The Fruit Of The Spirit

Feature 2 – September 2022 — Grace & Truth Magazine

The Fruit Of The Spirit

The fruit of the Spirit is mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23. This unique fruit can be summed up by saying that when we are walking in the Spirit (5:16), the Holy Spirit in us will display the Lord Jesus Christ’s character through us to those around us. It is one fruit seen in many facets.

We find there are nine attributes, which we may call a nine-fold fruit or a “triple trinity” – 3 sets of 3. This pattern of nine is found in other places in Scripture, such as the nine blessings the Lord mentions in Matthew 5:1-12, the nine spiritual gifts presented by Paul in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, and Paul’s nine attributes of faithful living in 2 Timothy 3:10-11. The number and pattern symbolize completeness.

The Believer’s Transformation
The apostle Paul described the works of the flesh (5:19-21), which are listed as 17 in number, “and the like” to complete a total of 18 (NKJV). The flesh comes first, that which is of sinful man and boasts of double the number of the fruit of the Spirit. Stated in the plural as “works” (v.19), and never pleasing to God, the flesh is full of itself, only thinking of its own wants and desires, leaving God out completely. There is no future for those who live life in the flesh and practice the things that are listed. This list is just a sample, since the flesh can be displayed in many other forms of disobedience. Those who live in the flesh “will not inherit the kingdom of God” (v.21). Indeed, they will be condemned to an eternity of torment in a coming day. This is what our predicament, or serious situation, was before we came to Christ for our salvation.

The things of the Spirit come after the flesh. This is another pattern in Scripture: first Adam, the head of sinful mankind, then Christ, the head of the new creation. Those who are in Christ were once outside of Him, without hope. But now, those of us who believe in Him have been transferred out of the realm of darkness and into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son. We have been sealed by the Spirit of God, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:13-14). The Holy Spirit is within us (Rom. 8:9). As a result, we can display the character of Christ through the Spirit. This is a supernatural reality in the life of every believer. It is not possible to reform the flesh or add anything to improve it. We must walk in the Spirit by having Him control our thoughts and actions. Then we will display the Lord Jesus Christ.

Love, Joy And Peace
The first three characteristics may be looked at as the anchor of all the rest. These were seen in our Lord when He walked here. The Lord displayed the character of love, which is especially noted in the gospel of John. We read in John 13:1 that Jesus “loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.” The Lord instructed us, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another” (v.34). He said in John 15:9, “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.”

We see the love of Christ perfectly displayed when He gave his life on the cross of Calvary. “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). In 1 John 3:16 we read: “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us.” When Christ died for you and me, He displayed the greatest love that ever was shown on earth by anyone before or after Him. Only the Lord Jesus could die for you and me; and He was willing to lay down His life and show forth what great love He has for us. He has since risen and has ascended up to heaven in victory, now showing His wonderful love from above to us here below.

The Lord’s character of love is displayed in every believer’s life. It is this supernatural love that enables us to call believing men and women who are unrelated by birth, “brothers and sisters in Christ” (consider Mt. 12:50, Jas. 2:15). We love one another because we are one in Christ, and the Spirit in us enables us to show forth such love. This is how the unbelieving world knows we are true followers of Him (Jn. 13:35), and this unique love is what gives us assurance that we are the Lord’s (1 Jn. 3:14-15).

Joy and rejoicing are especially noted in the Lord’s life as recorded in Luke’s gospel. At the time of His birth, the angel declared to the shepherds, “Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Lk. 2:10-11). This joy continued throughout His public ministry. The Lord Jesus brought joy to His Father at His baptism. There, the Father’s voice was heard from heaven as the Lord rose out of the water: “You are My Beloved Son; in You I am well pleased” (3:22).

The Lord empowered His disciples to do great miracles, and when they returned to give Him a report it was “with joy” in their hearts (10:17). Even today when we serve the Lord, He gives us joy. In verse 20, the Lord reminded us of something that should give the believer even more joy: knowing our “names are written in heaven”!

The Lord gave three examples of something that was lost but then found. In these examples in Luke 15 He emphasized the rejoicing and joy that was brought forth. Indeed, He is the giver of joy and desires to see even just one sinner repent, to bring joy in heaven! He brought joy to the multitudes that had gathered to see Him enter Jerusalem during the last week before He went to the cross (19:37). The Lord endured the cross – with all of its shame, sorrow and suffering – with joy (Heb. 12:2), because He knew this was the only way possible to bring “many sons to glory” (2:10). After His resurrection He brought joy to His disciples when He revealed Himself to them (Lk. 24:40-41). Luke’s gospel ends with the wonderful description of His disciples worshiping Him and returning to Jerusalem with “great joy” (v.52).

