THE FRUIT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
Bible Reading:
Galatians 5:22-23.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
Against such there is no law.”
From
reading this text, Christians are changed people. For how often do you find
individuals with such character today? No wonder Jesus said “You must be born again” in John 3. Jesus said that because it was impossible to find any man or woman that
bore all these characteristics naturally. So, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to
fulfil a “mission impossible” in the hearts and lives of those that have turned
their lives to God.
Do these fruits fill our lives? And our walk
in Christ? For the Holy Spirit lifts the believer to live on the level of the
spiritual things, and to invest their lives in the things of God.
Believers are engaged in a conflict,
for the works or fruit of the flesh are many. And these sins will shut men out
of heaven. Yet, we earnestly desire, that by God’s grace we may obtain victory
over the flesh, and the works of the flesh by the power of the Holy Spirit. And
those who desire to give themselves to be led of the Holy Spirit, are not under
the law of sin and death, but live in the victory of life in Christ Jesus.
Paul here deals with the struggle of
the Spirit with the earthly, fleshly nature that remains even after the miracle
of the “new birth” has taken place. Only as we respond in faith can we overcome
the flesh, with the Spirit’s help.
The fruits of the Spirit plainly show
that such are led by the Spirit are in the Spirit and pleasing to God. By
describing the works of the flesh and fruits of the Spirit, we are told what to
avoid and oppose, and what we are to cherish and nurture; to bear the fruit of
the Spirit is the desire of all real Christians.
We need to be FILLED WITH THE HOLY
SPIRIT!
Why?
Because, we are told, to be more like Jesus. For the perfect character of
Christ Jesus, is seen in these NINE FRUITS of the Holy Spirit. Paul says in verse 25, that we should live and walk
in the Spirit, “If we live in the Spirit,
let us also walk in the Spirit.”
1. The FRUIT of
the SPIRIT is LOVE.
Love, is the first, and greatest fruit
or gift in a Christian's life, Jesus said “That
you should love one another” John 13:34. Love, is essential to man's
relationship to God, and to each other, plus, love is the very nature of God, John 3:16 “For God so LOVED the world”
Jesus had so great a love, that it reached out to you and me, by the CROSS.
Love is the “leader fruit” of the Spirit.
For without love, all the fruits and the gifts of the Spirit, will fail us.
Love is the secret of service, Galatians
5:13 “Through love serve one another.” Love is the fruit of discipleship, John 13:35.
It may be understood of love towards
God, when He sheds abroad the love of God in the heart, which opens our eyes to
see the loveliness of Jesus, the loveliness of His grace, His perfect
righteousness, and the necessity of looking to Him for life and salvation; and
likewise of love to the saints, which a carnal man cannot do, until he is
renewed by the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit pours out the love of
God within the heart of the believer, Romans
5:5 “The Love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who
was given to us.” For our Lord commanded us to love not only our friends,
but even our enemies. The love which He commands is a persistent, unbreakable
spirit of good that will manifest itself in our relationships with others.
2. The FRUIT of
the SPIRIT is JOY (JOYOUS GLADNESS).
The word in the Greek that is used for
joy (Chairo) carries the meaning “good health to you, and may your life be
full.” This word was used by the early Christians as a form of greetings, or
the words “all hail” were used. When Christ Jesus met the woman on the morning
of the resurrection, He greeted her with these words “all hail” Matthew 28:9 “Rejoice.”
Paul uses this word (chairo), to
denote a life that is calm and complete, a life going forward, strong, and
healthy. And no life is so full of joy, as that of a SPIRIT FILLED believer.
A study of the Book of Acts will
reveal that when the Holy Spirit was doing His greatest works, the believers
were experiencing their greatest joy. For joy is a result of gratitude towards
the Lord because of His goodness towards us. The Holy Spirit makes it possible
for us to both experience and recognise God’s goodness and God’s grace, giving
us that inner peace and outward joy.
