Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23 (ESV)

 

This is one of those verses that almost every Christian knows, but is probably one in which many of us don’t fully understand. There is often the question that some will ask of how many fruit are there, or some people may state that they don’t understand why fruit is singular. If you were to ask me I think the reason why it is singular is more to indicate how these 9 qualities are part of a whole. If fruit was plural indicating multiple fruit of the spirit then we would want to pick and choose which fruit we wanted, much like with a fruit plate if you don’t like strawberries or pineapple you can just ignore them and eat the blueberries, bananas, and cantaloupe.

 

I think that is why many of us look at this verse and want it to be talking about multiple fruit. Some of the qualities are easier to exhibit than other, so we want to pick and choose which qualities we exhibit ourselves. I mean often times kindness, goodness, and faithfulness are easy to exhibit, and depending on the person we can probably show love with no problem. It is when you look at the qualities of patience and self-control that it becomes hard. We at times want to say can’t we just focus on five out of the nine? Isn’t that good enough?

 

How we should look at the fruit of the spirit is more like one fruit with these nine aspects. Take a Fuji apple for instance; it has a specific taste, sweetness, tartness, texture, smell, nutrition value, etc. It has a number of characteristics and aspects that differentiate it from a strawberry or even a Red Delicious or Granny Smith apple. So much like the different parts that make up an apple, the fruit of the spirit are the different aspects that make up our spiritual life, that as they are brought to fullness we become more of the person God has created us to be.

 

So you see there is a reason why Paul said “the fruit of the spirit is” and not the “fruits of the spirit are;” because it is basically all or nothing. As a believer each of these nine qualities that Paul mentions should be expressed in our lives as it shows the Holy Spirit working in and through us. It is a litmus test of sorts for a changed life, I mean an unbeliever might be able to exhibit many of these qualities, but a believer will exhibit them all. I mean a Jolly Rancher is sweet and often tastes just like different fruit; and a plastic fruit may have the shape, color, and general look of real fruit; but they are imitators and not the real thing as they do not have all of the qualities that make up the fruit they are made to taste or look like.

 

So examine yourself, ask God to come and help develop all aspects of the fruit of the Spirit in your life, to help you grow spiritually into the person He has created you to be.