Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (NASB)
Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Holy Spirit, the work which His presence within accomplishes, is love, joy, (gladness), peace; patience, an even temper, forbearance, kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness, gentleness, (meekness, humility); self-control (self-restraint, continence), against such things there is no law that can bring change. (The Amplified Bible)
In doing research for this series on the Fruit of the Spirit, I came across some articles by different people who give their interpretation of what the Fruit of the Spirit are. This will be my introduction to the series, and we will also take a look at this word “fruit.”
LEWIS JOHNSON writes the following summation of Galatians 5:22-23, which he classifies as the evidence of the leading of the Spirit. (Galatians 5:24)
“The evidence of the leading of the Spirit lies in a cluster of nine virtues that make up “the fruit of the Spirit.” This fruit is the product of the life of the Spirit in the believer. It is characterized by several interesting features.
First of all, in the fruit of the Spirit there is unity. We notice that the word “fruit” is in the singular. There is only one fruit of the Spirit, but it contains nine virtues. If one of the virtues is missing, then we do not have the fruit of the Spirit. The Spirit’s product is like a watermelon with nine flavors. Many commentators have suggested that the nine virtues illustrate the full-orbed, symmetrical character of the lord Jesus Christ. It is His life that the Spirit produces in the believer.
Second, the fruit of the Spirit possesses a notable harmony, the first triad of virtues being inward in nature, the second, outward, and the third upward.
Third, there is a necessity that believers have the fruit of the Spirit. The lack of the virtues indicates sin against the Holy Spirit who is engaged in producing the virtues in the lives of the saints.
Finally, in the concluding words of Galatians 5:23 there is an important point made by Paul. The Law of Moses finds no flaw in the fruit of the Spirit. The flesh may imitate or counterfeit certain of the virtues, but it can never produce them. The Spirit alone can do that, and the result satisfies all the demands of the moral law in the believer’s life. It is sometimes forgotten that life by the Spirit is not a lower standard that life by the moral law, or the Ten Commandments. It is, if anything a higher standard. Arthur Way has caught that in his rendering of Galatians 5:18, “But if you definitely surrender yourselves to the Spirit’s guidance, you are then not under the law, but ON A HIGHER PLANE.”
CHARLES SPURGEON says, “Brethren, the Spirit of God is not barren: if He were in you He must and will inevitably produce His own legitimate fruit.”
“Old leaves, if they remain upon the trees through the autumn and the winter, fall off in the spring.” We have seen a hedge all thick with dry leaves throughout the winder, and neither frost nor wind has removed the withered foliage, but the spring has soon made clearance. The new life dislodges the old, pushing it away as unsuitable to it. So our old corruptions are best removed by the growth of new graces. “Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” It is as the new life buds and opens that the old worn-out things of our former state are compelled to quit their hold of us. Our wisdom lies in have new to God, that by the power of His Holy Spirit all our graces may be vigorous, and may exercise a sin-expelling power over our lives; the new leaves of grace pushing off our old sere affections and habits of sin.”
W. WIERSBE notes that 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 (Galatians 5:25). When you thing of “works” you think of effort, labor, strain, and toil; when you think of “fruit” you think of beauty, quietness, the unfolding of life. The flesh produces “dead works” (Hebrews 9:14), but the Spirit produces living fruit. And this fruit has in it the seed for still more fruit (Genesis 1:11). Love begets more love! Joy helps to produce more joy! Jesus is concerned that we produce “fruit, more fruit, much fruit” (John 15: 2, 5), because this is the way we glorify Him. The old nature cannot produce fruit, only the new nature can do that.
Wiersbe emphasizes that the fruit of the Spirit has purpose. We must remember that this fruit is produced to be eaten, not to be admired and put on display. People around us are starving for love, joy, peace, and all the other graces of the Spirit.
When they find them in our lives, they know that we have something they lack. We do not bear fruit for our own consumption; we bear fruit that others might be fed and helped, and that Christ might be glorified. The flesh may manufacture “results” that bring praise to us, but the flesh cannot bear fruit that brings glory to God. It takes patience, an atmosphere of the Spirit, walking in the light, the seed of the Word of God, and a sincere desire to honor Christ.
In short, the secret is the Holy Spirit. He alone can give us that “fifth freedom” freedom from sin and self. He enables us to fulfill the law of love, to overcome the flesh, and to bear fruit.
It is unfortunate that an overemphasis on gifts has led some Christians to neglect the grace of the Spirit. Building Christian character must take precedence over displaying special abilities.
