Fruit of the Spirit

Galatians 5: 22,23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”

From Verse 16 onwards Paul encourages all of us to walk in the Spirit so that we can overcome the flesh. This walking is very crucial to every Christian. The advice is to completely ignore all fleshy desires (verse 24) and fulfill spiritual needs so that we live spiritually. Spiritual living is life that strongly believes that this flesh is temporary and so it builds the spirit for the eternal life Christ has prepared. The Holy Spirit takes precedence over our self for this preparation.

We also see the confrontation between the spirit and the flesh which cause us not to progress anywhere in life. We can see this situation in most Christians who do not move anywhere either spiritually or materially where this confusion is not handled well. Paul uses the word “we wish for” in verse 17 because we have wishes on both sides. If we had not started walking in the beginning spiritually, the flesh takes over easily and we end up being stagnant completely. This stagnancy is a situation God really hates because after sometime, we lose the necessity of salvation itself.

In this context, verse 18 says that if we are led by the Spirit, we are not under the law. This statement is given to us because, the law helps us control the flesh with fear whereas the Holy Spirit helps us progress towards Christlikeness which was not a necessity previously but now is mandatory. Paul uses the term “led by the Spirit” to establish that there is a new leader who has the responsibility. Law holds us from sinning but the Holy Spirit makes us holy and pure. We can see this in Mathew 4:1, Acts 16:7 etc where the Holy Spirit leads everybody to perfection and progression.

When Paul starts talking about the works of the flesh, he says that these actions and evident and thus prove the dominance of the flesh. This is one important location where Paul breaks his “No Condemnation” (Romans 8:1) teaching. The lesson here and also in Romans 8:1 is that we are saved from condemnation only when we are led by the Holy Spirit. If we are not being led so, it is evident that the flesh rules and so there will be condemnation for sure.

Paul uses the word “works” for these actions which explain how the flesh produces this. We do not realize at most incidents where the flesh is in control until it brings up these actions. If these actions show up, it is evident that the flesh has started to control a lot earlier in our thoughts and decisions and it has started to display externally. This is the reason the Holy Spirit resides inside us to stop the flesh in our thoughts.

If we categorize the works of the flesh the first four starts at our personal life, the next two with our relationship with God and all the rest on fellowship. This is the order in which we fail and also the areas in which we should be very careful at. Let us note that heresies and drunkenness are placed in between envy and anger. Heresies are ways that we twist the gospel to justify ourselves. This is placed along with murder because not only we are falsely justified but we make others fail into sin. Further on, Paul does not close the list but adds other items which the Holy Spirit conveys to us. This is because we should not judge by this list alone, but allow the Holy Spirit to help us understand a vast other areas in which we need cleansing. If we have a definite list, it becomes law.

Now, the fruit of the Spirit is given in singular form which shows that the complete fruit has all these characters. These are not individual fruits but attributes like the verse “God is Love”. The requirement for a fruit to be consumed is that all its characteristics should be present. If there is a fruit without sweetness or its skin it is immediately rejected. A person without self-control is as harmful as any person without all these characteristics.

The sentence “Against such there is no law” explains that there is no requirement of a law for people who had grown enough to become such a fruit. This does not remove the OT law alone but every other law. We become lights of the world as Jesus expects from us. The next verse (v24) says that these men have crucified their desires and passions so that these do not appear again for any other law to discipline them.

With this understanding let us honor the fellowship and liberty Jesus has given us.

Amen.