What is the fruit of the spirit? The fruit of the spirit is something that we as Christians should try and pursue in our daily walk with God. It is a result of living in obedience to Christ. You could say it is a command from God. In this article I want to discuss the different fruits of the spirit and their meanings. There are 9 total. And all 9 describe how we should be presenting ourselves as God’s children.
Galatians 5: 22 the Amplified Bible version says "But the fruit of the spirit (the result of his presence within us) is love (unselfish concern for others), joy, inner peace, patience (not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.
The first fruit of the spirit listed is love. The kind of love that is self-sacrificing and unselfish. It is the kind of love that one would send his only son to die on a cross (John 3: 16). The greek call it “agape” love.
1 Corinthians 13 sums it up when it says, "Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. (NLT)
The second fruit of the spirit is joy. Alot of people get joy and happiness mixed up. Joy is an internal feeling of great pleasure. Where as happiness comes from external things such as a raise in pay or a compliment. Happiness is fickle and only lasts for a little while. Joy is deep rooted and only goes away if we choose to let it. In the bible joy chooses to trust that God will fullfill his promises.
1 Peter 1: 8 says this "You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him: and you rejoice with glorious, inexpressible joy.
The third fruit of the spirit is peace. Peace is not merely the absence of anxiety; it is the undeniable presence of a calm feeling deep inside. The spirit filled Christian has a peace that is abundant, available in every situation, and unlike anything the world has to offer (John 14: 27). We can live a life of peace if we choose to overlook other people’s faults, refusing to point the finger, and forgiving when we don’t want to forgive.
John 14: 27 "I am leaving you with a gift-peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world can not give. So don't be troubled or afraid."
The fourth fruit of the spirit is patience. Patience is the steadfastness to endure pain, delay, or trouble without getting angry or upset. Jesus says we are to be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.
How can we develop patience? By seeking to do God’s will and accepting his timing.
James 1: 3-4 "For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing."
Hebrews 10: 36 "Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God's will. Then you will receive all that he has promised."
The fifth fruit of the spirit is kindness. Kindness means being considerate, friendly or nice. It is selfless, compassionate, and merciful. We are to show this quality even when its hard. Showing people that we care will win their hearts and will show them God’s love.
Goodness is the sixth fruit of the spirit. Goodness means to be good, to be decent, showing unselfishness. It is when we make an effort to do something helpful. A good example in the bible would be Barnabas. It was said that he was a good man (Acts 11: 24). Those who knew Barnabas held him with such respect that when all were suspicious of Saul of Tarsus – Barnabas was able to convince others to accept him. (Acts 9: 27)
The seventh fruit of the spirit is faithfulness. In the new testament the word for faithful is “pistos” which means “unwavering, reliability, consistency, and devotion.” A good example of faithfulness would be the faithfulness of God. God is wholly, faithful, reliable, unwavering, and consistent in his character because he is the same yesterday, today, and forever. When God says he will do something, he does it, even when it seems impossible.
Think about this: No matter who we are and what we have done, he is faithful and just to forgive us if we repent and believe. What a good example of faithfulness. (1 Corinthians 1:9)
The eight fruit of the spirit is Gentleness. It comes from the greek word meaning mild and having meekness. Back in the day the greeks saw this quality in a person to be cowardly and weak. But in the Christian faith however, it is something to be admired. Jesus says in Matthew 5: 5 “Blessed are the meek.” To be meek means that we won’t be defensive if someone speaks against us. We will turn the other direction.
The last fruit of the spirit is self-control. Self-control is the ability to regulate and alter our responses to avoid undesirable behaviors, increase desirable ones, and achieve long term goals. Another definition would be to show restraint over our emotions and desires. With the holy spirit’s help we can posses self-control and live in a way that is honorable to God and choose not to live in our flesh.
CONCLUSION
All these attributes or qualities that a Christian should display can be reached by asking for them in prayer. Matthew 7: 7 says if we ask (and what we ask for is in alignment with God’s will for our lives) it will be given to us. God never tires of our asking. So we should persist in asking for his help. Sometimes it can be hard when our flesh wants to take over. But with time and practice it will get easier to show these qualities in our everyday life.
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