the Spirit.

4. The student should be able to list and explain the display of characteristics (the Fruit of the Spirit)
that are evident in a person who is walking daily in the Spirit of God.

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