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“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23 NKJV)
The gifts of the Holy Spirit are the supernatural power of God manifesting in and through the believers. However, the fruit of the Holy Spirit is God’s supernatural character manifesting in and through the believers.
The fruit of the Holy Spirit is the outcome of the indwelling and working of the Holy Spirit in the believers and the believers’ yielding to the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit produces His fruit in the believer’s born-again spirit. However, the believer is expected to bear, bring forth, or manifest the fruit produced by the Holy Spirit.
God said in His Word, “Your fruit is found in Me.” (Hos. 14:8 NKJV).
The believers bear and abound in the fruit of the Holy Spirit as they abide in Christ, rooted and grounded in Christ’s love (John 15:4-6, Eph. 3:17-19).
The fruit of the Holy Spirit is the evidence of the old man’s death (the embodiment of sinful nature and life). Therefore, only those united with Christ in the likeness of His death and resurrection can bear or manifest the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 6:3-5).
The Lord Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (John 12:24 RSV).
It is interesting to note that although nine fruit of the Holy Spirit are listed in the book of Galatians 5:22-23, they are listed as a single unit—one fruit of the Holy Spirit.
Galatians 5:22-23 – NKJV
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control. Against such, there is no law.
Unlike the works of the flesh listed in Galatians 5:19-21, which are many and varied, the fruit of the Holy Spirit, although nine, is spoken of in the singular, signifying the oneness of the fruit. The fruit is not complete until all nine are present.
Let us examine the fruit of the Spirit one after the other.
LOVE:
This is God’s kind of love (Agape love). It is the intrinsic attribute or nature of God. It is a divine, tender, pure, selfless, sacrificial, unconditional, and eternal love. This kind of love is alien to man’s nature.
1 John 4:7-8 – NKJV
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
As a result of the fall, we were born with a sinful and selfish nature. We were born with tendencies or inclinations to think only about ourselves, to seek out and promote only our best interests or benefits in every situation, and only to please and indulge ourselves.
Only the Holy Spirit can produce pure and selfless love in the hearts of born-again believers. You can never have God’s love in your heart manifest in your actions if the Holy Spirit is not indwelling and working unhindered in you.
Paul writes, “The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (Rom. 5:5 NKJV).
Although the love of God is always present in the believers’ regenerated hearts, many believers are not experiencing and manifesting God’s pure, tender, and selfless love in their thoughts, words, emotions, or character because of their unrenewed or carnal minds.
The carnal mind (being carnally or earthly-minded) greatly hinders manifesting the love of God that the Holy Spirit has poured into your regenerated heart. Why?
Paul reveals, “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.” (Rom. 8:7 NKJV).
You will always struggle in vain to walk in God’s kind of love when you fail to put off the mind (the mindsets, values, patterns, imprints, or lifestyles) of the old man (your unregenerate self), who has been crucified with Christ, and put on the mind of “the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.” (Eph. 4:24 NKJV).
The Holy Spirit has shed abroad or poured out God’s love into your regenerated heart. Still, without renewing your mind according to God’s Word, you will always struggle or fail to express or manifest God’s love freely and fully to others.
JOY:
This is God’s kind of joy. This kind of joy is described in the Bible as “joy unspeakable and full of glory.” (1 Pet. 1:8 KJV).
It is an unfluctuating, unfailing, undefinable, or indescribable gladness, lightness, brightness, or cheerfulness of the heart. Only the Holy Spirit can produce this pure, divine, or heavenly joy in the heart of a recreated man.
An unregenerate man cannot experience or manifest this eternal joy, pleasure, or satisfaction (Job. 14:1, 5:7, Eccl. 2:23).
Nothing can give, impart, or supply a deep, constant, unfluctuating, and unfailing joy, gladness, pleasure, or satisfaction to a man’s heart. Nothing can ever satisfy your heart completely, perfectly, and constantly.
The Scripture warns, “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money; nor he who loves wealth, with gain: this also is vanity.” (Eccl. 5:10 RSV).
The happiness or pleasure you may get from anything in this world is temporary, transitory, or passing; it will vanish in times of trouble, trials, or tribulations.
The Holy Spirit constantly produces an enduring, unfailing, and lasting joy, gladness, or pleasure in you; thus, your born-again spirit is always bubbling with unspeakable joy. Your born-again spirit is always walking in the joy and comfort of the Holy Spirit (Acts 9:31, Rom. 14:17).
Therefore, as a born-again believer, you are capable of experiencing and manifesting joy always, unceasingly, or endlessly. This is why the Scripture commands you to:
“Rejoice always.” (1 Thess. 5:16 NKJV).
“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” (Philip. 4:4 NKJV).
PEACE:
This is God’s kind of peace. The Scripture describes this kind of peace as “the peace of God which surpasses all understanding.” (Philip. 4:7 NKJV).
The peace the Holy Spirit produces in the believer’s heart is beyond all human understanding. The heart’s calmness, serenity, or tranquility is not based on circumstances or happenings.
The Lord Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27 NKJV).
The peace of God that the Holy Spirit produces in the believer’s regenerated heart is not an absence of trouble; instead, it is an absence of fear, worry, or anxiety in the believer’s heart, even amid crisis or turmoil.
Many believers today are not constantly experiencing and manifesting the peace of God in their born-again spirits because they are carnally minded – setting, fixing, or focusing their minds on themselves, their challenges or circumstances, or the happenings around them.
Beloved, it takes you being spiritually minded (setting, fixing, or focusing your mind on God) to draw, release, and experience the peace of God in your soul and body, which is always available in your born-again spirit (Isa. 26:3, Rom. 8:6).
It is your mindset, not your storms, troubles, or challenges, stopping or hindering you from experiencing and manifesting God’s kind of peace. If your mind is set, stayed, or focused on God, the result will be life and peace.
Paul warns, “To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” (Rom. 8:6 RSV).
While in any storm, you can experience and enjoy God’s peace by choosing not to worry but rather to pray and trust God.
Philippians 4:6-7 – NLT
6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.
7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”
Learn more about the fruit of the Holy Spirit in the second part of this piece.
Prayer:
My Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the divine, pure, unfailing love, joy, and peace the Holy Spirit constantly produces in my heart. My Dear Holy Spirit, teach and help me continuously bear or manifest Your fruit in my emotions and actions, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
OUR mandate is to preserve the faith of the Apostolic Generation.
Eniyekpemi Fidelis Oyinpreyebi.
Empower by El- Bethel Christian Network.
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