Tim Maas Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

Three fruits that occur to me (although not presented in as explicit a manner as those listed by Paul) are holiness, righteousness, and, especially, obedience. 

Jesus Himself asked His followers how they could call Him "Lord", and yet not do what He said (Luke 6:46). Since (as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 12:3) no one can say, "Jesus is Lord" except by the working of the Holy Spirit, this implies to me that the obedience of which Jesus was speaking is also a fruit of the Holy Spirit.

By the same token, as we continue in that obedience, we become progressively more righteous (again, not in our own strength, but through the Spirit, using Jesus as our model).

That process then leads to us similarly becoming more holy -- not in the sense of being free from sin (since that will not occur in this life and world) -- but, to a continually greater degree, being "set apart" (the true meaning of holiness) from anything and everything that characterizes "the world", and that is opposed to Him.

April 26 2020 • 2 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Grant Abbott Child of Father, Follower of Son, Student of Spirit

An important principle when studying the bible is to discover and understand the broad theological truths that the bible is revealing and use those truths to guide us to interpret and apply the details that we read. In Galatians 5:22-23 this list that describes the “fruit of the Spirit” is one of those examples.

The theological truth that should guide our understanding of the fruit of the Spirit is contained in 2 Corinthians 3:18:
“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

Being transformed into his (Jesus Christ) image means that the Holy Spirit is developing the “character” of Jesus in our lives. So, I ask, is the character of Jesus limited to the 9 attributes listed as the fruit of the Spirit? Of course not. 

Another important theological truth is that the whole bible is the story of Jesus Christ (John 5:39). In the Old Testament he is revealed to us as God and in the New Testament as Man, because Jesus Christ is both God and Man. Therefore, everything we read in the bible that tells us something about the character of God, is revealing an attribute of the character of Jesus Christ.

For worship purposes, I use a list of the attributes of God’s character referenced from a book entitled “Celebration of Praise”. So here, is a more comprehensive list of the fruit of the Spirit. The book provides a bible reference for each attribute. Different translations may use different words to describe each attribute so your bible may use a different word with the same or similar meaning.

Able (2 Tim 1:7,8,12), Accessible (Eph 2:17-18), Available (Ps 45:1-3,11), Beautiful (Ps 27:4), Changeless (Ps 102:25-27), Complete (Col 1:17-20), Creative (Isa 45:18), Excellent (Ps 8:1), Faithful (Lam 3:21-24), Forgiving (Ps 103:8-12), Generous (2 Pet 3:7-8), Glorious (Ps 145:5,12), Good (Ps 34:8-9), Gracious (Isa 30:18-19), Great (Ps 145:1-3), Healthful (Ps 147:1-3), Holy (Isa 6:1-3), Infinite (Ps 147:2-5), Invincible (Ps 24:7-8), Joyful (Isa 55:12), Just (Ps 89:13-14), Kind (Isa 54:7,8,10), Knowing (Rom 11:33,34,36), Loving (Rom 8:35-39), Majestic (Ps 45:3,4,6), Measureless (Isa 40:26-28), Merciful (Ps 62:11-12) Mighty (Eph 1:19-20), Patient (Rom 15:4-6), Peaceful (Phil 4:6,7,9), Powerful (Isa 40:29-31), Present (Ps 139:7-10), Radiant (Is 60:1,2,19), Reliable (Num 23:19-20), Responsive (Ps 57:1-3), Righteous (Je 23:5-6), Secure (De 33:26,27), Sovereign (Dan 2:20-22), Spotless (1 Pet 1:18-19), Stable (Ps 62:5-7), Steadfast (De 31:6,8), Strong (Isa 41:10), Sufficient (2 Cor 3: 5-6), Timeless (2 Pet 3:7-8), Truthful (Ps 100:4-5), Unique (Isa 46:9-10), Victorious (De 20:1,4), Wise (Pro 2:1-7), Wonderful (Ps 40:5).

The display of these attributes will, of course, be marred by the presence of sin in our lives, but as we mature and develop as Christians they will be displayed more clearly and become more glorious for the world to see. You may think that some of these attributes apply only to Jesus as God and not to any human being. But remember that we have been recreated to live a new life, the old is gone the new has come (2 Cor 5:17). 

