Please take your time and read it.
The Greek word for the ‘Fruit of the Spirit’ is Karpos. It is in the singular form, as all Christian activities find their unity in it; which is very true.
Galatians 5:22 -26: This is the only part of the Bible that gives the full account of the fruit of the spirit.
“Verses 22 – 23”: But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering (patience), gentleness (kindness), goodness, faith, meekness (humility) and temperance (self – control): against such there is no law… “(King James version).
Ephesians 5: 9 also enlightens it and talks about the virtues that come with the fruit of the spirit – “For the fruit of the spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth”.
When we talk about a fruit, it may mean the ripened reproductive body of a seed plant or an amount of a product or consequence of some effort or action, basically the yield of anything or the end product of something.
The word Spirit has a lot of meanings depending on one’s religion, beliefs and even level of study or knowledge about the word. To a layman, it might mean any incorporeal supernatural being that can become visible or audible to human beings. It might also mean feelings or the part of someone that is not physical. In most religious settings, it is the non – physical part of the body that is believed to remain alive after death. Others think that a spirit is a ghost. It can also mean determination to do something (in the content of education). In Christianianity, the spirit means The Holy Spirit living in us and or Christ living in us.
Bearing the fruit of the spirit means staying connected to Jesus Christ – the true vine, so that we may also be fruitful. Without staying connected to Him we cannot bear the fruit of the Spirit. In John 15, Jesus talks about the need to stick to him, “I am the real vine, and my father (God) is the gardener. He breaks off every branch in me that does not bear fruit… A branch can never bear fruit by itself; it can do so only if it remains in the vine. In the same way you cannot bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine and you are the branches, whoever remains in me and I in Him will bear much fruit…” (Read the whole of John 15).
Sometimes as Christians, we forget that we have to be like Christ and remain in Him so that we will bear the fruit of the Spirit. We think that praying hard, performing miracles and worshiping is Christianity, so we do not really practice our Christianity to the fullest and if we continue like that, we stand the risk of being told by God “I do not know you” and you and I know what that means, right!! In John A. Newton’s book, (The Fruit Of The Spirit In The Lives Of Great Christians) it is stated that the fruit of the Spirit are many but yet the fruit of the Spirit is one, ultimately because it comes from the work of Christ within us.
I remember asking my daddy, “how can one get spiritual gifts?” He told me, “Son, the best way to get the spiritual gift is by bearing the fruit of the Spirit”. I didn’t really understand what he meant by that. He continued by saying that “although one prays for the spiritual gift, it is only when one bears the fruit of the Spirit that one gets the spiritual gift freely”. He said “like how a father gives a gift to a favorite child who pleases him, so will God give a suitable gift to anyone who bears the fruit because a person becomes God’s favorite when he bears the fruit of the Spirit”. Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, saw how both God and man are pleased if one bears the fruit of the Spirit (Proverb 3:3-4). We should therefore seek the fruit of the Spirit before seeking spiritual gifts because it is the bearing of the fruit that unites us with Christ.
The elements that make up the Fruit of the Spirit
These are the elements that make up the fruit of the Spirit. Although the fruit of the spirit is in one singular body, we will take a look at them one after the other.
- Love
- Joy
- Peace
- Longsuffering (patience)
- Gentleness (kindness)
- Goodness
- Faith
- Meekness (humility)
- Temperance (self – control)
A. LOVE
“But now I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” Matt. 5:44.
There are over thousands of definitions for the word ‘love’ which are very ‘venal’. I agree with Robert Coleman in his journal on the topic, ‘anatomy of love’, when he said, “one of the most misunderstood words of our time is the word LOVE”
Some words are like fruits that have faded from a long exposure to the sun. Frequent use and misuse has drained the true meaning of the word and love is now turning to mean ‘hate’. We now love those who love us and I wonder if we truly love them. How can we joke with the most important commandment of God? No wonder the devil is fighting the church and sometimes I wonder whether the sword of the devil has slain many in the church; may it not be so. Lord please, help thy church, Amen.
Jesus Christ told us that, the greatest commandment and the sum up of the Ten Commandment is LOVE. In Matthew 22:37 – 39, Jesus gave the greatest commandment that God wants us to obey as “… ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with your entire mind. This is the greatest and the most important commandment. The second most important commandment is like it. Love your neighbor as you love yourself. The whole law of Moses and the teachings of the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
I am not being judgmental but I wonder if God was to use just this “simple” commandment to Judge us, how many would be called onto Him?
I am not interested in other definitions of love except the one Jesus teaches us. All other types of love are under the umbrella of ‘LOVE’. Jesus used himself as an example of the love God expects from us. In John 15:12-13, “this is my commandment, that ye love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends.” God first loved us that He sent His only begotten son to die and save us from eternal death (John 3:16). In 1 John 4:10, this is what love is; it is not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be a means by which our sins are forgiven. 1 John 4 indicates that whoever has love is a child of God and Love comes from only one place – GOD. If you don’t have love, having the name Christian is meaningless and I think you share the same place with the devil. Repent and exhibit love because God still loves you. *Please READ 1 John 4:7-21.*
Now let us study why love is so great and why it perfects our Christianity. If we love we will not be captives of sin. How can one steal from a fellow man if he loves him, how can one murder a brother if he loves him? May be we walk under the “Christian umbrella” so we may not commit these sins we term ‘great sins’. Let’s come to our ” hypocritical level”; how can one gossip about his fellow brothers and sisters if he loves them, how can one closes his eyes to their sins if he loves them, how can he not share what he has with his fellows if he loves them, how can one not care about his brethren if he loves them? I tell you these are greater sins than killing, stealing and the other ‘great sins’. If we continue to walk in this path, We are doomed!!! God forgives us and change our hearts.
If we don’t have love, we are wasting our time to worship God. In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul tells us that without love everything we do is useless. We are hypocrites if we do not Love; it is the truth. Our ‘holy’ lives as ‘Christians’ is nothing if we do not love as Jesus Christ taught us. We have to sacrifice and love one another for He first loved us. It is therefore very necessary that if we want to walk on the path Christ laid for us and be with the Father above we should have this portion of the friut– LOVE. We love because He first loved us. For if a man says he loves God and hates a brother, he is a LIAAAAAAR. Read the whole of 1 Corinthians 13 and have this wonderful part of the fruit, for we are perishing.
Love one another and you will be healing the world. Love God and you become A PERFECT CHRISTIAN.
(to be continued…. )
Derrick Ofori Donkor – 16th June, 2013
MY STORY MODE 