The Fruit of the Spirit is Love

The Fruit of the Spirit is Love

Galatians 5:22

This morning we begin looking at the fruit of the Spirit. I’m going to show you some important things we need to understand about the fruit of the Spirit. We will spend most of our time looking at the first characteristic Paul lists.

1. The fruit of the Spirit is different than the gifts of the Spirit.

A. No one receives all of the gifts of the Spirit.

Some teachers, encouragers, givers, helpers, mercy, etc. Scripture says the gifts are given at the Spirits discretion. In 1 Corinthians 12 Paul clearly says that no one person possesses all the gifts of the Spirit.

However, everyone is to possess the nine qualities describes as the fruit of the Spirit.

B. Some gifts have ceased.

We don’t have the Apostles walking around healing people simply by laying hands on them.

We don’t have prophets giving us a new Word from God.

Some gifts were reserved for a specific time in church history and are no longer in operation today.

In 1 Corinthians 13 Paul says some spiritual gifts will pass away but love never will. In every age believers are to produce the full fruit of the Spirit.

C. Gifts were revealed by outward works & fruit is character.

Primarily gifts were for the purpose of serving the church. You do something with you gift. The fruit of the Spirit is who you are.

One is function

The other is character

2. The fruit of the Spirit is different than the works of the flesh.

A. The works of the flesh are sinful (19-21).

A list of sinful works is given before the fruit of the Spirit is listed. They are like a backdrop to the fruit of the Spirit. They show us the contrast between what the Spirit does in our life and what the flesh does in our life. If sin is being produced in you it is not through the Spirit of God.

B. The fruit of the Spirit is singular.

Notice verse 19. “Works”. That’s plural. 15 separate sinful works are listed. Our sinful flesh can produce many sins.

James said the tongue is a small part of the body, yet it is a world of iniquity.

Notice fruit is singular (22). It’s not the fruits of the Spirit. It’s the fruit of the Spirit. There are nine characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit mentioned.

Why does that matter?

Have you ever noticed when it comes to sin we sometimes justify ourselves by saying things like:

At least I’m not a thief

At least I’m not a murderer

At least I’m not an adulterer

I have my weaknesses, but I also have my limitations.

We do that to justify ourselves.

Sometimes we do that with the fruit of the Spirit too.

I may not have self-control, but at least I love people.

I may not be patient but at least I have joy.

I may not be kind but at least I’m faithful.

You’re missing it friend. The fruit of the Spirit is all nine of these things. If we are missing one, we are not bearing the fruit of the Spirit.

The Spirit of God creates balance in our life. If we are saved, we will have all nine of these characteristics in our lives to some degree. God is not making unbalanced Christians who:

Say they love you but are not kind.

Say they are patient but have no self-control.

C. The fruit of the Spirit can be simulated by the works of the flesh.

Fruit can be faked. You can pretend to be a Christian.

Have you ever seen a gumdrop tree? We know that trees don’t produce gum drops. Someone gets a bush or a small tree. They then attach gumdrops to the limbs. When you are young that might fool you.

Sometimes we enter a home and there is plastic fruit in a bowl on the table. It is manmade but it looks real.

There are people in our churches that are not bearing the fruit of the Spirit. They are through self-effort attaching ornaments to themselves.

This is dangerous- fool yourself, wrong impressions to others.

This is tiresome- you will wear yourself out trying to do the work of God.

3. The fruit of the Spirit is love.

A. Love is mentioned first.

Why? It is most important.

1. God is love. The Spirit of God living in us will conform us into His character.

2. Jesus said the world will know we belong to Him because we love one another.

3. Love is the reason the fruit of the Spirit is produced within us.

If we possess the love of God the fruit of the Spirit will be in us.

In 1 Corinthians 13 Paul tells us what love is.

He says it doesn’t matter what spiritual gift we have, if we don’t have love it’s not worth a thing. Ion his beautiful description of love Paul lists many of the characteristics of the Spirit found in the fruit of the Spirit.

He says in 1 Corinthians 13:

Love is patient- he says the fruit of the Spirit is patience (22)

Love is kind- he says the fruit of the Spirit is kindness (22)

Love is not easily angered- he says the fruit of the Spirit is kindness, gentleness and self control (22 & 23).

I think you get then point. Jesus said the entire Law is fulfilled in loving God and loving each other. Love is mentioned first because if we are truly loving in the way God expects us to the other eight characteristics will be present.

You ask “Why then are the others listed?”

They are listed so we will know if we are truly loving. Anyone can say they love. But can we say we are kind? Can we say we are patient?

We can’t invent our own definition of love. Love is defined in Scripture.

B. God’s love is given to us when we are saved.

There is a fleshly love. Before we are saved we can love but not in the way God commands us to.

We can love our family.

We can love our friends.

We can love those who do good things for us.

Jesus dealt with fleshly love when He said:

“For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?” (Matthew 5:46-47)”

Our love is tainted by sin. That is why we engage in:

Selective love

Forbidden love

Fleshly love (lust)

When you get saved God pours His love inrto your heart. Romans 5:5 says:

“God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

We now have a greater capacity to love.

