Roots & Fruits - PART NINE

S E L F C O N T R O L

Galatians 5:22–23 ESV

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.

As we conclude our series on the fruit of the Spirit, it’s important to take note of where we’re ending. As we’ve mentioned multiple times over the last few weeks, there are no accidents in the order that Paul presents.

Love is the principal fruit and the fruit in which all the rest of the characteristics listed find their source. There is significance to self-control being the bookend for the list. While every fruit listed in Galatians 5 stems from love and a decision to live a life led by the Spirit of Love, the fruit of self-control contains in it the key for faithfully staying in the preceding fruit.

Walking in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and gentleness requires some self-control. Remember that the verses before the fruit of the Spirit are listed present the works of the flesh.

Abstaining from the works of the flesh and leaning into the fruit of the Spirit requires self-control and discipline. It won’t just happen overnight. It will require consistency in your choices and discipline in your actions.

Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament) 1602 ἐγκράτεια

egkrateia

Here’s our working definition of egkrateia:

“The virtue of one who masters his desires and passions, especially his sensual appetites.”

Well, okay.

Let’s talk about self-control.

First of all, don’t let the phrase “sensual appetites” deceive you. This isn’t just about sex. It’s about anything that your flesh would tell you is best for you and taking authority over it. It’s taking your thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:5–6 ESV

5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.

Controlling your actions starts with controlling your thoughts. If you can master your desires and put them in alignment with the will of God, your actions will follow.

People are often hindered by thought lives that are so dominant that they eventually yield action. The more you think about something, the more likely you are to do it. You can’t have a separate thought life in which you live out your most carnal desires and maintain self-control in your actions.

Self-control starts between your ears. What you feed will grow. A thought that doesn’t originate in your own heart can become a chosen thought pattern. When you choose to engage thoughts that don’t belong, especially those that are feeding your flesh, you give them the chance to move from thoughts to full-blown choices with consequences.

Like every fruit of the Spirit, self-control has to be nurtured. You can’t make the right choice to not engage in a destructive behavior once and expect to never experience temptation again.

We must consistently choose the Spirit. Feed your spirit with an intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit; the fruit of it will be self-control out of a place of love for God and the things and people that He loves.

Self-control is a mastery of the desires of the flesh, but it’s important to note that it’s not an elimination of the desires of the flesh.

People often quit their pursuit of Jesus when their desires don’t instantly change. Don’t despise small beginnings. Baby steps are still steps. It takes an average of 66 days to form a habit. That’s more than two months. The average New Year’s resolutions gets abandoned in 32 days.

The fruit of the Spirit require diligence on our part to cultivate. We can’t quit the process because we aren’t satisfied with the progress. Ignore the temptation to live in a microwave mentality that demands instant gratification. Choose patient endurance.

How do we cultivate self-control? The same way we cultivate other fruits of the Spirit. We sow the seeds of the Spirit. We put the Word in us. We don’t allow anything to keep us from being in church whenever we can. We surround ourselves with people who are doing the same thing. We dedicate time every day to prayer and developing a relationship with Him. Long-distance intimacy is counterfeit intimacy. You have to be present to experience presence.

Finally, developing self-control requires faith.

2 Peter 1:5–7 ESV

5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.

Peter breaks this down really well by the grammatical structure he uses here. He says that our faith should be supplemented with some things. You’ll find a lot of similarities between this list and the one Paul gives us in Galatians 5.

Walking in any fruit of the Spirit is going to require faith. It’s going to require you to choose to not be moved by what you see and don’t see, but steadfast and unwavering in your commitment to what God is doing in you. It’s going to require you to decide right here and right now that Philippians 1:6 (“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” ) is about you and that God doesn’t give up on you or quit on you or leave you stranded in the middle of your story.

We engage our faith in the cultivating of the fruit of the Spirit and choose to see faith as the tie that connects us to the love by which that faith is ever able to work and implement it into our lives in totality, not just convenience.

Romans 1:17 ESV

17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

The dikaios (those having the characteristics of following God’s law) live by faith. Which law are we talking about here?

James 2:8 ESV

8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.

In order to fulfill the law of love, you’ve got to live by faith. It’s the only way.

Romans 13:8–10 ESV

8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

When you live by faith, love follows. Joy follows. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. Gentleness. And self-control.

Galatians 5:6 ESV

6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

1 John 4:16–17 ESV

16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.

Love is matured through connection to Him and is the action that our faith needs to move mountains.

Choose faith by love. The fruit of the Spirit are the result of these two hallmarks working together for your good and the glory of God.