The Fruit of the Spirit is compared to the fruit of the flesh, a self centered life, which is devastating, destructive to relationships, dishonors God, and which God promises- shall not inherit the kingdom of Heaven! This is God’s frightening, warning promise! Who is it directed to? Those who “PRACTICE,” this, is the bent, consistency of their living. This is primarily what dominates, controls their lives. They may not do all that is listed but what they do, they are dominated by! These shall not inherit the kingdom??? And He guarantees what He promises. It is a frightening word to the lost sinner. And indeed is a call to flee the “wrath of God,” who will deal out retribution to those who know not God or do not obey the Gospel???
This IS one Promise You Don’t Want God To Fulfill in Your Life!
Why does He fulfill this promise? Because of the PRACTICE of your life! Frightening!
Contrast this life versus the on whom the Holy Spirit produces a supernatural life in and through a believer! Note it is not “fruits” but “fruit!” Let’s consider this life in which the Spirit produces “FRUIT.”There are two types of Fruit , This of the fruit of actions such as Giving,, good deeds, worship etc and here it is Attitudes… Attitudes come first and then the actions. Think right and then do right.This is also seen in Phil 4:8-9. Missouri is known as the “Show me” state,and in this passage is the proof you belong to Jesus Christ by what you “Show me!”
Love-{Agape}- The love God demonstrates, sacrificial.
It is NOT A love of Feeling but of Choice!
In 1 Cor 13:4-7 we see the behavior of love. This is what Love is like that the Holy Spirit produces. It is selfless, sacrificial, seeking the highest good of others at all times. You are being patient with others, kind, useful, not holding grudges, forgiving, thinking and speaking the best about others and consistently so. This is humanly impossible, But possible for the believer, and when He is yielded to he produces this attitude and action in and through us! 1 John 3:14 says we love believers “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. He who doesn’t love abides in death.” Do you love the believers? If you do then you can know for certainty based on His Word that you have passed out of death to life. Then you know you’ve passed out of death into life. “If you don’t love the brothers you abide in death.” 1 John 3;16-18,”We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.”
Love is as simple as meeting needs. The one who sees a believer in need and closes his or her heart of compassion, then the question is how can they be saved? The needs of others you know about and have the capacity to meet, and how you consistently respond will tell if the LOVE of God is in you or not! Love sees and sacrificially, gladly, consistently meets the needs of others! We see this in the store of the GOOD SAMARITAN. A man was jumped on and injured and left at the side of the road. Two religious people at different times, come and see him and they make a choice to walk on the other side of the road, leaving the man laying there. They were coming from the place of worship. They knew the WORD BUT DID NOT KNOW HIM and their deed shows it. But along comes the Samaritan and he sees. He stops. He stoops to serve the injured man. He takes him to place of safety. He has to continue on in his business trip. But not content, he tells the inn keeper that if the injured man needs anything to give it to him and he will pay on his return. He went the second mile. And JESUS commends him for his love for another!
SEE A NEED- MEET A NEED- FOR JESUS SAKE! THIS IS LOVE IN ACTION!
This love characterizes God who so loved the world sent His Son-{John 3:16}; It is a love for your enemies. We are never more like God than when we are loving our enemies. Caring and seeking their highest good.
Jesus demonstrated love to us and gave us an example by washing the feet of the disciples. While the disciples chaffed at stooping to wash the dirty feet of others, which was usually done by a servant, yet Jesus stoops to serve them and give them an “example” pattern to follow. He humbled Himself. He gave His life sacrificially for us His enemies… and now we as His empowered by His Spirit are to humbly seek to serve others sacrificially, looking out for others, Denying ourselves to prefer others! – {Read Phil 2;3-5}. “Be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God.” {Ephesians 5:1}. Model your life on Him, imitate Him and sacrificially live for Him by serving others! This is impossible in and of ourselves but all things are possible with God and because the Holy Spirit resides within you, as you yield to Him, His Word, He will produce this fruit in your life. A humble loving person in whom no service for the LORD is too low in serving others according to His Word for God’s Glory.
“So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.” -{Col 3:12}. “Put On,” like a new garment, the garment of grace and love is what holds it together. We ARE TO CHARACTERIZED BY LOVE. We are to be Identified by love. ” A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” – {John 13:34-35}. How will others, both believers and non believers know we belong to Jesus Christ beyond our profession? By our PRACTICE of living a life of sacrificial care for others. And this we do for Jesus Sake.”…ourselves your servants FOR Jesus sake.”- {2 Cor 4:5}.
This love is manifested and the gospel message is the avenue it is through, and increasingly so, “In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, and who also told us of your love in the Spirit. “– {Col 3;6-8} They had received the Gospel message and their lives were being fruitful, they were loving people. How was this so? He says through, “…your love in the Spirit. ” This is PRODUCED exclusively through the Holy Spirit! As you obey the command to continually “be filled with the Spirit,” which speaks of yielding to Him being in control of your thinking, motivation and deeds, and this we do as we let God’s Word new our thinking and as we walk in obedience to it, He will produce this loving, considerate, sacrificial THINKING and DOING. t is supernatural, not natural.And while many can make sacrifices, what differentiates it is the MOTIVATION, “…FOR Jesus sake”-{2 Cor 4:5} It is God producing in a life that belongs to Him, because His Holy Spirit lives in you!
The words of the old song says,”What the world needs now is love sweet love…” well, only the Christian who has the Spirit of Love residing in them and as He presides over them they will produce what the world needs is the love of Christ, the message of Christ that they too may submit to Him and turn from a life dominated by the flesh, to a life controlled by the Spirit and producing “The Fruit of The Spirit,” the fruit of LOVE!
Live lovingly, because you can!