Fruit of the Spirit
-
39 Then the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 40 You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? 41 But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.
42 “Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.
43 “Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces.
44 “Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which people walk over without knowing it.”
45 One of the experts in the law answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also.”
46 Jesus replied, “And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.
-
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
2 Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all.16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever[c] you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Introduction
Every gardener has a constant battle with weeds, and every Christian has conflict between our old nature [flesh] and the new nature which Paul calls the ‘fruit of the Spirit.’ Gal 5:22 begins "But..." to contrast the old [v19-21] and the new [v22-25] – The "works of the flesh"—sexual immorality, hatred, rage, selfish ambition and drunkenness.
But when the Holy Spirit comes into in your life, He begins to clear out the weeds and grow something beautiful - the fruit of the Spirit
I’m growing fruit in my greenhouse: tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, aubergines. Yes they are fruit! It’s hard to beat fresh fruit!! But it takes time. Likewise, the ‘fruit of the Spirit’ takes time to grow. Galatians 5:22-23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” These nine qualities describe the nature of a Spirit-filled Christian.
Here are 3 headings to help us think about growing in the Spirit: 1. Takes Time 2. It’s one Fruit 3. It’s a Relationship
Takes Time
One Fruit
A Relationship
Takes Time
The Fruit starts as a tiny flower and then it takes time to grow, it is a gradual process. Then it takes time for fruit to ripen. God takes time to ripen the fruit in your life, it’s a process. It is inevitable that you will mature as a Christian (not because we age but because it is a process). Ask your friends (you probably won’t see the maturing yourself). You probably have become more patient, kind, gentle, self-controlled.
However, if you are not growing, examine yourself, seek the Holy Spirit to come into your life.
John Wesley was religious, wrote books, did good, but he wasn’t growing in the Spirit. He admitted his emptiness within and invited Holy Spirit into his life ( as a result, his heart was ‘strangely warmed’). If you have been around church a long time but never opened yourself to the HS coming into your life. Seek the indwelling Holy Spirit today.
One Fruit
Strangely, Fruit of the Spirit is clearly singular (Greek: karpos) but Paul then gives a list of nine qualities (Love joy peace patience kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness self control).
So these are not 9 fruits but one Christian nature with 9 qualities which are interconnected.
The fruit of the Spirit works within you, maturing a Christlikeness in you. The interconnectedness of these qualities means you can’t say ‘patience is a virtue I haven’t been blessed with!’
Or ‘I’m not bad at gentleness and kindness but self-control is the last one, and I haven’t got round to it yet! NO, these are one fruit of the Spirit, and every Christian today should display a likeness of Christ to those we mix and mingle with. Love-joy-peace-patience-goodness-gentleness-faithfulness-self-control describe your Christian nature.
Before Paul makes any mention of Fruit, he says in Galatians 5:17-18, that our sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit. Self is in conflict with the Holy Spirit; it is an ongoing conflict and without a relationship with the Lord Jesus, and the Spirit within, you cannot win. Like the religious people Jesus ridiculed in Luke 11:42-46, their nature, despite being religious, was self-centred.
Galatians 5:17 For the flesh desires [craves] what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Gal 5:25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
We are not alone with our struggles; we live in the Spirit. We are in relationship with the one who develops our Christian nature. That leads us nicely to our last heading….
A Relationship
Paul describes the two-way relationship Gal 5:25 ‘If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit’ – live in the Spirit (being led, guided, keep in step) & walk in the Spirit (active). The spirit leads & we walk (as a Shepherd leads but as a walker walks)
In saying live in the spirit Paul is saying open your heart to the Spirit, let Him in and he will lead & guide you.
By saying "walk" Paul is not talking about a saunter. To walk means to exercise the muscles you have (use it or lose it). That’s what Paul says here. Develop your spiritual life! John Stott ‘Walking in the Spirit is a way of life’ ‘disciplined practice of prayer, bible reading, in fellowship, and good works….in this way we occupy ourselves with Spiritual things… Also examine the leisure we pursue, the books we read and the friendships we make.” Stott
It is a relationship with God who by HS teaches, guides and empowers, but we must flip the switch, walk in the Spirit.
Ask God today to use his Word (the Bible) to speak to you daily. Pray about everything – it’s a relationship with the Lord. God wants to produce the fruit of the Spirit in you -
'love joy peace patience kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness self control
