“The Fruit of the Spirit”

Sunday, September 01, 2024

And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

(Galatians 5.24-25)

In last week’s article, we examined a long list of “the works of the flesh” (Ga 5.19), and found them to cover both the misuse of our bodies, and the problems of the heart that bore them. We found that they involved both individuals’ misdeeds, and their ramifications on a group—that is, on the church. We read a strong warning to cease these behaviors!

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

(Galatians 5.22-23)

This list is considerably shorter, and the final point is obvious—while even worldly people , themselves embroiled in the works of the flesh, are likely to find fault with at least some sinful behaviors, no one in his right mind could condemn the fruit of the Spirit!

Love

To attempt to define love to everyone’s satisfaction would be folly. It’s also a mistake to carve out for the Greek word behind this, ἀγάπη-agapē, one particular shade of love. Certainly, different shades exist, and often the vocabulary used to describe them reflects this; but it’s more of a tendency, than a hard and fast rule. Nevertheless, we could describe love, generally, as willing and pursuing what is good for someone.

Joy

As a general rule, a word’s age is tied to its length. Short words are also old ones, which serve as the core building blocks. Conversely, multisyllabic monstrosities exhibit intrusion by nonnative influences, resulting in nebulous or incomprehensible communication. Joy, one of the old, simple building blocks, is so basic as to be almost undefinable! We can say what it is not, however! Joy is more than contentedness; more than passing pleasure. It is not satisfaction with the moment, lacking regard for the future. The Christian is joyful, even in the midst of suffering, because he knows his suffering has a sanctifying purpose, and that his eternal future is secure!

Peace

This is another short, old, elemental word. It’s easiest to define in negative terms—the absence of conflict. But, of course, that’s not always up to us! Christians are at war with Satan and his kingdom—the world—every day! That being the case, how can we be expected to exhibit peace? It works, because the enemies we face have already lost the war—most of them just don’t know it, yet. While we continue to fight them in minor skirmishes, our important conflicts are within—and surrendering to Christ quells them.

Patience

In older versions of the Bible this is rendered, longsuffering, and that archaic word is an excellent description of this quality. In a culture that encourages all to insist their rights be fully honored always, Christians are supposed to have the longest fuse. The world demands that everything be perfect right now, but God tells his children not to expect perfection until we dwell with him forever.

Kindness

The world today has equated this to being nice—that is, agreeable. But that’s not what God means! χρηστότης-chrēstotēs means having upright interactions and being helpful to others. The difference is subtle, but in today’s society being nice amounts to being careful not to hurt anyone’s feelings, while being kind includes warning people when they are headed down the path of destruction, even if they don’t like to hear it.

Goodness

It seems silly to describe goodness, but it’s worth pointing out that this does not mean pleasantness. Rather, it is uprightness. The focus is on moral quality, not aesthetic.

Faithfulness

Faith is a tough concept to pin down. At its core, it’s simply belief, but through a series of steps can also mean loyalty—even reliability. So what does it mean, in this case? The whole package! It begins with believing that God “exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (He 11.6). That naturally leads to seeking him, obeying his instructions, becoming and remaining attached to him. Since he tells us to love his other children, it also means becoming a steadfast friend to God’s people.

Gentleness

Rendered meekness in older versions of the Bible, this word does not convey gentleness through weakness—an inability to be harsh. Rather, it is a chosen mindset and behavior. In fact, πραΰτης-prautēs ordinarily means humility, and only by extension gains the sense of treating others with a light touch.

Self-control

The person who lacks self-control is not ruled by something external, but rather gives in “when he is lured and enticed by his own desire” (Ja 1.14). To put it another way, self-control does not mean oneself being in control, but having oneself under control!

Against such things…

Like the preceding list of the works of the flesh (vv19-21), this list of the fruit of the spirit is not intended to be exhaustive. But it’s an excellent list to memorize, and still better to pursue these things in daily life! Having a clear understanding of what they are will help, but your effort will be futile—doomed to fail from the start—unless you “have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” and “belong to Christ” (v24). Only then will you bear the kind of fruit everyone recognizes as good.

Jeremy Nettles

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