Chapter 4 · Encounter 10 of 12
The Fruit of the Spirit
Prepare
Paul writes to Christians struggling with how to live faithfully. Some are tempted to rely on religious rules, while others misuse their freedom or habitually give in to their wrong desires.
Paul describes a different way of life: walking by the Spirit.
As you read, notice the contrast between the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit, and pay attention to how Paul describes the relationship between the Spirit's work and our response.
Read Scripture
Open each passage here without leaving this Encounter.
Galatians 5:16-26
16So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
Ponder
- Compare the works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit. What differences do you notice in the kinds of relationships and communities each produces? What does the fruit reveal about the character of the God whose Spirit produces it? Which items in either list do you recognize most readily in your own experience?
- Paul says those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh. Believers are to walk by the Spirit and keep in step with him. What does this suggest about the relationship between God's transforming work and our willing response? How might it change the way you approach an area of your life where you desire to become more Christlike?
Galatians 5:24
24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Look Again
Did you notice that in Galatians 5:19–23 19The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:19-23
Think back to Jesus' image of the vine and branches in John 15 The Vine and the Branches 1“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. 9“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command. 15I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17This is my command: Love each other. The World Hates the Disciples 18“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. 22If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. 24If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’ The Work of the Holy Spirit 26“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. 27And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.John 15
Now notice Paul's instruction in Galatians 5:16 16So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. Galatians 5:16
What might it mean to grow in Christlike character by abiding in him and walking with his Spirit, rather than trying to assemble these qualities through your own efforts?
Practice
Consider the character the Spirit is forming in you. Which quality do you most desire to see grow in your life?
Think of a relationship or situation where that quality is especially needed. Rather than simply resolving to try harder, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal what may be hindering its growth and to reshape your desires and responses.
As you move through your day, watch for an opportunity to practice that quality. When it comes, pause and deliberately respond in step with the Spirit.
Remember, fruit grows through abiding, but it becomes visible in how we live.
Prayer
Thank the Holy Spirit for His work in forming Christ's character in you.
Confess where the works of the flesh remain evident in your life. Ask the Spirit to reshape your desires and habits, and give you grace to walk faithfully in step with Him.