The Fruit of the Spirit: A REVIEW

“But the fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, JOY, PEACE, LONG-SUFFERING, GENTLENESS, GOODNESS, FAITH, MEEKNESS, TEMPERANCE: against such there is no law.”  (Galatians 5:22,23)

The fruit of the Spirit abides in us and it is up to us to cultivate it so that we may experience the blessing and the fullness of the Spirit.  God is the husbandman...”He prunes, nurtures, waters and protects His own.  The indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit will energize and control every faculty of our nature when our will joins the will of God.  Then the “beauty of the Lord will be upon us” (Psalm 90:17) and “we shall bring forth fruit unto God” (Romans 7:4).”

The fruit of LOVE when properly motivated “is pure, far reaching, forgiving.  There is no limit to the good that LOVE does.   God is LOVE.   (I John 4:7)

JOY never fades, it is never destroyed by circumstances, it is unaffected by wealth or poverty, sickness or health.   It is found in the presence of God (Psalm 16:11)

PEACE “is a tranquility of mind as a result of a right relationship with God”.  The PEACE of God in our hearts challenges sin at every turn and deals with it immediately in order to maintain that right relationship. (Ephesians 2:14)

LONG-SUFFERING means steadfastness of the soul under provocation.  It means forbearance and patient endurance of ill-treatment, without anger or thought of revenge.  (Colossians 3:12,13)

GENTLENESS is sweet reasonableness, calmness and graciousness.  It calms troubled waters, settles turmoil and heals strife.  (James 3:17)

GOODNESS does good to others.  It is kindness of heart and good deeds.  It may not always be a gentle word, but a stern rebuke done for the good of someone else.  (Psalm 33:5)

MEEKNESS disarms the stormy, tempestuous person.  The qualities of mildness and gentleness in dealing with others.  It is not weak.  It is a high quality of spiritual strength.  (I Timothy 6:11)

FAITH means faithfulness to Christ and His cause.  It manifests itself in being a trustworthy steward of God.  It is trust and obedience, belief in God’s word and promises. (Hebrews 11;1)

TEMPERANCE is power, it is strength, having self-control.  It means discipline.  It provides balance to the Christian’s life.  It enables him to praise Him whether in discipline or testing.  (Proverbs 11:1)  (Information taken in part from World-Wide Keswick publication and Holy Scriptures)

Satan tries to imitate the real thing with an artificial fruit. As you can see, the artificial fruit is very much like the real thing and if we are not careful, we can fall into the trap of expressing limited love, temporary joy, numbness, insensitivity, manipulation, hypocrisy, half-heartedness, false modesty and choosing lesser goals.

THE FRUIT, The Artificial Fruit, The Weed

LOVE, limited love, hatred

JOY, temporary JOY, sorrow

PEACE, numbness, carelessness, anxiety strife

PATIENCE, laziness, insensitivity, impatience

KINDNESS, manipulation by kindness, pride

GOODNESS, hypocrisy, evil

FAITHFULNESS, half-heartedness, infidelity

MEEKNESS, false modesty, self-seeking

SELF-CONTROL, choosing lesser goals, lack of control

(The Fruit of the Spirit, John W. Sanderson)