FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT

 

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance:  against such there is no law.”  (Galatians 5:22-23)

 

What is the Fruit of the Spirit?  Did you notice that it is Fruit not Fruits?  It is singular, not plural.  The Fruit of the Spirit  has nine components and all of them will be produced within each of the believers as the Spirit leads.  This does not mean that each component will be in equal portions.  Nor does it indicate the quantity or quality in us.  You cannot pick and choose which section of the fruit you want to exhibit.  The Holy Spirit will give you what you need to exhibit.  There may be times you need to exhibit more Love than Peace or more Faithfulness than Joy.

 

The Fruit of the Spirit is one nine-fold fruit that manifests itself in the life of an believer who walks in the power of the Holy Spirit.  This Fruit is a physical manifestation of a transformed and mature Christian life.  The Fruit of the Spirit is the result of the Holy Spirit’s presence in one’s life.  Everyone who confesses Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior receives the Holy Spirit, which means we all receive the fruit.  (Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 1:13-14)

 

The purpose of God, the Holy Spirit, is not to perform a couple of miracles for us or to comfort us when feel down.  One of the primary purposes of the Holy Spirit is to change us.  We are not to be conformed to this world but transformed into the image of Christ.  (Romans 12:2)  In other words, our character should exemplify who we serve.  This change in our character is called the “Fruit of the Spirit”. 

 

The list provided by the Apostle Paul in the book of Galatians was not intended to be an exhaustive list.  It was given to the Galatian church to remind them that their flesh has been crucified with Christ.  And because our flesh has been crucified, we are no longer to give in to our fleshly desires.  We are to allow the Holy Spirit to bear fruit, so that we can grow into spiritual maturity and live a victorious life through Christ Jesus.

 

The Fruit of the Spirit is: 

1.     Love

2.     Joy

3.     Peace

4.     Longsuffering

5.     Gentleness

6.     Goodness

7.     Faith

8.     Meekness

9.     Temperance

 

If you want to display the fruit, you must grow by faith in God’s Word and submit and obey His Will.  The first attribute of this nine-fold fruit is:

1.     Love

What is Love?  The word Love has been misunderstood and lost in translation since the beginning of time.  So many people view Love as a feeling (noun).  We view it as an intense desire to be with or to be satisfied by someone or something.  That’s not Love, that’s lust!  Lust is just another four letter word that burns out very quickly and all you‘re left with is disgust and frustration.  Others view Love by how much they may be able to give someone hoping for something in return.  That’s not Love, that’s manipulation!  You are only doing it to get something in return.  (loyalty, praise, awards, obedience to your agenda, etc.)  Still others use the word Love cavalierly, so that it’s true meaning is lost.  “I Love chocolate.”  or “I Love the color red.”  Is this really Love, lust or just a preference?  Using the word Love in this way, devalues it’s meaning.  Caring about something or someone is not Love.  A person can care to the point of obsession.  This now becomes a mental health issue.  (“stalker” might be another term you can use)

 

Love is not just one of God’s attributes either.  Love is an essential part of His nature.  “GOD IS LOVE!”  (1 John 4:8, 16)  He is the personification of “perfect Love.”  His Love surpasses our understanding!  (Ephesians 3:19)  His Love is everlasting!  (Jeremiah 31:3)  God’s Love is free!  (Hosea 14:4)  God’s Love is sacrificial!  (John 3:16)  And His Love is enduring!  (John 13:1)

 

The Greek word for the kind of Love we are to manifest is “agape”.  This Love is unconditional and can only come about through the working power of the Holy Spirit.  Thus, Fruit of the Spirit.  The kind of Love we are talking about is a Love that never fails, but always flourishes.  (1 Corinthians 13:8) 

 

NOTE:  Read 1 Corinthians 13>The “Love” Chapter to know what real Love is.

 

The Love that God is calling for us to exhibit is not just toward our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, but we are to exhibit this Love to everyone.  We are called to not only Love our neighbor and brother, but also to Love our enemies.  (Matthew 5:44)

 

The commandment Christ left for us to follow is found in John 13:34-35:  “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”   Only through the power of the Holy Spirit will we be able to Love everyone including our enemies.  If we allow God’s Spirit to work in us and through us, we will be a powerful testimony to all who see us.  This will in turn, lead them to Christ.  They will want to be not like you, but the God that lives inside of you.

 

God desires for us to express His Love daily in every situation.  The need for Love is never exhausted or outdated.    So, we cannot say, “We have no more Love to give.”  This statement would only be true, if we are trying to Love out of our own limited strength.  Love must be something that grows within us.  It is a verb not a noun.  Love must be perfected in us via the Holy Spirit.  It is not something we have naturally.  It comes through the action of God through His Holy Spirit.  (Romans 5:5)  It’s Supernatural!!!

 

1 John 4:7-12:  “Beloved, let us love one another:  for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.  He that loveth not knoweth not God;  for God is love.  In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.  Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation of our sins.  Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought to love one another.  No man hath seen God at any time.  If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.”  

 

The Love of God and the Love of man go hand-in-hand.  We cannot separate them.  1 John 4:20:  “If a man say, I love, God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar:  for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?”   

