Lucious Fruits of the Holy Spirit
Ok, What are the fruits of the Holy Spirit?
I’m writing from a Protestant Christian perspective. This means the Bible is the primary source of truth and inspiration as opposed to historic Christian tradition (the Catholic perspective).
The letter of Galatians 5:22-23 in the Bible lists 9 attributes (called fruit of the Spirit) which the Holy Spirit generates in the life of a believer in Jesus Christ. These nine are
· Love,
· Joy,
· Peace,
· Patience,
· Kindness,
· Goodness,
· Faithfulness,
· Gentleness,
· Self-control (King James translation says temperance)
Each of these “fruits” is a product of the Spirit. In other words, each fruit is a quality that the Holy Spirit produces in the life and character of a believer in Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit builds these attributes in the Christian’s life. They are not produced by the self-effort of a Christian; rather, the Christian relies on the Spirit to grow them in his life.
What's the Difference Between Gifts and Fruits of the Holy Spirit?
Great question. There are many and significant differences. Gifts of the Spirit are listed in 1 Corinthians 12
· Faith
· Miracles
· Healings
· Tongues
· Interpretation of tongues
· Discernment of spirits
· Word of knowledge
· Word of wisdom
· Prophecy
Another significant difference is the Fruits of the Spirit take time, sometimes a long time, to develop. On the other hand, gifts are sometimes bestowed on a believer the moment he is baptized in the Holy Spirit. This was the case of my friend Bobby Martz. Bobby was a Navy man, converted at about 20 years old. Immediately, he went out on the docks in San Diego and began to pray for the sailors. Many were instantaneously healed! This healing gift continued throughout Bobby’s life.
I am not inferring that gifts of the Spirit do not increase in our ability to use them. Gifts of faith, healing and all the gifts need to grow in our lives as we use them. I am only saying that the various fruits of the Spirit usually take time to develop in our lives. Especially in me!
Here are a couple more distinctions between the gifts and fruit of the Spirit.
Fruits are for character. Gifts are for ministry.
Fruits are (generally) for ourselves and our family; gifts are (generally) for others.
What Causes Each Fruit to
Grow in Our Lives?
The short answer is the Holy Spirit causes the growth of the fruit in our lives.
The more complete answer is this. The Spirit uses the Word of God (the Bible) plus trials, life's disciplines, the books we read, the videos we watch, the friends we hang out with, our own desires, our family and associates—many and varied influences affect the growth of the virtues that the Bible calls “fruit of the Spirit.” I believe that our desire to grow is one of the chief influences to whether we grow or not in a certain area. And while growth is the norm, it is not automatic.
Here's an example. When my wife and I were first married, we didn't have much money. (We still don't have a lot, but we do have enough to live on and even enough to give away sometimes.) Because things were tight financially, I objected when my young bride bought a Chevrolera house plant. That was not "good" of me.
What happened? I began to change and grow in "goodness." I remember reading this Bible verse from 2 Thessalonians 1:11--To this end also we pray for you always, that our God will count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power. . .
Whether I was aware of it or not, the Holy Spirit used the written Word of God to change me and affect positive growth of "goodness" in my life. I suppose that having a little more disposable income also helped.
Now as I write this, our house is filled with beautiful flowers and house plants. So is our front porch, back porch, alongside our sheds and barn and garden area! Credit goes to God the Spirit!
Which is More Important? Fruits or Gifts?
Another good question. Both are important and both rely on God to produce or create them.
We could say gifts are more important for outreach and spreading the faith because that's where the power is. We could say fruit is more important for our own life, but that's too simplistic. No one chooses to listen to a bore or uncouth person, no matter how sincere he/she is.
So yes, both fruits and gifts are important and God gives both.
How important is the fruit of the Sprit? If we had more of it, the divorce rate would certainly be cut in half! Keep reading--we will examine agape love in a moment. Have you ever resisted the Holy Spirit? Hopefully not, but I confess the Spirit has had to struggle with me sometimes. Though I’m better now, there was a time when I did not want to do what the Lord was calling me to do.
When He first called me to be a pastor, I refused and hardened my heart. Resisting God prevents growth. But God is a “God of the Second Chance.” Eventually, I quit college and enrolled in the Lutheran Bible Institute in Seattle, Washington.
At LBI we majored in the Word of God—all day long, five days a week. The Word of God and the atmosphere of the Bible Institute changed me. By the end of the first year, I was ready to do the will of God!
What's the Major Misunderstanding about the Fruits of the Holy Spirit?
The major misunderstanding about the fruit is simply this: That we as humans can produce these qualities by trying hard enough. We can't. Each fruit is a product or by-product of the Holy Spirit Himself. The most we can do is get out of the way and let God be God.
The Common Mistake we all make is to try to develop love or patience or goodness or any other fruit of the Spirit by our own will power.
The Fruits of the Holy Spirit--Take a Deeper Dive
AGAPE LOVE
Agape love is divine love. Agape is the Greek word (the New Testament was written in Greek) for the kind of love referenced here. As you may know, the Greek language has three different words for love.
In verb form the three are agapao, phileo, stergo. Agape (noun form) is the term used for the fruit of the Spirit. Not phileo which means love akin to friendship. Not stergo, which means love among relatives.
Agape love is divine love. It is unconditional, not self-seeking, not romantic love. Agape is “God’s kind of love,” it is pure love, the kind the Father has toward Jesus, it is not seeking some kind of reward or return; rather, agape is given freely, without expecting anything back. Try to imagine that!
