THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT GALATIANS 5:16-26 It s abut the size f a bwling ball, cvered with sharp, stiff, spiny pints, and grws n trees thrughut sutheast Asia, mst predminantly in Malaysia, Thailand, and Indnesia. The business end f a durian, which is the inside, is mucuslike in cnsistency, and the unique flavr is reminiscent f garlic, smked ham, and rancid cheese. That s hw ne writer describes the fruit called durian. Anther intrduces it this way: Q: What fruit is shaped like a hedgehg and smells like cmpst? A: Durian. [He then describes his first expsure t the fruit ] I first encuntered durian while visiting sme dear friends in Singapre a delightful yung married cuple named Adrin and Jennifer Li. We were walking up the stairway t their flat when I was verwhelmed by an embarrassing dr. It smelled like smene s 2-year-ld had a stmach ailment abut a week befre and n ne had carried ff the siled nappies yet. I was bravely and plitely trying nt t shw that I had caught wind f the dr when they began t talk abut what a lvely fragrance it was. Mmm. D yu smell that? Jennifer asked, stpping me just where the ful effluvium was wafting s thick yu culd almst feel it. Well, I did ntice a rather pungent scent, I admitted, eyes watering. Then, after silencing a cuple f invluntary gags, I asked, What happened? Yur neighbrs mve away and leave their cmpst pile behind? Americans always say they dn t like that smell! Jennifer said in all seriusness. But we think it s heavenly. I lked at Adrin, thinking Jennifer must be setting him up fr a clever punch line, but he just ndded in perfect sincerity. Then Adrin explained what durian is and prmised t treat me t a taste f the king f fruits after dinner. I decided n the spt that I was ging t rder smething light fr dinner maybe a clear brth, r smething else that wuldn t be t awful t puke up. I als changed the subject, hping Adrin wuld frget abut the prmised treat. I began thinking f things I might say if Adrin brught up this suggestin again. (Dessert? DESSERT?! We dn't NEED n STINKING dessert!) But Adrin did nt frget. In fact, t make sure he didn't frget, he purchased the diablical prduce befre dinner and left it in a paper bag in his car while we were in the restaurant. Big mistake. Even Adrin himself later admitted this was a bad decisin. When we returned, the car was s fetid we had t rll dwn the windws and hang ur heads ut n the ride hme. Even s, it was all I culd d t keep frm heaving. [Phil Jhnsn, accessed 3/14/14] page 1 / 9
Sme fruit, evidently, just isn t very fruity r wrthwhile. And that s nt nly true in the prduce department f yur favrite grcery stre, but it s als true f ur spiritual lives. We all prduce fruit f sme kind the questin is whether it is wrthy and apprpriate fruit f Christ. We are in the midst f a brief series n the Hly Spirit that has arisen frm Jhn says in 1 Jhn 3:24, The ne wh keeps His cmmandments abides in Him, and He in him. We knw by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whm He has given us. We can be sure f ur salvatin when we recgnize the wrk f the Spirit in ur lives. But wh is this Spirit? And What des the Spirit D? There are many activities that the Spirit des independently f the believer. These are His wrks in every believer, beginning at the mment f salvatin: His baptism, indwelling, and sealing. But there are als activities that the Spirit des in cperatin with the believer things like His filling, His fruit, and His gifts. And tday we want t examine just ne f thse wrks, the fruit f the Spirit. What des the Spirit f Gd wrk in and thrugh the life f the believer and what des that wrk lk like? In simplest terms, the Spirit f Gd is given t us t make us lk like Jesus Christ. He chse us in Him befre the fundatin f the wrld, that we wuld be hly and blameless befre Him. (Eph. 1:4) As bedient children, d nt be cnfrmed t the frmer lusts which were yurs in yur ignrance, but like the Hly One wh called yu, be hly yurselves als in all yur behavir; because it is written, YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY. (1 Pet. 1:14 16) Nw the Lrd is the Spirit, and where the Spirit f the Lrd is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, behlding as in a mirrr the glry f the Lrd, are being transfrmed int the same image frm glry t glry, just as frm the Lrd, the Spirit. (2 Cr. 3:17 18) And the Scriptures tell us that there are sme specific qualities that the Spirit is wrking in us t make us reflect the Christ we believe and fllw. The mst bvius passage Galatians 5 is the ne I want t examine this mrning. And as we lk at this passage, we will find that WHEN WE ARE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST, HE WILL PRODUCE CHRISTLIKE CHARACTER IN US. One writer has said abut this passage, page 2 / 9
