The Fruit Of The Spirit

“¹⁸But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. ¹⁹Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, ²⁰Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, ²¹Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. ²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, ²³Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. ²⁴And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. ²⁵If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”

— Galatians 5:18-25 KJV

The 9 Things Listed In The Fruit Of The Spirit

Nine devotionals right there.

• Love
• Joy
• Peace
• Longsuffering
• Gentleness
• Goodness
• Faith
• Meekness
• Temperance

Over the next few days we are going to take a little deeper dive into all those 9 things listed.

One thing to notice though is that in the verse above the Bible doesn't talk about the works of the Spirit.

It talks about the fruit of the Spirit.

Fruit doesn't appear overnight, there is a ripening process.

A fruit tree doesn't strain, struggle or force itself to produce fruit. Fruit grows naturally over time as the tree receives water, sunlight and nourishment.

In the same way, the Christian life is a growth process.

As we spend time with God, read His Word, pray, obey Him, and walk in the Spirit, and let the Holy Spirit guide us, the Holy Spirit gradually transforms us from the inside out.

The Christian life is not simply about trying harder.

It is about becoming more like Jesus Christ.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”

— Galatians 5:22–23 KJV

Notice that Paul doesn't call these the fruits of the Spirit, but the fruit of the Spirit.

These qualities are produced by the same Holy Spirit living within every believer.

The more we walk with Christ, the more our lives should begin to reflect His character.

And that brings us to one of my favourite verses in the entire Bible:

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

— Galatians 2:20 KJV

The Christian life is not merely us trying to imitate Jesus.

It is Christ living His life through us by the power of the Holy Spirit.

As we surrender ourselves to Him day by day, He continues His work of transforming us into His likeness.

And just like fruit takes time to grow, don't become discouraged if your growth seems slow.

Keep believing in, trusting in and walking with Jesus.

Keep reading His Word.

Keep praying.

Keep spending time with other believers.

Keep trusting Him.

He who began a good work in you is still working.