Pastor's Corner: What are the 'Fruits of the Spirit' and why does it matter?

If you are familiar with God’s Word, you have more than likely come across the phrase, “The Fruit of the Spirit.” You may have quite a few questions concerning this topic.

Here are some questions you may have:

What is the Fruit of the Spirit?

How do you develop the Fruits of the Spirit?

What are some practical examples of the Fruit of the Fruit of the Spirit?

Questions are good because without questions we may not be able to find the answer. When I was a boy, my father used to tell me, “Son, there are no stupid questions, but there are a lot of stupid answers.” That is why we need to turn to the Bible to find the answers to our questions.

The “Fruit of the Spirit” is a term found in the Book of Galatians, which is where the Apostle Paul is talking to the churches of Galatia that have been led astray from the Gospel of Jesus Christ and reverted to the Law of Moses. As Paul explains that we are justified by faith in Jesus Christ, he brings in the Fruit of the Spirit, which is how we are to love as redeemed children of God.

People every day ask this question: How will I learn God’s will?

Jesus fulfilled God’s law on our behalf, and He lives in us through God’s Holy Spirit. When we live by Jesus’ Fruits of the Spirit, we become people of love, which fulfills God’s commandments to love others as ourselves.

So, what are the Fruits of the Spirit? We may hear this phrase often, but what exactly does this “Fruit of the Spirit” mean?

Galatians 5:22-23 says this, “But the Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

To walk in the Spirit means that the Holy Spirit lives in you. You are putting your life in the continual presence in the Spirit of God. You are abiding with Jesus like a vine abides with a tree. Look at John 15:5 where Jesus explains the relationship between the vine and its branches. In the same way, we abide by the Holy Spirit.

“I am the vine and you are the branches, he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit, for without me you can do nothing.” John 15:5 NKJV

Living in the Fruit of the Spirit means you are aware of the influence of the Holy Spirit. As a child, you’ll want to shape your life around the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Someone who walks in the Spirit of God, patterns his or her life after Jesus Christ. It is a way of faith.

The opposite of walking in the Fruit of the Spirit is following the fleshly desires that are second nature to us as human beings. Galatians 5:19-21 says, “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which of these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envying, murders, drunkenness, reveling, and such like, of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in the past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God.”

But it’s not natural for humankind to live by faith and live a life without sin. It takes effort, but it’s doable and we’ll get to that in a bit. Please, don’t stop reading.

First, let’s dig into the Fruit of the Spirit. There are nine characteristics that are included in the Fruit of the Spirit. They are called characteristics because they become traits of the one who follows Jesus Christ in their life, and they are called fruit because they are a product of the tree that they grow from, in this case, Jesus. He is the vine, and we are the branches, referring John 15:5.

What are the characteristics of a piece of fruit? Paul references fruit in the singular, meaning they all come together to produce a single work. So, when you and I incorporate each of the nine fruits in our life, we are living out our objective as Christians. That objective is to follow God’s will for our life.

This again fulfills God’s commandment to love others as ourselves. So, what is the importance of the Fruit of the Spirit then? If we look at the last half of verse 23 in Galatians chapter 5, it says, “against such there is no law.” This means that when you live by the Fruit of the Spirit, there is no need for the law.

Now, this is not the governing law of our country, which we should obey, but the law of Moses that was nailed to the tree when Jesus died for our sins. Jesus replaces the law.

Praise God! “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.” Galatians 5:25-26.

What this means is, if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and have received the Holy Spirit, then we must let the Holy Spirit direct our steps. It is important that we don’t put on vain glory or become conceited. When we do that, it provokes others. When we are conceited, it opens the sin of envy, which has no place in the life of a child of God.

Let’s look at one of the Fruits of the Spirit. The Fruit of Joy. Joy is a belief of the heart. It’s an internal motion that never changes regardless of your situation. When tough times come, I still have joy because I am a child of God, and my eternal life is secure. He will never leave me or forsake me. I have the joy of the Lord.

Whereas happiness can come and go, joy can abide internally because we have the love of Christ, and it does not change when tough times come.

How do we claim that joy as our own? It’s through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Growing in the Fruit of the Spirit is expected in a child of God. As we grow, we develop our witness to others what the faith and life of a Christian look like.

I challenge you to make every effort on a daily basis, to serve Jesus and others. Live by the Fruit of the Spirit. Allow the Holy Spirit to lead you in your daily walk. Walk with Jesus, not the world or what the culture dictates.

Rev. Brian King pastors at First Baptist Church of Fairbury

This article originally appeared on Pontiac Daily Leader: Apostle Paul in Galatians mentions Fruit of the Spirit