Welcome to the Third Sunday of My New Fall Series –
Redefining Godliness: Debunking Myths and Embracing True Faith
I’ll be spending these fall weeks talking about what it means to be a Godly woman and have identity rooted in Christ. The series will explore common misconceptions about what it means to be a godly woman. Today, I touch on the fruits of the spirit, addressing how to cultivate spiritual fruit, what it means to bear fruit, and how we walk out fruits of the spirit in our daily life. Let’s dive into Galatians 5.
What is Spiritual Fruit?
A lot of times when Christians talk of spiritual fruit, they are referring to outward fruit. “You will know them by their fruit” (Matt 7:15-20). However this can be taken out of context as these particular verses are speaking of false prophets. We need to be careful of how we determine good and bad fruit.
The fruits of the spirit are from Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” While these fruits are evident at times when we live and interact with others, some fruits are internal and are a work of Christ within us as we deepen our faith.
Love
The first fruit of the spirit is love. In Galatians 5:6, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”
What does it mean to express our faith through love?
Most of the time we imbibe this love in a romantic context. But the love spoken of here is speaking of godly love. Godly love is something we know because “God is love.” (1 John 4:5) God loves us in abundance and therefore since we know how God loves us so deeply, we express that to others in our communities, in our homes, and in our interactions. Sometimes this love isn’t always evident so we must be careful again how quick we are to discern this fruit in others.
But we also know that God sent Jesus to die for us because he loved us, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16). God went to great lengths to save us from sin and so therefore, that is what it means to love others. When we love others the way God loves us, it’ll be something left behind by our faith. Meaning in whatever we do, “Let everything that [we] do be done in love.” (1 Corinthians 16:14). Love goes beyond the normal expectation when it’s from God. It pursues the way God pursues. It is patient because God is patient. It forgives as God forgives.
Joy
The entire book of Philippians is built on joy, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” Philippians 4:4) It’s different than happiness – which is emotional. We must differentiate the two. Joy is built on the foundations of Christ and all He offers. Happiness is usually what people are searching for when joy is spoken of but that is not true joy. True joy is resting in Christ’s work on the cross. It’s the only thing that will bring us contentment when our lives our chaotic. It’s deeper than our emotions and far surpassing than our circumstances. It anchors us in hope despite all we endure here on this earth as we fix our eyes on Jesus and the inner knowing that we will go to heaven at the end of our life.
When I’ve walked through harder seasons – especially this last year – I’ve told my friends that I don’t even look for happiness anymore. It’s not even important to me. I would even say that is counter cultural – because the world teaches us to strive for happiness. But that is not biblical. The bible teaches us pure joy in James 1:2-3, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” The world teaches us to avoid all suffering and look for comfort and ease. But that is just not what the bible shows nor depicts. It’s not that we go seeking for persecution. It’s that we recognize that when we suffer for Christ, our faith is deepened and we find pure joy to know our savior more intimately. Joy is not anchored in our search for happiness. Joy is anchored in our salvation in Jesus.
I think this is fruit is a more evident fruit and easier to spot. It’s the people who complain less usually and find joy in all circumstances despite whatever is happening to them. It’s their ability to rejoice in Christ no matter where they are placed. It’s not to say they never struggle but that their joy is found in heaven alone.
Peace
This is why joy usually leads to peace. In Philippians 4:6-7, it talks of God’s peace found in prayer, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
The world usually tells us that we will find peace when our circumstances are calmer. If the season we are in will pass or we can survive and make it through, we will have peace at the end of it. But that’s not how peace is meant to be for us when have faith in Christ. We have access to that peace now through prayer. Prayer is a powerful connector to God through Jesus and we don’t have to wait to have peace.
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” John 14:27 This peace is shalom in Hebrew which is richer and deeper, meaning a positive blessing not just an absence of conflict in our hearts.
Patience
Most of our lives are lived in this fruit. We are always waiting on something which cultivates patience within us. Isaiah 30:18 speaks of waiting on God bringing blessing, “Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!”
It also means our patience in doing good to others is something we are known by. “We don’t grow “weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Galatians 6:9 Patience is active in many ways just as waiting expectantly is active. It’s not a passive response to God. It’s turning towards him in trust and having patience with others and with God’s timetable. In my experience, it’s the hardest spiritual fruit as it tests our trust in God and requires us to “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6
Kindness
When we think of kindness, a lot of times we associate kindness with good deeds and rightfully so. But I would challenge us to think of kindness as being merciful to others as well. When we know how unkind the world truly can be, how God is so kind to us, then we will be kinder individuals. This is the most evident fruit in my opinion. At times, its challenges us to forgive when we want to bear a grudge. It teaches us that kindness transcends our feelings which often is counter cultural. It walks hand in hand with compassion for others. “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32
I would even say kindness walks hand in hand with love in many aspects – which all of the fruits transcend from the fruit of love. There are many people that say kindness if free and most times it is. But sometimes kindness is telling someone the truth in love. It’s a balancing act of knowing how compassion looks in the situations in our lives. It’s praying to God for wisdom of what kindness looks like to Him in each situation we encounter and regardless of our feelings, to show that kindness.
