The Bible says "Ye
shall know them by
their fruits."
(Matthew 7:16)
This means that we
should be able to tell
someone's faith by his
or her behavior.
Just what are the
fruits of the Spirit
and how do I know if I
have them? How
do I develop them?
The fruits of the
Spirit are those
qualities given to us
by the Holy Spirit
that evidence Christ
in us. “ But the fruit
of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace,
longsuffering,
gentleness, goodness,
faith, Meekness,
temperance: against
such there is no law.”
(Galatians 5:22-23)
They are not qualities
that we develop by our
own power but develop
by the power of the
Holy Spirit.
This is not to say
that you can’t do good
things without the
power of the Holy
Spirit; it means that
the Holy Spirit
changes your nature to
good, gentle, patient
and so forth. You are
no longer living in
the natural state of
humanity, but in the
supernatural state of
the Holy Spirit.
Because the Holy
Spirit in you is the
power source for the
transformation from
being able to do good
things to being good
by nature, it is not
possible for us to
cultivate the fruits
of the Spirit by our
own action.
Instead, we must do
those things that
strengthen our ability
to squash our own
nature and let the
nature of the Holy
Spirit instead rule
us. Those things
include prayer,
meditation, Bible
study, worship and
fellowship. (See
Galatians 2:20)
As we become less our
old selves and more
Christ, the fruits of
the Spirit become more
evident in our lives.
Think of yourself as a
house that Christ has
bought. When you
are a new Christian,
you still live in that
house and take up most
of the space. As
time goes on and your
relationship with
Christ develops, you
relinquish more and
more space to Christ’s
Spirit (the Holy
Spirit) and take up
less and less space
yourself. The
less space you take up
within that house, the
more evident the fruit
of the Spirit becomes.
The Holy Spirit
completely remodels as
we give up space to
Him.
To understand the
fruits of the Spirit,
it pays to look closer
at what they are. Read
again the Scripture
above from Galatians,
Chapter Five.
Love is the first
fruit listed. We
all think that we know
what love is, that we
have experienced real
love here on earth.
But our earthly love
is but a shadow of
God’s pure love. The
shell that is our love
is colorless and drab
where God’s love is
vibrant and alive.
The Holy Spirit starts
to change that pale
shade of love that is
in us to the deep,
rich, magnificent hue
that is God’s love. “…
the love of God is
shed abroad in our
hearts by the Holy
Ghost which is given
unto us.”
(Romans 5:5)
Human love is often
based on
self-satisfaction;
I love you because you
need me; I love
you because you take
care of me.
God’s love has no
‘because’ in it. God
loves us. He is
love, His nature is
love, and with Him we
are in Love meaning
that we dwell inside
His love like it was a
safe sanctuary.
By the work of the
Holy Spirit, that kind
of love begins to be
built up in us.
The next listed fruit
in the verse from
Galatians is joy.
Joy is a confusing
subject for many; we
equate it with
happiness. The
two things are not the
same, though.
Happiness is an
emotion impacted by
the circumstances of
our lives where joy is
the peaceful assurance
of our salvation in
Christ. No
matter what happens to
us, nothing can take
away our salvation and
knowing that allows us
to live life with
boldness and
enthusiasm. “…for the
joy of the LORD is
your strength.”
(Nehemiah 8:10b)
Peace comes from our
freedom in Christ.
Before the Holy Spirit
took over our lives,
we were held in
bondage, slaves to
sin. Slaves
never have a moment’s
peace because their
lives are not their
own. By Christ
we are freed and now
can live and enjoy the
life He bought for us.
“For to be carnally
minded is death; but
to be spiritually
minded is life and
peace.”
Romans 8:6...Patience
is that blessed
ability to wait
peacefully for God’s
timing. Look at this
verse from Hebrews:
“That ye be not
slothful, but
followers of them who
through faith and
patience inherit the
promises.”
(Hebrews 6:12)
If through faith and
patience we inherit
the promise of
salvation, then
patience can only come
by the Holy Spirit,
Christ’s Spirit within
us. This is also
telling of the value
of patience as a
fruit. It is
probably so valuable
because it is so
painful to grow; it is
through trials and
struggle that we learn
patience.
Kindness and goodness
are characteristics
most of us would claim
to have, however none
of us have them to a
degree that comes
close to perfection.
The Holy Spirit
transforms our pitiful
human efforts at
kindness and goodness
to characteristics
with real effect.
Often our own attempts
at kindness or
goodness are disguised
pleas for recognition
or thanks. The
Holy Spirit frees us
from the need to get
anything back from our
efforts, allowing us
to do so much more.
By our own strength we
cannot even remain
faithful to God.
This is especially
apparent when we fall
into backsliding.
We wander off the path
and do our own thing
until we run into
trouble, and then we
go to God begging to
be bailed out.
For some, this pattern
becomes firmly
engrained and never
changes. Others
start to rely on the
power of the Holy
Spirit within to stay
on the path of
faithful commitment.
Christ experienced
every trial we
experience and remains
faithful to us; it’s
good reason to remain
faithful to Him.
“There hath no
temptation taken you
but such as is common
to man: but God is
faithful, who will not
suffer you to be
tempted above that ye
are able; but will
with the temptation
also make a way to
escape, that ye may be
able to bear it.”
(1 Corinthians 10:13)
Our escape hatch is
the Holy Spirit.
When we turn to the
power that is in us by
Him, we find all
things are possible.
The easiest way to
grow the fruits of the
Spirit is to remember
that in Christ, your
life is no longer
yours. ”I am
crucified with Christ:
nevertheless I live;
yet not I, but Christ
liveth in me:”
(Galatians 2:20a)
Because of Christ, we
no longer have to
struggle on our own,
we have Him to guide
us and support us. He
has sent His Holy
Spirit to live in us.
“Know ye not that ye
are the temple of God,
and that the Spirit of
God dwelleth in you?”
(1 Corinthians 3:16)
When we let Christ
live His life through
us by His Spirit, we
can’t help but bear
fruit.
Written by Cheryl
Stotesbery - © 2002
Pagewise
Pagewise
http://www.essortment.com