Thursday, 22nd July 2021 :: The fruit of the Holy Spirit
Text: Galatians 5:22-26
As we continue our studies about the transformed life, we return, again, to Galatians and read about the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Apostle Paul begins his exhortation by mentioning the works of the flesh. The “flesh” means the anti-God nature of all human beings (but not Jesus), and “the works of the flesh” is their behaviour. As you read the list of deeds in v.20, the first two items are about Satan worship. I hope you are not consulting with a witchdoctor. If you are, you are worshipping Satan.
Jesus Christ gave His life for your salvation. Are you going to give your worship to the devil?! You cannot worship the Lord AND serve Satan’s witchdoctor. By the way, all sin serves Satan!
We who belong to Jesus Christ have a different kind of behaviour, which Paul calls “fruit” (vv.22-23). Fruit refers to the behaviour of the believer, which comes from God the Holy Spirit. It’s important to note that sinners work wickedness from their own fallen nature, but the believer’s behaviour is from the Holy Spirit, who is at work producing the righteous fruit from within us. The items listed (love, joy, peace …) are not separate fruits. They all are one fruit. You either have the Holy Spirit and His fruit or you don’t. Of course, there is maturity in these things, some elements developing faster than others. But if you are joined to Christ, all of these are part of your transformed life. Pray for God’s grace to grow in this.
Meditate on verses 22-23. How are you going to apply them to your life?
Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, help me bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