MARTIN LUTHER comments that the Apostle Paul says not, the works of the Spirit, as he said the works of the flesh, but he adorns these Christian virtues with a more honorable name, calling them fruit of the Spirit. For they bring with them most excellent fruits and maximum usefulness, for they that have them give glory to God, and with the same do allure and provoke others to embrace the doctrine and faith of Christ.
LARRY RICHARDS, asks, “Have you ever noticed that along the banks of a stream the vegetation is always abundant and luxurious?
This is what the Bible says about us. As the Holy Spirit flows freely in our lives, a rich and beautiful character grows. We are filled with love, with joy, with peace. In every relationship we exhibit that patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control that mark us as God’s own. There is no way, however much we plow and harrow, or cultivate and hoe our character, to produce this crop ourselves. This crop is produced by God the Holy Spirit, and only in those who live by Him.
He summarizes the Biblical concept of spiritual fruit writing that fruitfulness is a consistent concept in the Old Testament and the New Testament. The fruit God seeks in human beings is expressed in righteous and loving acts that bring peace and harmony to the individual and to society. But that fruit is foreign to sinful human nature. Energized by sinful passions, fallen humanity action in ways that harm and bring dissension. God’s solution is found in a personal relationship with Jesus and in the supernatural working of God’s Spirit within the believer. As we live in intimate, obedient relationship with Jesus, God’s Spirit energizes us as we produce the peaceable fruit of a righteousness that can come only from the Lord.
PHIL NEWTON introduces Galatians 5:22-24 with a question: Have you ever walked through a garbage dump?
I’m sure that none of us desire to take a casual stroll through mounds of garbage. But you almost get the feeling that you are doing this when you read through the list of the “deeds of the flesh” which Paul identifies in our context. I have noticed that in our day of environmental concerns companies which deal with garbage have changed the explanation of the work to “waste management.” They try to beautify their grounds surrounding garbage landfills. But whatever they do, they still have garbage. You still see and smell it.
Such is the case with the flesh. The unregenerate nature of man produces its characteristic deeds. An unbeliever can attempt to cover the “garbage” of sin in his life. He can give his actions new, improved names. But garbage is still garbage. Not so with the believer!
The contrast between the flesh and the Spirit are most evident when we observe what each produces. Neutrality does not exist between them. Those who remain in the flesh, the unregenerate condition, will generate the evidence of a life dominated by sin. In distinction, those who are in Christ will manifest the evidence of His character by the indwelling Spirit.
The fruit of the Spirit is not an option for a Christian but the necessary evidence that a person is truly a Christian. Here we see the character of Christ being demonstrated through those whom He redeems.
C. NORMAL BARTLETT comments on Paul’s use of fruit in the singular writing that the use of the singular “fruit” instead of the plural “fruits” is instructive. It suggests the common root and interdependence of these several spiritual graces mentioned. They can be produced only in a life that is rooted in the spirit; they cannot be hung outwardly upon a life like the toys and ornaments on a Christmas tree. Fruitage in the Spirit requires rootage in the Spirit. As is has been well put:
CHRISTAIN CHARACTER IS CHRIST’S EXCELLENCY REPRODUCED BY THE SPIRIT IN A RENEWED LIFE.
To bring forth the fruit of the spirit is not only the Christian’s happy privilege; it is his bound duty as well. In a soul born of the Spirit there is to be fruit borne in the Spirit. The fact that we could do nothing to earn our salvation is by no means to be interpreted as implying that, having been saved by grace, we can do nothing to show our gratitude for the salvation we have received. Dare we be unmindful of the words of our Savior to the effect that our heavenly Father is glorified when we bring forth much fruit. “Herein is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; so shall you be my disciples (John 15:8)
JOHN EADIE adds that in regard to the fruit, its origin is “the Spirit,” not man’s spirit, or the new and better mode of thinking and feeling to which men are formed by the Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit Himself, the Author of all spiritual good. Those who are led by the Spirit not only do not do the works of the flesh, but they bring forth the fruit of the Spirit.
J. VERNON McGEE quips that our problem is that we offer ourselves to God as a living sacrifice, but when the altar gets hot, we crawl off. We are to abide in Christ if we are to produce fruit.
Paul is stating the principle of fruit-bearing so that we can understand it. The fruit is produced by yielding, by yielding to the sweet influences that are about us. I am not talking about the world and neither is Paul. We are to yield to the Holy Spirit who indwells us. The Holy Spirit wants to produce fruit; it is called the fruit of the Spirit.
With all of this in mind, let’s look at the word “fruit” and find out exactly what it means and what we are talking about.
The word fruit used in the New Testament comes from the Greek word “karpos.”
