Hi All,
About a week or two ago, something popped out at me when thinking of Gal 5:22-23. In Babylon, I remember hearing it quoted, "The Fruit
s of the Spirit
are..." implying that each characteristic listed afterward was separate. Notice what the verse actually says:
(MKJV)
Gal 5:22 But the
fruit of the Spirit
is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Gal 5:23 Meekness, self-control: against such there is no law.
The fruit is singular, not plural. The characteristics listed after in Galatians are all describing the singular fruit. Here are some witnesses in Scripture:
(MKJV)
Eph 5:9 (For the
fruit of the Spirit
is in all goodness and righteousness and truth
(MKJV)
2 Pet 1:5 And for this reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
2 Pet 1:6 And to knowledge self control; and to self control patience; and to patience godliness;
2 Pet 1:7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness love.
The way Babylon teaches it, one could have "Love" but not have "Gentleness;" one could have "Meekness" without having "Long-suffering;" etc. However, the singular fruit is all of these characteristics. Think about it: when you are patient for something, are you not also experiencing long-suffering while waiting for it? When you have love, are you not also gentle, meek, patient, etc.?
Further witness:
(GWT)
1 Cor 13:4 Love is patient. Love is kind. Love isn't jealous. It doesn't sing its own praises. It isn't arrogant.
1 Cor 13:5 It isn't rude. It doesn't think about itself. It isn't irritable. It doesn't keep track of wrongs.
1 Cor 13:6 It isn't happy when injustice is done, but it is happy with the truth.
1 Cor 13:7 Love never stops being patient,
never stops believing[Faith],
never stops hoping[Hope], never gives up [Enduring].
Notice that Love is also interconnected with Hope and Faith.
1 Cor 13:13 So these three things remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.
As Ray has stated, "They are all ONE!" The fruit of the Spirit is singular. Wouldn't "All goodness and righteousness and truth" (Eph 5:9) be described as "Love, Joy, Peace, Long-suffering, Gentleness, Goodness, Faith, Meekness, [and] Self-control" (Gal 5:22-23)? Peter then describes the process. Which lines up with Isaiah "precept upon precept" (Isaiah 28:13).
This seemed like something so simple when it first jumped out at me, but after meditating on it, it kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger in meaning.
Anyone have any thoughts/corrections on this?
In Him,
John
Author
Topic: The Fruit [singular] (Read 3689 times)