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FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT

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 TAHT HE IS NOT GUILTY OF ADULTERY OR MUDER, 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. SO 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. (5:25). WHEN WE HEAR THE WORD ‘WORK’ WE THINK OF EFFORT, STRAIN AND LABOR; WHEN YOU THINK OF ‘FRUIT’ YOU THINK OF BEAUTY, QUIETNESS, THE UNFOLDING OF LIFE.

THE ‘FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT’ LISTED IN OUR PASSAGE HAS TO DO WITH CHARACTER. BUILDING XIAN CHARACTER MUST BE AT THE TOP OF OUR PRIORITIES OVER DISPLAYING OUR SPECIAL ABILITIES FOR GIFTS.

The Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians The Lovely Things (Galatians 5:22–26)

AS in the previous verses Paul set out the evil things characteristic of the flesh, the lower side of human nature, so now he sets out the lovely things which are the fruit of the Spirit. Again it is worth while to look at each word separately.

Preaching the Word: Galatians—Gospel-Rooted Living Sufficient to Avoid the Curse (5:18–21)

While the immediate aim, then, of this passage is to call the Galatians to “walk by the Spirit” (5:16), this serves both to warn and to assure the Galatians about the curse of the Law: if they follow the leading of the Spirit, they are exempt from the Law’s curse (5:18; 5:22, 23), whereas if they succumb to “the desires of the flesh” (5:16), they will come under a curse and face exclusion from “the kingdom of God” (5:19–21).

Sufficient to Fulfill the Law (5:22, 23)

The Spirit is sufficient, then, not only to enable us to avoid the curse of the Law but also to empower us to fulfill the Law. We fulfill the Law through love; this is the sum and substance of the whole Law, as Paul has already said (5:14; cf. Romans 13:8–10). And love is the very thing the Spirit creates in the life of the believer and in the believing community. Love is the chief of the Spirit’s fruits. We see love mentioned first in the list of the fruit of the Spirit. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (5:22, 23). That’s not only to give love pride of place as the most important fruit but also to suggest that love is itself a summation of all the other fruit. Love contains the whole of all that God desires and requires of us.

This is why Paul can say so confidently about the fruit of the Spirit, “Against such things there is no law” (5:23). He is simply reiterating what he has already said in 5:18 about the leading of the Spirit. The Law is not against the fruit of the Spirit; indeed, the fruit of the Spirit—love—is the very thing for which the Law itself calls. Thus the leading of the Spirit produces the fruit of the Spirit, which is the fulfillment of the Law and thus avoids its curse.

Love, then, ought to mark our lives as Christians. Indeed, love ought to be the hallmark of the Christian. We ought to be known by how we love one another—and the world. In fact, our love for one another is an indication of whether we’re walking by the Spirit.

Love ought to mark the church as well. The church ought to be filled with the fruit of the Spirit. We ought to be like a garden, the garden of God, embodying the presence of the Spirit, recapturing the love that was present originally in the garden of Eden. And this garden-church ought to be filled with fruit, new-creation fruit born of the Spirit of God within the lives of his people. Thus the church ought to be an oasis in the midst of a barren wasteland, a place of nourishment and rest and healing and life smack-dab in the middle of this present evil age.

The NET Bible First Edition Notes Notes for 5:22

41 tn That is, the fruit the Spirit produces.

42 sn Another way to punctuate this is “love” followed by a colon (love: joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control). It is thus possible to read the eight characteristics following “love” as defining love.

THE LIVING PRESENCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN BELIEVES LEADS TO CHRISTLIKE VIRTUES WITHIN THEM, JUST AS A LIVING TREE WILL BEAR GOOD FRUIT.

…WHAT MORE WAS THERE TO DO FOR MY VINEYARD THAT I HAVE NOT DONE IN IT? WHY, WHEN I EXPECTED IT TO PRODUCE GOOD GRAPES DID IT PRODUCE WORTHLESS ONES?...

The spiritual life and growth of believers is likened to a fruit-bearing tree. As the fruit is evidence of the health and vigour of the tree, so the believer’s life, attitudes and behaviour should reflect the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Fruit, spiritual

Synopsis

The spiritual life and growth of believers is likened to a fruit-bearing tree. As the fruit is evidence of the health and vigour of the tree, so the believer’s life, attitudes and behaviour should reflect the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Believers should exhibit evidence of their conversion

(NASB95) — 13 Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.

