What Does Your Fruit Say About You?

Introduction

Tonight we begin a new series studying the Fruit of the Spirit. Each week, Lord willing, the kids lesson will examine each of the 9 characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit as laid out in Galatians 5. The purpose of us examining the same topics on Sunday nights are to encourage families to discuss the lesson throughout the week. Hopefully, this will help you and your family grow together in Christ.

In the ancient times, fruit was a word used to describe results, products, outcomes, accomplishments, or achievements. And throughout Scripture Jesus commands us to produce good fruit.

Matthew 7:17–19 ESV

So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

Matthew 12:33 ESV

“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.

God desires for His people to produce good fruit in their lives. This is part of His will for our lives.

Ultimately, God’s will for our lives is revealed in two great commandments:

Matthew 22:36–40 ESV

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

We know what to do to love God with all our hearths:

1 John 5:1–3 ESV

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.

But loving our neighbor might be a little more difficult to understand when it comes to putting it into practice. So, where in the Bible do we go to find details of what loving our neighbor looks like?

The Fruit of the Spirit - Galatians 5:13-26

Typically, we start a study of the fruit of the Spirit with verse 16, but context drives us back to verse 13. In this chapter, Paul is telling us how Christ has set us free from the bondage of the old law which he describes as the circumcision.

However, during this time people were using this freedom as an excuse to live in whatever way was pleasing to them. This is why he begins in verse 13-15 saying that this freedom does not give us the ability to do whatever we want which he describes as “giving opportunity for the flesh.” Instead, we are to use this liberation to more freely serve one another. We use this freedom to follow the second greatest command, love your neighbor as yourself. Just because the old law is gone, and just because we have freedom in Christ does not mean we can neglect the moral standards found in Scripture. Ultimately, the whole law is fulfilled in this, Paul says, because in this we are obedient and while obedience is not a means of justification it is a crucial component of the Christian life.

This introduces the next section where Paul shows the contrast of what living in the flesh versus the Spirit looks like. Many might say that living in the flesh does not concern or bother or harm anyone else, but Paul tells us differently. When we live in the flesh it goes against the Spirit and ultimately fleshly behavior jeopardizes our salvation and it clearly violates the law to love our neighbor as ourself.

We spend a lot of time looking at the word love and what that looks like. Paul is going to give us a direct definition here much like he gives us in 1 Corinthians 13. For homework, compare the two passages and see if the definition for love matches up.

So, the first question we ask is what are the fruit of the flesh, so we can clearly stay clear from them.

Sexual Immorality, Impurity, Sensuality, Idolatry, Sorcery, Enmity, Strife, Jealousy, Fits of Anger, Rivalries, Dissensions, Divisions, Envy, Drunkenness, Orgies, & Things Like These

Verse 16 - Shows that the flesh and Spirit are pitted against each other. We cannot be live in both realities. Jesus says,

Matthew 6:24 ESV

“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

If we decide to serve God, we refuse to follow the world. If we follow after the ways of the world, even just a little bit, then we cannot and will not be serving God. If it a condemnable act.

Paul then says that the flesh and Spirit are opposed in order “to keep you from doing the things you want to do.” We talked last week about temptations and how the temptation is not the sin, but when we act of the temptation it is sinful. Temptation comes from our selfish desires. We see similar talk here. Living in the flesh is often what we want to do by nature because we live in a fallen and broken world, but it is opposed to God.

For the Christian there will always be a war waging between the flesh and the Spirit. Paul admits his own warring in

Romans 7:15–20 ESV

For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

For this very reason we must be prepared and equipped to face the enemy as Paul lays out in Ephesians 6:10-18 in covering the armor of God.

Now, Paul tells us how to win this battle, by being active led by the Spirit. The word led in the greek here (ago) implies and active and personal involvement. Once again we see the words of James

James 4:8 ESV

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Also, notice in the listing of the works of the flesh. Paul does not identify every work of the flesh, but he leaves it open to rational and Christlike interpretation. He says, things like these. We, as committed Christ followers, must use common sense and ask What Would Jesus Do in every situation. If we would not invite Jesus to be apart of a situation then we should not have any part of it.

For those who practice these things, Paul says, they are not children of God and will not inherit the kingdom of God. This is harsh but true. God cannot be in the presence of sin and He will not tolerate anything but a fully committed faithful follower. There is a distinct difference between slipping up and regrettably committing a sin intending on repenting, and living in sin with no intentions to stop. The latter will not see God in heaven.

This study will not be one to look in depth into the works of the flesh. That will be saved for another time, but if we desire to fulfill the whole law by being obedient to God and therefore loving Him, and by loving our neighbor as ourself our lives must characterize the fruit of the Spirit rather than the works of the flesh. So, what are they?

Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, & Self-Control

I would like to read an excerpt from a commentary that may help in understanding these qualities. Once again, they are not a checklist, but they are characteristics that our life must characterize, that we must embody as we are transformed into the image of Christ and not conformed to the world (Romans 12:1-2).

READ ESV STUDY BIBLE NOTE ON GALATIANS 5:22-23

When our lives look like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control we will look like Jesus.

Verse 24 - Here Paul shows that Christ and the Spirit are the source for the believer’s life. He tells us we must crucify the flesh and its passions and desires. This is not a one time action, but instead it ongoing practice. We have crucified the flesh when we died with Christ to sin:

Romans 6:4–6 ESV

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

As well Jesus says,

Luke 9:23–25 ESV

And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?

We must first be baptized in order to put on Christ and walk in newness of life and begin our transformation from fleshly living to Spirit producing. Then we are to carry our cross daily crucifying the desires and passions of the flesh.

Verse 25 - Tells us to keep in step with the Spirit. We live by the Spirit which will be seen by the producing of good fruit, but we also keep in step with the Spirit which means to “walk in line behind a leader.” We must be leaders of men and followers of Christ!

Verse 26 - Paul returns to the context for the entire passage. Love one another. When we produce the fruit of the Spirit we will actively be loving to our neighbor and fulfilling the will and law of God.

In the kids lesson this morning we talked about the three types of fruit (READ FRUIT DESCRIPTIONS FROM KIDS LESSON)

Fake

Rotten

Fresh

As we embark on this journey through each fruit of the Spirit I’d like to challenge you to honesty, self-examination, and introspection. Look at your life and be honest as to what type of fruit you are producing. If it is not good and fresh then ask what you can do to change that and become the Christ follower who is a Christ imitator.

I hope this lesson has been a blessing to you all! I look forward to our study together as the weeks go on.

Let’s Pray

I hope you have a good night and a great week! Go and be with God!