Goodness
Kindness usually leads to goodness. We always struggle with goodness because we want to define goodness. But God defines goodness. The first time the word good is used is in Genesis 1, “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!”
In Romans 12:21 it states, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Good usually refers to how we treat those who persecute us, how we spend our money, how we give to others. Goodness is something we give naturally when God has touched our lives. We repay evil with good – that is the summation. That since God gives to us and is so good to us, we give that goodness to others in return even if they cannot never repay us. We are reminded that only God is good and that to pursue a life of goodness to others, we obey God’s commandments, “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” Matthew 19:17
Faithfulness
Faithfulness is built on faith. What is faith? Hebrews 11:1 tell us, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” If we are building our lives on faith, we live in hope that Jesus’s work on the cross saved us and that we are faithful to God, dedicating our lives to living our lives according to His word. It means when we waver or our circumstances challenge our faith, we press into God knowing “[God] is a rewarder of those that diligently seek him.” Hebrews 11:6. When we come to God knowing this, our lives will be cultivated differently. We walk by faith and not by sight, for the righteous live by faith (Habakkuk 2:4). Sight is the opposite of faith and therefore, despite what we see, we remain faithful.
Even we when aren’t faithful, God still is faithful to us, “if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.” 2 Timothy 2:13
Gentleness
Many times gentleness is associated with kindness and there is tons of biblical truth to support that connection. “And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness.” 2 Timothy 2:24-26 But gentleness also involves care for others. I always think of gentleness of how I correct my children and even Paul gives a similar metaphor in 1 Thessalonians 2:7, “We were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children.” Children aren’t adults and their capacity to understand correction varies not only due to their age but their personality and gender. The care and capacity I explain things to my son, who is almost 9, is not the same way I explain things to my 5 year old daughter. They receive and relate differently and so I use care and gentleness in varying degrees when I teach and discipline them.
The same goes for us when we are gentle. There is a famous proverb about being gentle and polite with others to persuade them than it is to come with a sword, “you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar”. Being gentle doesn’t mean we roll over and just take whatever people heap up onto us. It means we care more for their souls and their eternal fate than we do the argument. That is why legalism and the law doesn’t save us. There are people who are more direct and I am one of those individuals. But I am also gentle and both can be true. We tend to want to separate directness from gentleness. But it’s the way we help others and how we season our conversations with grace that make us gentle. We can engage with someone directly and still be gentle with them.
Self-Control
This is counter cultural in every sense of the word. The world encourages us to pursue our passions, our interests, and the whims of our desires. The world is our oyster. But the bible teaches us that “A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.” Proverbs 25:28 This is an amazing analogy by Solomon as if we lack self-control, we will be led astray to so many things. Just like there are gate way drugs, a lack of self-control is a gate way sin. It trickles into our habits and over time, it can lead us to paths that we should not be walking down.
That is truthfully how I know if someone is a Christian or not – by this fruit. The others are lovely and wonderful and are all very important – love being the crux of our Christian faith. But when I mentioned discerning fruit, this is the one I discern the most. The world might call this judgmental but there is a difference between judging someone and discerning if they have a place in your life. I can love people who do things I would not personally do and have enough wisdom to not be close to them. That’s the key difference. The key to self-control is discernment.
Discerning Fruits of the Spirit vs. Flesh
Discernment involves saying yes to the spirit and no to the flesh and being able to recognize which is which. Right before Galatians 5 lists the fruits of the spirit, in Galatians 5:20-21 it speaks of the recognizing the flesh, “The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
The largest way to discern if that person truly is a Christian and has spirt-led fruit is by being able to see what a person indulges in. While we all have sins that cling to us and we struggle against – no one is good and perfect except God – we will be making a true effort to have Christ cleanse us. Living in the spirit and walking in the spirit means saying no to the flesh – period, “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” Galatians 5:16-18
Think of a person you know that automatically comes to mind when you think of discipline. Think of someone who comes to mind when you think of indulgence. It’s easy to judge either end. There is a lot of talk of not wanting to be judged and there not being a place of judgement outside of God. Judging others does not mean we lack judgement in how to discern our lives so that we can actively live in the spirit.
What are ways we can actively live out the fruits of the spirit in our daily lives?
I pray as you go about your week this week that you exhibit fruits of the spirit. I pray you are able to discern who is helping you come closer to Christ and who is pulling you away from the spirit. I pray that God blesses you with all the spiritual blessings He has for you so you are able to walk in step with spirit this week.
Homework This Week: Choose one of the practical steps to cultivating fruit of the spirits and implement it this week. Have a friend check in with you at the end of the week to see how you did. Discuss ways how you could improve and discuss ways you were successful.