This joy, likewise, which is the
harvest of the Spirit, lies in spiritual things, and arises from an
apprehension of interest in the things of God, as justification, pardon, peace,
adoption, and eternal glory; and is peculiar to such who have the Spirit.
3. The FRUIT of
the SPIRIT is PEACE.
Peace is freedom from either inward or
outward disturbance when all around is failing.
Which is another fruit of the Spirit,
produced there by the Spirit of God, the effect of which is peace, quietness,
and tranquillity of mind, also peace with men, with believers, and with all
others. Peace only comes by a right relationship with the Lord God, which
imparts an inward harmony to the soul, in which conflict has been stilled.
Through faith in Christ Jesus we obtain peace with God.
“I need peace like a river to overflow my
life.” This inward peace comes by the presence of Christ Jesus abiding in our
lives. And the peace of the Spirit in our daily walk in Christ. Sorrow,
struggles, difficulties, and disappointments cannot destroy the peace of God,
if we are abiding in Him. By co-operating with the Holy Spirit, we enjoy a
peace that defies human understanding.
This peace is something more than an
absence of turmoil. It is an inward harmony with the will of God that brings
calmness and balance even during unfavourable circumstances.
4. The FRUIT of
the SPIRIT is LONGSUFFERING (PATIENCE).
Long-suffering, is endurance in trails
and testing, Paul says in Romans 5:3
“Tribulation works patience, patience experience.” We all think we have
plenty of tribulations. So, we should all have great patience. Long-suffering
speaks of people who know how to endure because they have met with Christ
Jesus.
Long-suffering is a God-like quality,
for God's forbearance is seen daily in our lives. We may be “hard pressed on every side, yet we are
never hemmed in; bewildered, yet we are never defeated; hunted, yet we are
never abandoned to circumstances.”
Patience is that gracious gift of
being able to keep us going on, bearing the load of responsibility and
difficulty. Many of us are very impatient. So, we do not have the character to
stay with the task until it is completed. Yet the Holy Spirit enables us to endure
until we have finished the work that we were put here to accomplish.
Long-suffering is patiently bearing
and enduring of present evils with joyfulness, being slow to anger, ready to
forgive injuries, put up with affronts, and bear with, and forbear one another:
and which is usually accompanied with gentleness, humanity, pleasantness,
courteousness, shown both in words, gestures, and actions; in the copy of the
gentleness of Christ.
5. The FRUIT of
the SPIRIT is KINDNESS (GENTLENESS).
One of the hardest gifts to anyone.
Because it means “not to have your own way.” To be kind and gentle, even to
those who hurt us. Gentleness is not weakness to be walked upon, but kindness
to forgive, and keep on forgiving.
Because the “fruit of the Spirit” is to bring forth a Christ-like character in
us and “gentleness” is the outcome of the indwelling Spirit. The fruits of the
Spirit are for us to grow to perfection.
Someone said: “kindness is love in
action with velvet gloves on.” For kindness involves time, energy, and interest
spent on others. Kindness can also be expensive, for it costs us time and
energy. Kindness towards others may bring with it inconvenience for us.
Kindness is an attitude of thoughtfulness
and helpfulness that enables us to render gentle service to others in their
time of need. The Holy Spirit will enable us to serve in this spirit if we will
permit Him.
6. The FRUIT of
the SPIRIT is GOODNESS (BENEVOLENCE).
Goodness is God-ness; it is the
quality of love. Goodness seems to suggest openness to give, to love the
ungodly. For it is the fruit of helping others for loves sake, it is the
opposite of selfishness. The marks of goodness are self-sacrifice, usefulness,
unselfishness. It is never greedy or grasping, but always giving.
It is goodness or generosity. The Holy
Spirit will enrich us with the blessings of God and will lead us to give
ourselves freely in service to others. The Holy Spirit will lead us to give
ourselves until we have a warm feeling inside concerning the ministry we have
rendered.
