Matthew 7:17

Matthew 7:17. The general law of nature is here laid down positively: As the tree, so is the fruit. The principle holds good in the moral world.

Matthew 7:18 repeats the same truth, asserting the impossibility of its being otherwise. But while Matthew 7:16 refers to kinds of plants, these verses speak of individual trees.

Every good tree, i.e., of a good nature for bearing fruit.

Good fruit, of a good kind.

The corrupt tree, literally, ‘spoiled,' but meaning here of a bad quality; evil fruit, of a bad kind like the tree. Our Lord applies the general law to men's actions and their moral results; these are but manifestations of a moral nature, depraved or sanctified.