The Fruit of the Spirit
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It is one thing to overcome the flesh and not do evil things, but quite something else to do good things.
The legalist might be able to boast that he is not guilty of adultery or murder, but can anyone see the beautiful graces of the Spirit in his life?
Negative goodness is not enough in a life; there must be positive qualities as well.
Jesus said:
16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
However there are 2 types or sources of “good” qualities:
The Spirit and the Flesh: Fruit vs Works.
The Spirit and the Flesh: Fruit vs Works.
The contrast between works and fruit is important.
A machine in a factory works, and turns out a product, but it could never manufacture fruit.
Fruit must grow out of life, and, in the case of the believer, it is the life of the Spirit.
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When you think of “works” you think of effort, labor, strain, and toil.
When you think of “fruit” you think of beauty, quietness, the unfolding of life.
14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
The flesh produces “dead works”, but the Spirit produces living fruit.
And this fruit has in it the seed for still more fruit.
Love begets more love!
Joy helps to produce more joy!
2 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.
Jesus is concerned that we produce “fruit … more fruit … much fruit” because this is the way we glorify Him.
The old nature cannot produce fruit; only the new nature can do that.
What Fruit?
What Fruit?
The New Testament speaks of several different kinds of “fruit”:
people won to Christ (Rom. 1:13), holy living (Rom. 6:22), gifts brought to God (Rom. 15:26–28), good works (Col. 1:10), and praise (Heb. 13:15).
However, the Key fruit of those who are led by the Spirit are listed in Galatians 5.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
The “fruit of the Spirit” listed in our passage has to do with character.
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It is important that we distinguish the gift of the Spirit, which is salvation, and the gifts of the Spirit, which have to do with service, from the graces of the Spirit, which relate to Christian character.
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The characteristics that God wants in our lives are seen in the ninefold fruit of the Spirit.
The “God-ward” Fruit
The “God-ward” Fruit
Paul begins with love because all of the other fruit is really an outgrowth of love.
This word for love is agape, which means divine love.
5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
This divine love is God’s gift to us, and we must cultivate it and pray that it will increase.
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When a person lives in the sphere of love, then he experiences joy—that inward peace and sufficiency that is not affected by outward circumstances.
This “holy optimism” keeps him going in spite of difficulties.
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Love and joy together produce peace.
7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
These first three qualities express the Godward aspect of the Christian life.
The Man-Ward Fruit
The Man-Ward Fruit
The next three express the manward aspect of the Christian life:
long-suffering (courageous endurance without quitting).
gentleness (kindness),
and goodness (love in action).
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The Christian who is long-suffering will not avenge himself or wish difficulties on those who oppose him.
He will be kind and gentle, even with the most offensive, and will sow goodness where others sow evil.
What does “Love in action” look like?
It it forgiveness.
32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
Human nature can never do this on its own; only the Holy Spirit can.
The Self-Ward Fruit
The Self-Ward Fruit
The final three qualities are selfward:
faith (faithfulness, dependability);
meekness (the right use of power and authority, power under control);
and temperance(self-control).
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Meekness is not weakness.
Jesus said, “I am meek and lowly in heart”
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
And Moses was “very meek”
3 (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)
Yet no one could accuse either of them of being weak.
The meek Christian does not throw his weight around or assert himself.
Just as wisdom is the right use of knowledge, so meekness is the right use of authority and power.
Counter-Fruit?
Counter-Fruit?
It is possible for the old nature to counterfeit some of the fruit of the Spirit, but the flesh can never produce the fruit of the Spirit.
One difference is this: When the Spirit produces fruit, God gets the glory and the Christian is not conscious of his spirituality; but when the flesh is at work, the person is inwardly proud of himself and is pleased when others compliment him.
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The work of the Spirit is to make us more like Christ for His glory, not for the praise of men.
The Missing Ingredient: Cultivation.
The Missing Ingredient: Cultivation.
The cultivation of the fruit is important.
Paul warns that there must be a right atmosphere before the fruit will grow.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
Just as fruit cannot grow in every climate, so the fruit of the Spirit cannot grow in every individual’s life or in every church.
Fruit grows in a climate blessed with an abundance of the Spirit and the Word.
“Walk in the Spirit” means “keep in step with the Spirit”—not to run ahead and not to lag behind.
This involves the Word, prayer, worship, praise, and fellowship with God’s people.
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It also means “pulling out the weeds” so that the seed of the Word can take root and bear fruit.
The Purpose of all Fruit is to be eaten.
The Purpose of all Fruit is to be eaten.
We must remember that this fruit is produced to be eaten, not to be admired and put on display.
People around us are starving for love, joy, peace, and all the other graces of the Spirit.
When they find them in our lives, they know that we have something they lack.
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We do not bear fruit for our own consumption; we bear fruit that others might be fed and helped, and that Christ might be glorified.
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
The flesh may manufacture “results” that bring praise to us, but the flesh cannot bear fruit that brings glory to God.
It takes patience, an atmosphere of the Spirit, walking in the light, the seed of the Word of God, and a sincere desire to honor Christ.
