Oftentimes we will hear church folk say the “fruits of the Spirit” or talk about the “the 9 fruits of the Spirit.” Since the Bible actually says the fruiT (no ‘s’) of the Spirit, I would like to take a minute and examine what we know about fruit and see how it applies here.
First of all there is a difference between fruit and fruits. To say fruits connotes more than one fruit, of which we can have our choice. This is very important to remember because we cannot pick and choose what we want when it comes to the things of God.
Next, on the outside of 1 fruit we find a peel and possibly a stem and leaves. There may also be other elements like fuzz or even raised bumps. Inside the fruit we find its flesh, juice, and seeds. You cannot have the fruit without all of its elements, for without those elements there is no fruit. I suggest that the fruit of the Spirit is the same way. I cannot choose to have the flesh of the pear and not the juice, neither can I choose to have the love of the Spirit and reject the peace.
All of the 9 things listed in the Galatians 5:22-23 passage is the fruit of the Spirit. Just as the seeds, peel, flesh, and juice make the pear, so does love longsuffering, peace, gentleness, etc…comprise the fruit of the Spirit. We cannot have the Spirit of God without these things! This is one reason we must examine ourselves.
The proof that we have the Spirit of God lies in whether or not we live and walk in Its 9 components. The alternative is to live and walk in the flesh {Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like… Gal 5:20-21}. We must determine which path we (not someone else) are walking on.
For example, if we are peace-less, if every time we turn around we are exhibiting our wrath towards others – including our loved one, then we are not living and walking in the spirit. If we have no gentleness – including with our loved ones – we are on the wrong path and living according to the works of the flesh.
If we have the Spirit we have the fruit, all of it. We must be willing to recognize and admit when we do not have the Spirit of God; if the works of the flesh encompass our lives then it is to the altar we must return. We must examine ourselves in light of the truth of God’s Word. If we aren’t lining up on the right side then we must repent, and ask for forgiveness along with help and strength to bring our flesh under subjection.
We all want to spend eternity with God, and we must have His Spirit active in us in order to do so. We also want others to come and go with us; it takes the Spirit in us to show them the way. Let us determine that our lives will encompass all of the Spirit’s fruit, from love to temperance.
In Christ,
Juanita Deloris
Love this post! Your illustration was perfect. You brought great clarity to that scripture by really breaking it down. It is one Spirit- God’s Spirit! There is no separating or taking one without the other! Having 1 thing doesn’t prove we have the Spirit of God, its all or nothing! Awesome post!!
Hello ChildoftheKing!
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. I am happy to know that you enjoyed it. It think it is so important to get a good understanding when reading Scripture. It is imperative that we slow down and read what is actually there so that we can see clearly what God is saying to us.
Blessings to you!
ooooooooooooh my!
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Nothing else in life hurts and helps like the good old gospel truth. Whether old or young we had better develop a love for the gospel truth and soon, it’s getting hot for Gods folk in the good old Christian USA.
RJ
This is a great post!!!!!!!!!!!
This is THE biggest problem – of all time – that I have recognized with the teachings of the church (especially the old church). THEY thought and taught, that the Spirit of God was a package deal, but it’s not. That’s why they never reached specific spiritual levels, because when they “””received the Spirit””” they never had a desire to go any further. They thought they had it all but that was never the case. The Spirit doesn’t give you all these things — The Spirit gives you “the power to get” these things that you need. That’s why we’re told in scripture, to (move on to perfection) and to (add this, that, and the other, to our faith). Any child of God who stops with the receiving of the Spirit, will never be what they should be for Christ… receiving the Spirit of God is just the beginning — And That’s Exactly Where Most Church Folks Have Stopped!!! AT THE BEGINNING!!!!
Hello Rodney 🙂
I have often thought that, because church folk often read what wasn’t there in regards to this passage, they did not have the best understanding of it or teach it right. I believe it is one of the reasons we can often see preachers in the pulpit who treat their wives and children worse than a stranger on the street. It is the reason why we have mean praise team leaders and lay members with bad attitudes….while we’re ALL going to see the king. If we believe we have all of God because WE SAY we have the Spirit, then we refuse to realize that we don’t have the evidence, our lives are not exhibiting the proof that the Spirit actually dwells within. You are right, most church folk have stopped at the beginning and are satisfied with their own status quo. We could learn a lot from the early saints. Many today would call them strict, but they believed in taking seriously what the Bible said. If peace is what we are to have then they worked at it until peace was an inseparable part of their character.They actively put their flesh under subjection, working to obtain every mark of Christian character the Scripture lays out. That is why the testimonies for these early believers are like nothing you hear of in regards to believers today. They wanted to literally “put on” Christ, and they practiced His ways until they became their ways. They didn’t just mark time in the same spot until they died. They really wanted Christ to say well done!
Blessings!
PerfectingTruth