Christian character is a divine prduct which becmes whlly and instantly available when right relatinship t the Hly Spirit is unhindered. As has well been said, Galatians 5:22-23 is the shrtest life f Christ ever written, fr the fruit f the Spirit is the utliving f the inliving Christ. [Chafer, Systematic Thelgy, VI: 201.] 1. When We Are Nt Filled with the Hly Spirit (vv. 16-21) We will carry ut the desires f the FLESH (v. 16) We will LOSE the battle with the flesh (vv. 17-18) We will live like the WORLD (vv. 19-21) 2. When We Are Filled with the Hly Spirit (vv. 22-26) We will live like CHRIST (vv. 22-23) We will WIN the battle with the flesh (v. 24) We will carry ut the desires f the SPIRIT (vv. 25-26) page 3 / 9
WHEN WE ARE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST, HE WILL PRODUCE CHRISTLIKE CHARACTER IN US. 1. When We Are Nt Filled with the Hly Spirit (vv. 16-21) Last time we saw frm Ephesians 5 the imprtance f being filled with the Hly Spirit T be filled with the Hly Spirit is t be cntrlled by Him, thrugh His Wrd. Filling is a cmmand. It is smething we are required t d. Filling is nt dne by the believer. The Hly Spirit fills us as we submit t Him. Filling is cnditinal. It is cnditined n ur bedience t the Spirit. Filling is dne repeatedly. Unlike redemptin, baptism, and redemptin, filling is repeated. Because filling is repeated, we say, every believer can be filled, but nt every believer is always filled at all times. S ne questin might be, what happens when a believer isn t filled? Are the cnsequences significant? Des it really matter if we aren t filled? Paul answers that questin in Gal. 5 We will carry ut the desires f the FLESH (v. 16) D yu remember the ld saying, there are tw kinds f peple? [Thse wh believe there are tw kinds f peple and thse wh dn t ] Paul says there are nly tw kinds f peple in relatin t the Spirit f Gd thse wh live by the Spirit and thse wh d nt. One f the figures f speech Paul likes t use abut living life is walking. Dn t try t read t much int the figure Paul simply is referring t the cnduct f ne s life as he navigates the circumstances f that life. We can give it the sense live, and it makes perfect sense. S Paul says in v. 16 when we live life (present tense = cntinually, habitually as a pattern) under the cntrl f the Spirit f Gd, then we will nt carry ut the desire f the flesh. We can als say that the nly way nt t carry ut the deeds f the flesh is t live by the pwer (and filling) f the Spirit. The wrd flesh is a cmmn NT term (apprx. 150x) but 60% f the uses are by Paul. The wrd can refer t human bdy withut reference t sin (Gal. 1:16; 2:20) It can refer t human effrt and accmplishment in Galatians, legalism (Gal. 3:3) It can refer t the sinful yearnings that are the result f the fall (5:13ff; 6:8). The flesh is that part f man that is inherently ppsed t Gd (Eph. 2:3). the flesh hates everything abut Gd. Since it resists everything abut Gd, it resists every way we try t taste him and knw him and lve him. [Lundgaard, The Enemy Within, 48.] page 4 / 9
