To be fruitful was the first command in the Bible, the creation mandate. Throughout the Bible God is depicted as the gardener and as such, He expects fruit from our lives. “Be fruitful” is in one sense a command from God, but also a grace-filled power statement. At first the command for multiplication had to do with filling the planet, but at the time of Abraham it changed to God wanting the multiplication of a redeemed people. In the Prophetic books we read of the fruitful multiplication which was to come which had nothing to do with the old covenant, but which was inclusive of both Jew and gentile. This is the Kingdom of God and the entrance there into is, just as it was into the physical world by birth, also by birth but a supernatural, spiritual birth. This birth comes through accepting by faith the seed – that which Christ did on the cross. This new birth also carries a mandate of being fruitful and multiplying. As a Christian, fruitfulness means life in and from the vine. Answered prayers is fruitfulness, life, being the result of the Word and faith melting together in the heart of the believer. As we speak and proclaim to others the gospel, that which is the life-giving seed-word of God inside of us, we are producing fruit and bringing forth multiplication of the Word. However, this fruitfulness and multiplication is conditional upon our spending time in the Word and in prayer. Fruitfulness is a natural outcome of our union with Christ.
