The Fruit of the Holy Spirit: Part 1
Memory Passage
You, however, are controlled not by the
sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone
does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is
in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of
righteousness.
Romans 8:9-10
Scripture Reading: John 15
Please refer to your Bible.
Scripture Reading: Galatians 5:22-25
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Insights
"The fruit of the Spirit," Paul tells us, "is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, temperance (or self
control)" (Gal. V. 22f). It may be significant that "fruit" is in the singular. Paul
is thinking of these qualities of character as a single cluster, so that every
Christian should experience them all. It is not that one Christian gives
evidence of love, another of joy, and so on. All Christians are expected to
manifest all of these qualities. This would be a tall order, indeed, were it not
that this fruit is "of the Spirit." Because the very power of God is operative
within the lives of Christian people they are able to produce fruit that else
would be completely beyond them." -Leon Morris, Spirit of the Living God
Consider this!
In John 15 we are told that in order to produce the fruit of the Spirit we must
abide/dwell in the vine, Christ Jesus. The vine is a metaphor for our
relationship with Christ. Just as grape vines produce clusters of fruit so we, as
the branches of the vine who abide in Christ, show forth the fruit of the Spirit in
our lives. As we abide in Him, the life and power of Christ flows into us through
His Spirit. Jesus Christ is to be our first love attachment for life. Just as the
grapes would whither and die if any break in the branch from the vine occurs,
so is it true that we will whither relationally with God, others and ourselves, if
anyone or anything means more to us than the Lord God.
Personal Reflection
- The fruit of the Spirit is a very familiar concept to most Christians. Almost too
familiar. Take a few moments to ponder these nine character attributes of a
Spirit-filled life. Does such a description feel like an unattainable goal, or a
work in progress?
- How connected are you to the "vine"? Is Christ Jesus truly your source of joy,
peace, etc., or are you trying very hard to work on these in your own strength?
- What does abiding in Christ mean to you?
- Write a prayer of response to God.
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