In Galatians 5, the Apostle Paul contrasts the sinful attitudes and actions that come from our flesh with the righteous and holy attitudes and actions that flow from a person walking in the Spirit.
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires (Gal 5:16-24).
As Christians, we should constantly be seeking to put to death the deeds of the flesh and to grow in the fruit of the Spirit.
In this series of articles, we will look at what the fruit of the Spirit is, why it’s essential to the spiritual health of our families, and how to cultivate it.
The Work of the Holy Spirit
To explain what the fruit of the Spirit is, we need to start by talking about the Holy Spirit.
Who is the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is God. He is the third person in the Trinity. He is a person; He has an intellect, a will, and desires. He is equally God with the Father and the Son. He has a distinct role in the Trinity.
What does the Holy Spirit do, according to Scripture?
The Spirit Regenerates
At the moment a person is saved by God, they’re regenerated by the Holy Spirit. This means that the Holy Spirit gives them a new heart and makes them new creations in Christ.
But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior (Titus 3:4-6).
The Spirit Indwells
At the moment of salvation, the Holy Spirit comes to indwell the heart of the believer. He takes residence inside of the new Christian.
You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you (Rom 8:9-11).
Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you (1 Cor 3:16)?
This is a fulfillment of the promise of the Holy Spirit in the New Covenant. (See Ezekiel 36:26 and Jeremiah 31:31-33). In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit would come upon certain believers (like David) to accomplish things for God, but He did not indwell all believers. As part of the New Covenant, God promised to send the Holy Spirit to live inside of us and give us new hearts. Jesus confirmed that the Holy Spirit would come as the great Helper after he departed and that was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost (Luke 24:49; John 14-16; Acts 2:1ff). Now, every believer is indwelt by the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit Seals
The Holy Spirit seals the believer as a child of God. He acts as confirmation that the believer is saved and is the down payment of the full inheritance the believer will receive when he is one day glorified.
In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit (Eph 1:13).
The Spirit Sanctifies
As the Holy Spirit dwells within us, He gives us new desires and conforms us to the image of Christ. He is helping us fight sin and grow in obedience to God.
And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit (2 Cor 3:18).
The Spirit Empowers
The Holy Spirit gives us spiritual power to live the Christian life in obedience to God.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8).
The Spirit Convicts of Sin
The Holy Spirit convicts both the believer and the unbeliever of sin.
And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged (John 16:8-11).
The Spirit Illumines /Teaches
The Holy Spirit gives the believer spiritual insight into understanding God’s Word.
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come (John 16:13).
The Spirit Guides / Leads
The Holy Spirit guides the believer in God’s will.
For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God (Rom 8:14).
The Spirit Fills / Controls
Similar to guiding or leading, when a believer submits to the control of the Holy Spirit in humble obedience, he fills or controls them. (As an analogy, when we speak of someone being “filled with rage,” we mean that they are under the controlling influence of rage.)
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit (Eph 5:18).
The Spirit Assures
The Holy Spirit provides assurance of salvation to believers. He confirms that we are now children of God.
The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God (Rom 8:16)
The Spirit Gives Spiritual Gifts
The Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to all believers to empower them to serve the Lord and the body of Christ.
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good (1 Cor 12:4-7).
Produces Spiritual Fruit
The Holy Spirit produces spiritual fruit in the lives of believers. (See the passage we opened with, Galatians 5:16-26).
Now, that raises the question: what is spiritual fruit?
Spiritual Fruit
The Bible uses fruit as a metaphor for the practical results that come from something. For example:
Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits (Matt 7:15-20).
In this passage, Jesus is saying that you will be able recognize false prophets by their fruit: by their words and actions. Their fruit is the practical results that are coming from within them.
So, the fruit of the Spirit is the practical results of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer that comes from submitting to the control of the Spirit. According to Galatians 5, the practical results of someone walking in the Spirit is:
- Love
- Joy
- Peace
- Patience
- Kindness
- Goodness
- Faithfulness
- Gentleness
- Self-Control
Now, you might be thinking to yourself: “Why isn’t this called ‘the fruits of the Spirit, since Galatians 5 lists more than one attribute?”
In Greek, the word used in Galatians 5 for “fruit” is singular and not plural. That tells us something subtle about the fruit of the Spirit. While there are individual components that are listed here, they are all related and they are all the by-product of the Holy Spirit working in believers.
That means that a true Christian will have all of these to some degree. Using a metaphor from nature, this is all fruit growing from the same tree, not individual fruits growing from separate trees. If you’re a Christian, you may have some that are growing more dominantly than others, but you will have all of these to some degree.
In our next article, we’ll discuss why the fruit of the spirit is essential to the health of your family.