We d nt win this battle n ur wn; the nly way t defeat the flesh is t submit t Gd and fllw Him in bedience. S many sermns and self-help bks fail n this pint. It is suppsed that we have inward pwer t battle against and fix the things that entangle and ensnare us. We cannt. D yu remember Peter n the night f Jesus betrayal and trial? Thugh all may fall away because f Yu, I will never fall away. (Matt 26:33) If any man des nt live by the Spirit, he will live by the flesh and he will d the deeds f the flesh. The nly means t living like Christ is by being filled (cntrlled) by the Spirit remember what Paul says in Eph. 5 when we are filled with the Spirit, we will exhrt thers, rejice in the Lrd, give thanks fr all things and be humbly submissive t thers. Thse things nly happen thrugh the pwer f the Spirit wrking in us. And we can als say that if we dn t live in submissin t the Spirit f Gd and His Wrd, then we will live accrding t the desires f the flesh. We will always live either accrding t the desires f Gd r the desires f the flesh. We will LOSE the battle with the flesh (vv. 17-18) Every believer has an inward battle. Thugh the believer is a new creature in Christ and the ld man is dne away with, yet there is remaining sin that Paul identifies as the flesh. And that flesh is in a hstile battle with the Spirit f Gd. Our flesh des nt want t submit t Gd s Spirit. Ntice what Paul says the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit these are in ppsitin Have yu ever nticed hw ften Scripture depicts the spiritual life as a battle? Rm. 7:23 but I see a different law in the members f my bdy, waging war against the law f my mind and making me a prisner f the law f sin which is in my members. 2 Cr. 10:3 Fr thugh we walk in the flesh, we d nt war accrding t the flesh, Eph. 6:11-13 Put n the full armr f Gd, s that yu will be able t stand firm against the schemes f the devil. Fr ur struggle is nt against flesh and bld, but against the rulers, against the pwers, against the wrld frces f this darkness, against the spiritual frces f wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefre, take up the full armr f Gd, s that yu will be able t resist in the evil day, and having dne everything, t stand firm. 1 Tim. 1:18 This cmmand I entrust t yu, Timthy, my sn, in accrdance with the prphecies previusly made cncerning yu, that by them yu fight the gd fight, 2 Tim. 2:4 N sldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs f everyday life, s that he may please the ne wh enlisted him as a sldier. James 4:1 What is the surce f quarrels and cnflicts amng yu? Is nt the surce yur pleasures that wage war in yur members? 1 Pet. 2:11 Belved, I urge yu as aliens and strangers t abstain frm fleshly lusts which wage war against the sul. page 5 / 9
Many f ur prblems with sin are because we dn t acknwledge day-by-day that we are in a massive cnflict with sin. We are at war, and if we dn t acknwledge that reality and prepare fr it, we will lse the battle. Paul says that the flesh and the Spirit are in ppsitin they are n ppsite ends f the field and they d nthing in cperatin with each ther. They never rest in their fight against each ther and there is nthing cmpatible between them. The flesh wrks t keep the Spirit frm accmplishing the things it is pleased t d and the Spirit wrks t keep the flesh frm indulging its pleasures. The flesh and the Spirit are never recnciled t each ther, which means that every believer always needs t walk by the pwer f the Spirit. When we dn t live by the pwer f the Spirit, we will perate accrding t the flesh and we will lse the battle t the flesh ver that particular sinful desire. If yu wnder why yu keep repeating the same kinds f sins laziness, anger, cvetusness, fear, lust, jealusy it is because at that mment yu are nt submitting t the Spirit and yu are nt preparing fr the battle yu are in, s yu lse. Ntice in these verses, thugh, the hpe available v. 18 but if yu are led by the Spirit, i.e., if yu are walking and filled with the Spirit, yu are nt under the Law yu wn t live by the pwer f the flesh. I.e., we dn t have t live by the flesh. When in war, take it seriusly. Be sber. The war is nt a jke. It is real. One f the reasns peple die in this battle is because they have nt been vigilant in maintaining their defenses. It is incnceivable fr a military frce t g int battle withut scuts and lkuts. Yet when we are inattentive t the battle, we are ding that very thing. In the dark night f watchfulness it is tempting t be lulled int a false sense f security. They wn t attack nw, it s t bvius. They came this way befre and it didn t wrk, why wuld they try it again? It s t late. My supprt team is t strng. I am t strng. I wuldn t fall. Be alert. The attack may cme in any frm at any time. Wise is the persn wh guards what enters his mind, because it is nt just an