When does the believer begin to bear fruit unto God?
Fruit-bearing unto God begins during the believer’s earthly sojourn, immediately upon becoming a child of God and a member of the Body of Christ through faith in the Gospel. Having died to the law by Christ’s body and being joined to the risen Christ, the believer is connected to Him and can bring forth fruit unto God.
Les explains from Romans 7:4 that believers have become dead to the Mosaic law by the Body of Christ, so the law no longer has power over them. They are not merely dead and forgotten but are to be married to another, even Him who was raised from the dead, in order to bring forth fruit unto God. Les teaches that this fruit-bearing begins in this earthly sojourn: just as soon as a person becomes a child of God and a member of the Body of Christ through faith in the Gospel, that person is already connected to Christ. As a joint heir with Him, with Christ as Head and believers as members of His Body, the believer can bring forth fruit unto God now. Paul later goes deeper into these aspects of our position in Christ in Ephesians.