The Holy Spirit will lead us out of
greedy, self-centred ways of thinking and acting. He will enlarge our concern
for others and cause us to walk in ways that are pleasing to God and to
others.
7. The FRUIT of
the SPIRIT is FAITHFULNESS.
Again, it is the seventh gift (seven
is God’s perfect number), and faith is God’s perfect gift. Faith is given
twice, as a “fruit” and as a “gift” of the Spirit. Faithfulness is
to live by faith and not by sight. It is not what man sees, but what God sees.
“We need FAITH-living,
soul-quickening, life-transforming, FAITH in our lives.”
For every act of faithfulness, is the
expression of the “Life in the Spirit.” Fear or doubt can never take possession
of a life which is already FULL OF FAITH.
We need to have faith, as this pleases
God. We need to have faith, to receive abundant life in the here and now. Real
faith is more than just a belief about God. Genuine faith expresses itself in
faithfulness to God and His will for our lives.
Faith is a gift of God, the operation
of His power, and the work of His Spirit, whence He is styled the spirit of
faith; and which therefore must have a place among His fruits; and which lies
and shows itself in believing in Christ for salvation, in embracing the
doctrines of the Gospel, and making a profession of them.
The Holy Spirit will lead us to be
faithful to our God, to His precious Word, to His Church, to our family, to our
Christian calling and to our highest possible destiny in life. Our rewards in
heaven will be determined largely by our faithfulness to the opportunities we
have had. The Holy Spirit works within us to produce this fruit of
faithfulness.
8. The FRUIT of
the SPIRIT is GENTLENESS (MEEKNESS).
Gentleness or meekness is not
weakness, it takes a strong person to be meek. Meekness is humility, to be
humble, to put pride and self away, so that Jesus may have all the glory, in
all that we say and do.
Because the stony heart, the bitter
spirit, the strong will, the quick temper; all must be softened in the meekness
of Christ in our lives.
Meekness is our right attitude towards
the Lord, for humility brings reverence, and reverence brings submission to the
will of God. Those who bow in submission to the will of God have given over
their lives fully to the Lord.
Meekness or tolerance. Meekness is not
weakness and tolerance are not compromise. The meek person is one who is
completely under the control of the Spirit of God. He is open and responsive to
the suggestions of God. At the same time, he is considerate and tolerant of
others.
God loves us and accepts us as we are.
He does not wait until we have brought ourselves up to a certain quality or
condition before He begins to love us. The Holy Spirit will lead us to love and
to accept people as they are because that is the way God responds to people.
9. The FRUIT of
the SPIRIT is SELF-CONTROL.
To be in control of the desires of the
flesh, and sin, to seek after spiritual things. It means to “cut off” or to
have “power to conquer,” “to be strong, to rule.” For the indwelling Spirit
within enables us to control passions, and to overcome sin.
Self-control is not something which we
do, or the means by in which we improve ourselves. It is the Holy Spirit
working within us, creating self-control, self-discipline, and self-denial. For
daily the Spirit is making me a “new creation” in God.
The Holy Spirit comes into our hearts
to help us exercise self-control over our impulses and ambitions. He dwells
within that He might warn us in the presence of evil and in the time of danger.
He dwells within to help us overcome
the appetites of the flesh that would be destructive to ourselves and hurtful
to others and to create within us new appetites and aspirations. He delivers us
from living according to the mood of the moment and impulses that would lead us
astray.
Conclusion:
Each of the NINE FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT
transforms the life, the personality, and the character of the believer. If we
are to experience the full fruit of the Spirit, we must recognise that the Holy
Spirit dwells within us and that all His purposes are generous.
We need to respond to the thrilling
truth that God’s greatest works arise from within us rather than from external
urges.
The Holy Spirit is eager to produce
within us the likeness of Christ. So be filled with the Holy Spirit and bear
fruit!