(NASB95) — 8 “Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance;

(NASB95) — 15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 “You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? 17 “So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 “A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 “So then, you will know them by their fruits.

(NASB95) — 33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit.

(NASB95) — 16 “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.

(NASB95) — 4 Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. 5 For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death.

The nature of spiritual fruit

(NASB95) — 14 What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? 17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. 18 But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” 19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. 20 But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? 22 You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God. 24 You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

The nature of spiritual fruit

(NASB95) — 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

See also ; ;

(NASB95) — 5 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,

(NASB95) — 9 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; 11 having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

(NASB95) — 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.

The sources of spiritual fruit

Acceptance of the gospel

(NASB95) — 15 “But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.

The old way of life put to death

(NASB95) — 24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

(NASB95) — 6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;

(NASB95) — 6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;

(NASB95) — 11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, 13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

(NASB95) — 13 for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

(NASB95) — 24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

(NASB95) — 22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, 23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

(NASB95) — 5 Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. 6 For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience, 7 and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, 10 and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him—

Actively living a new life in Jesus Christ

(NASB95) — 7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.

See also ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;

(NASB95) — 11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, 13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

(NASB95) — 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

(NASB95) — 8 for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light 9 (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth),

(NASB95) — 10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

(NASB95) — 12 So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. 14 Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. 15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.

(NASB95) — 22 Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

(NASB95) — 5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

(NASB95) — 14 Our people must also learn to engage in good deeds to meet pressing needs, so that they will not be unfruitful.

(NASB95) — 18 Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.

Remaining close to Jesus Christ

(NASB95) — 4 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

Submission to God’s discipline

(NASB95) — 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. 11 All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

See also

(NASB95) — 1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.

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15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

16 “You will aknow them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?

17 “So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.

18 “A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.

19 “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

20 “So then, you will know them by their fruits.

…MY FATHER IS GLORIFIED BY THIS, THAT YOU BEAR MUCH FRUIT, AND SO PROVE TO BE MY DISCIPLES...

THE GIFT OF THE SPIRIT BEGINS THIS LIFELONG PROCESS TO LIVE IN THE SPIRIT. …BUT WE ALL, WITH UNVEILED FACE, BEHOLDING AS IN A MIRROR THE GLORY OF THE LORD, ARE BEING TRANSFORMED INTO THE SAME IMAGE FROM GLORY TO GLORY, JUST AS FROM THE LORD, THE SPIRIT...

AGAIN I REMIND YOU THAT THIRD WORD IN VS 22, ‘FRUIT’ IS SINGULAR, EMPHASISING THAT THESE QUALITIES ARE MUTUALLY DEPENDENT ASPECTS OF A CHRISTIAN LIFESTYLE.

FRUITFULNESS IS USED BY SCRIPTURE AS A SYMBOL OF SPIRITUAL MATURITY AND WELL-BEING.

WANT TO KNOW HOW YOU CAN BE SPIRITUALLY FRUITFUL IN YOUR LIFE? IT IS THROUGH A COMMITMENT TO GOD’S WORD.

Galatians: An Introduction and Commentary e. The Harvest of the Spirit (5:22–26)

The use of karpos, fruit, as mentioned above, suggests that all these spiritual qualities, and many more, are the spontaneous product of the presence of the Spirit of Christ within the heart of the Christian. The metaphor is a very old one, natural to an agricultural people like Israel. While karpos means any kind of fruit, it is most frequently employed of the product of the fruit tree or vine. It was a principle enunciated by the Lord himself that a tree could be recognized by the fruit that it bore (Matt. 7:16); so, by the presence of these ‘fruits’, the presence of the Spirit in the hearts of the Galatians is proved. It is interesting that Paul does not here use the presence of spiritual gifts, equally coming from the Spirit, as a proof of spiritual life, although such gifts seem to have existed among the Galatians (‘works miracles among you’, 3:5). Perhaps it is because fruit of the Spirit cannot be simulated, while gifts of the Spirit can (Matt. 7:22).

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers 1.13: Saint Chrysostom: Homilies on Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Thessalonians, Timothy, Titus, and Philemon Chapter V

And why does he say, “the fruit of the Spirit?” it is because evil works originate in ourselves alone, and therefore he calls them “works,” but good works require not only our diligence but God’s loving kindness.

