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“Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.”
— Matthew 7:17
Let us look at what the Word of God says. The central truth of this teaching is very simple, yet very searching: what you are in your inner nature will inevitably be revealed by the fruit of your life. There is no permanent contradiction between nature and fruit. A good tree does not produce bad fruit; a bad tree does not produce good fruit.
This is not just a moral proverb. It is a spiritual law established by God Himself. In these words, Jesus is not giving us an optional suggestion. He is revealing the divine standard by which all lives, all ministries, and all messages will ultimately be tested:
> “By their fruits you will know them.”
> — Matthew 7:20
The lyrics you have quoted simply restate, amplify, and weave together the Lord’s own teaching from the Gospels. They confront us with an unavoidable question: What kind of tree am I? Not what kind of tree I would like to be, or claim to be, but what I truly am in the sight of God.
This touches three vital areas:
1. Discernment of others – recognizing true and false ministers, true and false believers.
2. Self-examination – facing reality about our own spiritual condition.
3. Transformation – understanding how a “tree” can be made good, and its fruit good.
Scripture never separates doctrine from life. What we are inwardly will manifest outwardly. That is the heart of this teaching.
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The main reference, Matthew 7:17, stands within the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7). Jesus is addressing His disciples and the crowds in Galilee, setting forth the standards of the Kingdom of Heaven. Near the end of this sermon, He warns against false prophets:
> “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
> You will know them by their fruits.”
> — Matthew 7:15–16
In that context, the analogy of trees and fruit serves a double purpose:
1. Discernment of false prophets and teachers.
Many will appear outwardly religious, even using the name of Jesus, but their inner nature is corrupt. The only reliable test is the fruit of their lives and ministries.
2. Warning to professing believers.
Jesus immediately continues by speaking of those who call Him “Lord, Lord” but do not do the will of His Father (Matthew 7:21–23). Their words sound right, but their fruit proves otherwise.
Luke’s Gospel places similar teaching in another discourse:
> “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit,
> for each tree is known by its own fruit.”
> — Luke 6:43–44
In Matthew 12:33, Jesus repeats the principle directly to the Pharisees, after they have blasphemed the work of the Holy Spirit:
> “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad;
> for a tree is known by its fruit.”
So we must picture the scene. Jesus, standing before religious leaders and ordinary people alike, draws a sharp line. He will not allow neutral ground. There are only two kinds of trees, two kinds of fruit, two destinies. The songs’ lyrics are essentially a mosaic of these Gospel statements.
We must hear them as His original hearers did: as a searching, uncompromising word that measures every life and ministry by fruit, not by claims, titles, or outward appearances.
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Two key Greek words open this passage more fully:
### 1. “Good” – ἀγαθός (agathos) / καλός (kalos)
The New Testament uses two main words for “good” in these contexts:
In Matthew 7:17, the word for “good tree” is ἀγαθόν δένδρον – a tree whose nature is good. The emphasis is not cosmetic. Jesus is not speaking of a tree that merely looks good, but a tree that is good in its inner kind, its essence.
This shows us that the “good tree” is not simply someone who behaves morally at times. It is someone whose inner nature has been made good by the transforming work of God.
### 2. “Fruit” – καρπός (karpos)
The word καρπός means:
Fruit is never “instant.” It is the result of a process: root, sap, growth, and finally visible outcome. When Jesus speaks of “fruit,” He is talking about the visible, tangible outcome of an invisible life-source. This includes:
So when the Lord says, “By their fruits you will know them,” He means:
“You will recognize the true inner nature by the cumulative, observable outcomes of their lives, their message, their relationships, their long-term effect on others.”
The lyrics, repeating this phrase, press it into our conscience. Spiritual reality cannot remain hidden forever. The fruit will tell the truth.
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Let us take the lines of the lyrics and expose their theology from Scripture.
### “Even so, every good tree bears good fruit,
but a bad tree bears bad fruit.”
This is almost a direct quotation of Matthew 7:17.
Notice the absoluteness:
There is no middle category of “neutral trees.” This aligns with other absolute statements in Scripture:
The fundamental division is not between “religious” and “non-religious,” but between good tree and bad tree – those whose inner nature has been transformed by God in Christ, and those whose nature remains fallen, under sin.
The “bad tree” represents the unregenerate nature – what Scripture calls “the flesh” (Greek: σάρξ, sarx), the Adamic nature corrupted by sin (Romans 5:12; Ephesians 2:1–3). No matter how you educate or discipline that nature, its fruit remains bad.
### “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit,
nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.”
This comes from Matthew 7:18 and Luke 6:43. The key word is cannot. This speaks of moral and spiritual impossibility, not physical limitation.
Paul expresses the same truth in another way:
> “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”
> — Romans 8:8
And again:
> “For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”
> — Philippians 2:13
The good fruit of the good tree is not self-produced morality. It is the outworking of God’s life within. The bad fruit of the bad tree is the inevitable expression of a nature alienated from God.
### “Every tree that does not bear good fruit
is cut down and thrown into the fire.
By their fruits you will know them.”
This repeats the fearful warning of Matthew 7:19–20.
Here we see:
1. The necessity of fruit.
It is not enough to be a tree in the orchard. There must be good fruit. A fruitless tree is not neutral; it is worthless and destined for judgment.
2. The certainty of judgment.
“Cut down and thrown into the fire” speaks of final rejection and eternal judgment. This language parallels other warnings:
3. The test of recognition.
“By their fruits you will know them.”
This is repeated twice in Matthew 7 (vv. 16 and 20), and echoed in the lyrics. Recognition, in the spiritual realm, is by fruit, not by claim, not by title, not by charisma, not by gifts.
This is crucial for spiritual warfare and discernment in the last days. Jesus Himself warned:
> “For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.”
> — Matthew 24:24
How shall we discern? Not by the spectacle of signs, but by the long-term fruit of their lives, teaching, and followers.
### “Make the tree good and its fruit good,
or make the tree bad and its fruit bad,
for the tree is known by its fruit.”
This is from Matthew 12:33. Here Jesus pushes the issue further. If the tree is the nature, and the fruit is the outcome, then the heart of the matter is the nature of the tree itself.
There are two profound truths here:
1. Fruit always matches nature.
“The tree is known by its fruit.” There is no lasting contradiction. Sooner or later, nature will manifest itself.
2. The decisive need is to “make the tree good.”
Morality, self-effort, religious performance – these aim at fruit without touching the tree. Jesus goes deeper: the tree itself must be changed.
How is this done? Not by reforming the old nature, but by receiving a new nature:
> “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;
> old things have passed away;
> behold, all things have become new.”
> — 2 Corinthians 5:17
> “…that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts,
> and be renewed in the spirit of your
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