Fruit of the Spirit – The River Church

Galatians 5:22-23

(King James Version)
“22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”

(Amplified Classic)
“22 But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness, 23 Gentleness (meekness, humility), self-control (self-restraint, continence). Against such things there is no law [that can bring a charge].”

1. Love

Matthew 22:37-39 – Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
How much you love your neighbor is a good indication of how much you love God.
Ephesians 5:2 – And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
When we walk in love, we are Christ like and it pleases God.

2. Joy

Acts 20:24 – But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.
When you have joy nothing can move you. Joy helps you overcome obstacles and circumstances to finish the course.
Acts 2:28 – Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.
To cultivate joy in our lives, we must spend time in the presence of God.

3. Peace

Philippians 4:7 – And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Peace will guide and direct us, so always go with the peace.
John 20:21 – Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
We are messengers of peace and are peacemakers. We walk in the peace as we are sent bringing glad tidings of the Good News.

4. Longsuffering (Patience)

James 1:2-4 – My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
Patience through the trials will prove our faith and cause us to be strong and endure. We cannot try to hurry to get something, but be patient and wait on the Lord and we will lack nothing.
2 Peter 1:6-7 – And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
Patience is a godly character trait. We must walk in all of God’s ways and if we don’t we will hinder other character traits to be manifested in and through us.

5. Gentleness

2 Timothy 2:24-25 – And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
A servant of the Lord demonstrates gentleness to all and is not pushy, forceful, mean or overbearing.
James 3:17 – But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
We are not called to condemn, but to have gentleness towards those around us.

6. Goodness

Luke 6:45 – A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.
Goodness flows out of the spirit of a good man and there is no evil in him.
Romans 15:14 – And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.
We have to stay filled with goodness, seeking what is good, thinking on what is good, so we can demonstrate what is good.

7. Faith

Acts 6:8 – And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.
Being faithful will produce great results and will touch the lives of others.
Romans 4:20 – He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God.
A faithful person does not draw attention to themselves, takes credit and never touches the glory, but points to Jesus and gives all the glory to Him.

8. Meekness

Matthew 5:5 – Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
A meek, humble person will gain much and succeed in life.
Titus 3:2 – To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.
A meek person thinks good of others and shows goodness to others.

9. Temperance (Self-Control)

1 Timothy 3:2 – A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach.
Good behavior, which is temperance or self-control is a requirement for someone in the ministry.
2 Timothy 1:7 – For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
Self-control is taking capture of our thoughts and not allowing things to control us, but walking by the Spirit.