The Fruit of the
Spirit, photo from here
“The Christian life, the fruit of the Spirit, is a
constant reckoning of the flesh as dead and a constant relying on the present
Spirit of Christ to produce love, joy, and peace within.” –
John
Piper
“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. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have
crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit,
let us keep in step with the Spirit.” –Galatians 5:22-25
The fruit of the Spirit is fruit a believer bears as a
direct result of the Spirit of God at work within them. God’s Spirit works in
us, through us, and despite of us. If we bear any of the fruit of the Spirit,
it is God who is at work bearing that fruit.
If we are to bear the fruit of the Spirit, we must not live
according to our sinful or fleshly desires. We must die to our self-centered
passions and desires if we are to live in the Spirit and keep in step with
God’s Spirit. Those who crucify the sinful nature and keep in step with the
Spirit bear the fruit of the Spirit. We cannot bear the fruit of the Spirit on
our own; it is the Spirit’s fruit.
A tree can be known
by its fruit
“Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad
fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear
good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown
into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” –Matthew 7:15-20,
Jesus
Jesus stated this plainly, “Every good tree bears good
fruit.” If we are walking with Christ, and keeping in step with His Spirit, we
will bear good fruit. If we are walking according to our sinful or fleshly
nature, we will bear bad fruit. As Jesus clearly said, “A good tree cannot bear
bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.” We can clearly see where we
stand with Christ and how we are relating to God by the fruit we bear in our
lives.
We cannot bear fruit
on our own
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me
and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” –John 15:5, Jesus
“The life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in
the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” –Galatians 2:20
We cannot bear fruit on our own. Scripture is clear on this.
If we are to bear the fruit of the Spirit, we must abide in Christ and live by
faith in Him. If we abide in Christ, we will bear much fruit, but if we do not
abide in Him, we can do nothing.
Paul also stated in Galatians 2:20 that the lives we now
live, we live by faith in the Son of God. We cannot live to our sinful selves
and keep in step with God’s Spirit and bear the fruit of the Spirit. We must
walk in faith and keep in step with the Spirit of God to bear the fruit of His
Spirit.
Jesus Christ is the embodiment of the fruit of the Spirit
and perfectly lived out the fruit of the spirit for us to observe. It is only
in Christ, and through the Spirit of Christ in us, that we can bear the fruit
of the Spirit.
The word embodiment can mean personification, picture,
example, or expression. Jesus certainly embodied or personified the fruit of
the Spirit. Jesus is also the perfect expression of God’s Holiness and the
fruit of God’s Spirit. In Jesus we see the perfect picture of the fruit of the
Spirit, through the perfect work of the Holy Spirit.
We cannot look to Jesus as merely a picture or example,
which we must follow, however. No. We must be taken over and Jesus must control
us. We must allow God to be God and submit to His Lordship over our lives. We
must allow God’s Spirit to indwell us and to produce the fruit of His Sprit in
us. It is in Jesus Christ alone that we are able to produce the fruit of the
Spirit. Jesus embodies these fruits in us by the power of God’s Holy Spirit.
The following is the
fruit of the Spirit God produces in us by His Holy Spirit:
Love: We have love in
Christ alone we
“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is
love.” –1 John 4:8, John
- Jesus is the embodiment of love
- We love because God is love
- We love because He loved us first
Joy: Our joy is in
Christ alone
“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that
your joy may be complete.” –John 15:11, Jesus
- Our joy is complete in Christ alone
- Jesus is the embodiment of Joy
Peace: Our peace is
in Christ alone
“And through [Jesus] to reconcile to himself all things,
whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood,
shed on the cross.” –Colossians 1:19-20, Paul
- Jesus has made peace through the cross
- Jesus is the embodiment of peace
Patience: In Christ
we have patience
“Being strengthened with all power according to his glorious
might so that you may have great endurance and patience.” –Colossians 1:11, Paul
- Jesus empowers us to have patience
- Jesus is the embodiment of patience
Kindness: Is found in
Christ alone
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each
other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” –Ephesians 4:32, Paul
- We can show kindness because Jesus has shown us kindness
- Jesus is the embodiment of kindness
Goodness: Christ
alone is good
“’Why do you call me good?’ Jesus answered. ‘No one is
good--except God alone.’” –Mark 10:18, Jesus
- We are only good in Christ Jesus
- Jesus is the embodiment of goodness
Faithfulness: Christ
alone is faithful
“But Christ is faithful as the Son over God's house. And we
are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which
we glory.” –Hebrews 3:6
- Jesus is faithful when we are not
- Jesus is the embodiment faithfulness
Gentleness: True
Gentleness is in Christ alone
“Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved,
clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and
patience.” –Colossians 3:12, Paul
- Christ is the embodiment of true gentleness
- We should be gentle in Christ’s gentleness
Self-control: True self-control
comes through Christ alone
“Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.
For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in
me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law
of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from
this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through
Jesus Christ our Lord!” –Romans 7:21-25,
Paul
- Jesus is the embodiment of perfect self-control
- We can control ourselves through Jesus Christ alone
