Fruit of the Spirit

Intro

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.” I think we’ve all heard this before. It’s an often quoted passage from Galatians that children are taught. Sometimes I think we teach children this verse because we want them to behave that way. But that’s just a theory.

But given that, what do these all mean? Sometimes I think we go through this list without fully grasping what each one means. Especially since the original Greek may or may not mean what we think it means. Dive in with me to see what Paul is really telling us about the Christian lifestyle here.

My Experience

I’ll be honest here. I haven’t always been good about giving a personal connection with each of the topics I’ve written about. And that’s a bit unfortunate. Because frankly, the best blogs and messages are the ones where the writer or speaker has a personal connection to it. Some reason or motivation that gives them a reason to truly love the topic and be passionate about it. Many of the topics I’ve written about have all been fantastic topics that I enjoy and recognize as foundational. But to put a personal touch on each, I just couldn’t do. I mentioned a few times during my series on Baptismal Regeneration that I’ve had personal encounters with people who believe that way. That made me more invested in those than in some of the others. I genuinely wonder how many of you picked up on the different tone because of that.

But all that to say is that for this topic – the Fruit of the Spirit – I have a more interesting story and connection to it. And before jumping into talking about the Fruit, I’m going to share it.

The French Chef

Many years ago in high school, I volunteered at a local church’s Awana program as a junior leader for the Sparks age group – Kindergarten through 2nd grade. One semester, the topic for the kids teaching was the Fruit of the Spirit. And to help them learn it, the Sparks director – Mrs. Pat – found a fun skit to help the kids learn and remember. And she asked me to play as the titular character, a French Chef named Chef Tellzeetruth (gotta love these children’s skits, lol). As this chef, each week I would come in and talk with Mrs. Pat about a different aspect of the Fruit of the Spirit and would use a different real life fruit to symbolize the Spiritual side.

Now, I do not remember any of the fruits used or anything I talked about specifically, but I do remember that during this time I personally grew in the very characteristics I talked about during those Wednesday evenings. Amazing how that works. Sometimes to see the growth that you desire, you must step out and teach another. I mentioned in my introductory post that I was known for my Biblical knowledge and would get asked questions periodically. And if I didn’t have the answers, I would find them. That research and searching helped me learn as well. And that’s what I’ve found with my blogs also. So, a little encouragement here is to step out and help others learn. Share your knowledge and search for ways to learn more. Volunteer like I did. Teaching kids is a great way to learn more yourself! The questions they ask, lol.

Now that I’ve said all that, let’s dive into today’s topic. I first want to cover the context in which Paul wrote this passage before going into the individual fruits.

The Context

Here’s the passage from Galatians as we know it and tend to teach it.

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 (NIV)

The immediate context of this verse is Paul contrasting a life lived by the Spirit vs one lived by the flesh. The preceding verses have this to say.

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21(NIV)

Having these two different lists to contrast is important. After all, many of the godly characteristics listed here could technically be seen in some form in non-believers. However, it’s probably not a lifestyle – and it certainly has no eternal value. So sometimes you need to look for additional fruits (good or bad) to discern if someone is living by the Spirit or gratifying the desires of the flesh.

Paul’s whole deal here is arguing against the need for circumcision and obeying the law in order to follow Jesus and be saved. And he warns that anyone who practices any of these sinful lifestyles should not be fooled into thinking they are in Christ simply because of circumcision. And it’s only through the power of Holy Spirit that anyone can overcome these lifestyles and life the Christian lifestyle – as characterized by the Fruit of the Spirit.

One thing I wish to mention as an aside. If you are a Christian who struggles with a sin and are actively fighting it and trusting in God to help you overcome, you do not fall into Paul’s warning. Paul’s warning only applies to those who are not even trying and feel no reason to stop. These people are most likely not even saved – no matter what prayer they may have prayed or the fact that they were baptized at some point in their life.

The Fruit

Moving on to break down each characteristic of the Fruit of the Spirit. Notice I said “characteristic”. Also notice that the Bible uses “fruit” singular. It’s actually one giant fruit that manifests itself in 9 distinct ways. Cool right? And to keep it in front of us, here’s the passage again.

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 (NIV)

You’ll notice that rather than “patience” the NIV uses the word “forbearance”. I will be discussing that in the section on patience. Now let’s go through each one to see what Paul meant and the expectations for us.

