Imagine receiving the finest education possible—the equivalent of two PhDs. You are at the top of your field, famed not only for your expertise but for the zeal with which you pursue it. Then, in a single day, everything changes. You find yourself unemployed, your admirers now your bitterest enemies. You must hide to protect your life. New friends are made, only to turn away when old enemies slander you. Finally, you are arrested on false charges, and when your court day arrives, not one friend stands with you.
Yet imagine enduring all of this without a hint of bitterness—remaining hopeful, declaring the praises of God, faithful to him and to others, faithful unto death. Too good to be true? Not at all, for this summarises the life of the apostle Paul.
Paul had been a Pharisee of Pharisees, educated at the feet of Gamaliel. But on the road to Damascus, he was confronted by the risen Christ, and everything changed. His closest friends became his worst enemies. Friends made on missionary journeys forsook him when the Judaisers came. When he stood trial, he stood alone. Yet there is not a trace of bitterness. As the time of his execution drew near, he wrote to Timothy:
For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith…. At my first defence no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me…. But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me… The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom.
Paul was faithful to the end because he walked in the Spirit to the end. This faithfulness is not a remote ideal—it is available to every believer who has the same Spirit.
The Explanation of the Harvest
What does Paul mean by “faith” as a fruit of the Spirit? Many versions render the word as “faithfulness,” which captures it well. Paul is not referring to the gift of faith given at regeneration, but to faith as a disposition of the believer’s life—fidelity, the faith that others see in us: reliability, trustworthiness, truthfulness.
Faithfulness is, first and foremost, an attribute of God. “Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him” (Deuteronomy 7:9). “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son” (1 Corinthians 1:9). Jesus himself is called “the faithful witness” (Revelation 1:5) and bears the name “Faithful and True” (Revelation 19:11).
Since the believer who walks by the Spirit reflects the character of God, he or she will be faithful. Believers are addressed in Scripture as faithful. Paul wrote to “the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 1:1). There are not two categories of Christian—faithful and unfaithful. Those who believe are full of faith, and are thus faithful.
The Imitation of the Harvest
Not everything that looks like faithfulness is the genuine fruit of the Spirit. The counterfeit is self-centred resolve—keeping one’s word out of selfish motives. King Herod illustrates this clearly. When Salome danced before him and he rashly promised her anything she asked, he gave the order to behead John the Baptist—not out of honour, but to save face before his guests. That is not faithfulness; it is the performance of reliability in service of pride.
We must also guard against selective faithfulness. True biblical faithfulness is not simply being in the right place at the right time. A father who is physically present in the home but uninvested in its spiritual life is not thereby faithful. Faithfulness is comprehensive—reliability across every area of life. “Most men will proclaim each his own steadfast love, but a faithful man who can find?” (Proverbs 20:6).
The Application of the Harvest
God calls his people to be reliable, trustworthy, and believable. Where Christians have failed in this, great shame has come to the name of Christ. The testimony of the church depends on whether professing believers actually keep their word.
“Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy” (Proverbs 27:6). Biblical love is not cheap sentiment—it is willing to speak hard truth when necessary. Churches need this kind of faithfulness: members who fulfil their commitments, leaders who serve selflessly, believers who seek not their own interests but the things of Christ (Philippians 2:20–21).
Faithfulness is also required in the handling of God’s word. Paul charged Timothy to hold fast to sound teaching (2 Timothy 1:13) and instructed that faithful men be entrusted with teaching others (2 Timothy 2:2). Whether the word is welcomed or rejected, it must be faithfully proclaimed. Parents, faithfulness before God is among the greatest gifts you can give your children—more than any provision or opportunity.
The Cultivation of the Harvest
Faithfulness can only be cultivated in a regenerate heart. Without new birth, no one can consistently bring forth this fruit. But beyond regeneration, the believer must cultivate a growing vision of God. Of Moses, the writer to the Hebrews writes: “By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible” (Hebrews 11:27). God’s own testimony of Moses was that he was “faithful in all my house” (Numbers 12:7). He was faithful because he saw the invisible God.
Our vision of God grows through his word. “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). As we read, study, and gather with the church to hear Scripture expounded, our understanding of God’s greatness deepens, and with it our motivation to be faithful.
The Manifestation of the Harvest
The manifestation illustration of faithfulness is Jesus Christ himself. On the night of his betrayal, he promised his disciples: “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself” (John 14:2–3). His faithfulness held through Gethsemane and Golgotha. He knew what lay ahead, yet he did not draw back. He had promised to give his life for sinners, and he kept his word.
As we fix our eyes on Christ—the Faithful and True—his Spirit works faithfulness in us. We need not manufacture it through sheer determination. We need only keep our gaze upon him, through his word and in the fellowship of his people, and he will produce in us what he himself embodies: a faithfulness that reflects the very character of God.
About the author
Doug Van Meter is the pastor-teacher of Brackenhurst Baptist Church in Johannesburg, South Africa. He is married to Jill and together they have five daughters, four sons-in-in-law and a growing number of grandchildren.
