Fruit and Seed

And God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth." And it was so. (Ge 1:11)

And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth." (Ge 1:28)

And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth." (Ge 9:1)

No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. (Ge 17:5-6)

He [the righteous man] is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers. (Ps 1:3)

And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing. (Eze 47:12)

As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty. (Mtt 13:23)

By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. (Jn 15:8)


Here is another very clear way that we are to reflect the creative nature of God - in producing fruit. God's work of recreation in us, is not just a plan for the next life - to get us into heaven. But a plan for this life, a plan for today, that we might produce fruit - much fruit - an abundance of fruit.

There are many ways that God wants us to be fruitful. In our character - we cooperate with the Spirit to produce his fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. In our finance, as we sow generously we will receive generously from the Lord who is always generous. In our ministry for him, it is his will that we are fruitful as we not only grow and develop in our gift, but lead others through in the same gifting.

However the clearest way God wants us to be fruitful is in making disciples. Just as God caused the fruitful land to come out from the sea, so he desires that we bear fruit from among the nations - a harvest of souls.

Another interesting theme that reoccurs in scripture is that God does not just speak about fruit, but of "seed-bearing fruit" or "fruit in which is their seed". Why is this important? Because God is not just interested in a one-off harvest, but a continual cycle of sowing and reaping, reaping and sowing. The harvest itself provides us with the means to sow for the next (bigger) harvest. In every area that God wants us to be fruitful, it is seed-bearing fruit that he gives us.


And God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food." (Ge 1:29)

While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease. (Ge 8:22)

He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. (2Co 9:10)