Many of us have heard about the fruit of the Spirit and have had many questions about it: Why is it called fruit when there are nine things listed? If you have one, but you can’t really see much of the other, then is it kind of an all-or-nothing concept? Or, are we good with some of the fruit of the Spirit, but not with the others? Can those change with the seasons of life that we go through? Can we conquer one and conquer all of the fruit? Are any of the fruit of the Spirit obtainable in this life?

How about we start with identifying what the fruit of the Spirit is. We can find the fruit described in Galatians 5:22-23:

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, against such things there is no law.”

These verses encompass the qualities of the Holy Spirit. If you want to know what the Holy Spirit is like, Galatians 5:22-23 tell us. We can read the Gospels and get an idea of who Jesus is, how He acts, what He said, and things about his life on this earth. We can read the Old Testament and get a really good idea of God, His attributes, Who He is, what He does, and how He has related and interacted to His people since He created the first man and woman in the garden of Eden. What about the description of the Holy Spirit? I think these verses in Galatians 5 do just that – they put flesh on the Holy Spirit. They are the character traits of the Holy Spirit. We can see the Holy Spirit when we see love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The most amazing thing is that we receive the fruit of the Spirit at the moment of salvation. This fruit can become evident in our life as soon as we put our faith in Christ and receive salvation. Immediately, the Holy Spirit is indwelling you, and so you have the fruit of the Spirit. It is also important to note that you get all the fruit all at one time. You don’t earn them one at a time. You don’t work for them. You receive them when you receive salvation.

Now, that’s not to say you don’t have responsibility for employing them. You still have to flesh it out. So even though you don’t work to receive the fruit of the Spirit, you do have to choose to yield to that fruit instead of suppressing it. Jesus tells us in John 15 to abide in Him and be obedient to His Word. What does this look like? It’s flourishing on the vine, like the tomato plant you have in your summer garden. The green leaves begin to form and then you have the little flower, and then comes a green tomato which eventually ripens and turns red. You have the plant in you (at the moment of salvation), but you now need to work it out. Work out your salvation. Let it grow up to maturity as you abide in Jesus and obey His commandments. As a believer, you have the fruit of the Spirit – it’s there inside you, for your use – but you have to decide to use them. That involves a daily crucifying of the flesh and walking in the Spirit. If you keep reading further in Galatians 5, the apostle Paul says that in verses 24 and 25 that “those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to His cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.” As believers, we belong to Christ, and so we must crucify our flesh daily. And if we live by the Spirit, we have to walk by the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is inside of us upon salvation and one of its functions is to direct us, but we have to choose not to be led by feelings and not to be led by emotions. Instead, we must be led by the Spirit so the fruit of the Spirit can be manifest in our life.

When we manifest the fruit of the Spirit in our life, we can show Christ to the world. In addition to being a witness to the world, the fruit of the Spirit also set us apart from the world. Don’t miss the context. It’s so important when we study Scripture to not just examine a couple verses, but to read the other verses around them. Look at the entire chapter and consider who is writing, who is the audience, and what’s being said and discussed. If you read earlier in Galatians 5, specifically in verses 19-21, we are told what the flesh looks like – and it’s vastly different than what the Spirit looks like! The apostle Paul says that if you look at the world and all of the things that the world does and is, and contrast that with the life of a believer, there should be a very big difference. It is a night and day difference! If the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, then the opposite would be true. The fruit of the enemy (the fruit of Satan) would include things like hate, depression, chaos, anxiety, anger, lawlessness, deception, indulging the flesh (gratifying the desires of the flesh and unconstraint). Sometimes it can be confusing or discouraging because we see lost people being kind or gentle and we wonder what it matters if it’s called fruit of the Spirit. Well, again, this is where context of the verse passage is important. Galatians 5:18 gives us a really good clue and key concept we need to keep in mind. Believers manifest the fruit of the Spirit because they are led by the Spirit. We see it again in verse 25 where it says believers walk with the Spirit. A lost person cannot walk with the Spirit. Why? You can’t walk with something you don’t have. So even though a lost person may appear to exhibit a characteristic of the Spirit, the “why” behind their actions is different from that of a believer.

As believers, how do we put the fruit of the Spirit to use? How do we put them to practical use every day because we have them, we just have to make the conscious decision to employ them. Think about what areas of our life we can employ them: family, work, school, and other areas.

• How can we example the fruit in our own home? Let’s say that you have little ones at home. How do you use the fruit of the spirit of love, patience, kindness, or gentleness with your little kids?
• Also consider your marriage, how can you respond with love, patience, or self-control toward your spouse?
• For those of you in the workplace, how can you practice the fruit of the Spirit with your coworkers or your boss or even your customers?
• For those of you in school, how can you use the fruit of the Spirit as you engage with those around you – whether online or in person?

If you are not using the gifts of the Spirit, perhaps you may consider whether you are suppressing the Spirit. Remember Galatians 5:25 says, “If you live by the Spirit then walk by it.” What does that mean? The apostle Paul is saying that if you live by the Spirit, He’s in your life. He’s inside of you, indwelling you, because you have salvation. So, as a result, you also need to walk in that way. You can’t go two different directions at one time. Some believers choose not to walk in the Spirit at certain times or in certain situations. This is not good. Instead of being surrendered to the Lord, the believer is a walking contradiction. They may go to church and read their bible, but they’re not living day in and day out in obedience to the Spirit. No one is perfect. We all mess up and none of us are going to get things right one hundred percent of the time. But the Bible tells us we have a responsibility to represent Christ to the world. How are we doing in this area? What does the lost world see when they observe our lives, actions, and words? What do those in our own homes and families see? How about your workplace? What do you coworkers see in your interactions?

Jesus tells us in John 15:4-5, “Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit. Apart from me, you can do nothing.”

We can’t bear fruit of something that we’re not attached to. If you are not saved, if you haven’t accepted Christ as your Savior, and you’re not part of the body of Christ, you are not attached to the vine. Therefore, you will not bear the fruit of the Spirit. Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus? If not, we want to invite you to meet Him. The bible tells us in Romans 10:9-10 that if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead, then we will be saved. To confess means to agree with God and His Word about what He says about our sin. We have to acknowledge that we have sinned; acknowledge that we have fallen short of His law.  After we confess it, we believe that God is Who He says He is. We believe that He sent His Son Jesus to die for us for the forgiveness of our sins. We know we’re sinners. We can never be made right with God unless we have somebody to intervene, somebody to sacrifice and to redeem us and Christ has done that! He gave His life on the cross for you and me. And so when you believe that, when you confess you’re a sinner and agree with what God says about your sin, and you believe in Christ, that He is the Son of God, that He came to earth and lived a sinless life, and he died for you to forgive you of your sins, then place your faith in Him. Ask Him to be the Lord and Savior of your life. Ask Him to save you, and you will be saved.