Evangelical Commentary on the Bible C. Proof of One’s Grounding (5:13–26)

Paul asserts that it does not take great spiritual insight (“the acts of the sinful nature are obvious,” v. 19) to spot the inappropriateness of these activities and attitudes among believers. In fact he reminds them that he spoke to them about this before (v. 21) and told them that such acts revealed a person who would “not inherit the kingdom of God” (v. 21).

In contrast to the multiple “works” of the flesh, the singular “fruit” (likely denoting a harmonious unity) promotes a God-oriented expression of activities and attitudes that enhance one’s relationship to God and fellow man. The nine attributes found here (5:22–26) are clearly the production of the Holy Spirit in the believer’s life, and come as a composite whole, not as individual items which some have and others do not (vv. 22–23; for other lists of virtues, see 2 Cor. 6:6; Eph. 4:2; 5:9; Col. 3:12–15).

Three sets are discernible in the list. The first, “love, joy, peace” (v. 22), reflects the resultant attitude of one who has been endowed with the Spirit of the God who is identified as love (1 John 4:8), who brings complete satisfaction (John 3:29), who is declared to bring “peace on earth” (Luke 2:14), and who is identified as the “Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:6).

The second set reflects how a Spirit-led individual will conduct interpersonal relationships (“patience, kindness, goodness,” v. 22). The third set seems to focus primarily on a person’s inner life when under the control of the Spirit (“faithfulness, gentleness, self-control,” vv. 22–23).

Paul concludes the list in verse 23 with the pronouncement, “against such things there is no law.” Certainly his remarks are not just indicating that the foregoing list of “fruit” is permitted under the law. Rather, his point seems to answer those who would feel that the call to move beyond the law would leave the Galatians without any foundation upon which to measure their actions. But Paul maintains that the work of the Spirit in one’s life provides an internal motivation and proper orientation to participate in the attitudes and actions that are consistent with the character of Christ. Thus, with the freedom afforded through Christ (5:1, 13), the sinful nature is crucified resulting in a new person (v. 24) who by nature is the righteousness demanded by the law and granted through the Spirit (see 2 Cor. 3:6).

The final exhortations of the chapter indicate that while the reality of the fruit is a gift from the Spirit, the believer’s responsibility is to actively “live by the Spirit,” and “keep in step with the Spirit” (Gal. 5:25).

Holman Bible Handbook Christian Living (5:1–6:10)

Having secured the argument for freedom in Christ through justifying faith alone, Paul examined the nature of that liberty. While again rebuking the tendency to turn back to legalism, he also deplored the opposite extreme of license. Paul expertly showed that freedom in Christ is a Spirit-guided life-style within the limits of a new “law” given by Christ: the law of love.

Paul quickly warned against circumcision, which has no spiritual value in Christ. He reminded them that they could not keep part of the law and ignore the rest. And to attempt to be justified by keeping the law of Moses is to turn completely away from God’s grace. The route of spiritual freedom in Christ is faith, faith that shows love (5:13–14, 22) in the short run and that waits eagerly but patiently for the Christian’s eternal hope.

The apostle next laments how the false teachers had confused the Galatians, halting their forward progress in Christ. He longed for an end to the leaven of false teaching spreading among them, wishing that the agitators would do away with themselves. Still, he displayed confidence that the Galatian churches would return to a proper viewpoint.

The danger of misunderstanding freedom in Christ is a tendency toward self-indulgence, which can express itself in destructive words and actions toward other believers. True spiritual freedom manifests itself in love, both for God and for one another. Such loving behavior is against the grain of the flesh. Thus it is necessary to live in the power of the Holy Spirit and thus be guided by the Spirit in our attitudes, decisions, and actions. To fail to follow the lead of the Spirit as a Christian is to manifest a sinful life-style that is unworthy of the kingdom of God. On the other hand, the believer who is controlled by the Spirit shows forth qualities that reflect supernatural godliness beyond the requirements of the law.

Such a life of Spirit-prompted love does not go on automatically however. It is necessary to remain consciously in step with the Holy Spirit, and it is easy to do otherwise. Even though the flesh was, in a very real sense, crucified with Christ, the tendency to pride, and even to gross sin, still exists. Mature Christians must, in the power of the Spirit, restore such errant believers.

The NET Bible First Edition Notes Notes for 5:22

41 tn That is, the fruit the Spirit produces.

42 sn Another way to punctuate this is “love” followed by a colon (love: joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control). It is thus possible to read the eight characteristics following “love” as defining love.