From their fruits ye shall know them.

[Kat]

The Fruit of the Spirit

Gal 5:22-23  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control; against such there is no law.

The metaphor 'fruit' here is translated in many Bibles as light, instead of Spirit.  It means divine influence, as in Ephesians.

Eph 5:9  For the fruit of the light consists of every form of goodness, righteousness, and truth.

There can be no pretensions of having the indwelling of the Spirit, the fruit are evident to whether we do or not.

Mat 7:16-20   From their fruits ye shall know them ; do men gather from thorns grapes? or from thistles figs?  so every good tree doth yield good fruits, but the bad tree doth yield evil fruits.  A good tree is not able to yield evil fruits, nor a bad tree to yield good fruits.  Every tree not yielding good fruit is cut down and is cast to fire:  therefore from their fruits ye shall know them.

John 15:5  `I am the vine, ye the branches; he who is remaining in me, and I in him, this one doth bear much fruit, because apart from me ye are not able to do anything;

John 15:8  `In this was my Father glorified, that ye may bear much fruit, and ye shall become my disciples.

John 15:16  Ye did not choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that ye should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should abide: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

Rom 7:4  Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to Him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.

Col 1:10  so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.

Psalms 1:2-3  Instead, they find joy in obeying the Law of the LORD, and they study it day and night.  They are like trees that grow beside a stream, that bear fruit at the right time, and whose leaves do not dry up. They succeed in everything they do.

John 15:5  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit: for apart from me ye can do nothing.

LOVE:  The first fruit and the reigning principle.  Love will bind all the others together and render the system complete and consolidate the whole.

Col 3:14  And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

'Love' is the bond which knits and cements us together, so that we are perfectly joined together and are of one mind and one heart.

Eph 3:19  I want you to know all about Christ's love, although it is too wonderful to be measured. Then your lives will be filled with all that God is.

JOY:  This 'joy' arises from an comprehension of Christ in you, and is peculiar to those who have the Spirit.

1Peter 1:8  You love him, although you have not seen him, and you believe in him, although you do not now see him. So you rejoice with a great and glorious joy which words cannot express,

PEACE:  The calm, quiet, and order that comes from the indwelling of Christ.

James 3:18  And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for them that make peace.

Mat 5:9  Blessed are the peacemakers! For they shall be called the sons of God.

LONGSUFFERING:  This is long-endurance or patience, it is that quality which enables a person to bear adversity, injury, and reproach.

James 1:3-4  knowing that the proving of your faith works patience.   But let patience have its perfective work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

Luk 8:15  "But the [seed] in the good ground, these are such who with an upright and good heart, having heard the word, hold [it] fast and bear fruit with patient endurance.

KINDNESS:  Also gentleness, it is a mildness of temper and calmness of spirit.  An unruffled disposition and a desire to treat all with politeness and courteous.

Pro 19:22  That which maketh a man to be desired is his kindness; And a poor man is better than a liar.

FAITH:  This is trustfulness as in fidelity or the quality of being loyal.  It becomes evident, if a man is faithful to his word and promises to others.

1Tim 1:19  with faith and a good conscience. By ignoring their consciences, some people have destroyed their faith like a wrecked ship.

Rom 10:17  So then, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message comes through preaching Christ.

Heb 12:2  We must keep our eyes on Jesus, who leads us and makes our faith complete...

MEEKNESS:  Not easily provoked, a softness of temper, gentle, submissive, and having self-control.

1Peter 3:4  but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, the meek and quiet spirit, which is of great price in the sight of God.

2Cor 10:1  Now I Paul myself entreat you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I who in your presence am lowly among you, but being absent am of good courage toward you:

SELF-CONTROL:  Temperance and self-restraint over the stronger passions and the natural appetites, as in eating and drinking, so as not to be excessive.

1Cor 9:25  And every man that striveth in the games exerciseth self-control in all things. Now they do it to receive a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.

2Tim 1:7  for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

I have been studying these 'fruits of the spirit'.
If anyone has something to add, please do.

mercy, peace, and love
Kat

[Deborah-Leigh]

Hi Kat

Jesus said "If you love me, keep my commandments"

To love Jesus we have to know Him first....and ...."WE KNOW (understand, recognize, are conscious of, by observation and by experience) and believe (adhere to and put faith in and rely on) the love God cherishes for us. God is love. and he who dwells and continues in love dwells and continues in God, and God dwells and continues in him. 1 John 4:16

So for me,...the light of His Spirit shows the nature of God revealed in Spirit made manifest in His Son Jesus Christ who we no longer know in the flesh but in the Spirit....of truth, love, joy,peace, kindness, goodness etc. For me thats Jesus Christ....His nature, His body, His light....and we the clay, God the potter making us into His image!

Arcturus

[YellowStone]

By their fruits you shall know them.....

Kat, thanks for a thought provking post. I want to come in from a different angle.....

What then are some of the fruits of God and of Christ? To the point of Arcturus, to love Christ we must know him first. But is this necessarily knowledge through scripture?

So who is Christ?

Col 1:15 

• Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

Col 1:16

• For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether [they be] thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

[/color]

Well that kind of tells me that Christ created all things; by him and for him!

But how does one know him outside of scripture? Paul gives us great understanding in the following Scripture.

Rom 1:20

• For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, [even] his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

[/color]

By his fruits!!!   

By the very sweetness of a Rose. By the warmth of a gentle smile and a kind word; by the glorious mountains bathed in splendour of mist, rain, snow or sunshine. Forests of Redwoods, crystal clear lakes, mother ducks and their ducklings or joyful sounds of children at play. These are but a minuscule sample of the fruits of Christ, but by fruits such as these we have no excuse for not knowing him.