And we also need to interpret these character qualities in the light of all that the Scriptures are teaching us. For example, the attribute of “infinite” we would think could only apply to God and not to us. However, the bible clearly teaches that we already possess the gift of eternal life which we received the moment we trusted Christ for our salvation. As Paul so eloquently describes in 1 Corinthians 15, we who are perishable will become imperishable when Jesus comes again. We are now infinite creations of God.

Isn’t it exciting and overwhelming that the Holy Spirit is working to develop and display all these character qualities (moral attributes) in our lives. And we have a part to play too, as we walk with Him everyday.

April 27 2020 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jack Gutknecht ABC/DTS graduate, guitar music ministry Baptist church

The fruit of the Spirit includes peace:

Galatians 5:22-25 See also Romans 8:6.

The Holy Spirit brings peace to God's people concerning their circumstances.

He changes situations to bring peace--

Isaiah 32:14-17, 
but especially, Isaiah 32:17 New International Version (NIV)

"The fruit of that righteousness will be peace;
its effect will be quietness and confidence forever."
See also and only 
CEB
"The fruit of righteousness will be peace, and the outcome of righteousness, calm and security forever."

Also, see Isaiah 32:18 and also Isaiah 63:14; Acts 9:31.

Believers should exhibit evidence of their conversion.

James 3:13 See also Matthew 3:8 pp Luke 3:8-9; Matthew 7:15,16-20; Matthew 12:33; John 15:16; Romans 7:4-5; Titus 3:14; James 2:14-26. 

As far as a figurative use of the word goes, consider this: "The fruit of the lips, " the blessing of one's speech, adds blessing to one's daily life (Prov 12:14; 13:2; 18:20-21). John the Baptist and Jesus teach that the disciple is to produce fruit (good works) as evidence of true repentance (Matt 3:8; Luke 3:8), and they explain that a good tree (the repentant individual) cannot produce bad fruit, that is, a life filled with wicked Acts, and a bad tree (an unrepentant person) cannot produce good fruit, that is, a life of godly works (Matt 3:10; 7:16-20; Luke 3:9; 6:43).

To help Christians in their Christian way of life, God-given wisdom is made available to them, wisdom whose "fruit is better than fine gold" (Prov 8:19), and the Holy Spirit develops within Christians the fruit of "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" (Gal 5:22-23). Thus, with the enablement of the Holy Spirit, the Christian can flourish "like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season" (Psalm 1:3).

April 27 2020 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jay Saunders

You know it is really an endless process of change when you come to Christ Jesus our Lord. The fruit of the spirit developing in us takes time but change is possible with the Holy Spirit's help.

First step is to recognize your strengths and to understand them and use them for God's glory. Second step is to recognize your weaknesses and pray for your weaknesses to change them into more strengths.

Remember the words from scripture that says: Let the weak say that they are strong. This is a verse that concerns prophesying to yourself or speaking those things that be not as though that they already are.

It is the power of positive thinking put into action through words, but it is entwined with faith in scripture promises and prayer. For with God all things are possible, and yes even miracles.

Faith is so powerful that we can not fully comprehend it. We just have to be fully committed to believe in blind faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God. Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not yet seen. Life and death are in the power our own tongue.

These scripture are radical faith filled scriptures that human logic war against but the fervent prayers of the righteous man or woman avail much. The kingdom of God suffers violence and the spiritually violent take it by force.

You must be a righteous man or woman to avail. Without true salvation you will not avail. Without the Holy Spirit you have no power to avail. We know God's will for us is to prosper in body, soul and spirit. 

I did not say get rich quick; that is a snare of Satan. Proverbs declares this: That it is better for a man to prosper little by little day by day. We are tempted to trust in riches more than God when we prosper too quickly.

God wants our soul to prosper at the same rate as our wallet. Balance is important in all things. Exercise of body and mind are just as important as eating a balanced diet for good heath.

Our mind needs to be filled with the wisdom of scripture. It covers every situation in life: good, bad and all points in between.

Selah!

PS: I curse cancer in my body any time that I think about it and command it to die. Praying can be a strategy used in strategic forward thinking.

May 01 2020 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report