The Lord Jesus gives us this same joy. He wants us as His followers to be rejoicing even in hardships, to show forth our confidence and trust in Him (1 Th. 5:16; Phil. 4:4). This joy is a “full” joy (Jn. 15:11), now that we have the knowledge of His victory over Satan, sin, death, hell and the world. He is truly the joy giver! May we appreciate this blessed truth and show forth His joy to others.

The last of the first three facets of fruit is peace. This peace displays the harmonious relationship between individuals, the harmonized relationship between God and man accomplished through the gospel, and a peaceful rest and contentment as a result of this very same gospel. It was foretold in Isaiah 9:6 that the coming Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, would be the “Prince of Peace.”

Similar to joy, the Lord’s birth also brought peace. The heavenly host in Luke 2:14 announced at His birth, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” This precious declaration was in view of what the Lord Jesus would accomplish when He gave His life at Calvary. His finished work enables us to say, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1). The Lord is our peacemaker with our holy and righteous God. He has made it possible for once lost sinners to be made righteous in Him and to be worshipers. Praise the Lord for this wonderful peace!

The Lord also gives peace for daily living. In John 14:27 the Lord said, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” The Lord Jesus was about to go to the cross and the disciples would feel as though all was lost. He knew this and wanted them to experience His peace. We may also face what seem to be hopeless situations, but the Lord does not want us to worry. Rather, it is His desire that we would enjoy His peace through our difficulties. He further explained to His followers, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (16:33).

On several occasions after the Lord’s resurrection, He met with His disciples and declared peace to them (Lk. 24:36; Jn. 20:19,21,26). This peace is now possible because of our Lord’s victory at Calvary, and His resurrection is proof that He has conquered all our enemies! Now there is peace for the believer, found in Christ alone.

The Lord has removed the distance between Jews and non-Jews by making us one in Christ, thus making peace between us (Eph. 2:14-18). He wants us to enjoy this peace with all believers but also with unbelievers, for we read: “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men” (Rom. 12:18). It is His desire for us to experience inner peace by praying to Him and thinking upon what is good (Phil. 4:6-9). He wants us to pray for those in government so we may live quiet and peaceable lives in all godliness (1 Tim. 2:1-2). The Lord wants us to understand that wisdom from above requires us to behave properly toward one another and display this supernatural peace (Jas. 3:17-18).

Longsuffering, Kindness And Goodness
“Longsuffering” is the next word used to describe the fruit of the Spirit. This word may also be translated as “forbearance” or “patience.” It is the strength to endure injuries brought about by others and the willingness to experience painful and annoying circumstances. The Lord experienced many occasions in which He displayed longsuffering.

The gospel of John gives us several examples of our Lord’s longsuffering, especially with the disciples. The Lord spoke messages with a spiritual meaning, but those who heard Him were thinking of earthly things, so they did not understand. Examples include when the Lord spoke of His Father in John 8:27. Another is the time He taught about the doorkeeper and the sheep that would enter through the door; they did not understand Him (10:6). The Lord foretold what would happen to Him before going to the cross, but the disciples did not grasp what He was saying (12:16). Philip asked to see the Father. He did not understand that by seeing the Lord Jesus he already saw the Father (14:8-9). During many such occasions the Lord Jesus showed longsuffering with those who did not understand.

The Lord displayed great longsuffering when He went to the cross. We hear His words, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Lk. 23:34). What longsuffering! Also, when He was verbally abused, He did not revile back at His persecutors. First Peter 2:23 says, “Who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously.”

The Lord has called us to show this same fruit in our lives. The apostle Paul writing from prison said, “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to have a walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love” (Eph. 4:1-2). This is repeated to the saints in Colossians 3:12-17. Longsuffering is not a natural form of patience and endurance, but a display of the Spirit’s power in the life of each believer.

We also find Paul using himself as the pattern of Christ’s longsuffering – a longsuffering which led to Paul’s conversion. The apostle told us in 1 Timothy 1:15-16 that he was the chief of sinners, and that his repentance and coming to faith in Christ is how God saves those who would come after Paul’s time. In view of this we are to be longsuffering in our desire to see others saved, especially to those who are most disagreeable!