It can be used in its literal sense to refer to fruit, produce or offspring, which describes that which is produced by the inherent energy of a living organism.
When used figuratively, “karpos” describes the consequence of physical, mental, or spiritual action. In the New Testament the figurative use predominates, especially in the Gospels, where human actions and words are viewed as fruit growing out of a person’s essential being or character. This is also the way Paul uses “karpos” in the present passage, as an expression for desirable, righteous qualities in one’s life, the fruit of the Spirit.
If you will notice the word “fruit” is singular, not plural. One fruit manifest by 9 spiritual attitudes. Fruit in the singular also underscores the unit of the 9 spiritual attitudes, and emphasizes that all work together to produce a Christ like believer, our Lord Jesus Christ being the perfect manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit. Paul does not say fruits, as though portions of fruit might be present in the believer and other portions might not. Instead, the sense of wholeness and unity in will be manifest in the one born of God. By contrast the deeds of the flesh are plural, and they hardly represent unity, nor do they produce unity but only produce strife between me.
In Galatians 5:22, “the fruit of the Spirit “is.” The verb “is” is in the present tense which indicates that this process of fruit bearing is continuous. It doesn’t end.
Just as natural fruit needs to be cultivated, so does spiritual fruit needs to be watered and fed the Word in the soil and atmosphere of the Spirit. And so Paul is very practical explaining that, “If we live by the Spirit let us also walk by the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:25).
Fruit is the manifestations of the character of Christ in the lives of believers in consequence of His ministry of the Word among them and of the care of the believers for poor, for this is the fruit, or outward expression of love, attesting its reality, and of the care of laborers in the gospel, for this is the fruit, or outward expression of thankfulness to God for spiritual blessings enjoyed, attesting its reality.
The fruit of the Spirit, not the fruit of believers per se, but the fruit which the Holy Spirit produces in and through the lives of believers as they walk in His grace and power. And His fruit is always the outward manifestations of the yielded believer’s inner life.
It is a clear marker of spiritual life, a sure proof that one has experience genuine conversion. A profession of faith in Christ cannot produce holy fruit. Only a genuine possession of the life of Christ can produce supernatural fruit.
Even as the flesh of unbelievers will always produce deeds of the flesh, so too believers now indwelt by the Spirit will always produce some good fruit. It is not unexpected that one aspect of the 9 fold fruit might be better than others, but the point is that all are present in every believer. Our lord’s desire for each believer is produce a “bumper crop” as He explained to His disciples in John 15:8: “By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.”
The amount of fruit borne by believers is dependent on one’s willingness to “abide in Jesus for as He said in John 15:5: “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 to nothing.” In Galatians 5:25 abiding translates to yielding to and living by or walking by the Spirit as opposed to the flesh.
Jesus explained to His audience that true inner character, and evidence of a new heart, a spiritually circumcised heart, is recognized by a person’s good fruit or conversely bad fruits, the only possible product of an unregenerate heart. When a tree is rotten it naturally produces rotten fruit. But when indwelling Spirit of God begins to express His mighty power in the inner being of believers, good, God glorifying things begin to happen. The nature of God Himself begins to manifest Himself in our lives and the result is the fruit of the Spirit.
Consider these two passages of Scripture:
Matthew 7:17-19
"Even so, every good tree bears good fruit; but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
Matthew 12:33
"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.
John 15:2
“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit (karpos) He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit (karpos), He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit (karpos) of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. “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.... “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit (karpos), and so prove to be My disciples. “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit (karpos), and that your fruit (karpos) would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you."
Jesus takes the image of the vine, with God as gardener, from Isaiah. We believers are carefully tended by the Father, pruned and cared for that we may "bear much fruit." Fruitfulness is possible, he said, if we remain in Him and His words remain in us. The point Jesus is making is that fruitfulness is rooted in our personal relationship with Him, and our personal relationship with Him is maintained by living His words: "If you obey My commands you will remain in My love"
John 15:10. God has chosen us. It is His intention that we be fruitful. It is for this reason that He has given us the most intimate of relationships and Jesus' own words to guide us, and it is our responsibility to walk in close fellowship with our Lord.
Newton comments that the fruit of the Spirit distinguishes the person who makes a profession of faith, acts excited about the lord for few weeks or months, then fades away. One of our lord’s parables clearly explains this:
“And the one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word, and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.” (Matthew 13:20-21)
There may be a sense of joy, but it is temporary. There may be a love for others but it is temporary. It is in the demands of life, with all of its harshness and difficulties, that you see the true evidence of the character of Christ in someone’s life. The Christian is not like an “annual” plant which produces fruit for a while, then forever fades away. He has the spirit of a perennial, so that year after year, the same radiant fruit comes forth from his life.