inncuus televisin shw r bk r thught. It is a skirmish in the battle fr a sul. [ The Fight, Wrds f Grace] We will live like the WORLD (vv. 19-21) If we dn t live by the Spirit, we will carry ut the desires f the flesh, lse the battle t the flesh and live like the wrld. The deeds f the flesh refers t the wrks that the flesh des they are the result f natural human activity and they are devid f the supernatural wrk f Gd s Spirit. These are the nrmal activities f the unredeemed man, but they are abnrmal behavir f believers. N believer is sinless, but a believer will sin less and will nt live a life cnsumed by and ruled by these behavirs. These fleshly activities transcend all the majr areas f a man s life: sexual sins: immrality (prneia), impurity (mral filthiness, unhliness; things siled page 6 / 9
and repulsive), sensuality (unrestrained sexual excess) wrship sins: idlatry, witchcraft (farmakeia md and mind-altering drugs that were used in ccultic practices and rituals with pagan deities) relatinal sins: enmities (hatred), strife (discrd and arguments that arise frm hatred), jealusy (rivalry and misplaced zeal), utbursts f anger, disputes (cnflict based n rivalry and jealusy), dissensins (divisiveness), factins (cliques as the result f divisiveness), envying (wanting t take away what anther persn has). self-cntrl sins: drunkenness, carusing This list f fleshly activities is representative and nt exhaustive things like these such things means there are ther similar activities f the flesh. The result f this kind f living is clear thse wh live that way will nt inherit the kingdm f Gd. It is nt that they cannt be saved, but that their lifestyles f sin indicate that they have nt been saved. Peple wh live unrepentantly in these sins reveal that they are nt being cntrlled by the Hly Spirit. (Cntrast w. 1 Cr. 6:11.) But the believer des nt have t live this way. There is hpe fr the believer 2. When We Are Filled with the Hly Spirit (vv. 22-26) Having just said what it is like t live by the flesh, Paul nw reverses the rder and shws what it lks like t live by the Spirit instead f living like the wrld, we will live like Christ; instead f lsing the battle t flesh we will win the battle with the flesh; and instead f carrying ut the desires f the flesh, we will carry ut the desires f the Spirit. We will live like CHRIST (vv. 22-23) The purpse f the Hly Spirit living in us is t prduce the life f Christ in us t make us Christians little Christs (Jn. 16:5-7 it is t ur advantage that Christ left the earth and sent His Spirit s that the Spirit wuld be ever present within all f us t d what Christ did dayby-day with the disciples). Here Paul calls that Christlikeness fruit. I.e., there will be utward indicatrs f inward salvatin. Cf. Mt. 7:16-18. There will be varying qualities and quantities f fruit between different believers and even at different times in the same believer s life. But there will be fruit. What is als interesting abut all f this fruit is that while we knw that this is what the Spirit prduces, each f these characteristics are als cmmanded elsewhere in the NT s the believer isn t t stand arund waiting fr it t happen, but is t be bedient t d this, knwing that when he des these things, it is nly because f the peratin f the Spirit in him. page 7 / 9
Inward fruit characteristics that reflect a transfrmed heart lve = He can fulfill the tw great cmmandments f Gd lve f Gd and lve f man. The NT identifies lve as the verflw f Gd s lve in us (cf. 2:20; 5:13-14; 1 Jn. 4:19). It is impssible t lve anyne until we have been lved by Gd thrugh Christ s salvatin. jy = Jy is the sense f delight that arises within us in the presence f smene r smething we lve. When smene rejices always (1 Thess. 