“Kindness” follows “longsuffering.” This word is sometimes seen as “lovingkindness” or “gentleness.” It represents goodness of heart and is displayed by an easy-going manner. A person who displays kindness shows goodness to others in words and actions. The Lord Jesus displayed His kindness with the little children in Matthew 19:13-14, asking the disciples to allow the children to come to Him. When Peter cut off the servant of the high priest’s ear during the arrest of the Lord Jesus, the Lord displayed kindness to this man by instantly healing him (Lk. 22:49-51). These are just a few examples of our Lord showing kindness.

Likewise, we are to show kindness. To show the character of being servants and ministers of God we are called upon to act in this manner (see 2 Cor. 6:1-10). In 2 Timothy 2:24 we are exhorted to be gentle toward all, able to teach, and patient while enduring evil. This attribute is especially needful during times of opposition. We can:

• Shine as lights in this dark world when we show forth the fruit of the Spirit with kindness.
• Give to someone discouraged an encouraging word by sending an uplifting card in the mail.
• Compliment someone when they behave rightly.
• Be kind by withholding a harsh word, even though a cruel rebuke may seem appropriate.

Showing kindness is a powerful characteristic of the Spirit in the believer’s life.

The last of the second group of three characteristics is “goodness.” Goodness is doing what is upright and righteous, and it is expressed in deeds. It has a mild characteristic as well as a sterner aspect. The Lord’s activities when He walked here were summed up by Peter, “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the Devil, for God was with Him” (Acts 10:38). We see a mild version of goodness when the Lord healed the penitent, or contrite, woman in Luke 7:39-50. She came with repentance and humility when she washed Jesus feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. The Lord showed goodness to her by forgiving her sins.

The Lord displayed goodness in a stern manner when He cleansed the temple (Mt. 21:12-13). He also displayed goodness when He denounced the scribes and Pharisees (23:13-29), for by rebuking them He was calling them to repentance, which would have led to their salvation if they had obeyed.

We are to display goodness, being reminded that as believers we are “full of goodness” (Rom. 15:14). In Ephesians 2:10 we are told to do the good works that God has already prepared in advance for us to do, when the door of opportunity comes along in our lives. Later, Ephesians 5:8-9 instructs us to “walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness and truth).” Hebrews 13:16 reminds us, as part of goodness, to give financially and materially: “But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.” Every believer should display this attribute of goodness. We need to look for opportunities to do good, maybe even creating opportunities that would bless others.

Faithfulness, Gentleness And Self-control
Faith is belief and trust in someone or something. The believer’s faith is in Christ and His finished work on Calvary. The Lord Jesus also exhibited faith as Man when He walked here on earth. He is the Author and Finisher of faith (Heb. 12:2). His life was one of faithfulness. He could say of Himself, “He who sent Me is with Me. the Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him” (Jn. 8:29; see 4:34, 5:30, 6:38, 14:31, 15:10, 17:4). In every word He spoke and every action He took, He was faithful. We read near the end of Revelation, “I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True” (19:11). The Lord is now in heaven as our faithful High Priest, interceding for us” (Heb. 4:14-16). How wonderful!

The believer is called upon to be faithful. We are to “live by faith” (10:38) and to “walk by faith” (2 Cor. 5:7). Anything done without faith has no eternal value! Faithfulness is seen in our obedience to God’s Word. Our service is also to be done in faithfulness: “It is required in stewards that one be found faithful” (1 Cor. 4:2). May we grow in our understanding of God’s will and be faithful, doing and saying what He reveals to us in His Word. Like our Lord, we should be faithful to the end. May we have the same testimony of Paul: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim. 4:7).

Gentleness is very similar to kindness. Sometimes the words “gentleness” and “kindness” are used for the same original word. The slight difference in English is that “kindness” is the word spoken or the action taken, while “gentleness” is the way and manner in which it is said and done. Gentleness is sometimes connected with meekness, as well. It is frequently thought of as the way a parent is toward their child, a teacher is toward a student, and a nurse is toward a patient.

The Lord exhibited gentleness in the way He spoke and acted. He touched the leper in Mark 1:40-41 and healed him. That was probably the first human contact the leper felt since becoming unclean. What gentleness! For the deaf and speechless man in Mark 7:31-35, He touched this man as well and healed him, another great example of our Lord’s gentleness. When the disciples wanted to keep little children from bothering the Lord, He corrected them by saying, “Let the little children come to Me … And He took them up in His arms … and blessed them (10:14,16). How wonderful! Kindness is shown by gentleness. The Lord described Himself as “gentle and lowly in heart” (Mt. 11:29). This was His character.

