The Fruits of the Spirit

One of the first things every believer in Christ must learn is what it means to be a Child of God. When you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior and invite the Holy Spirit to dwell within you, you cannot remain the same. Little by little, your character begins to change, and you become more like Him, who died for your sins.

2 Corinthians 5:17 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

Becoming more like Christ is a metamorphosis. It is not something you can do on your own. After all, you have been you for as long as you can remember, and old habits can be challenging to break. Especially those that are deeply rooted in you. The good news is the Holy Spirit is faithful and patient, and He wants to transform you into the person He created you to be, a true reflection of Christ. The Second Adam.

Genesis 1:27 - So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

The Holy Spirit is here with us to teach and guide us in the way of our Heavenly Father. To bring our focus to Kingdom values and principles so we can rightfully say that we are indeed Children of the Living God and heirs of salvation. Most of us have had experiences with people who claim to be Children of God. Yet, had they not told us, we would not have known. They lack evidence of having a relationship with God. They bear no good fruits.

Matthew 7:16-20 - 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

If it was easy to bear good fruit on our own, Jesus would not have had to die for our sins, and we would not need the Spirit of God to live within us. When we keep our minds focused on the things of this world instead of God, it becomes easier for us to fall into temptation. Reading God's Word and praying in the Spirit daily helps us to abide in Him and become more like Him.

John 15:4-5 - 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me, you can do nothing.

The Fruits of the Flesh

Galatians 5:19-21 - Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Sadly, too many churches shy away from teaching topics that reveal the perfect and righteous nature of God. They are quick to say God is love, but if we truly knew the meaning of love, we would understand that it means honoring God, those around us, and ourselves.

Matthew 22:36-40 - 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

When you truly love God, you want to do what is right by Him (Read John 14:15-31). To learn more about Him, you must study His Word. By studying His Word, He will reveal more about Himself to you. He will teach you His likes and dislikes. You will learn how to live a life that pleases your Heavenly Father.

2 Timothy 2:15 - Study to show thyself approved to God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Jesus came to fulfill the Law of the Prophets and show us how to live an honorable life. While we are no longer slaves to the Law of the Prophets, and by faith and believing in Jesus' birth, death, and resurrection, we are saved by grace, there must be evidence that we are Children of God. We must display the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

Galatians 5:22-23 - But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control.

The Holy Spirit is such a blessing to us. He convicts us when we sin so we can make things right with our Heavenly Father through repentance. BEWARE! The moment you stop feeling the conviction of the Holy Spirit when you act on your fleshy desires is the day you need to humbly go before the Lord and repent.

Ephesians 4:30 - And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.

People like to refer to the Holy Spirit as a gentleman. He will not continue to convict you if you are stubborn and unwilling to follow His guidance. Without the Holy Spirit, it is impossible to bear good fruit. We must abide in Him.

Never forget that we have an adversary who loves to sow evil seeds in our lives, and if we're not vigilant, we may water these evil seeds, which grow into trees that bear bad fruit.

Matthew 13:25 - But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.

An example of the enemy sowing an evil seed in your life can be him sending a friend to tell you something negative someone said about you. Your immediate response is to take offense and speak negatively about that person, and you both start to gossip. You do not repent of this. Instead, you hold a grudge and water that evil seed with bitterness. When you run into them or someone mentions their name, you behave in a way that is not Christ-like. Soon, your tree of bitterness bears bad fruit that is given out to more people.

For our sakes, God allows us to go through seasons of trials and tribulations to address the trees in our plantation that bear bad fruit. In difficult situations, the side of ourselves we try to keep hidden from the world will show its ugly head. During these seasons, we must ask the Holy Spirit to uproot from our plantation every evil seed and tree that bears no good fruit.

If you search the scriptures, you will find God saying, "Be holy, for I am holy," multiple times. But the scripture that stood out the most for me is Deuteronomy 23:14, which says, "Since the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp to deliver you and to defeat your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy; and He must not see anything indecent among you or He will turn away from you."

As a child of God, He promises never to leave or forsake you. However, we must not grieve Him to the point of Him turning His face from us. Just as He walked amongst the Israelites, He is walking with you. He is right there with you where you are right now, and He sees everything you do and hears even your deepest thoughts. Knowing all of this, how can you not strive to be holy?

Matthew 5:27-28 - 27 “You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery. ' 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Do not be deceived, dear friend. You must monitor your thoughts (see 2 Corinthians 10:5). If you do not take captive your unholy thoughts, it will water that evil seed the enemy planted there. Soon, those random thoughts of jealousy can lead to bitterness and may even cause you to harm the person you are coveting.

2 Corinthians 5:10 - For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.

We should ask the Holy Spirit to help us to bear good fruit. By bearing good fruit, we represent the Kingdom of Heaven well and show that we are truly Children of God. This reminds me of the song, “And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love, yes, they'll know we are Christians by our love.” May your walk with Christ produce good fruit that will encourage others to be bearers of good fruit.

Prayer

Most Righteous and Heavenly Father, I come before You this day and ask You to forgive me for my sins. Forgive me for the sins known and unknown. Purify my body, soul, and spirit with the Blood of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

Create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me. Remove my heart of stone and replace it with a fleshy heart. Give me a heart that loves what You love and a heart that hates what You hate. Help me, Almighty God, to live a life that is pleasing to You. Help me, Lord God, to step away from the things that hurt You and grieve Your Spirit.

Help me, Heavenly Father, to be holy as You are holy. Help me to be perfect as You are perfect. Search me, oh Lord, and show me the errors of my ways. Precious Holy Spirit, do a transformational work in me that will make me bear only good fruit. Holy Spirit, thank You for helping me to be loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and full of self-control.

Thank you, Heavenly Father, for having mercy on me and giving me all I need to live a life that is pleasing to You. Thank You for who I am becoming and the amazing person You created me to be. I love You, Lord. Thank you for answering my prayers. I pray all this in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ.

-Amen.