Love

We all probably think we know what love is. But did you know that the Greek had at least 8 different words for love? It’s true. And only a few show up in the New Testament. The two that most Christians are familiar with are philia – love between friends – and agape – unconditional love. Guess which one appears here in Galatians? If you guessed agape, congrats! (If you guessed eros…you might need to do some more study.) Evidence of Holy Spirit working in the lives of a Christian is that Christian having a godly, unconditional love towards people. No strings attached. We love others because God loves them.

Joy

When the New Testament talks about joy, it isn’t talking about a happiness dependent on our circumstances. Here in Galatians the word is chara. This word translates as joy or delight and is often accompanied with gladness. Regardless of circumstances. After all, God redeemed us and gives us grace, mercy, and His overwhelming love. Who cares what the world and the devil throw at us? We have the King of kings as our Father! “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” Philippians 4:4 (NIV).

Peace

Biblical peace (eirene in the Greek) includes wholeness and harmony with God and other people. It includes a life free of conflict. Now that doesn’t mean that everything will be perfect and tranquil. But if you have true Biblical peace, then regardless of the circumstances, you will choose to not be at conflict. Someone might be angry with you and not want anything to do with you. But you choose to forgive and let it go and not stew about it. You are not in conflict with that person. As far as you are concerned, you are at peace with them. “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 (NIV).

Patience

The NIV translates the Greek word here (makrothumia) as forbearance. Because of the lack of familiarity, other translations will use patience or long-suffering – which is a bit easier to understand. Other words that fit here to help us understand the meaning would be endurance, steadfastness, and perseverance. The root of the Greek word relates to two other words meaning “long” and “passion”. The picture we get with this word is to become “long-tempered” through the circumstances and temptations we go through (as opposed to short-tempered). Holy Spirit empowers us to “forbear” through all circumstances and not give in to temptation to sin or to lie down and give up when the going gets tough.

Kindness

I think most us has a pretty good idea what it means to show kindness. Some words that go along with being kind are friendly, generous, and considerate towards others. Putting their needs before your own. The Greek word here – chrestotes – conveys moral goodness, integrity, usefulness, and benignity (not harmful, gentle). The Bible says that it’s God’s kindness that leads to repentance. Not yelling at people that they’re going to Hell because of X, Y, and Z. Let’s save judgment for God and just show people kindness and respect. Okay?

Goodness

Goodness (agathosune) means uprightness of heart and life, goodness, and kindness. And when I say goodness there, I mean in action. It’s more than just saying good things, it’s living it out in our personal lives and our public ones.

Gentleness

I think this is another one we know pretty well. It conveys humility and compassion towards others. The Greek word, prautes, was translated in the KJV as “meekness” (interestingly, the KJV then had “kindness” as “gentleness”). However, “meekness” became associated with “weakness” and later translators opted for “gentleness” to convey the same thing. But meekness is not weak. When applied to wild animals, the Greek word actually means “tame”. In other words, the wild animal has not lost any strength. But it knows how to control it and when to use that strength. Jesus is the perfect example of meekness. The God who created the universe became a man. With a word He could have destroyed everything, but He didn’t. That’s meekness. That’s gentleness. And we must be like that. Humble, knowing our strength, but not lording it over people.

Faithfulness

We all know someone who is faithful. They show up week after week to serve or to help out. Anytime you call them for anything, they answer and they will help you to the best of their abilities. Biblical faithfulness is loyalty, reliability, trustworthy, etc. The Greek word pistis encompasses all these with a dependability on God. Because without Him, we can’t do anything.

Self-Control

The last characteristic of the Fruit of the Spirit listed by Paul is Self-Control. The Greek word here is egkrateia. It means the ability to control one’s own body, its appetites and desires – physically and mentally. In the context of the early church in Galatia, it would have been related especially to sobriety and chastity. Today it would relate to these and so much more. I mean, do we really need to be picking up our phone every time there’s a lull in a conversation?

If you feel overwhelmed by any one of these, just remember that this is only possible with God’s help. Apart from Him, we can’t do anything (see John 15:5). Frankly I’m glad I have Holy Spirit helping me. Because I’d fail at so many of these on my own. Praise the Lord for what He has done in my life!

Wrapping Up

I hope from this brief study of the Fruit of the Spirit, you feel that you have a greater understanding of what God desires for your life as well as an encouragement that you aren’t expected to accomplish this alone. Only with Holy Spirit’s help can you live this life. That’s why Paul calls it the “Fruit of the Spirit” and not “Fruit of the Christian”. God bless you all!