Galatians 5:22-23. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”
Stepping away now from the ugly, dark works of the flesh, we turn instead to the beauty of a life that exhibits the fruit of the Spririt of God. And what a difference! Fruit is beautiful lo look at. Colorful, inviting, healthful, and aromatic, fruit is one of the many gifts of good food that God has provided for us. It is no wonder that Paul compares the characteristics of a Spirit-filled life with the succulent goodness of fruit.
Notice that the word fruit is singular here. It is actually a collective noun, inclusive of many things in one word. Other examples of collective nouns are words like team, audience, family, congregation. They are singular, but include more than one person. We can conclude, then, that the fruit of the Spirit is not just one or two of the traits in these verses; instead, it includes ALL of them.
That’s because it is the fruit of the Spirit, not the fruit of our own efforts. The fruit of the Spirit is evident by the indwelling and the filling of the Holy Spirit of God.
Just as a fruit tree produces fruit natrually through the rising of the sap in the spring, we will produce the fruit of the Spirit naturally by the filling of the Spirit in our lives when we walk in obedience. It’s not complicated. We don’t have to read zillions of self-help books and “work on” being patient, kind, and so forth. We need, instead, to be consistently in the Word; we need to pray faithfully for a willing obedience to His Word; we need to walk in the Spirit. When we do that, we will begin to manifest the fruit of the Spirit
Are there battles to overcome? Most assuredly. We are, after all, human. We struggle just as Paul did with the ongoing fight between the flesh and the Spirit. There are things in my own life over which God has given me wonderful victory, and yet every now and then something rears its ugly head and tries to trip me up. That is when I run to His Word, claiming my favorite peace verses, and thanking God that He is greater than Satan. Always, All the time.
Linda's Bible Study 