The Fruit of the Spirit: Love
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Our world is messed up. There is more division than ever. There are so many things that have and are going wrong. Many think that politics and government can fix it. Many think that religion can fix it. The truth of the matter is that only a relationship with Jesus will fix it. The way that this world will come to have a relationship with Jesus is by those who are Christians showing a life that produces the fruit of the Spirit.
We can learn much about living a life that produces the fruit of the Spirit from the New Testament Book of Galatians.
The people of Galatia had two major questions. First, they asked if the people were justified by faith in Christ or is justification earned by following certain rituals or rules. The people were accustomed to religion. They had to constantly practice rules and rituals over and over. The redemption they thought they would receive from this was only temporary because these practices could not be done perfectly. So the answer to this first question was that justification was by faith in Christ.
The second question the people of Galatia had to ask was how then should they live. The Apostle Paul outlined in this book four distinct answers to this question. We should live by serving one another in love (Galatians 5:13); expressing faith through love (Galatians 5:6); living and walking by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16, 25); and living life out as an example of the fruit of the Spirit Galatians 5:22-23).
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
What we are seeing in our world today is the absence of this fruit being lived out among Christians. More than ever, it is time for those of us who call themselves followers of Christ, to be bold and courageous exemplifying this fruit of the Spirit. Notice in the text, that is fruit and not fruits. It is interesting to me that fruit is singular then there are nine examples listed. The word for fruit is karpos and it means fruit most likely as the product of a tree or vine. Jesus talked about the tree being known by the fruit it bore (Matthew 7:16).
By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
The fruit is singular because it indicates the qualities that make up a single life of a believer living a Christlike life. The Holy Spirit produces that fruit in each believer’s personality. The fruit is ultimately what Christ has formed in the believer.
And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
What happens so many times is that a person believes that they are not doing evil things so that makes them a good person. That person is a legalist that says, “I have never murdered anyone so I am a good person.” The question that comes to mind is, “can anyone see the fruit of his life?”
Charles Spurgeon said that “Fruit comes only from a rooted abiding.” That tells me that there it is important to understand the difference between works and fruit.
A machine in a factory works and turns out a product, but it can never manufacture fruit. Fruit has to be grown. It has to be cultivated, sown, and nourished out of the offspring of a seed coming from fruit. The same thing is true for a believer. A seed has to be planted, cultivated, and nourished out of the life of a believer. It is Spirit-led and Spirit-fed.
Paul says in Galatians 5:25,
Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Jesus said it this way,
He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
There is a law of creation in Genesis 1:11.
Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so.
The law of creation in essence is that fruit will produce seed that in turn will produce more fruit. Spiritually, we are called to be fruit bearers.
Our text for the next several weeks will be these verses from Galatians 5:22-23.
There is one fruit with nine aspects of that fruit. These nine aspects are made up into three sets that all deal with the attitude of the believer.
The first set deals with the attitude of the believer towards God. It will consist of:
Love
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
Joy
The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.
Peace
“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”
The second set deals with the attitude of the believer towards relationships.
It consists of patience, kindness, and goodness.
The third set deals with the attitude of the believer’s inner life.
It consists of faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
All of these begin with love. Let us look closer at this as we gain understanding why love must be so predominant so the other aspects can be realized.
Love Comes First
Love Comes First
Charles Spurgeon wrote, “Love is the first in the list of the fruit of the Spirit because in some respects, it is best.”
It is first because it leads the way.
Love comes first because becomes the stimulant of every other grace and virtue.
Love comes first because there is absolutely nothing more beneficial. 1 Corinthians 13 reminds us that love never fails.
Love comes first because it reminds us to think of Him who first loved us.
This is the pattern of God. 1 John 4:19 says:
We love because he first loved us.
5. Love comes first because it compels us to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the lonely, give water to the thirsty, and care for sick as outlined in Matthew 25:31-41.
What would happen right now if we all allowed to come first?