Bearing fruit is natural for fruit trees. They need not strain to produce fruit. You never find a grove of apple or peach trees attending conferences on bearing fruit. Nor do you find fruit trees manipulating one another with browbeating words in attempts to convince a tree to produce fruit. The most natural thing in the world is for a fruit tree to bear its own fruit.
Hear the word of the Lord: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace...." The prepositional phrase demonstrates the origin of the character of Christ in the life of the believer, the Holy Spirit. Such character is born through the regenerating and indwelling power of the Spirit in the life of the believer. In regeneration the Holy Spirit changes the nature of the sinner so that his new desire and passion is for Christ, rather than for sin.
Why must he be regenerated? Vaughan explains, "No stream can of itself ascend higher than its source; no nature can transcend itself in the manifestation of its energies, and if man is really dead in trespasses and sins, he can put forth no energy containing in it the element of real holiness, or true spiritual life". A person who merely 'makes a decision for Christ' but has not been regenerated by the Holy Spirit will find himself living in frustration while trying to produce a character which is not of his nature. Jesus told Nicodemus that "Unless a man is born again he cannot enter the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). The idea of "enter" means to experience or to see firsthand. Jesus explains that to be "born again" is to be born of the Holy Spirit (John 3:6). Apart from such a radical work of the Holy Spirit a sinner will never believe the gospel and repent of his sins. He will never experience the saving work of Christ personally. How can we describe the Spirit's work of regeneration so that the new believer begins to give evidence of a totally different character of soul and life?
It is a profound and radical change in the whole existing moral nature of the man. It makes him a new creature in Christ; it renews his nature; it re-colors his character; it transforms his will; it re-moulds his whole system of thinking, feeling, and acting. It gives him new objects to live for; new rules to live by; new principles to impel to action; and new sensibilities to success or failure in the progress and development of that new life. The new nature by the Spirit is unlike the old nature of the flesh. That is Paul's whole premise in this portion of Galatians. What the Holy Spirit does is to so change a sinner's nature that the most natural fruit of this person's life is the character of Christ. Is this true of you?
What is the fruit if it is not the character of Jesus Christ being manifested in the life of those whom He has redeemed?
Who has loved as has our Lord? Who has manifested joy supremely as Jesus Christ, "who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, despising its shame" (Hebrews 12:2). Who has walked with perfect peace as our Lord or demonstrated such depths of patience?
What is the Godhead doing in everyone saved by grace?
Our Triune God is reproducing the same character which Christ naturally manifested in this world by giving us a new nature through the Holy Spirit's work. We see this so clearly in Paul's explanation of the dimensions of God's saving work in Romans 8:29, "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren." By the birthing power of the Spirit and the ongoing work of sanctification, the life of the believer is continually "conformed to the image" of Jesus Christ. Such conforming manifests the fruit of the Spirit, the character of Christ.
In the following lessons in our series on the Fruit of the Spirit, we are going to take a look at each one of the 9 spiritual qualities one by one and discover what they are, and how they should be manifested in our lives.
I was at a chapel service prior to going to work as a prayer counselor at CBN, and Gordon Robertson was the speaker. He asked us the question that I am going to ask you, “If the fruit of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit belong to the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is in you, then where are the fruit and gifts of the Spirit?”
They are in you. They came in you the day you made Jesus the Lord of your life.
There is a difference between the fruit of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit.
In his letter to the Galatians, Paul made a list of essential qualities that make up the character of the King:
LOVE
JOY
PEACE
PATIENCE
KINDNESS
GOODNESS
FAITHFULNESS
GENTLENESS
SELF-CONTROL
Myles Munroe writes in his book, “The Most Important Person on Earth”:
“Any true manifestation of the kingdom of God on earth will have these characteristics. Paul referred to these qualities as “the fruit of the Spirit.” He was saying, wherever the Holy Spirit was, these qualities should be evident, indicating that the culture of the King was present.
Paul used this particular analogy of fruit because fruit doesn’t appear overnight; it develops over time, and he wanted them to know that they would have cultivate the culture of the King in their lives, under the example and leading of the Holy Spirit. First, the Holy Spirit teaches us the nature of the original government in heaven. Then He shows us that, because He lives within us, we have this original nature and need to manifest it in our lives. This is what is like in the Garden of Eden.
