What is the fruit of the Holy Spirit?
The Fruit of the Holy Spirit – What is joy?
The Fruit of the Holy Spirit – What is peace?
The Fruit of the Holy Spirit – What is patience?
The Fruit of the Holy Spirit – What is kindness?
The Fruit of the Holy Spirit – What is goodness?
The Fruit of the Holy Spirit – What is faithfulness?
The Fruit of the Holy Spirit – What is gentleness?
The Fruit of the Holy Spirit – What is self-control?
Paul wasn’t giving the church spiritual homework or a spiritual workout program they needed to perfect. I discovered there was only ONE fruit and that was love!
God’s love was expressed to and in us. First, in us and then, through us outwardly as expressed in joy, peace, patience, gentleness, doing good, being faithful, selflessness, and self-control. In actuality, these are not nine types of spiritual fruit but characteristics of God who is love. God is love and those who know His love will demonstrate those same characteristics because He has given us His nature.
The other insight the Holy Spirit revealed to my heart is that you can’t force or through willpower grow spiritual fruit, which is what many of my friends and I were attempting to do. We were “trying” to act like what we thought those nine fruits looked like so we would appear to be spiritual and mature. Instead, we ended up more frustrated and probably represented the opposite of those “nine fruits.”
For a tree or vine to produce fruit, it needs the correct environment and nutrients: water, good ground, and sunlight. These are essential to healthy growth. A farmer can’t force a harvest to come forth, but he can create a proper environment for the seed that’s been planted to grow. In the same way, as we keep ourselves in a healthy environment of knowing, believing, and trusting in God’s love for us it will create the sunlight, water, and other nutrients to stimulate growth.
God’s seeds planted in our hearts (ground) can grow and be fruitful. So it isn’t about you trying to develop spiritual fruit through your own efforts. It is God who grows His fruit in you.
If you do a word study on those nine characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit, you will see they are all descriptions of God’s character.
1) Love — “God is love” (1 John 4:8).
2) Joy — “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost” (Romans 14:17).
3) Peace — “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).
4) Patience– “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).
5) Gentleness — “Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy gentleness hath made me great” (2 Samuel 22:36).
6) Goodness — “Taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him” (Psalm 34:8).
7) Faith — “For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generation” ( Psalm 100:5).
8) Meekness — “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls” (Matthew 11:29).
9) Temperance or self-control — “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age” (Titus 2:11–12).
As you can easily see, these verses, as well as many more, show us that the fruit of the Spirit is simply a revelation of God’s character and how He treats us 24/7.Moreover, what is very exciting for us as believers is that as we allow God to love us, as His fruit shows us what love really is, His love changes us. In turn, we who are recipients of His love are now the carriers of His love to others. Essentially, as we receive God’s love, we are able to release that love to others.
“We love God because He loved us first” (1 John 4:19).
So, the characteristics listed in Galatians 5 about what love is and looks like depict how God treats you right now and how He will treat you forever. The fruit of love is birthed in you and expressed to others when you first trust in the love God has for you.
Fruit is to be enjoyed and it is good for you. So relax and enjoy the spiritual diet God is feeding you because you are what you eat.
If you enjoy these biblical insights to God’s love for you, I send out a free daily email from Monday to Friday called “Spiritual Coffee”. It is a brief encouraging and uplifting word, to help you start your day off by connecting to Gods love for you.