The Fruit of the Spirit
Galatians 5:
22, 23 -- But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no
law.
Galatians chapter five describes
in detail the difference between walking by the flesh, and walking by the
spirit. Galatians 5: 19, 20, and 21 list the 'fruit' of the flesh. They include
adultery, strife, idolatry, murders, and more. These are the types of things we
don't want in our lives, so we will concentrate today on the fruit of
the spirit.
First, how do we obtain
this fruit of the spirit? It is not something we can go and buy at the grocery
store, so having money does not help us. Also, it is not referred to as the
fruit of good works, so we don't get it by volunteering, giving money to the
poor, or other works. This doesn't mean that we shouldn't do good works, but
that's not how we get this fruit of the Spirit. When we are born again (born
from above), we receive the gift of holy spirit from God [See ROMANS 10: 9,
10]. It is the proof that we are now His children. To obtain the fruit of
the spirit, we must operate the nine manifestations of the spirit. It is
like growing a fruit tree in your back yard. You have to water it, feed it,
prune it, keep the pests off it, and finally you get the fruit. It doesn't
happen immediately -- as soon as you plant the tree. You don't see it as soon
as you are born again -- when you receive the gift of holy spirit. The
manifestations of the spirit are detailed in I Corinthians Chapter 12.
I Corinthians
12: 1 -- Now concerning spiritual gifts
[matters],
brethren, I would not have you ignorant.
In the King James version
of the Bible, words added by the translators are in italics. The words
in italics were not in the old Greek or Aramaic texts. In this verse the word
'gifts' was added, and it has caused much confusion with Christians. By leaving
the word out of the verse, we see it is better translated as 'spiritual
matters'. So first we must realize that chapter 12 is describing spiritual
matters, such as the manifestations. The manifestations are not
'gifts'.
I Corinthians
12: 7 -- But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit
withal.
Every born again believer has the ability
to operate the nine manifestations. The next three verses list the
manifestations: word of knowledge, word of wisdom, discerning of spirits,
believing (faith), gifts of healing, working of miracles, prophecy, speaking in
tongues, and interpretation of tongues. By operating these manifestations as
much as possible, we water and feed our spirit, and so we obtain the fruit.
THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT
1. LOVE is the first fruit
listed in Galatians 5: 22. This is the Greek word 'agape', which means the
'love of God in the renewed mind in manifestation'. This is the love that God
has for us, and which we can now manifest toward others.
Romans 5: 8
-- But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us.
Even when we were
unlovable, God loved us and allowed His son to die for our sins. We are to love
others with this same love, even if sometimes they are unlovable too. This will
not be difficult for us if we live after the spirit, and not the flesh.
Ephesians 3:
17, 18, 19 -- That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being
rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is
the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ,
which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
Ephesians 5:
1, 2 -- Be ye therefore followers [imitators] of God, as dear children; And walk
in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an
offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
2. JOY is the second fruit of the spirit
listed. Joy isn't just happiness, caused by external events. Joy is an inside
job, where you can be joyful inside even if your external circumstances aren't
so rosy.
Romans 14: 17
-- For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace,
and joy in the Holy Ghost.
Romans 15: 13
-- Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye
may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
In the previous two
verses, we see that joy is often paired with the next fruit of the spirit --
peace.
3. PEACE is a state of quiet
and restfulness, and once again, it is an inner state. We can sometimes find
peace by sitting in a quiet place, but it may not last for long. If the
neighbor starts up their lawnmower, our peace and quiet is disturbed. But
the peace we attain as 'spiritual fruit' is not so easily interrupted. We
can be in the noisiest, most unrestful place in the world, but we can still be
peaceful inside.
Romans 5: 1
-- Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ:
Romans 8: 6
-- For to be carnally minded is
death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Philippians
4: 6, 7 -- Be careful [anxious] for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And
the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep [guard] your
hearts and minds through [in] Christ Jesus.
The peace of God is so
great that we cannot understand it.
Colossians 3:
15 -- And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are
called in one body; and be ye thankful.
4. LONGSUFFERING is the next fruit mentioned. It is
described as 'patient endurance'. God is longsuffering toward us, and we
are to be longsuffering toward others. Every person's walk with God is
different, and just because they don't do things the same way we do, or learn
as fast as we do, doesn't mean that we should be impatient.
