Fruit:Product&Command

As we wrap up this fruit series:

This is not the whole list!

We don’t need to go through each of these individual fruits for this reason. The list is not complete. We must not read this list as a check list to see if we are doing all that we need to do.

We see this in the previous list in the works of the flesh list ending in the phrase “and things like these” (vs21)

Under the Fruit of the Spirit, the “against such things” (vs 23) is really indicating the listed fruits of the spirit and things like it.

Paul did intend these two lists to be complete.

Another point that can be made from the grammar of this paragraph in the plurality of “works of the flesh” and the singularity of “Fruit of the Spirit”.

While we make an choice individual moments to act on different sins, the fruit of the spirit is one singular fruit. You cannot separate one of these concepts from the other. They are all the results of a human will submitted to the spirits leading. Paul is simply giving verbal examples of the wholistic effects of the Spirit.

One Pastor described this Fruit as a Bouquet of flowers. Individually they are a flower but together they form a bouquet. The Spirit is the whole Bouquet. Taking one flower out at a time and isolating it changes the bouquet.

This brings us back to the fact that this is not an exhaustive list but rather a set of overall characteristics of a life by the Spirit.

Life by the spirit could be elaborated as

Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology An Identification of the Fruit

an active love for God and one’s fellowman; a rejoicing in all kinds of circumstances; peacefulness and serenity of character and peacemaking among people; patience and longsuffering with persons, some of whom may not be easy to get along with; kindness toward others; goodness that seeks to aid others; faithfulness and dependability in one’s relationships with God and other people; gentleness and meekness in accepting God’s will and in dealing with others; and the ability to keep oneself in check and under control in all kinds of circumstances. Paul concludes by observing the obvious: “Against such things as these virtues no law has been enacted.”

I don’t feel the Spirit making these things in my life, what do I do?

Moving forward with the wholistic view on Fruit/evidence of our faith, we can get stuck waiting on the spirit to produce this fruit in us. Eventually we may loose patience and begin trying to accomplish a christian check list under the power of flesh.

This is not a one or the other other scenario, this is not either the spirit does this fruit automatically or we make this happen all on our own. For example lets look at Scripture for what on the outside may appear as opposing thoughts:

English Standard Version Chapter 6

A Tree and Its Fruit

43 “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit,

By this example, fruit is the natural product of type of tree and so we recognize that the fruit of the spirit is the natural by product of the Spirits presence

The Bible both declares that these fruits listed are the production of the spirit in our lives while simultaneously commanding us to obey the scripture and practice these things with our will.

Fruits:

Love

Commanded to love God and our neighbor in and

Commanded to love God and our neighbor in and

Joy

Command to continue rejoicing in all circumstances ( phil 4:4 , )

Peace

Commanded to live at peace with all people ()

Commanded to be reconciled with those who consider themselves enemies (matt 5:23-24)

Goodness

Commanded to overcome evil done to us by doing good in return ()

God’s Sovereignty and Man’s Responsibility

What we see here in this study of Fruit is God’s Sovereignty and Man’s Responsibility. It is only by God’s Grace and the empowering of his spirit that we can exhibit these fruits in the right manner. We have a Responsibility to submit to the spirit and work alongside the all powerful spirit to produce these things in our lives. We are not to simply expect our live to reflect these things without any effort of your own will. If that were the case then the bible would not have to command us and tell us to consciously make an effort to do these things. We are active in the development of fruit in our life.

These same virtues, Paul tells us to “put on” in . Peter tells us to add these things to our lives in

Wesley Gerig writes:

Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology The Requirement of Human Cooperation with the Spirit

Consequently it is important not only to know what the fruit of the Spirit is but diligently to attempt to make it an integral part of one’s own Christian life. No one ever drifts into spiritual maturity or excellence. It demands a yielding of life to the Spirit’s leading by means of the Bible (Rom. 8:14; Gal. 5:18)

May we not be caught up in a list but be caught up in being obedient to all our Lord’s commands and cooperate with the Holy Spirit to produce the fruit of our faith, the evidence of our faith.