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Series: The Fruit of The Spirit

The Fruit of the Spirit: Signs of the Spirit

The Fruit of the Spirit

The Holy Spirit is the hand and mechanism of life’s creation, sent by Jesus Christ, from the beginning of time.  The work of the Holy Spirit is transformative in the lives of believers.  When a person believes in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit begins its work in a person.  As the mechanism of true, genuine life, the Holy Spirit knows which things are created with the DNA of God and which are the representation of the fleshly desires.  When the Spirit renews a person fully, the sign of the Spirit in a person is the fruit that is produced.  For the Christian, Galatians 5:22-25 serves as the metric and sign for what occurs in every believer when the Holy Spirit works in the heart.  

The Fruit of Love Agape

The Fruit of the Spirit: Love Part 1

At the outset of Paul’s discussion of the Fruit of the Spirit, the foundation is laid down mentioning love as the first fruit. While all the elements listed in Galatians are all equal parts of the Fruit of the Spirit, Paul significantly lists “love” as the first fruit and expression of a spirit filled life.  For the people of Paul’s time, love could be viewed from a few different perspectives.  One aspect is the idea of brotherly or familial love, personified by the word “phileo” (which we get the word Philadelphia from as the city of brotherly love).  Another popular perspective depicted, specifically within Greek literature, described love as primary a romantic and sexual interaction, employing the word “eros.”  Neither of these words did the description of love justice.  Love of this nature could only be described as “agape” which implies a deeper connection that either “eros” or “phileo” would be able to offer.  This love, rather than being between two people, originates in the personhood of God and expresses a deep connection.  It is not friendly or familial but rather from a direct and profound connection from the God’s heart to ours.  

The Fruit of the Spirit: Love Part 2

In seeking to understand a concept, it is often helpful to look at what that particular concept is not.  Culturally, it goes without saying that there are numerous definitions and expectations of what love is and what love looks like.  Everyone’s various expectations of what love looks like pressures each person to reflect different core values.  In seeking to allow the Holy Spirit to express the love of God as a fruit of our transformation, love must be expressed through all that we do.  Furthermore, the opposite of this same love should be ignored and avoided at all cost.  From a biblical perspective, most would assume that the opposite of love of hate.  Yet, hate has passion in common with love. Furthermore, in other areas, believers are encouraged to hate what is evil, which is a command from God, who is love.  Both exhibit passion.   The passion is, albeit misdirected, but present none of the less.  Instead, the opposite of love is fear.  Biblical authors use the  greek word “phobos” to depict the complete incompatibility of love.  Fear is a paralytic that causes us to cower, hide, and freeze.  Love, however, drives a person to intense action as the outpouring of an undeserved love that we have already received.

The Fruit of Love: Discipline and Accountability

The Fruit of the Spirit: Love Part 3

It seems that as some point people God the idea that loving someone meant an implicit acceptance of everything they do.  A person is viewed as the summation of their actions and their desires.  Thus to love a person was to be accepting of everything they are and everything they desire to be.  Nothing could be further from the truth of the Gospel.  The love of God is a multifaceted and complex love that surpasses understanding, comprehension, and ability.  For those of us who have received the Spirit of God, the outpouring of love is a similar love for all mankind.  Love does not mean a person will never experience any negative emotion because love does not limit itself to merely emotions.  Instead, often times, love involves the rebuke and discipline of God because of His love for His people and His desire to not see them remain in their sin.  Furthermore, our love for our brothers and sisters in Christ and for the world as a whole, remains to speak up against injustice and sin as the mouthpiece of God and to hold one another account fo our actions.  This love links arms with the rest of mankind and rushes towards the perfect relationship with Jesus Christ. 

The Fruit of Joy Part 1

The Fruit of the Joy: Part 1

With the fruit of love being the leading fruit for the Spirit filled Christian, Paul continues that those claiming they are filled with the Spirit also display joy as an outward expression of the Spirit within them.  A person who has no joy cannot rightly be said to be a Spirit filled individual.  Yet, for all of our preconceived notions and ideas of joy, there is a misunderstanding of what it means to be filled with joy.  Some mistake it that a person of faith must be smiling at all times in order to be joyful, to the dismay of the melancholic personalities.  Smiling does not necessarily equate to joy, although it my certainly be expressed as such.  Joy, rather than a temporary feeling is a longstanding state.  Furthermore, this status is cementing by the work of Jesus Christ.  Joy is not temporary.  Joy is a lasting state because the works of Christ are cemented and secured.

The Fruit of Joy: Experiencing Joy in The Hardship

The Fruit of the Joy: Experiencing Joy In The Hardship

The birth of a child is a miraculous blessing in the lives of people.  It is viewed as a joyous occasion with much celebration that life should continue. Yet, for all of this blessing, the process of pregnancy and child birth is a long arduous process filled with pain.  For nine months, the mother carries the child, caring for his or her needs as the child is entirely helpless and incredibly needy. Joints ache and fatigue runs rampant. Then, during the birth, the process is painful tonthe point where science has developed everything it can to dull the pain, and it still hurts. For all the problem of children, this is a moment of joy. Despite whatever pain or trials, the outcome and the end are sheer joy.  

The Fruit of Joy: Our Right Standing with a Caring Father

The Fruit of the Joy: Our Right Standing with a Caring Father

Joy has nothing to do with our situation and everything to do with our standing with God.  When our standing with God is absent, happiness is a cheap, counterfeit alternative to joy. We tend to think that our faith is faltering when things are not happy.  Yet, biblically, the cause for our supposed “suffering” could be the refiner’s fire.  It is not necessarily an indication that we are outside of the will of God but rather that God continually pursues us and draws us closer to Himself. 

The Fruit of Peace: The Wellspring of Right Standing

The Fruit of the Peace: The Wellspring of Right Standing

For the Spirit-filled Christian, peace is not a far off abstract but comes from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Peace is tied to our eternal state rather than where we are during a particular moment of time.  For the Christian, the Spirit of God indwelling inside of believers is a source of peace in the midst of a chaotic and anxious world.

The Fruit of the Peace: Anxiety Choked Out By Peace

Anyone who knows me understands that I tend to be anxious and worry about a great deal of things.  I worry about how other people are doing.  I worry about my future.  I worry about whether or not I will be able to make it (without clearly defining what “making it” actually means).  For the Spirit filled Christian, peace is expressed through any situation and any time.  Yet, anxiety seems to always poke its head into any situation in an effort to choke out the peace of God.  The world almost seems to glorify anxiety and romanticize the idea that everyone should reasonably and expectantly be anxious about their current events and situations.  Anxiety, however, is not a fruit of the Spirit.  It stands contrary to the fruit of peace that lives within the heart of all who have been filled by the Holy Spirit.  Where anxiety tries to choke out peace, by the strength of God, peace chokes out all anxiety.

Fruit of Peace: Bringing Peace To The World

The Fruit of the Peace: Bringing Peace To The World

The Spirit inside of us intends to bring peace to the world, through what we think, what we say, and what we do.  The world, however, intends to further the descent into sin.  While we bring peace, it stands in opposition to the world.  People tend to think that peace and passivity are interchangeable, that if we simply do not call a person out or hold them accountable, that we will be peaceful.  As we see from our past two articles in this series, nothing could be further from the truth.  Peace is forged in the flames of discipleship and holiness.  To be a peacemaker is to be one who bears witness to the source of our peace.  For the Christian, we give a taste of the everlasting and eternal promise and home that God offers to all people.  This is the expression of the peace that Spirit expresses through us.