Agape is not based on feelings, but upon choice, volition and will. Only God can generate agape love. It is “committed love.”
For me, I recognize I do not have that kind of love. Sometimes other people tell me that they love me. That is good because Jesus commands us to “Love one another.” In fact, a fellow came to the house today and said, “I love you” as he was leaving. But I hesitate to say back to someone, “I love you too.” Because I rarely have that kind of commitment.
For my wife I readily tell her “I love you.” because I’m committed to her “’til death do us part.” But for others, if I ever say it, it is a faith declaration.
It is unconditional, not self-seeking, not romantic love.
Agape is not based on feelings, but upon choice, volition, will. Only God can generate agape love. It is “long-term committed love.”
JOY--ANYONE WANT MORE OF IT?
I remember the time when someone criticized me and my ministry as a pastor. It was an extremely difficult ordeal. But the scripture came to my mind, Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven (Luke 6:22-23).
I was on a walk several blocks from home at the time. I started jumping and leaping and prancing and praising God. I actually did it. Wow, I certainly felt better by obeying Jesus words! In fact, it made me happy!
Several Scriptures in the Bible relate happiness to the Holy Spirit. He emanates joy. Maybe we should call Him the Happy Holy Spirit! Here’s one of my favorites. The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17).
Speaking of PRACTICAL. . . The Holy Spirit emanates joy to those around Him. Can you think of Anyone better to hang out with? After all, He is a Person. Hang out with Him, talk in tongues for a few minutes and see if you don’t get an emotional upswing!
Joy--One of the Fruits of the Holy SpiritPEACE--MUCH NEEDED FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT IN TODAY'S SOCIETY
Something new is coming into my life. The Spirit is showing me when to stop working and when to hang it up and rest. This is new for me.
Yesterday I was mowing thistles on our farm. A gentle voice whispered in my head, “One more time around and then stop!” Seemed like a good idea, so I circled around one more time. Then I drove to the barn and. . .stopped!
Isaiah 28:12 reads, He
who said to them, “Here is rest, give rest to the
weary,”
And, “Here is repose,” but they would not listen.
I don’t know about you, but I’m learning to listen to the voice of the Spirit. The Spirit of Peace knows when I (or you!) need to stop. This is powerful. I've tried by my own self-will to conquer this for many years.
PeacePATIENCE
In Bible school we used to joke, “Never pray for patience.” That always brought out a big laugh because we all knew—if God answered that prayer--we would be tested, brought into a difficult situation where our patience would be tried to the uttermost.
In fact the king James Version translates the word “longsuffering” It is the ability to suffer long, whether caused by man, beast, or the weather.
Other synonyms are endurance, constancy, steadfastness, perseverance; especially as shown in bearing troubles and ills. One of the greatest producer of patience that the Spirit uses to produce the virtue of patience is marriage! Also child-rearing. Impossible to raise toddlers or teenagers without this fruit of the Spirit!
How important is this fruit of the Spirit? If we had more long-suffering, the divorce rate would certainly be cut in half!
What Develops Patience Life? Marriage, Babies, Teenagers--ALL will Develop the Fruits of the Spirit in Life!
KINDNESS
GOODNESS
Romans 15:14 And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.
This fruit of the Holy Spirit is ascribed to regenerate (saved) people. To my knowledge it is never used of unsaved people. It means just what we commonly understand the word to mean in English. It means “good’ or “having a good heart.”
How does "goodness" grow? At the beginning of this article, I mentioned we can grow in the fruits of the Holy Spirit by rightly responding to life's disciplines. Here's an example.
Two young boys were playing Scrabble together. After the game, the mother asked the boys to put the game away. One of the boys--most likely the loser--screamed, "I'm not going to help!" as he stormed out of the room.
The father overheard and approached the offender. Quietly the father asked, "Who said that?" The boy admitted, "I did." The father sent the fellow to his mother. He said to her with genuineness, "I'm sorry." Since the game was already put away, the mother replied, "I forgive you." Here, by the intervention of the father and the gentleness of his mother, a boy learned (hopefully) a little bit of goodness. I say "hopefully." Remember that kindness leads to repentance (Romans 2:4)
FAITHFULNESS--One of the Most Important Fruits of the Holy Spirit
GENTLENESS
Self Control--One of the Fruits of the Holy SpiritSELF-CONTROL
I like this picture. Here's this little fellow, hungry as any other boy, who resists his urge to dive in to the fresh, appealing fruit.
He reminds me of the time, way back in the 1960’s I bought a crate of fresh apricots. Hmmmmm….they were so-o-o-o-o good. By the time I arrived home I had eaten more than my share. And I was s-i-c-k as a pig! I learned self-control the hard way. Never do that again!
Many folks are curious and want to know more about the spiritual gifts. That’s good because the Bible says . . . earnestly desire the spiritual gifts. But this page is about fruits of the Spirit, not gifts.
How can anyone grow in self-control? Find all the Bible verses you can about self-control and crucifixion of the flesh. Print them out and meditate on each verse. God the Holy Spirit will do His part to produce the fruit in your life.
Self Control--One of the Most Important Fruits of the Holy SpiritThe fruit of the Holy Spirit is powerful in a uniquely practical way. What are you looking for in a husband? Or wife? What qualities do you want to see as your child grows?
What do you need more of in your own life? More love? More patience?
Whatever it is, The Holy Spirit’s design for you is more of Him and His fruit. God bless you as you seek to grow in Him. And remember, He is the Producer of the fruit.