Even when correcting His followers He was gentle. The Lord Jesus spoke Mary Magdalene’s name as He gently revealed Himself to her after His resurrection (Jn. 20:11-16). He restored Peter to Himself publicly by gently questioning him in front of the other disciples (21:15-19). Notice the wisdom displayed by our Lord in His gentle way. May we learn from His example!

We are to show forth this same characteristic. In Galatians 6:1 we are told to restore believers who stumble in their walk and do so in the spirit of gentleness. The apostle Paul gave us his own example of doing this by how he confronted Peter and perhaps Barnabas in Galatians 2:14. Paul’s rebuke was done in a reasonable, gentle manner, not with harsh angry words. We display gentleness by not insisting upon and imposing our own conscience on others but by helping a weaker brother so he does not stumble (Rom. 14). These are only a few examples of the many in Scripture that address this subject. In summary, gentleness strives to bless others, not condemn or hurt them, by displaying kindness through the way we speak.

Now we finally come to the last word describing the fruit of the Spirit, which is “self-control.” Sometimes this word is translated “temperance.” When the word is translated “self-control” it seems to be the strangest of all the nine words in our English language translation. How can we be filled with and controlled by the Spirit and yet display self-control? It does not seem to make sense! The secret to this word is found in the original language. The Greek word in Scripture (enkrateia) implies the control we must apply to our God-given powers, so that we do not abuse them. The proper use of what God has given each of us must be controlled by our will under the operation of the Spirit of God. Thus we no longer control ourselves by our own will but by the power of the Spirit of God. We recognize God’s claim on us and subject our will to the Spirit of God, thus using restraint and care in what we do and say.

This can be seen in the life of our Lord. The Lord received power to execute judgment upon others, but He chose to use self-control by the Spirit of God. A great example is seen immediately after the Lord’s baptism, when He was in the desert being tempted by the Devil (Mt. 4:1-11). The first temptation was to turn a rock into bread in order to have food and feed Himself. The Lord used self-control by the power of the Spirit of God and rebuked the Devil with the Holy Scriptures.

At the time of the Lord’s arrest in Matthew 26:51-54, the Lord corrected Peter’s actions when the disciple tried to violently protect the Lord (see Jn. 18:10). He told Peter that He could have prayed to the Father and received 12 legions of angels to defend Himself and destroy His enemies. Rather than do that, He displayed self-control and allowed wicked men to carry out their evil plans, all for our blessing and salvation. This restraint was shown earlier when His disciples asked the Lord for permission to call down fire from heaven to judge those who rejected the Lord (Lk. 9:51-56). The Lord corrected them and showed His self-control by delaying the judgment, which will surely come in a future day.

We are also called upon to display this same self-control. Are we willing to deny ourselves the short-term and temporary pleasures of this life in order to live for that which is eternal? Are we led by our natural senses and wisdom, or are we willing to allow the Spirit of God to control our wills? This is the key to our public testimony and our hidden walk before the Lord, who sees everything all the time. By denying ourselves we gain the blessing of doing God’s will because God controls us. The Lord said in Mark 8:34-35, “Whosoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.” Self-control requires denying oneself. May the Lord help us to display this fruit of the Spirit in our lives!

In Conclusion
The fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5 is one of the four lists of nine attributes we mentioned at the beginning. There is a progression of the work of the Spirit of God throughout the life of the believer in these lists. In Matthew 5:1-12 we see the first steps of the believer. The Spirit of God humbles us and causes us to repent and believe the gospel, thereby entering into the kingdom of God as a new creation in Christ. Then in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 we learn that the Spirit of God has equipped us for service to do God’s will in the power of the Spirit. We can function within the body of Christ and live by the Spirit’s power. In Galatians 5:22-23 we note the goal of God is that we portray the very characteristics of the Lord Jesus. This fruit of the Spirit brings glory to God. Finally, in 2 Timothy 3:10-11 Paul described his life as an example to Timothy and us. The Spirit of God enabled him to endure even persecutions and afflictions and be faithful to the Lord until the end of his life. May it be true of us as well!

The Lord did not save us so we would live the rest of our lives for ourselves, only thinking of this life. He saved us to bear fruit for His glory (Jn. 15:4,8) while we await His coming for us (1 Th. 4:17). It is His desire to commune with us as we walk in the Spirit and do His sweet will! May we be encouraged to show forth the Lord Jesus in our lives with these attributes of the fruit of the Spirit each and every day. Amen!

By Bill Kulkens