I sometimes feel that Christ and God are lost in the search. Something like not seeing the forest for the trees. There is no hate, anger, distain, pride or vengence in all of creation outside the confinds of sin. These are not attributes of creation and therefore, not fruits of Christ.

Knowing Christ is not difficult, when you know where to look.

I have to remember to thank God and Christ everytime I smell fresh brewed coffee in the morning. I love it

Love to you all.

Darren

[Falconn003]

Darren

Here...here  I second that witness

And a grand                     A   M   E   N   

God bless
Rodger

[Kat]

Hi Darren,

What a good point to bring out 
I too try to see God in the things He created.
I like to garden, and flowers are so beautiful and diverse,
I just love looking at them.
And insects, once you get beyond the yuck factor, are very interesting.
Have you ever watched a spider spin a web, what a wonderful creature.
And butterflies, they are quite glorious.
Like the saying goes, we have to stop a smell the flowers along the way.

mercy, peace, and love
Kat

[orion77]

Kat, good study. 

We can easily tell who is who, by the fruits they produce.

(Joh 5:45 LITV)  Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father; there is one accusing you, Moses, in whom you have hoped.


Now, this verse is not aimed at anyone here, please don't jump to conclusions.  This verse speaks volumes to the ones who profess Christ, but they truly don't know Him.  Look at these words, here is the "Christ", who will not accuse you to the Father, yet there is one who is accusing you, and that is the Law of Moses, in whom they have hoped. 

In His time, the religious people were always trying to set a trap, to catch Him in a word, so in their eyes with the law they hope to accuse Him.  Still the same today, wars are fought over it.

But, us who have the Spirit of Christ in us, know where we came from and to where we are heading.  We no longer have a spirit of accusations and fault finding, judging and blaming each other, like the rest. 

We know that Christ loved us first, while being enemies, now we must, must return this towards our brethren and sisters.  Loving those who persecute us and hate us for His names sake.  For this is following in His footsteps.

This is how I can see who is who.  Hope this can help.

God bless,

Gary

[mongoose]

Now, this verse is not aimed at anyone here, please don't jump to conclusions. This verse speaks volumes to the ones who profess Christ, but they truly don't know Him. Look at these words, here is the "Christ", who will not accuse you to the Father, yet there is one who is accusing you, and that is the Law of Moses, in whom they have hoped.

This was the thing that was hardest for me to understand....running around trying to follow all the strict rules and beat myself into submission to the churches of men and our culture (which are definitely sometimes in conflict).  Then, I'd go off alone in nature and feel so different...no striving to be what someone was telling me to be, no anxiety.....just a blissful peace and serenity.  And such joy!  When God began to drag me to Him in earnest, that joy has only gotten greater and has spread.  I used to feel it only out in nature away from all people....now, more and more, I feel it in and with people as well.  I still go up to the mountains every couple of days to recharge.  It is easy for me to be still and listen and appreciate the Lord up there.

Actually, I think people I meet out hiking think I'm a bit of a nut.  I tend to walk along touching everything (I love the texture of the new snow and tree bark and leaves and the earth) and smelling everything (pines are soooooo wonderful, not to mention flowers, and tree bark) and stopping to watch the animals or to listen to my favorite sound ever (the wind blowing through the leaves).  My husband doesn't mind but thinks I'm like a little kid out there...giggling and touching everything and stopping to investigate every tiny little rock and bug and plant.     There is beauty and perfection there that is so calming and comforting.  I never feel closer to God than in those moments and it is there that He seems to give me the most strength.  Our God is amazing and beautiful and so wonderful!   

When God finally opened my eyes to the realization (not just intellectual knowing but heart-knowing) that it was all ok and He was definitely in control, that Christ is the way and the law of Moses only a teacher to bring us to the knowledge that we are wretched and lost without Him.....what a relief.  I still stumble more than I'd like and still strive to "behave"...but it's getting easier all the time for me to stop and turn to Him when I am having trouble and to let Him calm and direct me.  In those good times of immense joy, well, that is when it is easiest for me to turn to Him and say I love you, you are so good to me, I love you.  His yoke is easy and His burden is light.  His burden is, in fact, the greatest joy I've ever known.

mongoose

[orion77]

A big amen, Mongoose!  I am an amateur astronomer, since we live in the country, the stars are amazing to see.  Gives me a sense of peace, just to look and know the imensity of it all, yet He still loves us sinners.  We are all very lucky and blessed.

God bless,

Gary

[Deborah-Leigh]

Hello overyone who has replied to Kats wonderful post.

Here's good news.........as the Scripture says, What eye has not seen and ear has not heard and has not entered into the heart of man, all that God has prepared, made and keeps ready for those who love Him, who hold Him in affectionate reverence, promptly obeying Him and gratefully recognizing the benefits He has bestowed.....Yet TO US, God HAS unveiled and revealed them by and through His Spirit......1Cor2:9-10

It is simply wonderous that we can live in gratitude and awe at the beauty and truth our Father lays out before each one of us....and that He made us to know HIm. and that we can feel him touch us with love through our sences as we marvel at HIs Creation....
the beauty, the extravagance of HIs richness in grace and mercy and love for us. That HE cares...for me is sometimes overwhelimeing....

Arcturus
Arcturus

[gmik]

This is the first time I read this post.  I am having trouble navigating this new forum! Some how I missed this one.  But I love any teaching on the fruit of the Spirit (or light). I need constant reminder plus this is THE answer in my opinion to the "Well, I might as well live anyway I want if we all get saved anyway!".  Ray's tape 7&8 from Mobile also talks about how to live a life pleasing unto HIM.
Anyway, thank you for this post. I am going to print it, so I can refer when needed. (All the time).

I haven't been posting much, but I read here everynight.  Thank you to all posters who go to all the trouble and study. It is much appreciated.