The Fruits of the Spirit

The Fruits of the Spirit

A few months ago the Lord put it on my heart to study the Fruits of the Spirit. I didn’t think much of it. If I’m being completely honest I thought I knew everything there was to know about the fruits. It felt so “elementary” to me, especially because my kids often come home with cut outs of fruit from Sunday school highlighting each gift. I thought I knew everything, but boy was I wrong. After studying the fruits and really talking the time to let God speak to me, I got such a clear understanding of each fruit. More importantly, God showed me that by studying the fruits of the spirit I was learning more about his character and who he is. 

I always thought the fruits of the spirit were just the tools God offered us, and while that is so true there is still more to this gift. See, the fruits of the spirit are from God’s Spirit. When you learn about each quality its almost as if you are peeling back the many layers that make up God. Throughout scripture we see God’s character aligning perfectly with each fruit! He literally offers us the tools to be more like him. How incredible is that?

 

What are the Fruits

The fruits of the Spirit are listed in Galations 5:22-23. Now, there are many different translations of the fruits, but we are going to stick with the KJV (King James Version) for this study!

In Galatians 5:22-23 the Apostal Paul lists 9 Fruits of the Spirit. They are Love, Joy, Peace, Longsuffering (Patience), Gentleness, Goodness, Faith, Meekness, Temperance (Self- Control).

 

 

Love:

• “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 NIV

 

•  May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Ephesians 3:19 NLT 

 

• "So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”John 13:34-35 NLT

 

I wanted to include scriptures that explains what love is, how powerful love is, and how important Love is. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 gives us such a great illustration of what love is. We can see that love is kind and patient, it isn’t angry and it always hopes. Love is such a pure thing when we make sure we are “Loving” correctly! 

There is power in love! In Ephesians 3:19, we see that the love of Christ can’t be fully understood. The love of God is so magnificent and powerful that our human minds can’t wrap our heads around it. However, when we experience the love of God we are made whole! That is power. When we spread love, we are spreading God’s gift to each other!

Lastly, we know love is important to God. John 13:34-35 tells us that we are commanded to love each other the way Christ loves us! Loving God and loving others are the greatest commandments. 

Love will work every single time. Love will never fail. 

 

Joy:

• “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances. For this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV

 

Joy is a pure gift from God. It’s something that the world can not give you. Joy isn’t defined by temporary happiness, emotions. or worldly possessions. Joy comes from the knowing that God is the Alpha and Omega. Joy comes from the knowing that the King of kings loves you! Joy comes from knowing that God is working all things together for your good. Joy comes from knowing Jesus died on the cross and nailed all your sins with him. Joy comes from knowing that Jesus defeated death. 

Joy is in the will of God for your life! Embody and embrace the joy of the Lord.

 

Peace

 

• “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body and be ye thankful” Colossians 3:15 KJV

 

 There isn’t anything in this world that can provide you peace, like Jesus. There is so much peace in knowing that your battles are already won. In fact, perfect peace surpasses all understanding. If you take anything away from this blog, please know that God offers you peace. You may feel so overwhelmed with life and all the difficult things you may be experiencing. But, if you get down on your knees and ask the Holy Spirit to fill you with his perfect peace, you will feel so at ease. Receiving peace doesn’t automatically change your circumstance, but it changes YOU. You’ll have this deep knowing that God is on your side. I pray you are open to receiving peace. 

 

Longsuffering (Patience)

• “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” Galatians 6:9 KJV

 

Patience can be a tough one, but studying this fruit has changed my outlook on things.  The word used for patience in the text is actually Longsuffering. So, that tells me that this is truly about commitment. I used to think of patience as just waiting, but now I see it more as enduring. Specifically in this verse we’re talking about being patient while waiting on God. In this perspective we can think of patience as holding on to God. If we hold on to him and focus on the commitment, we can see the beauty in the fruit of patience. 

We can carry this same revelation into our relationships with others. If we fix our eyes on the commitment of the people in our lives, we’ll exemplify true patience.

 

 

Gentleness

• He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lamb with his arm, and carry him in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are young” Isaiah 40:11 KJV

Look at the character of God. The Lord is so gentle and so kind to us. Every move the Lord makes towards us is thoughtful. Even during our pruning seasons, he’s so careful to accurately mold us into who he’s called us to be. The gentleness of God is just too sweet to put into words, especially because we all fall short of his Glory. He still chooses to remain devoted to his character despite our shorcommings. Wouldn’t it be incredible if we spread the same gentleness God showed us, to other people? Are you being gentle with yourself? We can learn so much from this fruit. Be gentle, friends. 

 

 Goodness

• “Oh, how great is Your goodness,
  Which You have laid up for those who fear You,
  Which You have prepared for those who trust in You
  In the presence of the sons of men!”  Psalm 31:19 NKJV

 

God is good. We can  see God's goodness throughout scripture. The fact that we are still here today is just one of the many proofs that God is good. I encourage you to reflect on your experiences and look for the goodness of God. His goodness always shows up in every situation.

So, how can we put the fruit of goodness into practice?

1.  Have a knowing that God is good.  
2.  We can focus on the good in our lives.
3. We can be good. 

 

Faithfulness

• “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassion fail not. They are new every morning, great is thy faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-24 KJV

 

This is the fruit that caught me off guard. As I mentioned before I always looked at the fruits as tools for us, which they are, but I didn’t look at them as God’s character. When I started reading scriptures of faithfulness I quickly saw that God is so faithful. 

Even when we go astray God remains faithful to us. Not only is God faithful to us, He is also faithful to his word. 

When we acknowledge God’s faithfulness we allow ourselves the space to be faithful. Faithful to God, faithful in our marriages, faithful in our parenting, and faithful in our relationships with others.

 

Meekness 

• “But he gives more grace. Therefore he says God resist the proud, but give grace to the humble.” James 4:6 NKJV
• “Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and he shall lift you up” James 4:10 NKJV

 

Meekness is not weakness. To be meek is to be humble and teachable. Meek people steam others above themselves. Jesus is the greatest example of meekness! Not only did he lay down his entire life for you and I, he also entered the world as a baby. God in the flesh, lowering himself all the way down to the smallest form of a human, just for us. We have to practice meekness in our everyday life. James 4 tells us that the we are to humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will lift us up! The way up is down! Humble yourself before the Lord. 

 

Temperance (Self-Control)

• “For God hath not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love, and of a sound mind” 2 Timothy 1:7 KJV

 

I like to think of Self Control as a superpower. Especially, when it comes to our emotions. In 2 Timothy 1:7, we see that through God we are given a sound mind. A sound mind is capable of self control despite the environment it’s in. We can see that God’s Spirit is good and pure. When you feel the pressure to do the opposite of what God’s word says let that be a signal calling the fruits of the Holy Spirit to be activated in you. Feeling angry, let that trigger God’s peace. Feeling depressed, Let that trigger God’s Joy. Of course this is going to take some time and may not be an instant fix of all your problems. However, it is a great practice to have! 

 

Use your tools

When we walk in the spirit we are given access to all the amazing qualities of God. The Lord gives us these beautiful tools to stand in this fleshly world. I hope reading this blog has sparked something in you. I pray that as you go about your day you carry every fruit that the spirit of God offers you. I pray that you put this into practice in your life and see the hand of God change you. 

 

God bless you dear friend.