The Fruit of the Spirit

Our church Homegroups are about to embark on a series of Bible studies on the fruit of the Spirit as listed in Galatians 5. The study book we are using pitches right in with no introduction. But I thought it is important to understand how these attributes of the new Christ- nature come about in the life of the believer. So I have added an introduction session.

Really, this is precisely 'where the rubber hits the road' as we consider what the theology of the new covenant actually means to us. If we are not to live by 'mechanical' obedience to laws and commands, how do we function? Well, Paul leaves us in no doubt. This is 'new-nature obedience'.

One of the crucial verses in Galatians 5 is v5 -

"For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope."

How does this fruit, outlined in v22, get into our living? It grows, as fruit does. It is not produced by 'acts', or 'works'. It does not arise from 'the flesh', the desires of which produce the unrighteousness Paul lists. So what do we 'do'? Are we to passively sit while God does His bit in us? No, here is our part -

Galatians 6:8 (NIV): whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

Sow to grow

If this fruit is to grow, we sow. Then we wait to see it spring forth. But isn't 'waiting' just passive? Ah, but it's 'eagerly await'. This is the jumping-up-and-down excited waiting of the child anticipating the promised birthday treat, who just can't wait to see it. This is waiting without wearying - waiting in faith, in certain knowledge that God's Spirit will bring forth in us what He promises.

How do we sow?

Ch5v6 - we express our faith in our love

Ch5:13 - by serving one another humbly,

like this:

Ch6:10 - Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

In doing this, we are 'sowing to the Spirit'. This is why physical fellowship is so vital. Without it there is no 'ground' to sow in. Think about it. Every interaction with another human being is an opportunity to sow.

The Harvest

And what is sown will quickly result in the crop of ...

... the righteous living that God requires and desires, fulfilling every God-given law we could imagine. Against this, there is no law. None is necessary. It is the outgrowing of our abiding in Christ, and He in us.

So ...

Is there an aspect of this fruit that you see yourself lacking? Are you so easily not-patient or not-self-controlled? Does your walk lack for joy? Must you then reach out to the heavens to bring these things down to you? Well, no, because God says His Spirit has already placed them within you - they come as a 'package' with His indwelling. It's God's promise, and you can 'wait' expectantly for Him to show them in your life as you prayerfully seek to be changed into the likeness of your Saviour more and more.

God's multi-fruit

It is well noted - and worth repeating - that this is 'fruit' not, as is often misquoted, 'fruits'. The word is singular. What we, in English, call a collective noun, denoting many of the same kind, like 'sheep'. I heard it explained this way: An apple, an orange and a banana - that is 'fruits'. More than one apple is 'fruit'. So here, these are what I have referred to as attributes of Christ-like character. If we want to see them perfectly modelled, we have but to look at the Saviour, who lived out His Spirit-filled human life as is evidenced and expounded in our Scripture. That is a worthy study.

Non-optional attributes

As such, God does not operate these like gifts, granting one or a few to each person. Rather, they are a description of what He is bringing about in and through us as we are being transformed day by day into His glorious likeness. How? By the ongoing renewal of our minds (Romans 12:1,2). Neither are they optional. This is not supermarket stuff; we do not select the ones we need and leave the others 'on the shelf' for later! We all must grow all of them. In John 15, Jesus talks about our essential 'spirit-organic' bond with Him. He is the vine, we are His branches. His 'sap' flows through us, providing us with the very life-sustaining force that invigorates us. He is in us and we are in Him. Without that union, even if there is superficially a 'join' we are just sticks, destined for the burning. And in that wonderfully full picture, we are shown that our Heavenly Father is the perfect Gardener, tending and cultivating the growing believer.

Fruit, not 'works'

Back in Galatians, Paul contrasts the outcome of flesh-living with Christ-living. He calls the former 'the works of the flesh'. In my mind, I picture a factory, with all of the machinery and noise, hammering out finished - but non-alive - products. Contrast that with the orchard, where by the natural processes of growing, trees bring forth their produce powerfully and quietly. That 'just happens'! What does the vine-branch have to do to bring forth fruit? Why, nothing but 'abide' in the vine. Then, it just happens. It's a natural outcome. It is the work of the Spirit in us to produce His fruit, as only He can. We can't!

So if I detect that my patience is lacking, what am I to do? "ABIDE", Jesus says. God gives us the promised right to expect His Spirit in us to 'grow' it, and we look to Him to do that. By spending time with the Lord, using all of the 'means of grace' - prayer, His word, fellowship, preaching ... - we can see ourselves change. 'That's just the way I am' is never a Christian sentiment to excuse a lack of fruit. That ISN'T the way you are. It might be the way you WERE. But in Christ, you have a new nature and the old is passed away. So, not to be too harsh, you need to grow up. And out. and in!!!! The power of a growing seed can split concrete. The power of the growing Spirit of God in you can change your life.

Complementary fruit

Another aspect of this 'fruit' allegory that strikes me is that these nine attributes are interactive - they work together. So we can test ourselves by asking 'is my love joyful love'? Is it 'patient love'? Is it 'self-controlled love'? Do you see?

In mathematics, there is a function called a factorial. It describes the number of possible combinations of a given selection of items. If that confuses, let me illustrate:

Imagine you have a red, a green and a blue ball in a bag. Without looking, you pull one ball at a time out. How many possible combinations of colour could result? Well ...

1. First draw - you could get any one of the three. Now there are two left, so

2. Second draw - you could get any one of the two remaining

3. Last draw - only one option left

So you could have any one of 3 x 2 x 1 = 6 different combinations.

(This is the kind of thing I consider 'fun'!)

So with the complementary fruit of the Spirit, you have 9 factorial ways of putting them together - is your joyful love also patient? And good, and kind, and faithful etc. That works out as 9 x 8 x 7 x 6 x 5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1. A total of 362,880 combinations.

What's the point of all that? In the old covenant, there are 614 - possibly more - different commands of Moses. The Pharisees sub-divided those making thousands more. In law-observance, imagine trying to keep them all. But in the new covenant, for every single action or thought in which we live to please God, ALL of the fruit of the Spirit should be manifest! If the new covenant was a law-covenant, we would be striving to obey in all 362,880 ways.

And that is precisely why Paul is so insistent in Galatians that we 'fulfill' - FULFILL - the 'law of Christ', the perfect rule of God's loving through us, by walking in the Spirit, not obeying commandments. You see, the outcome grows in us, it is not 'manufactured'. And it does so to the glory of God, as the world, and our brothers and sisters in Christ, rejoice to see that serving them.

Praise His glorious name.

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Joseph Krygier

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Thursday 11 April 2024