Introduction To The Fruit Of The Spirit Series

A doctor, an engineer, and an attorney were debating whose profession was the oldest. The

doctor said, " it's obvious the medical profession was the first. The Bible refers to God creating Eve

from Adam's rib, and that is surgical procedure." But the engineer said, "No! before that, God

created the world out of chaos, and one must be an engineer to create a world." "But wait," said the

lawyer, "where do you think that chaos came from?"

Lawyer's do create a lot of chaos, because the very nature of their profession involves the chaos of

broken laws, and the resulting broken lives. Chaos is their bread and butter. One lawyer had a

bumper sticker that read, "PLEASE HIT ME-I'M A LAWYER." The complexity of the law is so

vast because, as judge Harry Shafer writes, "we have fifty million laws trying to enforce ten

commandments." There has to be a law against so many human actions because they are offensive

and harmful to other persons and their property. Paul lists fifteen acts of the sinful nature of man in

verses 19-21 of Galatians 5. But then in verses 22-23 he lists nine things which he calls the fruit of

the Spirit, and he ends verse 23 with this statement, "against such things there is no law." Laws are

to restrain people from certain behavior, but there is no need to restrain from these nine things.

In all the huge volumes of laws around the world you will search in vain to find a law against

love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. So it is not

true that everything good is either illegal or fatening. None of these nine fruits will add a pound to

your body or any guilt to your conscience, for there is nothing illegal or fatening. There is no need

for laws to control the growth of this fruit, for in contrast to the acts of the flesh, these acts and

attitudes do not hurt people in any way. They help and heal, and they add beauty and pleasure to all

relationships. These fruits are a foretaste of heaven, and the goal in this life is to become a garden

where they grow in abundance.

The Greek word for fruit is KARPOS, and it is a very popular word in the New Testament. It is

used 66 times, and Jesus uses it more than all the rest combined. It was one of His favorite words. I

looked up a number of the texts where Jesus used the word fruit and discovered that sometimes he

said fruits, in the plural. At other times he used the singular to convey the plural. The singular and

the plural are used interchangeably. My conclusion is that there is no basis for the debate over which

is most correct to say, the fruit of the Spirit, or the fruits of the Spirit. It makes no difference if you

call them the fruit of the fruits of the Spirit. Either way you are dealing with nine distinct values.

Fruit is a very positive word, for it brings to mind the images of delicious and tasty food we

enjoy. God started the world with a very healthy environment, for the basic food was fruit in the

garden of Eden. Fruit is basic to the good health of the body. The Bible ends with fruit as the key

food also, for in the book of Rev. we see the Tree of Life, and it bears twelve kinds of fruit-one for

each month of the year. If the Bible begins and ends with fruit, that ought to be a good clue as to

what a healthy diet is in the eyes of God. There is no image of paradise anywhere that does not

include fruit as a major factor in its beauty and pleasure

The word fruit comes from the Latin word FRUCTUS, which means enjoyment. Fruit got this

name because it is the source of such quick and easy pleasure. You just grab an apple off the tree

and sink your teeth into it and enjoy it right now without any preparation or cooking. So it is also

with many other fruits. In contrast, grains, vegetables, and meats call for delayed pleasure until they

are prepared for eating. It is the instant nature of their enjoyment that is a distinguishing

characteristic of fruit.

This is the case with the nine fruits of the Spirit also. They give instant pleasure to the soul. Like

physical fruit, they may take time to develop, but when they are ripe they give immediate enjoyment

to both producer and consumer. People who eat only fruit are called fruitarians. In this series on the

Fruits of the Spirit we are going to be Biblical fruitarians, and strive to consume all God has