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)
The third attribute of this
nine-fold fruit is:
3. Peace
What is Peace? A state of tranquility; contentment and unity
between people. Of course, true Peace can only come from God. We will not obtain
Peace outside of Him. Peace is and should be a part of our character because God has promised
us His Peace and He has commanded us to let Peace rule in our lives and relationships.
Peace is actually a three-fold attribute that complements and reinforces one another:
1. Peace with God
2. Peace within ourselves
3. Peace with other people
1. The foundation of our Peace with God is our justification by faith in
Jesus Christ. “Therefore being justified
by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:.” (Romans 5:1) We cannot have Peace within ourselves or Peace with others until
we have Peace with God. We must recognize that before we accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior,
we were considered sinful, wicked people who were alienated from God. “And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath
he reconciled.” (Colossians 1:21) So, because of this state of rebellion, we were the objects of His wrath. Therefore, we cannot
experience true Peace. “But the
wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no
peace, saith my God, to the wicked.” (Isaiah 57:20-21)
Once we submitted our lives to Christ, God was no longer
against us. We were no longer alienated from Him. We
now can trust His promises that He will work all things together
for our good (Romans 8:28), which will give us a Peace with Him that He’s got us and He’s
in control. So, why worry?!
2. We can obtain Peace within ourselves when we learn how to let go and
let God handle every situation. “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths.”
(Proverbs 3:5-6) We can never obtain
Peace within ourselves when we worry, fret and/or scheme
to try to gain some perceived advantage. Jesus told His disciples
on the evening of His betrayal, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this
world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome
the world.” (John 16:33) There are two promises in His words. First,
we will have trouble in the world. The same circumstances
that rob us of our joy can rob us of our Peace. There are countless
of circumstances that cause us not to have Peace within, (big & small):
illness, death, traffic and lost keys. Second, Jesus
HAS already overcome the world. Did you notice that
this is past tensed? It is already done. “And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over
all things to the church.” (Ephesians 1:22) There is nothing that we can go through that escapes His attention, no matter how
big or small. But we lose our inner Peace with
worry, fear and doubt because when it comes right down to it, we
just don’t trust and believe Him. We must be able to take God at His word. Encourage
ourselves in the Lord with His promises, which is the Word of God. “Be careful 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
your hearts and minds
through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)
To achieve Peace within ourselves… PRAY!!!
Pray about everything. Nothing is too big or small for
God to handle. We cannot achieve Peace with other people
if we have inner conflict and turmoil.
3.
God has called on all of His followers to exercise Peace
with their fellow man.
Matthew 5:9:
“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the
children of God.”
Romans
12:18: “If it be possible, as much
as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.”
Hebrews 12:14: “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without
which no man shall see the Lord.”
1 Peter 3:10-11:
“For he that will love life, and see good days, let
him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:
Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.”
As a matter of fact, we are to have a single-minded
pursuit of achieving Peace with others. To accomplish this, there are some key
steps we should follow:
1. We must remember that we are members of the same body. “For
as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so
also is Christ.” “There should be no schism in the body; but that the members should
have the same care one for another.” (1 Corinthians 12:12, 25) “So we, being
many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.” (Romans 12:5)
Not only are we members of the same body, but we are one.
The very person that you are having difficulty with, belongs to you and you to them. So, maintain
Peace within the Body of Christ.
2.
We must remember that we are members of
Christ’s body. As a church,
we discredit God Himself when we quarrel with one another. This kind of disharmony cannot be tolerated
in the house of the Lord.
3.
We must recognize that the cause of disharmony
often lies with us. Always ask yourself,
what is the common denominator in this situation? And more likely than not, you will find the common denominator
is YOU! It is not everyone else’s fault; everyone is not against you.
We have to stop being a victim and be more victorious in our walk with Christ. It always starts
with Him!
4. We must take the initiative to re-establish Peace. It makes no
difference whether you have offended your fellow Christian or they have
offended you. We are all personally responsible to make the first move toward
Peace. (Matthew 5:23-24; 18:15) Unresolved
conflict between believers is sin and it will spread through the body of Christ
like cancer until it requires spiritual surgery. We must also realize that we
have a responsibility to restore Peace with unbelievers.
