Lesson for September 24, 2023
The Doctrine of Pneumatology
Lesson 6
The Fruit of the Holy Spirit
Galatians 5:22-25
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let’s follow the Spirit as well.”
The fruit of the Spirit is the character of Christ being formed in our souls when we allow the Holy Spirit to control our lives.
Love comes in two categories: 1) Personal love – the mental attitude of love for God on the basis of His virtue and integrity and 2) Impersonal love – the mental attitude that treats others on the basis of a believer’s own virtue and integrity. Matthew 22:37-39, “And He (Jesus) said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”
Joy is a mental attitude of inner happiness as a result of learning, believing, and applying Bible doctrine consistently. I Peter 1:8-9, “And though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
Peace is spiritual prosperity meaning to have a stable mental attitude knowing that we have peace with God through faith in Christ and the peace of God through the knowledge of God’s Word and by staying in fellowship with Him. Romans 5:1, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Philippians 4:6-7, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
Patience is a relaxed mental attitude toward the entire human race and the circumstances of life, being patient with the things that would normally make a person impatient or angry. Ephesians 4:1-3, “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
Kindness and goodness are the same Greek word meaning a mental attitude of grace toward others by letting them exercise their free will without interference or a judgmental attitude. Ephesians 4:32, “Be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”I Thessalonians 5:15, “See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek what is good for one another and for all people.”
Faithfulness means immovable or steadfast. It means not to waver when it comes to sound, accurate doctrine and living in accordance with the teaching of God’s Word. I Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be firm, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”
Gentleness is the mental attitude of grace which expresses itself in kindness toward others. Gentleness can mean several things. It can mean saying the right thing at the right time or saying something that is encouraging and helpful. But there are times when gentleness means not to say anything. Gentleness can be a kind word or a kind deed. Philippians 4:5, “Let your gentle spirit be known to all people. The Lord is near.”
Self-control means to be self-disciplined as a result of Divine Viewpoint Thinking. Self-control means a believer has taken control of their spiritual life. Only by the consistent study and application of accurate Bible doctrine will a believer be able to take total control of their Christian lives and properly represent Christ. Romans 12:1-2, “Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Against such things there is no law means that there are spiritual laws that are against the sinful acts listed by Paul in Galatians 5:19-21, but there is no law against the fruit of the Holy Spirit. There is no law that can prohibit the fruit of the Holy Spirit from being produced in the life of a believer.
The Law of Christ is the law of grace that believers live by in order to produce the fruit of the Holy Spirit. By living your Christian life based on grace and not some law of legalism, you will fulfill the Law of Christ and the character of Christ will be formed in your soul. Romans 8:2-4, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
Now those who belong to Christ Jesus crucified the flesh with its passions and desires refers to when we believed in Christ for salvation. At the moment we believed, we were positionally “crucified” with Christ. We are therefore identified with Christ in His death because we were placed in union with Christ by the Holy Spirit. Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me.”