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Trees, Fountains, and Men

Parables are fascinating. I have generally thought of parables as a way for the Lord to teach us deep, powerful principles in a way that makes them simple and easy to understand. That certainly can be true… yet Jesus said to His disciples, “Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.” [Luke 8:10]

NOT see? NOT understand? Couldn’t Jesus make things simple enough that everybody would understand? It’s very sobering to think that many (perhaps even most) of those hearing Jesus’ ‘simple’ parables, DIDN’T ‘get’ it, and even those closest to Him had to ask Him to explain what it meant.

Since parables speak in figures and symbols, they always require interpretation. Sometimes the interpretation is obvious, at least at some level. (There can be multiple ‘levels’ of meaning.) Other times, the interpretation is completely hidden from the wise of this world, and must be interpreted by the Spirit of God… to those who humble themselves as little children. Jesus knew when He spoke His parables, that many would not ‘get’ it, and some would get it wrong. Since it’s so easy for the natural mind to get it wrong, we should be so careful not to jump to our own conclusion, or follow the consensus of the ‘scholars’.

There’s one particular set of Jesus’ parables that had perplexed me for a long time. The interpretation seemed pretty obvious, and there was general consensus among all the Bible teachers I had heard. Yet the interpretation didn’t always seem to fit the reality of life. Quite frankly, my misunderstanding of these parables sometimes made it difficult for me to receive from some whom God had sent to teach, equip, and perfect His church. I knew there had to be something in these words of Jesus that I wasn’t seeing. So I kept seeking. Finally, God opened up some other scriptures that shed new light on these parables, and it became a real breakthrough for me. I’m going to do my best here to share what He has taught me from the Word. I believe that many of you that read this will realize that God has already spoken the same things to you, and I’m just giving confirmation. And hopefully this will also help many others, as it has helped me.

The parables I’m referring to are the ones about a tree being known by its fruit. Some variations of this parable can be found in Matthew 7:15-20; Matthew 12:33-35; Luke 6: 43-45; & James 3:8-12. Here are the texts (in KJV):

[Matthew 7:15-20] 15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

[Matthew 12:33-35] 33 Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.
34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.

[Luke 6:43-45] 43 For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
44 For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.
45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

[James 3:8-12] 8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
9 Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.
10 Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.
11 Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?
12 Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? So can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.

I think we all know the most commonly-taught interpretation: that these parables give us a simple, easy, fool-proof test by which to judge ourselves, or to identify false prophets… or teachers, or ministries. But actually, it’s not as simple as we might wish it to be.

First of all, ‘fruit’ can mean different things to different people. Some could be looking for personal ‘fruits of the Spirit’, like in Galatians 5:22-23. Others would look for the results or effectiveness of a ministry. Still others might zero in on doctrinal correctness. That’s all good. There’s nothing wrong with examining any or all of those.

But here’s what’s happening: Many sincere, well-meaning Christians are looking at preachers, ministries, or each other; and taking a sample of the ‘fruit’, to judge whether that man is a false prophet, or a true prophet of God… or whether a ministry is a totally good tree, or a totally bad tree — as though it could only be one or the other… black or white. That brings some people to reject or oppose entire ministries because they found a sample of bad fruit… and miss out on some of the gifts that God has given to the church. They may listen for a while, until they encounter something that they believe to be error… then shut them off. Others accept some truly harmful doctrines and practices, based on sample evidence of good fruit.

Another effect of this ‘black-or-white’ thinking, is that some people can get very defensive about the men or the ministries that they follow, or are a part of. It is very difficult to acknowledge any bad fruit in a ministry you promote, if you believe that ANY bad fruit would mean that the whole tree (or ministry) is bad. Therefore, they will ignore or defend doctrines and behavior that are unsound and unscriptural… all for the sake of maintaining that the tree is ‘good’. In some cases, this black-or-white… perfect-or-poison… ‘no error’ doctrine becomes one of the pillars of a ministry. When the error finally becomes obvious to everyone, the whole structure collapses.

On the opposite end are people who, with a wrong motive, are only too eager to proclaim that no preacher has got it all right. For many of them, it’s just a convenient excuse to ignore teaching that they don’t like, or don’t agree with. They may go so far as to reject all God-ordained authority, and become a judge and a teacher unto themselves.

Now God has truly made His Word simple, so that a child… or a man who has become as a little child… can understand it by revelation of the Spirit. But yet we need to be careful not to approach it in the natural wisdom, because there are some things that God chooses to hide from the wise and prudent. (See Matthew 11:25 & Luke 10:21)

So here we go. Let’s start with what I used to think these parables said, but they really DON’T say.

#1: Jesus did not say that a good MAN cannot bear bad fruit, or that a bad MAN cannot bear good fruit. (He said a good or bad TREE.)
#2: Jesus did not say that you shall know them by a SAMPLE of their fruit.
#3: Jesus did not say that EVERY word that a man speaks, comes from the abundance of his heart.

OK, let’s take a little time, and examine Jesus’ words. First of all, Jesus used a tree as an example, but He did not say that a man IS a tree, or the SAME as a tree. He was using a tree, as it was DESIGNED by the Creator, to illustrate a man as he was designed by his Creator. Even in nature, there are ‘good’ trees that have some fruit that doesn’t form and ripen as it should. And there are unhealthy, deformed, or poorly-producing trees… that you can still find a few good fruits on. And of course there are trees with NO good fruit at all.