5:16; Eph. 5:19), it is evidence that Gd has changed his heart, fr the natural man grumbles quickly (Acts 16:22ff). peace = Peace is t be cntent with Gd in the circumstances f life; the peaceful persn is stable and in harmny with Gd. The ne wh has n peace dubts Gd and is ut f harmny and in hstility against Gd and His purpses. The peaceful persn is cntent t wait fr Gd t vindicate him even if that takes int eternity (Rm. 12:17ff; 16:20). Outward fruit characteristics that reflect transfrmed relatinships patience = It is usually in relatin t peple rather than circumstances; it means t endure suffering withut giving in t anger, resentment. It is nn-retaliatry and is the ppsite f an explsive anger. kindness = A gentle and kind dispsitin t ne s neighbrs; it is t be gd, generus, and friendly, ding what is right and gracius twards thers (Rm. 2:4; Eph. 2:7; Tt. 3:4-5). gdness = This is genersity twards thers bestwing what is best fr thers even when they may nt have been gd r kind tward the giver. Upward fruit characteristics that reflect transfrmed wrship faithfulness = The believer nt nly believes Gd fr his salvatin, but he is lyal and faithful t Gd because f that salvatin. He is ever trusting f Gd and His purpses. gentleness = lit., meekness a strength that is under the cntrl f the Hly Spirit. Rather than being cntrlled by pride and self-sufficiency, he is humble befre the Lrd. self-cntrl = he is restrained in his passins and desires (1 Cr. 9:25). Because f the wrk f the Spirit in his life, the believer thinks rightly, relates graciusly t thers, and wrships faithfully. He is transfrmed frm the inside ut. Ntice that Paul desn t call this fruits (pl.) but fruit (sing.). These are a package; the Spirit desn t just d ne f these things in a believer, but He wrks t d all these things in a believer. these nine graces frm an indivisible whle. The Hly Spirit will nt prduce a few f these and nt all f them. If any are present, all will actually be present. Thus, als, these nine graces cnstitute the essential elements f Christian character. [Chafer, Systematic Thelgy, VI: 201.] And even mre, these characteristics present a mral prtrait f Christ. D yu want t knw what it means t live like Christ? Here it is lve, jy, peace, patience, kindness page 8 / 9
We will WIN the battle with the flesh (v. 24) Thse wh belng t Christ refers t the identificatin f the believer with Christ. Remember the truth abut spiritual baptism, that we are identified with Christ in His death and resurrectin (Rm. 6:3ff)? Here Paul is similarly saying that because f ur identity with Christ, we are n lnger bund by ur sins the flesh with its passins (r affectins) and desires is dead in the sense f n lnger reigning ver us r f hlding us in inescapable bndage. Like a chicken with its head cut ff, the flesh has been dealt a death blw, althugh it cntinues t flp arund the barnyard f earth until the last nerve is stilled. Because the flesh is defeated frever, and we nw live in the realm where Christ reigns ver us by His Spirit, we shuld live accrding t the Spirit and nt the flesh. [MacArthur, pp. 170-1.] And because we n lnger have t sin, we als are nw free t d righteus deeds and knw and are cnfident that ne day every vestige f sin will be cmpletely eradicated frm us (1 Jn. 3:1ff). Because the believer is in Christ and the Spirit f Christ is in us, we can win the battle against the flesh; we dn t have t give in t sin and the flesh. We will carry ut the desires f the SPIRIT (vv. 25-26) We have been made alive by the wrk f the Spirit (regeneratin, baptism, indwelling ), s Paul s cnclusin is bvius: since that s true, let us als walk (live) by the Spirit. He made us alive s that we culd be like Christ; let s live that way. And then Paul gives sme final examples: if we want t live by the Spirit, let s nt be bastful, challenging (prvking) ne anther, and envying ne anther. Thse are all manifestatins f the flesh. Rather than ding what the flesh wants, let s d what the Spirit wants. The Spirit f Gd is given t the believer t transfrm the believer and when Gd lives in the believer, the believer can d what Gd has called him t d. This fruit f Christlikeness is prduced in us nt because f ur inherent superirity, but because f the infinite superirity and pwer f the Spirit living in us. CONCLUSION: Every year n the week f Jan. 1, Raye Jeanne starts saying, I m ready t plant smething t get sme dirt under my finder nails And s she des tmates, ptates, asparagus, nins, sweet peas, squash, herbs (basil, rsemary, chives), and peach & plum trees. Similarly, the Hly Spirit has been implanted in us t prduce the kind f harvest that nly He can prduce and unlike ur garden, he prduces His fruit in us in infinite prprtin. page 9 / 9