Spirit Fruit

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22,23 ESV

The fruit of the Spirit is singular, and yet it produces all these different effects in the believer. That tells me this fruit is all encompassing, covering all the positive characteristics of the Godhead that we require to have a completely fulfilled life which will make it obvious to the unbeliever that we spend time with Jesus and want to be more like Him.

First up is ‘love’. Can you think of a better place to start? Paul’s writings are inspired, and he made no mistake in putting ‘love’ at the front of the list. It has often been said that all the others depend on love to make them work best. Since we are told that God IS love, it follows that the other parts of the fruit will flow from a heart of Christlike love.

Can you imagine the kind of world we would occupy if everyone lived with a heart full of the fruit of the Spirit? Let me go one step further. What if all the Christians in the worldwide church lived to these standards? We are told by Jesus in Luke 10:27 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself.” I suggest with that command in our hearts, we will be well equipped to make good headway with the fruit of the Spirit. The notes in my Bible say it this way: “A person who exhibits the fruit of the Spirit fulfils the law far better than a person who observes the rituals but has little love in his or her heart.”

Paul ends this verse with the reminder that there is no law which can stand against these characteristics. We are not law breakers, we are God’s law keepers, and heaven seekers. The bar may have been set high for us to reach as Christians, but it is worth it as we keep our heavenly goal in our sights.