 

If we are going to be transformed into the image of Christ, then we must understand Love and the responsibilities that come with it.  Since God is Love, He is our source of Love.  It starts and ends with Him.  It is not our nature to Love as God Loves.  Everything God does is because He Loves.  If He disciplines us, He disciplines us in Love.  If He judges us, He judges us in Love.  If He blesses us, He blesses us in Love.  By Love God is revealed and known to the world.

 

We cannot be who God intended us to be unless we Love with His Love.  Since God shows His Love for us by drawing us closer to Him, then we must show God’s Love toward others to draw them closer to God.  Only by knowing God can we have this attribute of Love and only by loving can we know Him for ourselves.  We will not be able to demonstrate godly Love until we know Him and mature in Him.

 

If we Love God we will obey Him.  Obedience to God is our proof of a life of love.  Obedience to God is an act of submitting our will to His will, so that He will be glorified in us and through us.  “If ye love me, keep my commandments.  He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me:  and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”  (John 14:15, 21)

 

Godly Love is the product of the Holy Spirit working in our lives.  To exhibit this attribute of the Fruit of the Spirit, we must submit to God.  We must realize that we desperately need God to grow, mature and to be transformed into His likeness.

 

We will discuss the second attribute of the Fruit of the Spirit:  Joy.

OBEDIENCE

 

Obedience is submission to the authority of God’s will and His Word.  Obedience is a positive, active response to what a person hears from God.  Most of us have been taught right from wrong from our parents, teachers and preachers.  We constantly would hear about things we could and could not do.  Growing up, we probably didn’t understand why we weren’t allowed to do certain things.  For instance, like having to come in the house when the streetlights came on, not being able to talk during class and being told that we should pray, read the Bible and go to church.  For some of us, we would just rebel and not obey anything or anyone.

 

Obedience is a choice, an active response of surrender.  You either choose to obey or you choose not to.  But always remember that with every choice made comes consequences.  You will either be blessed or cursed.  Even choosing to do nothing is a choice within itself.  Mankind’s failure to obey God results in God’s judgment.  Remember the Garden of Eden???  (Genesis 2:16-17; 3:14-19)  Lack of obedience can also result in rejection   (1 Samuel 15:26), captivity (1 Kings 18:11-12), retribution (2 Thessalonians 1:8) and ultimately death (1 Kings 20:36).   

 

How important is obedience to God?  “What pleases the Lord more?  Burnt offerings and sacrifices, or obeying him?  It is better to obey than to offer a sacrifice.  It is better to do what he says than to offer the fat of rams.”  (1 Samuel 15:22)  God is more interested in our obedience than how we worship Him through monetary offerings and religious ceremonies and traditions.  It becomes a heart issue with God.  “If we truly love God, we will obey Him.”  (John 14:15)  We cannot say we love God and continue to pursue our own selfish desires.  We cannot say, “we’re not under the law, we’re under grace so God will forgive me.”  We cannot continue to take advantage of His grace by falling back on doctrine.  Yes, we are under grace but that doesn’t give us “carte blanche” to do whatever we want.  That’s rebellion!  That’s just an excuse and it’s an insult to God, His authority and the sacrifice He made on the cross.  Don’t say, “God knows my heart” and think you’re getting away with disobedience.  GOD DOES KNOW YOUR HEART!!!  He sees it for what it really is.  (Hard on the outside and Rotten and Decayed on the Inside)

 

 

 

So, how can we be obedient to God and still feel like we’re making our own choices?  You cannot obey God without humility.  (Humility – a freedom from arrogance that grows out of the recognition that all we have and are comes from God)  Obedience requires us to humble ourselves to be able to submit to the authority of God.  “God resiseth the proud and giveth grace to the humble.”  (1 Peter 5:5b)  A humble person focuses on God rather than themselves.  They will not try to steal God’s glory.  A person with a humble and submissive heart, will recognize that they are inadequate, worthless and without dignity without God.  Therefore, having a humble and submissive heart is a choice that we make.  Daily we must make a choice to obey God or not.  Once we make the choice to surrender our will to God’s, then we will be able to walk in the Spirit and grace of God.  Living an obedient life is a sign of a mature Christian.  Truly, a disciple of Christ. 

 

The process of living an obedient life begins at salvation and continues until the Lord comes or He calls us home.  God does not require our obedience because He is a dictator, but because He is a loving God who knows what’s best for us.  Remember He is omniscience (all-knowing).  Complete obedience cannot be accomplished simply by willing it, wishing it or because you have this “deep” inner strength.  It will not happen simply because we decide one day that “today is the day!”  Since we are prone to sinful behaviors and sinful thoughts, we can do nothing apart from the work and power of the Holy Spirit.  In order to be obedient, we must rely on the power provided by the indwelling Holy Spirit.  (John 14:16-17)  Amazing!!!  Here God has to help us to be obedient to Him!  (Philippians 4:13)

 

To really help you understand obedience, grab hold of this key concept:  “If you are saved, Jesus Christ is already Lord of your life!”  Jesus is Lord!!!  (Acts 2:36) Obedience does not consist of one certain act.  Obedience becomes a way of life (lifestyle) that cannot be accomplished in our own strength, but by the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.  We are the strongest and therefore obedient when we are relying totally on Him.          (2 Corinthians 12:10)

 

“Let Go and Let God Reign!”