Paul says in Galatians that there are nine fruit of the Holy Spirit. What are the nine fruit of the Spirit?
According to the apostle Paul in Galatians 5:22-23, I have listed them as :
- Love is developed by loving those who hate you, that persecute you and spitefully use you.
- Joy is cultivated by passing through the valley of Baca (valley of sorrow) and turning it into a spring.
Peace comes when you cast your eyes on Jesus in the midst of chaos and confusion.
- Longsuffering comes to maturity through overcoming long and painful trials.
- Kindness manifests in the midst of the uncouth, ungrateful, unthankful and rude people.
- Goodness shines forth amongst the wicked people with their deceitful and cruel acts.
- Faithfulness is developed when confronted by the betrayal and failure of those whom you trust the most.
- Gentleness comes to maturity when someone confronts you with anger and you respond with Christlike consideration.
- Self-control is formed when you say no to temptations that causes you to sin.
Why Is It called Fruit of the Spirit?
Not Fruits of the Spirit?
Let's take an apple as an example. Qualities of an apple could be:
- Red
- Round
- Sweet
- Edible
- Seeded
- Juicy
But it is still an apple. One apple. Just like the fruit of the Holy Spirit, which is love, peace, joy, longsuffering, but one fruit. The fruit of the Holy Spirit are extremely important.
As a Christian, the fruit of the Holy Spirit that you bear tells how much you're being led by the Holy Spirit. The closer your relationship with the Holy Spirit, the greater your bearing of spiritual fruits.
By manifesting the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives, we bear testimony to the God we serve. People do not judge by what you say, but they judge by what you do!
On the contrary, if we walk according to the flesh, we exhibit:
- Adultery (voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and someone other than his/her lawful spouse; see also Mt 5:28)
- Fornication (voluntary sexual intercourse between two unmarried persons or two persons not married to each other; our modern terms "inappropriate contentography," "inappropriate contentographic," and "inappropriate contento" come from the same Greek word as fornication (inappropriate contenteia).)
- Uncleanness (morally impure; i.e. unclean thoughts)
- Lewdness (obscene, indecent; lustful)
- Idolatry (excessive or blind adoration, reverence, devotion, etc.)
- Sorcery (the use of power gained from evil spirits)
- Hatred (a feeling of intense animosity or hostility so strong that it demands action)
- Contentions (A striving to win in competition)
- Jealousies (Resentfulness or bitterness in rivalry; envious)
- Outbursts of Wrath (A sudden and violent release or outpouring of vengeance or punishment as the consequence of anger)
- Selfish ambitions (An eager or strong desire to achieve something, such as fame or power to uplift oneself with the exclusion of others)
- Dissensions (Strong disagreement; contentions or quarrels; discord)
- Heresies (A belief or teaching considered unacceptable by a religious group)
- Envy (Spite and resentment at seeing the success of another)
- Murders (The act of killing a person on purpose and illegally; see also 1 John 3:15)
- Drunkenness (Of, involving, or occurring during intoxication)
- Revelries (Clamorous; unrestrained; violent merrymaking)
-Galatians 5:12-21 (NKJV)
No matter how much we tell people about how good Jesus is, how real He is, nobody will bother to listen if you display fruits of the flesh.
However, if you are led by the Holy Spirit, and you bear the nine fruit in your life, people will begin to see Jesus through you.
Your fruits communicate the truth of God to your family, friends, colleagues in your workplace and the people you meet everyday.
Are You Led By The Holy Spirit?
Do You Bear The Fruit Of The Holy Spirit?
If you are led by the Spirit of God, the nine fruit of the Holy Spirit will inevitably appear.
Many Christians seek the manifestation and power of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, though it is important, they do not submit to the leading of the Holy Spirit to lead a pure and holy life.
Our Number 1 priority in life should be to seek God and all His righteousness, rather than His blessings and gifts. When we do that, we will know what is God's will for our lives and all the things we need will be given to us by the Father, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." -Matthew 6:33 (NKJV)
God still wants us to be like Jesus, conformed to His image, bearing the nine fruit of the Holy Spirit as well. God hates sin, and sin grieves the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.