IF a man or a tree or a fountain was always ALL bad or ALL good… then a single fruit sample would be representative of all the fruit. But that’s not what we see… either by natural observation, or in scripture.

This is made clear in James 3:10. “Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.” James gives a fountain as an example of how it OUGHT to be, while at the same time, acknowledging that that is NOT always how it is with the tongue. That principle is key to understanding what Jesus meant when He says that a good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. That’s how God DESIGNED the tree, and that’s also how man OUGHT to be. But notice that Jesus does not say that a man IS the same as a tree. Man has a free will, and makes lots of individual choices. His choices can change from situation to situation, or moment to moment.

Next, if EVERY word spoken from the mouth came from the abundance of the heart, then a person’s tongue would speak only blessing, OR cursing… not BOTH. ‘Abundance’ carries a sense of excess… in relation to a capacity to contain something… or exceeding a normal amount. So whenever there is an abundance of something in the heart, it WILL overflow out of the mouth… in time. However, even if there is only a trace of something in the heart, it also CAN come out of the mouth. When Jesus uses the term ‘treasure of his heart’, it carries the same sense as ‘abundance’, referring to that in the heart which is of much greater value, quantity, or weight.

If you listen to a person for just a few minutes, you will form some sort of judgment of that person, either good or bad. Your judgment might be accurate, or it might not. Your judgment might be very different from what that person’s husband or wife would say, who is around that person all the time.

Here’s an illustration: If I had a bag of 100 marbles, of which 95 were red and 5 were blue, you would say the bag had an abundance of red marbles. If I was to draw a single marble from the bag at random, there is a high probability that it would be red. If I happened to draw a blue marble, it would not have come from the ‘abundance’ of the bag… but from the ‘few’. However, if I drew 10 marbles from the bag, it would be absolutely certain that some would be red, because of the ‘abundance’ of red. The more marbles I draw, the greater my confidence grows, but I’ll never know exactly how many of each there are, until I’ve emptied the bag.

Also, the Bible speaks of feigned words (2 Peter 2:3); feigned lips (Psalms 17:1); and of those who honor God with their lips, but their heart is far from Him. (Isaiah 29:13, Matthew 15:8, Mark 7:6) The words coming out of their mouth were NOT from the abundance of their heart.

The same would be true of a false prophet. A deceiver will speak feigned words, and lies… but maybe not right at first. He may speak what is good and true… for a while. Ultimately however, whatever is in his heart in abundance, will spill out. So by their fruits you shall know them, but not necessarily by a small sample. God sees 100%… everything. That is why we NEED the Spirit of God to judge any man or ministry.

To judge by the Spirit of God is not a simple formula, or a checklist. Some error is easy to detect, but many times, to be able to clearly discern the right and wrong in a ministry… the error and the truth… requires KNOWING God… knowing how He thinks… knowing what He would or wouldn’t say. That kind of knowledge of God takes commitment, humility, and sacrifice. That’s a price that, quite frankly, most Christians are not willing to pay. They’re looking for an easier way… unwilling to spend enough personal time in the presence of God, submitted before Him, listening to His voice; studying the scriptures; and exercising their senses to discern good and evil. Many then go searching for a ‘perfect’ ministry, where they can feel comfortable accepting everything that’s taught and practiced… without questioning… deflecting all their personal responsibility onto that ministry.

Listening to preachers, watching videos, or hearing the testimonies of others, can have a huge spiritual benefit; but it should never be a substitute for spending time in the presence of God… in His Word… humbly learning from THE teacher… the Holy Ghost (John 14:26). Remember, too, that God has given gifts to men… apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers… “12 for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edification of the Body of Christ. 13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: 14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: 16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.” [Ephesians 4:11-16 KJV]

It is no coincidence that the warning about deceivers and false doctrines is included in this context (vs.14). God has given many, many gifts to His church… to men who are themselves growing up into Christ (vs.15). It is inevitable that men who are still growing will have ministries and messages that are not yet perfected. But there are also wolves in sheep’s clothing, who in cunning craftiness, lie in wait to deceive. We’ve got to see the difference. One who is truly working for the perfecting of the saints, and the unity of the faith, will understand that he is part of one great body, with many members, and all the members NEED the other members of the body. Each member is unique, with diversities of gifts and operations, but the whole body is one. (See 1 Corinthians, Chapter 12) The body of Christ is to be diverse, but not divided.

I’ve gone quite a bit longer than usual with this post, but I believe God will use this to fill a need in the body of Christ. I know there are others like me, who are being inspired and strengthened by many of the ministries God is using in the earth, but are still seeing some things that just don’t seem right. Whoever it is that needs to change… them or us… we need to know, if we’re going to come together into that unity of the faith, and the unity of the knowledge of the Son of God.

It’s a great personal responsibility we each carry, to take heed HOW we hear. (Luke 17:18) The little insights I’ve shared here have helped me a lot in how I hear. I now listen with a greater freedom… but also a sharper alertness, and a deeper soberness and humility. I NEED all the other different parts of the body. Yes, there are some members that need to be healed, so that which is lame would not be turned out of the way. But God is healing and bringing all those parts together into one glorious body… A perfect man (singular). Our goal now has got to be to fit into that function in the body that He has created each of us for, and to work in right relationship with every other member of that body, and above all… submitted to Christ, our head.

THEN… we all, as branches abiding in the vine, will bring forth MUCH good fruit! …ALL good!

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