(Romans 12:17-21) We cannot seek revenge. Our lives are always
to model the character of Christ which is the Fruit of the Spirit.
To achieve this godly Peace in our lives, we must yield and depend on the Holy Spirit to
produce the desire and the means to pursue Peace. Then and only then will we become whom God has
purposed us to be.
The next attribute is Longsuffering
b.k.a. Patience. Now that’s a good one!!!
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)
The second attribute of
this nine-fold fruit is:
2. Joy
What is Joy? Gladness of heart; great pleasure; delight;
a positive attitude or pleasant emotion. Like love, Joy is not the product of the natural mind but the
product of the Holy Spirit of God. Since it is not a product of ourselves, then pursuing it apart from the guidance of the
Holy Spirit will only produce a fleeting emotional state that will change as our circumstances change. That’s
happiness. The Joy that the people of God should possess is pure and holy. And this
Joy rises above circumstances and focuses on the very character (nature) of Almighty God.
Biblical Joy cannot be separated from our personal relationship with God. It springs from our
knowledge and understanding of the purpose of life and the promise of living with God forever. In His presence
there is fullness of Joy. (Psalm 16:11). The Joy that we have from God is only possible
from Him and through Him. It is confidence in knowing that God is working out ALL
things for our ultimate good. (Romans 8:28)
Realize that God can give us His Joy and once
God starts to release His Joy in us, we won't be able to help but experience it. And once we are experiencing it, it will
become much easier for us to learn to walk in it daily trusting and growing in our faith in Him. The Bible
says that the Joy of the Lord is your strength. (Nehemiah 8:10) This is why it is so important that every
Christian have some level of God's Joy operating through them everyday. Without God's Joy operating
in our lives, things can begin to overwhelm us. Nothing will ever seem right. Everything can start to become mundane. Before
you know it, we will start to withdraw from others and life in general. Then we will be in full blown depression.
The Joy of the Lord can really give us an incredible surge of strength and energy to take on some tough and trying
situations. This is why every Christian should allow the Holy Spirit to release His Joy into us and allow this Godly Joy to
keep running through us on a regular and consistent basis.
But there are two things that can block the Joy of the Lord from operating in our lives:
1. Sin or
sinful attitudes can block our communion, fellowship and the
Joy of His presence. When we are not experiencing Joy, we should examine our lives and our hearts to see
if we are doing or have done something that is displeasing to God. Or, are we holding on to some sinful
attitude such as resentment, envy or unforgiveness?
2. Experiencing trials of faith. We must know that the
purpose of trials is to exercise or mature our faith. God will allow trials
in our lives to develop perseverance in us and to cause us to fix our hopes on
Him and His promises. Trials strengthen our character
because it will begin to shape us into His likeness. Christlikeness.
We will decrease while He increases within our hearts.
So, how can we have Joy in our lives and not
block it?
Ÿ
Confess and Repent of Sin. “I
acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and
thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout
for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.” (Psalm
32:5, 11) The continued faithfulness of God to forgive and restore us to a right relationship with Him
should be a source of Joy to all believers.
Ÿ
Trust in God. “May
the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the
Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13)
Our faith or lack thereof does not determine God’s fulfillment of His promises. Remember,
God is faithful. He is faithful unto Himself. So, the Joy comes from us depending on
and trusting God for His promises even if we cannot see the end result.
Ÿ
Take the long-term view of life. “Praise
be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through
the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in
heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed
in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds
of trials.” (1 Peter 1:3-6)
We are to have Joy in the Lord in whom we have the hope of an eternal inheritance that far outweighs any trials or
tribulations we are currently going through.
Ÿ
Give thanks in all things. “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's
will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians
5:16-18) We should be thankful that in this present trial, God will not give us more than we can bear.
God’s grace is sufficient for us to handle anything that may come our way. And as we begin
to thank and praise God through our circumstances, we will begin to experience the Joy of the Lord which is our inheritance
through Christ Jesus.
The
purpose of Joy is not so we can feel better emotionally. The purpose of Joy is to glorify God by demonstrating
to the unbelievers that our God is loving, faithful and true. That our God cares for us, loves us and will
provide for us everything that we need; including Joy.
The next attribute is Peace.
