Fruit of the Spirit

We have spent two months examining the individual characteristics Paul included in his “fruit of the Spirit” list in Galatians 5:22-23. We have dedicated time to considering that list because it offers a portrait of the character that God wants to define His people, a character that reflects His own identity and that enables people to be His image-bearers in the world. In this lesson, we will consider the final item in Paul’s list – self-control – and the place it ought to have within our lives.

“You’ve got to ask yourself one question: ‘Do I feel lucky?’ Well, do you, punk?” Clint Eastwood’s character “Dirty Harry” voiced that now-popular phrase in the 1971 movie by the same name. The movie follows Eastwood’s character, a police officer in San Francisco, as he tracks down a psychopathic serial killer named “Scorpio”. Even though Eastwood’s character behaves in ways like the movie’s villain, the film casts his willingness to bend and break the rules and to use violence to stop Scorpio as misunderstood, but necessary, heroic behavior. Dirty Harry represents a common motif in American cinema – heroes do whatever it takes to stop the bad guy. That motif, however, stands in stark contrast to the gentleness Paul said ought to characterize Christians. This lesson continues our survey of the fruit of the Spirit Paul lists in Galatians 5:22-23 by considering gentleness and its place in our lives.

Amy bought me a t-shirt that has the phrase “do good” printed on the front. I love that shirt (I love it so much I bought a second one in a different color). The ‘slogan’ is a positive version of the often mocked “Don’t be evil” motto that Google adopted in the early 2000s. Both phrases – ‘do good, “don’t be evil” – acknowledge the importance of moral behavior. Problems, however, arise when one tries to define “goodness” because it has a flexible meaning determined by the ever-evolving tastes of our society. The Bible similarly emphasizes the importance of goodness. Paul, for example, wrote that Christians should “learn to devote themselves to good works” (Titus 3:14). Unlike our culture, the Bible offers a fixed understanding of goodness based on the identity and behavior of God. We will consider the goodness in this lesson as part of our ongoing exploration of the “fruit of the Spirit” Paul lists in Galatians 5:22-23.

Most people praise kindness and desire that quality in other people. At the same time, we live in a culture that promotes an it’s-just-business mentality that permits unkind actions against others to further one’s interests. We praise kindness but believe you must ‘look out for number one’. The Bible similarly praises kindness but, unlike our society, it holds kindness as a non-negotiable character for all people, all times, and all situations. Given our culture and the Bible’s different attitudes towards kindness, how are we to understand the kindness Paul wrote the Holy Spirit seeks to produce in us (Galatians 5:22)? This lesson continues to explore the “fruit of the Spirit” Paul lists in Galatians 5:22-23 and will consider the fifth fruit – kindness – and its place in our lives.

God calls Christians to change their character. He calls angry people to be peaceful. He calls lazy people to be productive. He calls unloving people to be loving. He calls impatient people to be patient. God calls people to remodel their character so that it reflects His own character. That call for character transformation lies at the heart of the fruit of the Spirit Paul lists in Galatians 5:22-23, a list outlining features of the character that should define God’s…

The Bible mentions “joy” and “rejoicing” nearly four hundred times. While some of the instances of “joy”/“rejoicing” record people’s responses to their experiences, the volume of references indicates that the emotions represent something more than merely the incidental recording of human feelings. Surveying the Bible’s teachings about joy reveals an emotion inseparably connected to God’s presence and a defining character of the life He intended humans to live. This lesson continues our exploration of the “fruit of the Spirit” Paul lists in Galatians 5:22-23 and will consider the joy the Holy Spirit seeks to create within the lives of those who dedicate themselves to following Jesus.

This year we have been considering the theme of “bonding”, of developing our relationships with one another and with God. Our focus builds on the relational nature of God’s expectations (cf. Matthew 22:34-40) and seeks to cultivate within us a character that supports those relationships. This lesson furthers that goal by introducing a series examining “the fruit of the Spirit” in Galatians 5:22-23. The Spirit-produced fruit Paul mentioned describes the relationship-oriented character of those who commit to following Jesus. Therefore, we will take the next nine weeks to consider the fruit of the Spirit and its place within our lives. We will examine the first of those fruits in the lesson – love. Each Sunday morning, over the next nine weeks, we will examine one of the characteristics Paul includes in his fruit of the Spirit list. Then, on Sunday evenings, we will use the morning’s lesson as a starting point for a discussion exploring the place of that characteristic in our lives.

This year we have been considering the theme of “bonding”, of developing our relationships with one another and with God. Our theme builds on the relational nature of God’s expectations (cf. Matthew 22:34-40) and seeks to cultivate within us a character that supports those relationships. This lesson furthers that goal by introducing a series examining “the fruit of the Spirit”[1] in Galatians 5:22-23. The Spirit-produced fruit Paul mentioned describe the relationship-oriented character of those who commit to following Jesus and into whose life God consequently sends the Spirit. We will therefore take the next ten weeks to consider the fruit of the Spirit and their place within our lives beginning with, in this lesson, a survey of Paul’s message in the book of Galatians and how it prepares us to understand the fruit of the Spirit.