If we all who claim to be people of Christ allowed love to come first, there would be no racism. There would be no injustice. There would be no selfishness.
Love not only comes first, it comes forth.
Love Comes Forth
Love Comes Forth
Even though love is perfect and comes from God, it has to be transformed and ripened over time. In plant life, a flower has to go through process that includes pollenation and fertilization before the fruit is formed. The fruit grows, swells and ripens. During this process, it increases in size and changes color. It becomes vulnerable to the climate, pests and diseases. When it matures, it produces seed to reproduce. Love, as an aspect of the fruit of the Spirit, comes to us in a way as part of the fruit formed by the power of God in our lives. It springs up form the heart and likewise grows, swells and ripens. Then it ripens, it produces seed that continues the process. The Lord makes it increase if we allow him to do so!
May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.
We can choose whether we allow this love to come forth and when we do, it must be sincere.
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.
There is no way you can love evil and cling to what is good. It is a battle of opposite natures.
Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble.
Our country needs men, women and children of Christ to allow love to come forth. When we do, there is a power in love.
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
Love comes first. Love comes forth. Finally, love comes forever.
Love Comes Forever
Love Comes Forever
Here is an argument that is logical. Love comes from God. It begins with God. God is love. God is everlasting. Therefore, God’s love is everlasting.
Love is not something that comes or goes. It is not conditional. The love that is listed here in this verse is agape. If we were going to transliterate our English word “love” to Greek, we would have to decide four possible meanings. We would have to consider eros, which is sexual love, philia which is friendship kind of love, storge which is that kind of natural affection between family members, and agape which is what is in this text. Agape is moral goodwill which proceeds from esteem, principle or duty rather than attraction or charm. It is to love despite disappointment and rejection. It is covenant and unconditional love. Paul calls this kind of love the law of Christ.
The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
The only way such a love could ever exist is to be a love that was made by God. Again, since God is eternal, so is His love. His love endures forever. This is so important that when we were given what we have as the Bible today, we were given a chapter that repeats this phrase 26 times.
Psalm 136 should be read like a responsive reading.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
His love endures forever.
to him who alone does great wonders,
His love endures forever.
who by his understanding made the heavens,
His love endures forever.
who spread out the earth upon the waters,
His love endures forever.
who made the great lights—
His love endures forever.
the sun to govern the day,
His love endures forever.
the moon and stars to govern the night;
His love endures forever.
to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt
His love endures forever.
and brought Israel out from among them
His love endures forever.
with a mighty hand and outstretched arm;
His love endures forever.
to him who divided the Red Sea asunder
His love endures forever.
and brought Israel through the midst of it,
His love endures forever.
but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea;
His love endures forever.
to him who led his people through the desert,
His love endures forever.
who struck down great kings,
His love endures forever.
and killed mighty kings—
His love endures forever.
Sihon king of the Amorites
His love endures forever.
and Og king of Bashan—
His love endures forever.
and gave their land as an inheritance,
His love endures forever.
an inheritance to his servant Israel;
His love endures forever.
to the One who remembered us in our low estate
His love endures forever.
and freed us from our enemies,
His love endures forever.
and who gives food to every creature.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of heaven.
His love endures forever.
Sometimes I need a little repetition in my life. Sometimes the things of this world get me down. Events of this world get me down. I get angry often with things I cannot control. Then I remember this passage of scripture and how it repeats that phrase over and over, His Love Endures Forever. That repetition helps me. It gives me strength. Most of all it reminds me that if His love endures forever, then the mess of this world will not. If His love comes everlasting, then I need to also use His love to be a light in this world of darkness. I need to used His love to be an instrument of peace. I need to use His love to exemplify truth. I need to use His love as part of the fruit of the Spirit and the Spirit’s work in my life to make me more Christ-like. And…guess what Christian? You need to also! Together we need to work for the Kingdom and share the love of Christ. We need to do so right now. We cannot wait any longer.