The Fruit of the Spirit

The conflict which the Bible describes as the war between the flesh and the Spirit, is the central theme of the latter part of Paul's letter to the Galatians. Paul is teaching the Christians in Galatia an important truth when he outlines the conflict.

Galatians 5:16-18   "¹⁶ So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷ For 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. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law."

A few verses later, Paul puts life in the Spirit into greater perspective when he describes a spiritual life as one that produces the fruit of the Spirit.

Galatians 5:22-25   "²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit."

Keep in mind that physically, we live in a life of flesh, but because we belong to Jesus, we have yielded the desires of the flesh and pledged ourselves to be motivated by the Spirit of God.  The flesh is still a struggle for us at times, but as Paul points out, the conflict which exists between flesh and Spirit is a conflict which can be won by every child of God. 

Look again at the list of things which constitute the fruit of the Spirit. These are the evidences that we have overcome the flesh with its desires, and have pointed our lives to live after the Spirit.  That list in verses 22 and 23 is the undeniable proof that we belong to God. 

The world may measure us from the standpoint of wealth, possessions, prestige, our relatives, our physical appearance, or any number of things. The real measure of a person's life is evidenced by those things which are present when the Spirit lives in him. 

Someone has said there are three categories of three which make up the 9 evidences of the fruit of the Spirit.  Love, joy and peace touch on our relationship with God. Forbearance, kindness and goodness have to do with our relationship with our fellow man. Faithfulness, gentleness and self-control are associated with the way we conduct ourselves. 

As we contemplate each one in our lives, we may reveal some areas in which we excel and others where we need to grow. God knows we are human and subject to mistakes and blunders. His Spirit living in us is the power we need to overcome all that.

May our hearts echo Paul's words in verse 25, "Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit."

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