Psalm 1:3. 3 He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers.
(The wisest man who ever lived wrote:) in Proverbs 11:30. 30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And he who is wise wins souls.
(Messiah Yeshua said: ) Matthew 7:17, 20. 17 “So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 20 “So then, you will know them by their fruits.
So spiritually, we are known by the fruits we produce.
Yeshua said: John 15:5. 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 do nothing.
See someone can tell how close you are to the Lord, by how much spiritual fruit is in your life.
We are going to begin looking at one of the fruits of a spiritual life, the fruit of the Spirit.
Galatians 5:22-23. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
We need this fruit of the Spirit. Isn’t it interesting that the Lord through Paul chose to say ‘fruit of the Spirit’. Why? Because fruit is tangible. Fruit is desirable. Fruit is good for you and is good for others.
This is a singular fruit. Notice that he didn’t say the ‘fruits’ of the Spirit as if there are many, but the `fruit’ (singular) of the Spirit. When you are dominated by the Spirit in your life then you will bear all nine of these qualities or types of fruit in your life to some extent.
This is a Messiah-like fruit. It is also saying that we are being Messiah-like in character and in our behavior.
This is a continuous fruit. Notice it said: the Fruit of the Spirit is (present tense). (Adam Clarke)
The fruit of the Spirit is distinct from other fruit in the sense that it never rots. It continuously ripens and should become even more sweet.
This fruit will lead to other fruit. The Fruit of the Spirit is really an attitude fruit or a fruit of our character. When we have this attitude fruit like we should, then it will lead to action fruit or fruit of our efforts and service, like witnessing (1 Corinthians 16:15) or praising God (Hebrews 13:15) or helping others. (based on John MacArthur comments)
This could be an open ended list of fruit.
Romans 14:17. for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Colossians 3:12, 14. And so, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; … 14 Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.
2 Corinthians 6:6. 6 in purity, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in genuine love,
Speaking about Messiah Yeshua it prophecies: Isaiah 11:2. 2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
So these are things associated with the Spirit if they are not explicitly aspects of the fruit.
If there are other ‘fruit of the Spirit’, God included the ones in this list in Galatians 5 because He knew they needed to be explicitly listed.
This Fruit of the Spirit is a measure of our spirituality.
We are commanded to manifest the Fruit of the Spirit.
Now some have suggested that Paul gives us the nine aspects of the fruit of the Spirit, in three groups of three graces each. Godly people disagree about this and what those groups would be. But these groups are possible.
Galatians 5:22a. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,…
The first one is love.
What is it?
The Greek word `agape’ is translated love. It is a love which seeks only the highest good for another. It is the kind of love that God has for us.
Why is it listed first?
`It is listed first because it is the foundation of the other graces.’ (BKC)
Some believe that love could be a summary of the other 8 graces.
Without love, you really won’t bear the other eight virtues.
Matthew 22:37-40. 37 And He said to him, “‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ 38 “This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 “The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ 40 “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”
Yeshua said that the most important commandment is to love the LORD and the Second Commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself.
This is talking about a love that the Spirit produces in us.
Romans 5:5. 5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
This is talking about a love from a changed life.
1 John 3:14. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death.
Now people could love you because you are lovable or because you make them feel good or because you do nice things for them. But this verse is talking about a love that is not dependent on the other person, but is your choice to love them. This love only the Spirit can create in your heart for someone, a totally selfless, giving love for others like God desires you to have.
What is this love?
This is talking about a love that is willing to sacrifice for others.
John 15:13. “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.
Yeshua was the ultimate example of One Who showed such sacrificial love for us.
1 John 3:16. We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
We are not called to literally give our lives for others very often, but we are called to sacrifice for others.
This is talking about a love for fellow believers in Yeshua.
John 13:34-35. 34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
This is talking about a love even for the unlovable.
This is talking about a love even for the different.
This is talking about a love even if the other person doesn’t love you back or do anything in return. So it is loving to give and not loving to get something in return.
This is talking about a love for those who are not yet followers of Yeshua, so that they might believe in Him.
This is talking about a love the Spirit produces to love even your enemies for Yeshua’s sake.
Matthew 5:44. 44 “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
Now check yourself and see how you measure up to a description of this kind of love.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7. 4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
God is not as impressed by what you do and how you do it as much as why you do it. (Merritt) Biblical love is the greatest motivation.
If you want to see true love, look at the cross. It is because He loved us, that we can truly love Him and love others.
How do you get this love of the Spirit?
If someone is a true follower of Yeshua, then they have the Holy Spirit within them and He will produce this love automatically in your life if you let Him. As long as you don’t get in the way of the Spirit (through sin), He will put this love in your heart for others.
Appl. Do those who know you best, consider you a loving person?