The Fruit of the Sprit - Love Galatians 5:22

Introduction

Here in Galatians Paul has laid out for us a couple of thoughts. The first thought is the war that we are in every day, the war between the flesh and the Spirit. Every person is in this war, but the closer we live to Jesus, the easier it is to live a life after the Spirit and not after the flesh.

After he laid out the war for us, he laid out the works or the fruit of the flesh. He gave us a list of things that are works of the flesh instead of the Spirit. He ended the works of the flesh by saying if you continue doing the things of the flesh you will not inherit the kingdom of God. As believers we should not continually live a life after the flesh, but we should start bearing the fruit of the Spirit.

Over the next few weeks we are going to look at the 9 characteristics of the fruit we are called to bear.

The Fruit of the Spirit

Every Christian should bear fruit

Jesus talked a lot about bearing fruit in John 15

John 15:1–10 KJV 1900

I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.

When you think about a tree, if a branch isn’t bearing fruit you remove that branch from the tree because it is taking away nutrients from the rest of the trees.

Matthew 15:13 “But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.”

Notice in verse 2 - 5 the progression of bearing fruit

As a Christian you should start bearing fruit

As you grow in your walk with the lord, he purges or prunes things in your life so you can bear more fruit

The more you abide (rest or dwell) in Christ you will produce much fruit

In verse 3 of John 15 we see how we get closer to Christ, it’s through the cleansing of the Word. If we want to bear much fruit we must be cleansed through the word of God

Psalm 119:9 “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word.”

Ephesians 5:26 “That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,”

In verse 4 we see that like a branch separated from a vine, we can not bear fruit outside of Jesus Christ

Verse 8 tells us that we glorify God by bearing much fruit

Matthew 7:16 “Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?”

As believers we shouldn’t produce the fruit of the flesh but rather the fruit of the Spirit. What kind of fruit are we producing?

Characteristic #1 LOVE

The greek word here used for love is Agape, This is the word commonly used to describe the matchless love of God

Our love for others as a believer should match God’s love for us

Look what Paul says about Charity which means to love without expecting anything in return

1 Corinthians 13:4–6 “Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;”

Look at the 9 Characteristics of Charity

our love should be patient “suffereth long”

our love should be kind “is kind”

our love should be generous “envieth not”

our love should be humble “vaunteth not itself, and is not puffed up”

Our love should be courteous “doth not behave itself unseemly”

Our love is unselfish “seeketh not her own”

Our love is well tempered “is not easily provoked”

Our love is not pure “thinketh no evil”

Our love is sincere “Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth”

The greatest picture of love we have is recorded in John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

One of my favorite hymns is a hymn written by Federick Lehman and is entitled the Love of God

These are the words he penned in the last verse

Would we with ink the ocean fill, and were the skies of parchment made, were every stalk on earth a quill, and every man a scribe by trade, To write the love of God above, would drain the ocean dry. Nor could the scroll contain the whole, though stretched from sky to sky

That is the love God has for us, and we should have that kind of love for others

Jesus came to earth to demonstrate the truth of the declaration found in the last part of 1 John 4:8 “for God is love.”

Christ demonstrated love in every season and situation in his life here on earth.

John 13:34 “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.”

Look what Jesus said in Matthew 5:44 “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;”

This is impossible for us to do if we are living a life after the flesh, but with the power of the Spirit on our life we can live this out.

Jesus didn’t just say these words he lived them

John Phillips put it this way in his commentary “Impossible? Not for Him. He loved poor, lost Herod, self-seeking Annas, crafty Caiaphas, and weak and wavering Pilate. He loved them enough to die for them. He loved Peter even as he cursed and swore and denied Him. He loved Judas even as he planted the traitor's kiss on His cheek. He loved the man who punched Him in the face, the man who crowned Him with thorns, the man who smote Him on the head with a reed, and the man who plowed His back with a scourge. He loved the soldier who dropped that heavy cross upon His lacerated back and commanded Him to get going. He loved the men who nailed him to that tree. He loved the very men who mocked him as he died: “Father, forgive them” he cried out in Luke 23:34.

What does it mean for us to love?

it means we follow the example of Jesus, how he allowed Gods love to flow through him.

This love should flow through us as believers and the source of our love is the power of the Holy Spirit.

This kind of love cannot be manufactured, neither can we imitate it. The flesh can exhibit what the world calls love but it is flawed.

True love is of God for God is love

1 John 4:7–8 “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.”

Conclusion

If we truly want to live a life after the Spirit it starts with our Christ-like love for others

How is our love for one another?