The Fruit of the Spirit

The Fruit of the Spirit

Let’s turn in our Bibles to Gal. 5. The Bible speaks of the fruit of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit. This morning we’re going to consider what the Bible says about the fruit of the Spirit and next week we’ll look at the gifts of the Spirit.

19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 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. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

As Paul contrasts the works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit hegives a warning in verse 21 that grabs our attention.

Those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Those who do what things will not inherit the kingdom? Doing what thingshas the power to keep us from heaven? Hopefully the list of things that bar the doors of heaven areterrible, horrible things like torture,child abuse, and becoming evil dictators. I can avoid doing those things.

But Paul’s list of heaven-barring actions includes things like anger, strife, envy, and divisions. Have you ever done anger? I have. Have you ever done strife or dissension? Dissension is disagreement that turns to discord. I’ve done that. Have you ever done idolatry (putting someone or something in the place of God)? Sadly I have. Paul’s list is serious, but also way too common. If Paul is saying that anyone who does any of these things will never enter heaven then we are all doomed. But that’s not what Paul is saying. Let’s put verse 21 back into context so we can see what Paul is and isn’t saying.

First of all the good news is that we are qualified to enter heaven only by faith in Jesus Christ, not by anything we do or don’t do. Think of the thief on the cross who, in his dying moments, looked at Jesus and said, “Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He couldn’t do or undo anything. He couldn’t be something different or do something different. He couldn’t promise to treat people better, or be more honest, or make things right with those he’d wronged. His hands were empty except for the nails that pierced them.All he could do was trust Jesus.And that was enough. Jesus looked at him and said, “today you will be with me in Paradise.” I will do more than remember you, I will escort you into my kingdom. Today. When it comes to our salvation, we are as helpless to do anything to add to it as the thief on the cross was. All we can do is trust in Jesus. And that’s enough!

So let this good news reach the deepest parts of your soul: God has given you salvation, given you forgiveness, given you the righteousness of Christ, given you a new identity as His child and made you a part of His family, God has given you eternal life, and He has given you the kingdom. Jesus said it is the Father’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom. All of this apart from anything we did or didn’t do. It’s a gift of grace received by faith.

So when Paul talks about those who do the works of the flesh as he contrasts works of the flesh and fruit of the Spirit, what he has in mind isn’t individual sinful actions – that’s what Jesus died to forgive us of. What Paul has in mind goes deeper than what we do, it speaks of what we are. Works of the flesh and fruit of the Spirit goes to the core of our hearts, our character, our nature.

The thief on the cross didn’t do anything to earn the kingdom of Jesus, but God did something to him. He wasn’t able to show it in any tangible way but as he trusted in Jesusin that instanthe was a changed man. Not only did God give him a new eternal destiny, the Holy Spirit gave him a new heart, a new nature. The fruit of the Spirit was beginning to bud in his heart even though he would never have a chance to show it this side of eternity. If he could have climbed down from the cross, he wouldn’t have been the same man he was.

Consider what fruit it. Fruit is the outward evidence of the inward nature of a thing. An apple tree produces apples because it’s an apple tree. You could staple pears to it, but that wouldn’t make it a pear tree. Outward fruit reveals the inward nature of a thing. Oak trees produce oak trees. Tomato plants produces tomatoes. Dogs produce dogs, cats produce cats. People produce people.

Jesus applied this truth when, speaking of people he said a good tree will produce good fruit and a bad tree will produce bad fruit. The nature of the “tree” determines the type of fruit. An evil person might say and do good things, but ultimately the fruit of an evil person will be evil. A good person can mess up and do bad things, but ultimately the fruit of their life (their tree) will be good. The nature determines the fruit.

The fruit of the Spirit isn’t primarily referring to the Spirit changing what we do, the fruit of the Spirit is referring primarily to the Spirit changing who we are, giving us a new nature. The nature determines the fruit.

Here’s a beautiful truth: the fruit of the Spirit reveals the inward nature of God. The fruit of the Spirit produceslove because God is love. The fruit of the Spirit is joy because God’s heart explodes with infinite joy! If you think God is a glum, sour-faced, cosmic kill-joy you don’t know the God of the Bible. He is full of joy! God invented smiles and laughter. Have you ever noticed that you don’t have to teach a baby to smile or laugh? It’s natural – the infinitely joyful God invented smiles and laughter and implanted them in a baby’s heart! We could go through each one – the fruit of the Spirit shows us that God’s nature is loving, joyful, peaceful, kind, gentle, faithful, good, and self-controlled.

The fruit of the Spirit is the Spirit’s work to change us from the inside out and make us more like Jesus. Not just changing our behavior superficially but changing our hearts so that loving actions come from a heart that’s filled with the love of Christ. Acts of kindness come from a nature that reflects the kindness of our Savior.

