Tag Archives: fruit of the spirit

Apr 7 2013

Depression: Physical and Spiritual Perspectives

Major Depression is a state of sadness and apathy which lasts at least two weeks, and typically longer, and is severe enough to interfere with daily life.  In order to have the diagnosis of major depression, five of the following must be present:

(1) depressed mood

(2) markedly diminished interest or pleasure in all, or almost all, activities most of the day, nearly every day

(3) significant weight loss weight gain

(4) insomnia or hypersomnia nearly every day

(5) psychomotor agitation or retardation nearly every day

(6) fatigue or loss of energy nearly every day

(7) feelings of worthlessness or excessive or inappropriate guilt

(8) diminished ability to think or concentrate

(9) recurrent thoughts of death  and suicide

A medical doctor can make the diagnosis after a careful physical and mental status exam.

These are the physical and emotional aspects of depression and a way for us to diagnose it.

What about the spiritual aspects?

I ask this question because to this day we only have THEORIES with respect to the pathophysiology of depression.  There is no concrete lab test, neurodiagnostic test, imaging test, or any other type of medical test accepted into standard practice TODAY which can diagnose depression.

There is not any palpable, measurable physical test accepted as standard to help with this problem…

Could it be that this particular psychiatric disturbance has a spiritual cause?

I do not endorse the idea that every illness is caused by an evil spirit.  Most of the diseases we are facing whether genetic, infectious, or others, are based in our broken bodies, a brokeness we have carried with us since our fall in the garden of Eden.

But in the case of depression (and other psychiatric disorders) something dark is at work.  In medicine we theorize about neurotransmitter imbalances and impaired synaptic transmission; and we have developed drugs to flood brain synapses with these deficient neurotransmitters with some success in treatment.

But the emotional and spiritual darkness associated with depression raises the possibility of demonic influence over the victims of depression.

This explanation will not be found in the DSM-V, the diagnostic manual for psych disorders.

But the Bible gives us some clues.

The absence of the fruit of the Spirit from one’s life may lead to a state of depression.  Galatians 5 gives us the list of the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace…

Without the fruit of the Spirit in one’s life, it could be that the person may not have the Holy Spirit and His power of regeneration.  We can make this judgement based on the evidence at hand since we cannot know for sure what is in that person’s heart.

The absence of joy and peace are mainstay characteristics of depression.  The absence of the fruit of the Spirit could indicate the absence of the Holy Spirit.

This is key to the demonic influence over the persistent emotional state in the setting of major depression.

Christians are not immune to doubts, trials, illness, even feeling down.  But losing hope and losing the fruit of the Spirit in a persistent depression brings into question the presence of the work of the Holy Spirit in their life.

The Holy Spirit is our Intercessor, the One who stands in the gap for us, based on Romans 8, and as His subjects we must appeal to Him when we are down.

Depression must be fought against “by the Spirit.”

Christians have an eternal hope they cannot lose.  They should not persist in a state of depression.

Psalms 42:11 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.

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Mar 25 2013

Was Jesus Too Harsh in Cursing the Fig Tree?

As we progress through Passion Week, I cannot help but to ask this question about the events which took place on Passion Monday.

Jesus was returning to Jerusalem the day after His triumphal entry, and the Bible tells us that he went to look for fruit in a fig tree but He found none.

“When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.”” Mark 11:13-14

At first glance one may be shocked at the fact that Jesus was looking for figs when it was not the season for figs as Mark states.  Do we have an illogical God? Why would Jesus look for fruit in this fig tree before its season?

The answer lies in some simple facts about the fig tree and its season of fruit.

1. The season for collecting figs began right after Passover, so they were just about to enter the season.  For that reason alone figs should have been present on the tree.

2. The fig tree produces its fruit before its leaves.  The fact that the tree was full of leaves indicates that fruit should have been present.

3. A clue is given in Mark 11:13 that attests to the expectation of the presence of fruit: “And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it.” The sign was the fact that the tree was in leaf.  The expectation is that the fruit must be present, hence the logical action to look for figs.

Everything that Jesus said and did had deep meaning, and such was the case with the cursing of the fig tree.

First, there is symbolic meaning here about those who appear to have the fruit of the Spirit in their lives, but they do not.  The result of hypocrisy is the presence of leaves not fruit.  Leaves are merely the advertisement for fruit in the case of the fig tree.  This must be a stern warning to all believers that if we have the Holy Spirit in us, we must also have the evidence of the fruit of the Spirit to bless others with it.

Second, the fig tree is a metaphor for the nation of Israel in the Old Testament.  The cursing of the fig tree may very well represent the judgement of God upon Israel for their fruitless faith or lack of faith. Israel was an idolatrous nation which repeatedly rejected God despite miraculous interventions by God on their behalf.  Even their godliness in the time preceding the coming of Christ was an empty exercise in ritualism and legalism.

Jesus cursed the fig tree because it did not produce fruit at the appropriate time.

But in the new covenant He sent us the Holy Spirit who lives in us… and if He lives in us we must produce fruit, because He will return one day and He will seek the fruit of His work.

And that glorious work we celebrate this Passion Week.

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