When you received the Holy Spirit, you also received the seed of kingdom nature. You develop this seed by putting into your life the kingdom elements that allow it to grow. For example, and apple tree doesn’t have to “work” to produce fruit. The seeds if the fruit are within it, and eventually, through a process of maturity, enabled by elements as the nutrients in the ground and sunlight, what is on the inside of the tree becomes manifested on its branches. The spiritual that enable the fruit to grow in our lives are maintaining a continual connection with the King, learning the Scriptures of the kingdom, and yielding to direction of the Holy Spirit in our lives. (John 15)(Matthew 5)
Just as apples are a natural outgrowth of apple trees, the fruit of the Spirit becomes a natural development in the life of a kingdom citizen because he is reflecting the nature of his King. For example, one of the fruits of the Spirit is goodness. It is therefore natural for us to be good if we are in the kingdom. If we are not good, we are unnatural. The Holy Spirit connects us to our original nature, which is true life for us as human beings.
The qualities or fruit of the Spirit embody the King’s culture so that, first of all, we see that is a culture of love, a culture of joy, and a culture of peace. Imagine a culture filled with all the qualities in the above list! It’s our culture to be faithful, to be loyal to our commitments. It’s our culture to be gentle. We’re never brash or rude with other people. As Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” It’s our culture to be self-controlled. We never lose control of our tempers or our desires. No matter what happens in our lives, we sill live out and exhibit all these qualities.
The qualities or fruit of the Spirit are not only what the King does; they are what He is. The King doesn’t only act in love; He is love. He doesn’t only demonstrate peace; He is peace. And every aspect of the King’s nature is what we are to be in our essence, as well. This is what Jesus meant when He said, as recorded in the book of Matthew, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
We need to realize that we are to reflect the nature of our heavenly Father.”
To see the nature of our heavenly Father, all you have to do is look at Jesus. One of His disciples asked a question, “Show us the Father?” Jesus’ rely was that if you have seen Me you have seen the Father. Jesus is the exact representation of His Father’s nature. If someone were to ask you, “Show me Jesus,” we should be able to answer him or her; “If you have seen me you have seen Jesus.” We should be the exact representation of His nature.
Myles Munroe goes on to say, “There is a big difference between the fruit of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit have to do with the character of the King. It is the development of the King’s nature in us. The gifts have to do with the power of the King. (1 Corinthians 12)
One is character, the other is ability, but both are necessary for the kingdom life.
With these gifts comes great responsibility. Character is more important than power because it protects our use of that power. It keeps us from using it for the wrong motivations and purpose. It prevents us from using our power to hurt others rather than to help them. Everyone wants power, and when we are offered it, we don't often think about the need to regulate it. Many people seek the power without realizing how critical it is for them to develop the essential qualities of the kingdom at the same time. It is easier to receive the gifts of the Spirit that it is to develop the fruit of the Spirit. It is easier to obtain the power of God that it is to develop the character of God. Therefore, we must develop the qualities, such as love, kindness, and self-control, because the will moderate our use of the gifts.
Both the qualities and the gifts are important, therefore, but the qualities are vital because power without character is dangerous. A balance between the two is a challenge for all kingdom citizens. I believe this is why Jesus spent three-and-a-half years teaching His disciples how to live, how to think, and how to act as kingdom citizens.”
Two things come to mind. First, remember how James and John wanted to call fire down from heaven on the Samaritans that wouldn’t let Jesus pass through their country. This would have been an abuse of power. Second, remember how Paul instructed Timothy not to appoint a new Christian into a leadership position. Think of the consequences in that situation.
Jesus trained them first and then they received the power through the outpouring of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost.”
Several years ago, a religious painter painted two pictures of Jesus Christ and hung them together in a gallery.
The first picture was of the Jewish Christ; the one we are accustomed to seeing when see pictures of the Lord.
It was very beautifully done and would bring a sense of inspiration and worship to anyone who would look at it.
Next to that traditional picture of Christ, the artist hung a picture he had painted of the Lord Jesus Christ disfigured and ugly.
It was a misrepresentation of the genuineness of the Lord.
The artist was asked why he had painted these two pictures.
He said, “The first picture is Christ as He really is. The second is the Christ the world sees when they look at His Church. Those who represent Him in the world.”
The world does not see Christ physically as the disciples saw Him.
They see Christ through His body, which is the Church, made up of believers.
In studying the fruit of the Spirit we will be brought face to face with the kind of life God expects us to live if we are truly representing Him in the world.
This kind of living is supernatural, seeming impossible. In fact, it is impossible. This kind of life can only be lived with the help of the Holy Spirit.
In this series on The Fruit of the Spirit, we are going to take a look at each one and what it means to us as Christians.