You know that’s true. Can’t you see where your love ends? I know I can. I remember what it was like to be lost.

Listen to me now:

I couldn’t quit doing the things listed in verses 19-21 without the power of God. I couldn’t start doing the things listed in 22-24 without the love of God.

My power had a limit.

My love had a limit.

Yours did too.

There are people I love today that I would not love if I were not saved. I would have neither the desire to love them nor the ability to.

Thank God He poured His love into us!

C. Our love is tested by the church.

It is clear the context of the fruit of the Spirit is our relationships with people.

Love one another

Be patient with one another

Be kind to one another

When God saves, you the first place He will send you is to church. When you get saved you enter the body of Christ. Getting saved and not going to church is like getting married and not going home. It makes no sense.

Have you ever noticed how often 1st Corinthians 13 is read at weddings? It’s even read at the weddings of people who are not Christians. There’s only one problem with that. The context of 1 Corinthians 13 is not a wedding. It is a local church.

Read the letter and you’ll see the people are fussing and fighting and Paul rebukes them by telling them they shouldn’t think they are saved if they don’t love each other. The most beautiful poem ever written about love was written to the people in a local church about their relationships with one another.

There are people who fool themselves by saying “I love God but there are some of His people I don’t love.”

What does God say about that?

He says in 1 John 4 “he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.”

You look at a person created in the image of God and refuse to love them. That means:

Your love is conditional- If it is how do you know you will love God when you see Him? Maybe He will make you mad, and you quit loving Him.

You’re in direct rebellion to God’s will.

You don’t know if the love of God is within you until you place yourself in a position where that love can be tested. God’s Word teaches us that place is the church.

At church God brings all types of people together. These are people we would not rub shoulders with outside of church.

Know this: It is not our love for people that is being tested when we come together. It is our love for God that is being tested. Do we love God enough to love one another?

For some of us our love is a servant of our emotions. If we feel a certain way about a person, we stop loving them. If your love is a servant of your emotions, then your love is not God’s love. It is a fleshly love. It is your own love.

To combat this some people separate themselves from people. The old idea of out of sight out of mind. We think we can fix things by not going around certain people. This is one of the reasons some people leave church.

They separate themselves from the people they don’t love.

That doesn’t fix anything. Either we love people or we don’t.

Sometimes loving people is not easy. Some people are easier to love than others. That is why we must have a greater motivation to love people than the people themselves.

Our motivation is God. God says love people.

D. Our love grows as we grow in grace.

When we are saved a measure of God’s love can be seen in our life. That love grows as we grow in Christ.

Just as fruit grows sweeter on the vine as it ripens, our love grows sweeter as we abide in Christ. He is the Vine. We are the branches. If He abides in us and we in Him, we will bear much fruit.

Sometimes you may be the last to notice. Others see it though. It’s a witness for the Lord.

I’ve seen God mend broken relationships.

I’ve seen God rub the racism out of a person.

I’ve seen God create friendships the world could never create.

I know I have after the passing of time found myself easily loving some who for me were difficult to love.

How do you grow in the grace of love?

You obey Scripture

You repent of sinful attitudes

You fill yourself with the Word of God

You submit to the power of the Holy Spirit

You pray and ask God to help you.

Help me love more! What a great prayer!

We must be willing to test our own love. Not merely saying “I love them!”

But looking to Scripture to see if we really do love them. Looking at our text and asking:

Am I filled with joy when I am around them?

Am I at peace with them?

Am I patient with them?

Am I kind to them?

Am I gentle with them?

Am I good to them?

Am I faithful to the Lord concerning them?

Am I displaying self-control around them?

If those things are true then I am loving them the way God expects.

I began our message reminding us that the Bible says the world will know we are Christians if we love one another. That means love is a great evangelistic force.

Let me ask you a question friend:

Are people attracted to Christ through you?

Are people coming to church because of you?

Are you winning souls to Christ?

Are people serving Christ because of you?

Fruit is an attractant. If you have a fruit tree in your yard you’ll have bugs, birds and animals. You may even have some neighbors come over.

It’s not our works that attract people to Christ. It is our fruit. We can serve God all we want. If our service is not coupled with the fruit of the Spirit no one will be attracted to our message.

Take a hard look at your life. Are you convincing people through the fruit you bear that:

God is real?

Christ is the Way?

The Bible is true?

Anyone can work.

Not everyone can produce the love of God through their life.

Are you?

Let me ask you a question friend? What is the greatest thing about God?

I’ll answer it for you. For each of us personally the greatest thing is He loves us. The Bible says since God loves us we should love one another. It says it that simply in 1 John 4:11.

The greatest thing you can do for others is the greatest thing God has done for you. Love people. Love them like God loves them.

If you are lost and don’t have the capacity to love like that, come to Christ.

Look at the cross. See that love.

Look at the resurrection. See that power.

Call on Christ in faith and repentance. He will save you. He will pour His love into your heart.