THE FRUIT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (Part 3)
“You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.” (John 15:16 NKJV)
It is the Holy Spirit who produces love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness in the believer’s born-again spirit.
The Holy Spirit produces all nine of these graces simultaneously and constantly in the believers. All together, they are called “the fruit of the Spirit…” (Gal. 5:22).
In the same way that light comes with all the different colors in the light spectrum, so is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Though many, yet they are not varied; they are one fruit. All nine must be present to make them the fruit of the Spirit.
The nine fruit listed in Galatians 5:22-23 is the product of the Holy Spirit indwelling and working in the believers, not the product of the believer’s human effort.
Paul writes, “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Gal. 5:22-23 NLT).
While the role of the Holy Spirit is to produce His fruit in you, your part is to manifest His fruit in your words, emotions, and actions by acknowledging the presence and working of the Holy Spirit in his life, yielding yourself to the Holy Spirit, and by renewing your mind according to the truths of God’s Word.
The Lord Jesus said, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.” (John 15:16 NKJV).
Your born-again spirit always has the fruit of the Holy Spirit because “he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.” (1 Cor. 6:17 NKJV).
Your born-again spirit has received the divine nature and life of God. Therefore, your spirit is always loving, joyous, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled, just as God is.
However, you may not always feel so until your mind is completely renewed according to the truths of God’s Word. But, regardless of what you feel in your emotions, your spirit always has the fruit of the Spirit.
For the purpose of understanding, in this series, we have separated the fruit of the Holy Spirit into nine separate elements, just as a prism can separate the colors of light.
However, you must always bear in mind that the fruit of the Holy Spirit is one fruit. If one element is missing, then it is no longer the fruit of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit produces all the nine fruit simultaneously and constantly.
In the first two parts of this series, we have examined six fruit of the Holy Spirit, namely love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, and goodness.
Let us now examine the remaining three fruit: faithfulness, meekness, and self-control.
FAITHFULNESS:
God is ever faithful, dependable, reliable, steadfast, and trustworthy (1 Cor. 10:13, 1 Thess. 5:24, 2 Thess. 3:3).
Paul states, “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” (1 Cor. 1:9 NKJV).
There is no variation or shadow of turning with God (Jam. 1:17). God never changes; He is forever the same (Mal. 3:6, Heb. 1:12, 13:8). God can’t lie (Heb. 6:18).
God’s faithfulness endures to all generations (Psa. 119:90). Even when we are faithless, God “remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.” (2 Tim. 2:13 NKJV).
One of the names of Jesus Christ is “Faithful” (Rev. 3:14).
John the Beloved testifies, “Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.” (Rev. 19:11 NKJV).
The Holy Spirit is also called “the Spirit of truth.”
The Lord Jesus aptly testifies to the faithfulness of the Holy Spirit.
John 16:13-14 – NKJV
13 “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.
14 “He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.
It is simply God’s nature to be faithful, and the believers are partakers of the same nature (2 Pet. 1:4, 1 John 3:9).
That is why the Bible refers to the believers as “called, chosen, and faithful.” (Rev. 17:14 NKJV).
Paul often addressed the believers as “the saints and faithful brethren in Christ…” (Col. 1:2 NKJV).
Therefore, it is normal or natural for the born-again believers to be faithful, dependable, reliable, steadfast, or trustworthy in all things and at all times.
When you yield yourself constantly to the Holy Spirit (the Spirit of truth), He will help you to be faithful, truthful, and trustworthy at all times.
MEEKNESS:
Although Jesus Christ was God, yet He emptied Himself, made Himself of no reputation, took the form of a bondservant, and came in the likeness of men to save us from our sins.
The Scripture said of Christ, “And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” (Philippians 2:8 NKJV).
The Lord Jesus said of Himself, “I am gentle and without pride…” (Matt. 11:29 BBE).
Christ patiently endured and suffered injustice, humiliation, and suffering without any protest or anger.
The Scripture testifies that “To sharp words he gave no sharp answer; when he was undergoing pain, no angry word came from his lips; but he put himself into the hands of the judge of righteousness.” (1 Pet. 2:23 BBE).
What a meekness and gentleness!
The Holy Spirit also is a meek and gentle Spirit.
Although the Holy Spirit is fully God, yet Jesus said of Him, “He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. “He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.” (John 16:13-14 NKJV).
What a meekness and humility!
The Holy Spirit produces this same meekness or humility in the believer’s born-again spirit. Therefore, Paul’s instructed us to esteem others better than ourselves.
Philippians 2:3-5 – NKJV
3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than himself.
4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.
This scripture simply asks the believers to manifest in their actions the fruit of meekness that is already available in their born-again spirits.
Sadly, many believers and ministers today are not manifesting the meekness and gentleness of Christ because they don’t possess the mindsets and values of Christ (2 Cor. 10:1).
SELF-CONTROL:
This speaks of temperance, sobriety, or moderation in all things. In the face of much provocation, humiliation, and rejection, the Lord Jesus Christ exhibited self-control.
When Jesus Christ was rejected in a village of the Samaritans, James and John sought His permission to command fire to come down from heaven and consume the people as Elijah did.
But the Lord Jesus rebuked them, saying, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. “For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And they went to another village.” (Luke 9:55-56 NKJV).
Similarly, during His arrest, the Lord Jesus Christ exercised self-control.
When Peter rose to defend him with his sword, the Lord rebuked Peter and said to him, “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. “Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels? “How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?” (Matt. 26:52-54 NKJV).
The believers are called to exhibit or exercise the same self-control in the face of provocation, opposition, rejection, or humiliation.
Beloved, while your spirit is completely and eternally redeemed and sealed by the Holy Spirit, your soul and body are yet to experience the full redemption that Christ has purchased for you with His precious blood.
That is why Paul said, “…we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.” (Rom. 8:23 NKJV).
And Peter also said we are “receiving the end of your faith–the salvation of your souls.” (1 Pet. 1:9 NKJV).
In the meantime, “This is what I have to say–Let your steps be guided by the Spirit, and then you will never gratify the cravings of your earthly nature.” (Gal. 5:16 TCNT).
Prayer: My Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for giving me the Holy Spirit to indwell and transform my character into Christ-likeness, from glory to glory. Help me, Lord, to walk in the Spirit and bear the fruit of the Spirit in my thoughts, words, emotions, and actions every day of my life, in Jesus’ name. Amen.