Hey ya and welcome back to “Out with the OLD, in with the NEW.” Last week we spoke about the pruning away of our sinful, fleshly desires. Today, we will talk about what grows in place of those desires, aka, the fruits of the spirit. To start off, we must first understand what these fruits are.
The fruits of the spirit are 9 key characteristics or attributes that one attains when they choose to live in agreement with the Holy Spirit. We are first introduced to the meaning of the fruits by Apostle Paul, in the book of Galatians which reads as follows:
“But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.” -Galatians 5:22-23
During this discussion, we will focus on the meaning of the first 4 fruits mentioned: Love, Joy, Peace & Patience.
- Love [Agape], is considered a selfless, unconditional love for others, as God loves us, His children. It is a kind of love that you can SEE, not just TALK ABOUT.
- “This is My commandment, that you love and unselfishly seek the best for one another, just as I have loved you.” -John 15:12
- Joy, is a deep, inner happiness or state of well-being, no matter what goes on in the world around us. True joy is considered to be a reflection of God’s presence and peace.
- “Rejoice in the Lord always [delight, take pleasure in Him]; again I will say, rejoice!” -Philippians 4:4
- Peace, is the absence of conflict [problem], represented by wholeness, tranquility and harmony with God and others. It is a representation of our right-standing relationship with God, which is reflected through one’s behavior.
- “Turn away from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it.” -Psalm 34:14
- Patience, is the ability to face difficult situations, people or circumstances without giving into anger or giving up hope. It is a representation of one’s will power, not of forced endurance [tolerance]. In other words, patience is waiting on God, His timing and His will and doing it free of anger or resentment.
- “But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait eagerly for it with patience and composure.” -Romans 8:25
Remember, God, removes from us, all those unwanted things that are diminishing our production of fruit. This in turn causes us to INCREASE in fruitfulness and growth, therefore, bearing fruit abundantly. What does this mean? We must first kill our sinful desires, so that we may be able to flourish in the spirit, therefore producing Godly fruit (or, fruits of the Spirit).
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