One thing we must know is that gifts of the Holy Spirit are given to us, but fruit of the Holy Spirit are developed over time.
When you received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, the Holy Spirit comes and plants a small seed in your heart. This seed must be watered, nurtured and developed in us. To do that, we must:
- Pray to God
- Worship God
- Be planted in a local Church
- Discipled by spiritual leaders
- Read and meditate on the Word of God
- Obey voice of the Holy Spirit
- Lead a holy life, free from sin
When you begin to lead a life holiness, guided by the Holy Spirit, that little seed will eventually grow into a gigantic tree, bearing much fruits. You will begin to be more and more like Christ. And the glory and presence of the Holy Spirit will follow you wherever you go.
It is interesting to know that the bible talks about fruits at the beginning and the end.
"And out of the ground the LORD God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food.." -Genesis 2:9 (NKJV)
"In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month..." -Revelations 22:2 (NKJV)
Bearing The Fruit Of The Holy Spirit
Is God's Will For Our Life
God's purpose for your life, and mine, is to bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said that our relationship with Him is like a vine and its branches.
"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." -John 15:5 (NKJV)
Again Jesus teaches, "You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you." -John 15:16 (NKJV)
Jesus commands us to bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit!
If you want to bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit, you must live a holy lifestyle, reject sin, delight in the commandments of God and be planted in a local Church.
King David, an ancestor of Jesus, possibly the greatest King Isreal every had, said, "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night, he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper." -Psalms 1:1-3 (NKJV)
Being planted in the house of God and attending services regularly is extremely important to bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Further in the book of Psalms, King David said, "Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing." -Psalms 92:13-14 (NKJV)
God Prunes When We Bear Fruit Of The Holy Spirit
As you have learned, Jesus is the vine that produces the fruit. We are the ones who bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit. God the Father is the vinedresser who prunes the vines.
"I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser, every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit." -John 15:1-2 (NKJV)
The pruning process is one that many Christians reject. It is a tough and difficult process when God is working in us and moulding us to become more fruitful. Our heavenly Father prunes the productive christian just as a farmer prunes his crops - to produce even more fruits.
In the book of Luke, Jesus gave a parable of the barren fig tree. This parable shows a God who is patient and continually works with a unproductive soul to produce fruit of the Holy Spirit.
"A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, "Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?" But he answered and said to him, "Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after this you can cut it down." -Luke 13:6-9 (NKJV)
The Nine Fruit Of The Holy Spirit
In the New Testament book of Galatians, Paul identifies the godly qualities that God wants to produce in our lives.
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.." -Galatians 5:22-23 (NKJV)
If you have noticed, the "fruit" of the Holy Spirit is singular in form, not "fruits" of the Holy Spirit. It means that there is one fruit, but revealed in 9 different supernatural manifestations of the Holy Spirit.
The nine fruit of the Holy Spirit can be further divided into 3 categories.
Relationship with God
Relationship with people
- Longsuffering
- Kindness
- Goodness
For the individual
- Faithfulness
- Gentleness
- Self-Control
Sheep or Wolves?
Be careful of so called "Christians". There are many people who call themselves Christians, and pretend to be holy, like the pharisees which Jesus often rebuked. They like to use the word of God to get what they want, and they know when to say "Amen" and "Hallelujah".
Are they the meek sheep that worships Jesus in spirit and in truth? Or are they the ravenous wolves who seeks to devour?
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Our infinitely wise Jesus said, [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits... Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.... Therefore by their fruits you will know them." -Matthew 7:15-20 (NKJV) [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]By observing the fruit of the Holy Spirit in their lives, you can know whether they are geniune disciples or not. [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Father, your mercies are new everyday. You are the true vinedresser of our lives. I pray that you will be patient with us, give us the grace to grow and develop the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Help us to overcome the temptations of sin so that we will not grieve the Holy Spirit. Open up our spiritual ears and let us be so sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit. Bend our will, so that we can submit to your Lordship. Water the barren ground in our spirit. Help us to bear more fruits for your kingdom's sake. Change us into the image of Jesus, and make us a powerful testimony to the unchurched. Let them see the love of Jesus by the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives. I thank You and praise You. In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen[/FONT].[/FONT]