When you came to Christ in faith, the Holy Spirit gave you a new nature, a new heart, one that wants to please God and obey Him. And, at the same time, we have this flesh – what the Bible calls the old man – and it wars against the Spirit and the Spirit wars against the flesh. So there’s a war going on inside of us, but the power of the Spirit will win ultimately.

Look with me again at vv. 22-24But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

What does it mean, there is no law against the fruit of the Spirit. Is the fruit of the Spirit above the law? We can do anything we want? In a way the answer is yes. Because in verse 24 Paul says those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desire. The power of sin resides in corrupted desires and passions. No one sins because they have to, we sin because we want to.

The law of God is good. The problem is with us. The law simply stirs up desires in us that go against the law. The weakness of the law is that it has no power to change our desires, change our nature, enable us obey it.

The fruit of the Spirit doesn’t void the law, it changes our nature so the law is no longer necessary.

Every state has old laws that aren’t being enforcedbut are still on the books.

Most people don’t know these laws exist, and yet, people rarely break them. Rarely do you see a dog puffing on a stogie. Rarely do you see a bear sitting in the passenger seat of a car. Maybe you genuinely didn’t know there was a law against having an ice cream cone in your pocket this morning, and yet more than likely you don’t have an ice cream cone in your pocket. What gives?

These laws aren’t needed because we have no desire to break them.

There is no law against the fruit of the Spirit because when we love we’ll have no desire to lie or steal. When our hearts are filled with kindness, we don’t need a law that says don’t be cruel. When the fruit of forgiveness is blossoming in our hearts, we’ll have no desire to take vengeance against someone.

The more of our hearts that the Spirit has, the more we want to love, please, and obey God, not because a law says to but because our nature wants to. Worshiping an idol over God becomes disgusting to us. When we were in Arizona, the hotel toilets had a sign on them warning us that the water in the toilet was reclaimed water and should not be used for other purposes. What other purposes do people use toilet water for? Washing their face? Brushing teeth? Scooping a glass of water to drink?

I don’t think most of us really needed that sign. Because we have no desire to break that “law”. That’s how the new nature the Spirit gives us relates to the law.

Now there is still a struggle: our flesh is still alive and kicking and it wars against the Spirit. Our flesh wants to hurt and damage and envy and defraud and gossip and rip apart and worship false gods.

God’s answer for our flesh is to crucify it. When we want to hurt someone back for hurting us that’s the flesh. We need to ask the Spirit to help us die to that desire and forgive them. When we want to treat someone harshly and rip them apart, we need to ask the Spirit to help us die to that desire and live to the desire to be gentle and patient.

those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

God’s answer to our flesh is to kill it, so that we might live to Christ. So getting back to verse 21, Paul isn’t saying that a Christian who struggles with anger will be barred from the kingdom. He’s saying those who’s life and nature is defined by the works of the flesh, who has no “new nature” at work in them, only the fleshly nature, so that their lives are parked in immorality, anger, division, envy and so on, will never inherit the kingdom of God because they don’t have the new nature that the Spirit gives.

Fruit is the Spirit’s work to change us from the inside out.

There’s something else the metaphor of fruit teaches us. The work of the Holy Spirit to make our character more like Jesus doesn’t happen in an instant. Fruit begins as a seed and then it grows and matures and ripens. Our growth in the fruit is incremental. So the question isn’t, do I ever do anger? The question is, is patience growing in me? The question isn’t, do you ever struggle with unforgiveness towards those who have hurt you? The question is, does your heart eventually bend towards forgiveness? Do you eventually submit your will to God’s will?

Now as much as salvation is 100% the work of God and 0% our effort, growing in the fruit of the Spirit is a cooperative effort between the Spirit and us. We can’t do it without Him, He won’t do it without us.

Ask the Spirit to help you grow in the fruit of the Spirit right where you are planted, then work to cultivate the fruit of the Spirit. Ask the Spirit to help you be a more loving spouse, a more patient parent, a more faithful friend. Then make every effort to be more loving, more patient, more loyal. Is there someone who has hurt or offended you? Their face is coming to your mind right now. Ask the Spirit to help you grow forgiveness in your heart towards that person, then do forgiveness things. Pray for their good rather than wish for their harm.

God has planted you and me in relationships right now – let’s believe God to grow the fruit of the Spirit right where He has planted you and me and then let’s work towards that end. God in Christ has adopted you, He has given you His kingdom, and He has given you a new nature. The Spirit is working to help us be who we are: children of God.

Be patient, not only with others but also with yourself, be encouraged, and ommit to cooperate with His good work in you.