What the Fruit? The Fruits of the Spirit – Part 1

Confession: I have a secret fear of being “overly spiritual.” It’s only recently that I’ve come to realize this. Before I started growing closer to God over the past few years and months, I never really understood how to interact with God in a tangible, personal way. That was okay, though, because I preferred to keep things casual. Concepts like feeling God’s presence, praying in groups, and speaking in tongues were a little uncomfortable for me, because they felt somehow overly spiritual and forced. For me, they would have been, because I just wasn’t ready for that side of God yet. I preferred to keep things light and simple; I would pray, go to church, and occasionally read my Bible, but that was as deep as I ever went. That was what worked for me at that point in my journey.

Now I’m becoming more and more aware of the spiritual side of things each day. I’m beginning to feel more attuned to the Holy Spirit, and I’m learning to harness the power of prayer. Yet I still have to frequently fight off my fear of being “overly spiritual” and allow myself to be genuine with God. For non-Christians or newer Christians, these things may sound a little weird, so I’m going to try to explain it in a way that makes as much sense as possible. In the end, though, I can only do so much. As 1 Corinthians 2:14 says “But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.” In other words, if you haven’t experienced God for yourself, and you don’t want to, then most of what I say will probably sound loopy. All I can say is that I believe what I do because of what I’ve experienced of God.

It all starts with the trinity. Ah, what a marvelously confusing concept. Honestly, the best way I have found to put my own mind at ease is to just remember that I am a human, and God is not, and some things are simply beyond my understanding. This is not a copout; it’s the plain truth. The trinity is one of those things. In a nutshell, the Bibilical concept of the trinity is that God is three “persons” dwelling within one Deity. Those three persons are the Father, the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit. There are other names sometimes used in the Bible, but they all refer to this same God, consisting of these same three persons. Yahweh, Jehovah, Elohim, and Adonai are sometimes used to refer to God as a whole. Abba is another name for the Father, Messiah, Christ, and the Lamb are other names for Jesus, and Holy Ghost, Comforter, Counselor, Advocate, or simply the Spirit are other names for the Holy Spirit. There are many other names besides these. And again, they all refer to the same God; three persons who are one God.

My main interest for this series is focusing on the Holy Spirit. That’s because within the trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit each have certain “jobs,” if you will. Jesus’ main job was to die for us, so that we could be forgiven for our sins. He also lived as an example for us and rose from the dead so that we could have abundant lives. He is love and mercy embodied. The Father’s main job is to take care of us, and to be the perfect judge in His infinite wisdom. He is love and justice, among many other things. The Holy Spirit is particularly special, because His job is to live inside of every believer and be with us every moment of every day. As a Christian, I believe that the moment I accepted Jesus as my savior, the Holy Spirit came to me.

The Holy Spirit is the part of God that we can feel and interact with the most. Not only does He bring us comfort and strength and wisdom when we need it, He can act on our behalf. When we pray, the Holy Spirit is the one who acts. Learning to understand the Spirit in our daily walks and receive His power is one of the greatest things that Christians can do. (Of course, before that, the greatest thing you can do is to receive Jesus and become a Christian! Then you’ll receive the Holy Spirit, too.) The Holy Spirit transforms lives in incredible ways.

This series is going to be about what is called the Fruit of the Spirit. The concept originates in the passage below:

 

“So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.”

-Galatians 5:16-24 NLT

 

When we are living to the fullest, following God’s guidance through the Holy Spirit, we are transformed and our lives are transformed. We become people who produce good things (fruit). Our lives are fruitful and we are able to feed others with the bounty that God has created for us. In simple terms, we become better, our lives become better, and we can help others better. That is the meaning of the Fruit of the Spirit.

I have found that the closer I get to God, the more I experience all of the awesome gifts that He has for me. My husband’s job is one of those awesome gifts. The timing and perfect provision of this job is nothing short of supernatural. In John 10:10 (NLT), Jesus says, “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” It is written in Ephesians 3:20 (MSG) “God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.” For my husband and I, this job is just the first step towards the rich and satisfying life that God has for us. And that is so thrilling to me! I know that He really can do anything, and I am so excited to see what He’s going to do next. It’s an ongoing journey, and each day my goal is to become more fruitful through the Holy Spirit.

In each post for this series, I want to focus on one of the Fruits of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23. I hope you will follow this series with me and learn about some of the great gifts that God has for you. He wants to work in your life, and use your life for a purpose. So tell me, are you ready to get your fruit on?

2 comments

  1. I got my fruit ON like Donkey Kong!!! 😀 …I think I just dated myself.

    Good article though 🙂
    xox

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