Bible Text: 1Corintians 13:4-8, 2 Peter 1:5-7.
Memory Verse: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things, there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)
PAUL’S ADMONITION
The Bible mentions “fruits of the spirit,” which are traits of a Christian, as being observable. These are the attitudes, actions, and characteristics that a follower of Jesus Christ should exhibit. Every Christian is continuously developing into the image of Christ, and the Bible teaches us how the Holy Spirit leads us. “Either 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.” (Matthew 12:33)
What are the positive things we should strive for since Christ taught that people could tell us by our fruit? Paul outlines nine distinct traits that come through the deeds of the Holy Spirit in a Christian’s life in the book of Galatians. People who belong to Christ are distinguished from unbelievers by having received the Holy Spirit, which enables them to exhibit these spiritual fruits.
The natural offspring of a living creature is what the Greek word “fruit” means. Paul described the output of the Holy Spirit inside every believer using the term “fruit.” The Spirit, not the Christian, is the one who produces the fruit of the Spirit. The Greek Wordword is singular, demonstrating that “fruit” is a coherent whole rather than a collection of distinct attributes. All of Christ’s attributes will become more and more evident in our lives as we mature.
However, the fruit of the Spirit will not ripen in our lives instantly, just as physical fruit takes time to grow. We must continuously fight to eliminate the “weeds” of our old sinful natures that want to stifle the work of the Spirit in our life. Given the strength, the Holy Spirit must renounce our former evil impulses. By obeying the Holy Spirit’s guidance, we can say “no” to sin and take the “way out” that God obediently offers (1 Corinthians 10:13). As we allow the Spirit more authority over our life, He starts working in and through us to form and grow us into the image of Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:17-18).
The Holy Spirit constantly works to purge our lives of the sinful nature” (Gal 5:19) and replace them with those that show His fruit since God’s desire for all of His children is for us to be like Jesus (Romans 8:29). As a result, the appearance of the “fruit of the Spirit” is proof that we are developing a character that is more like that of Christ.
Galatians 5:19–21 compares the acts of the flesh and the good fruit of the Spirit.
Paul contrasted impurity and debauchery in sexual matters; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, rivalry, outbursts of fury, selfish ambition, divisions, envy; intoxication, revelry, and other things.
LOVE
Biblical love is a decision, not an emotion. It always seeks the well-being of others and manifests itself in loving ways on purpose. Biblical love is character-based rather than emotional. For instance, mature believers acting in love will not use their freedom if doing so may somehow harm another Christian.
“Dear friends, let us be kind to one another since God is love. Everyone who is in love is a child of God and is aware of God. Because God is love, whoever does not love does not know God.” – 1 John 4:7-8
The mature believer will refrain from using his freedom out of love for his brother to avoid the chance of making the immature Christian doubt and stumble (Romans 14:1-15). Love puts the other person ahead of one’s preferences, wants, and sometimes even needs (Philippians 2:1-3).
JOY
Christians sometimes tend to minimize the significance of joy. But in Galatians 5, the Greek Wordword for “joy” is translated as “gladness and delight. It is an emotion of joy based on our current situation. Read (Romans 15:13)
Sadly, because it is founded on transient, physical circumstances, the world’s joy cannot endure. However, the Lord’s delight is grounded in our spiritual and everlasting circumstances. We will enjoy the complete joy that Jesus promised as long as we remain firmly attached to Him and regularly engage in our divine relationship with Him (John 15:4-11).
PATIENCE
Even in the church, we don’t see a lot of patience these days. Our quick-paced, want-it-now culture is a contributing factor. But because the Holy Spirit lives inside us and yearns to reflect His character to people around us, Christians have all they need to be patient. Even when severely tested, patients put up with situations and others. Endurance, longsuffering, and perseverance are traits of the patient. Three characteristics of the Spirit instruct us to respond to other people’s mistakes. According to this scripture, we should have patience, kindness, and humility for other people’s flaws. (Ephesians 4:2)
Additionally, the New Testament explicitly links spreading the Gospel with patience. God commands His people to exercise patience as we convey the opportunity of salvation in Christ to others because He is patiently waiting for the lost to turn to Him (2 Peter 3:9). (2 Timothy 4:20).
KINDNESS AND GOODNESS
Kindness and goodness are qualities that go hand in hand. Together, they paint a portrait of a person with moral virtue and integrity and freely display it in their interactions. Read Colossians 3:12
God’s kindness and generosity toward us are reflected in this “goodness in action.” In our salvation, God showed us His goodness and compassion, and He will always “display the vast riches of His mercy in love toward us” (Titus 3:4). (Ephesians 2:7)
FAITHFULNESS
Being “faithful” means being trustworthy or dependable. This is faithfulness to the Savior who saved us, specifically for the Christian. Therefore, being a committed Christian is continuing to submit to and obey the same Spirit who gives us the capacity to do so. He has given us so many blessings so that we can use them to advance His kingdom. God wants us to conduct our lives in a way that exalts Him; therefore, He has given us the talents, skills, and hearts to excel.
(Matthew 25:21)
This mindset contrasts sharply with our prior “faithfulness” to our wicked wants and practices. The term also refers to someone ready to endure suffering—even death—for the cause of Christ. Therefore, among God’s churches, we take great pride in your tenacity and faith in facing all the hardships and persecution you face. (2 Thessalonians 1:1)
GENTLENESS/MEEKNESS
Gentleness is the grace of the soul, closely related to humility. It is a strength that has been reined in rather than a weakness. For example, Paul stated in his second letter to Timothy that the “servant of the Lord” would “correct his opponents with gentleness” (2 Timothy 2:25). Paul also urged the Galatian church to restore people who had fallen into sin in a “spirit of tenderness” in his epistle to them (Galatians 6:1). (Philippine 4:5)
Gentleness is also a vital component of harmony as the antithesis of self-promotion and self-interest.
SELF-CONTROL
Paul refers to a list of the “works of the flesh” in Galatians 5:19–21 before describing the final quality of the fruit of the Spirit. Those with the Holy Spirit inside us can restrain our sinful cravings and say “no” to our flesh. We can say “yes” to the Spirit and encourage a lovely, abundant crop of spiritual fruit when we have the self-control to do so.
So many lack self-control; they have no control over themself. ( Proverbs 25:28)
To be continued….