Ephesians 4:
1, 2 -- I Therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy
of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with
longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
We see 'longsuffering'
paired with another fruit (meekness) in this verse.
Colossians 1:
11 -- Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all
patience and longsuffering with joyfulness [joy];
Colossians 3:
12, 13 -- Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of
mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one
another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even
as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
These verses include three
fruit of the spirit: longsuffering, meekness, and gentleness (translated here
as 'kindness').
5. GENTLENESS is the next
fruit mentioned. This is defined as kindness toward others, even in
spite of ingratitude on their part. We saw it used in Colossians 3: 13 above,
and it is mentioned with yet more fruit of the spirit in the New Testament.
II
Corinthians 6: 3, 4, 5, 6 -- Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry
be not blamed: But in all things
approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in
afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, In stripes, in imprisonments, in
tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings; By pureness, by knowledge, by
longsuffering, by kindness [gentleness], by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned,
6. GOODNESS can be described as 'moral
worth'. If we walk after the spirit of God, and not the flesh, we will do
good, and be good.
Ephesians 5:
9 -- (For the fruit of the Spirit [light] is
in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
Romans 15: 14
-- And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of
goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.
7. FAITH is mentioned next and is the Greek
word pistis, which actually means 'believing'. By walking
in the spirit, and operating the manifestations of the spirit, our believing
grows. As a result, we believe more of God’s Word. We then manifest more power
and the more than abundant life. Faith or BELIEVING is obviously a most
important fruit of the Spirit.
I Corinthians
2: 5 -- That your faith [believing] should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in
the power of God.
II
Corinthians 5: 7 -- (For we walk by faith [believing], not by sight:)
Ephesians 1:
19 -- And what is the exceeding
greatness of his power to usward who believe, according to the working of his
mighty power,
Ephesians 6:
16 -- Above all, taking the shield of faith [believing], wherewith ye shall be able
to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
From these few verses, we
see the greatness of believing in the life of a Christian. Hebrews chapter 11
lists the 'Hall of Fame' of the Old Testament believers, and the greatness they
achieved by believing. The same and greater is available to us today.
8. MEEKNESS is a word that is often
misunderstood in the Bible. It does not mean that someone is spineless or
wishy-washy. Meekness means that we are 'teachable'. A person who is teachable
lacks an attitude of haughty self-sufficiency. In the first place, we know that
our sufficiency is of God (See II Corinthians 3: 5). Secondly, we know
that God the Creator certainly knows more than we do, so we go to Him in
meekness, wanting to learn more.
I Timothy 6:
11 -- But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after
righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
James 3: 13
-- Who is a wise man and endued
with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation [conduct] his works
with meekness of wisdom.
One verse that shows the
true importance of meekness in a Christian is the following:
James 1: 21
-- Wherefore lay apart [put off] all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness,
and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
9. TEMPERANCE is the final
fruit of the spirit mentioned in Galatians 5: 22, 23. Temperance means to
have self control. The more spiritual we are, the more control we
have over our actions and thoughts.
Titus 1: 7, 8
-- For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not
soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre; But a
lover of hospitality, a lover of good men [things], sober, just, holy, temperate;
II Peter 1:
5, 6 -- And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to
virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and
to patience godliness;
I Corinthians
9: 25 -- And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate [exhibits self control] in
all things. Now they do it to
obtain a corruptible crown [garment]; but we an incorruptible.
This last verse uses an
athletic analogy to make its point. An athlete training for the Olympics is
'temperate' in all things. They train every day, they eat the best foods, they
listen to the coach. They have a great deal of self control, because they are
trying to be the best and win that gold medal. But a gold medal is only
temporary. It can be lost or stolen, or melted down until it is unrecognizable.
But the crown we as Christians obtain for being temperate is eternal life. Our
crown is 'incorruptible' [See related teaching on
'The Five Crowns'].
We have reviewed the
meaning of the nine fruit of the spirit as listed in Galatians 5: 22, 23.
To obtain this fruit we need only to live a spiritual life, operating the nine
manifestations of the spirit. By feeding and watering our spirit, we grow more
fruit, and will have a bountiful harvest.
Galatians 5: 22, 23 -- But
the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness,
goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
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