Probably the first epistle that Paul penned.
Written because the Christians of the region of Galatian were being taught some doctrine that Paul had to refute.
Galatians 5:22–23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”
We’ve been examining the fruit in the order Paul listed them.
We began with love:
It is appropriate that love is listed first, as the fruit of the Spirit.
Love encompasses the fruit of the Spirit.
Each of these characteristics listed after love, involve love.
Next Joy:
Greek transliteration in this context: calm delight
We examined several verses including:
Psalm 51:12 “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.”
It is this joy in our salvation that leads to peace that only comes from God.
Last week we looked at:
Patience, kindness and goodness
Patience:
We considered some the the quips about patience.
We live in an instant gratification world, with every problem solved in a 30 second commercial or 30 minute TV show.
Next we unboxed a few ways to cultivate patience in our lives, including:
Thanking God always
Remembering the many promises of God
Seeking His purpose in our lives
A willingness to wait upon The Lord and His will.
Kindness:
Greek transliteration of kindness is: chrestotes
(crAy-stO-tAs) moral excellence, in character or demeanor. The grace which pervades the whole nature of a person.
I asked you to consider that person you know who has a “sweet-spirit” about them.
Lastly, we looked at how powerful spontaneous kindness can be a blessing for us as well as for others.
Goodness:
We did a quick overview of the goodness of God.
the quality of being morally good or virtuous.
Moral goodness essentially means “conformity to God’s principles and character”.
Goodness is a standard. Not a standard of our neighbor, our co-workers, our spouse, or parents; but a standard we strive for in God alone.
As we wrap up this series today, I’d like to remind you of a couple of things:
This series is built around the premise or construct that:
Holy Spirit instructs, leads, guides and empowers us.
And, that nothing we do, in ourselves, produces fruit of the Spirit, but by allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us, we with produce fruit through Him.
Before, we get started:
Did you read something new in God’s word this past week, or
Did you read a familiar passage with new eyes?
---Let’s go to the Lord in prayer---
Today we are looking at:
Faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control
Faithfulness:
Depending on the translation, but the word faithfulness, or faithful, or faith; is found in the NT between 227-242 times.
It is found in every book of the NT except:
John, 2nd John, and 3rd John
Begin with a couple of familiar verses:
Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Hebrews 12:1–3 “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy(bliss, calm delight) that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.”
Church, if you don’t hear anything else today, hear this: Your faith is no accident.
For the rest of this week, if you need to chew on that, I encourage you to be deliberate is accepting and believing that fact, at this critical juncture in our walk. Give this thought so as to be strong and not be shaken in your faith.
Let’s look at a few facets of faithfulness:
1)Firm conviction:
Unshaken
Not easily deceived
Not blown around be every wind of doctrine
Rooted in Gods truth
2)Fully surrendered to God
3) Conduct becoming of a follower of Christ
A.Z. Tozer wrote:
Every man lives by faith, the nonbeliever as well as the saint, the one by faith in natural laws, and the other by faith in God.
We cultivate faithfulness by reading His word!
Gentleness:
Several translations read “meekness”.
The Expositors Greek Testament describes meekness as:
the outcome of true humility, the bearing towards others which results from a lowly estimate of ourselves.
When we allow Holy Spirit to led us in cultivating gentleness we:
Build others up
Show God’s grace
Do unto others
Last week we talked about God being our standard for measuring goodness.
Check this out.
Only two people in the entire bible are described as meek.
OT- Numbers 12:3 “(Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.)”
NT- Matthew 21:5 Tell ye the daughter of Zion, behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon a donkey, and a colt the foal of a donkey.
Pretty high standards, huh?
Here are a few ways we can live out the virtue of gentleness in our lives.
First off, it is about living under God’s control.
We are uniquely created in His image.
Our personality is our “trademark” if you will.
God created our personality, He doesn’t intend to change that, rather shape it under His control.
Secondly, it is our unique outlook on life. We look at things differently.
Philippians 2:4–5 “Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,”
Last week Joshua read Ephesians 5:8–11 “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.”
Thirdly, in our words. One of my faves in NT is:
Ephesians 4:29 “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.”
Proverbs 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.”
Lastly, in our expectations.
Ephesians 4:2 “with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,”
When our expectations have been surrendered to God, our questions can transition from “why is this happening to me?”, to “what are you trying to teach me?” or “how can I grow from this situation?”
When we live these out led by the Holy Spirit, I believe gentleness or meekness is a natural outcome, and by extension an inheritance promised by Jesus.
Matthew 5:5 “Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.”
and now,
the last fruit listed in Galatians 5:22-23 self-control.
When I began this study, patience and self-control seemed a bit redundant. But I now have a clearer understanding of the difference.
Coincidentally, those are the two that the Holy Spirit has PATIENTLY been leading me.
Last week we spend some time at Camp Patience.
This week we’ll spend some time in the confines of Self-Control.
So, I read several versions, definitions, and a Greek transliteration, and I’ve walked away with a completely new perspective of Self-Control.
Let’s begin with the Greek transliteration of self-control:
to exercise complete control over one’s desires and actions.
A dictionary definition is as follows: a firm control over the passions.
Several translations use “temperance” in place of self-control.
Elliott’s commentary on temperance is this:
The Christian will not only abstain from intoxicating drinks, but from all exciting passions, he will be temperate in his manner of living, and in the government of his temper. This may be applied to temperance properly so called with us, but it should not be limited to that. (Check this out) A Christian must be a temperate man, and if the effect of his religion is not to produce this, it is false and vain. (Sobering thought)
Here Paul is speaking of all passions, intoxicating drinks, as well as food. This steps on my toes! and my palette.
About 3 years ago, after the first night @ men’s summit, I woke up early that next morning, preparing to do a quick devotional before breakfast and God spoke to me clear as a bell. “You’re addicted to food”. Hmmm...
Daddy Mac story
my grandfather spanked me. One morning he made breakfast for me (a real breakfast, not Carnation Instant Breakfast), and I refused to eat it. I have no idea why, because I loved eggs and bacon then, as I still do to this day. He pulled out his belt and spanked me a good one. I didn’t know this until years later, but immediately after he spanked me, he went behind his shop and cried.
He had great love for his family. A fierce defender of his family, yet one of the most gentle tender hearts I ever knew.
Two things came out of that memory:
Love tempers anger into gentleness
Because of that spanking for not eating my food, I am addicted to food! I’m just joking about that second one of course. I think...
Proverbs 25:28 “Whoever has no rule over his own spirit Is like a city broken down, without walls.”
We are susceptible to attack from the enemy when lack self-control. Without self-control, we are easily broken in to.
Okay, in my first closing today...
Examining the fruit of the Spirit, as a whole, I think of love and self-control as the “book-ends” that bind these together.
Love encompasses each of the fruits, and self-control or temperance is the moderator or regulator, of them all. Not sure if that makes sense to you, but hey it does to me.
Let’s look at Galatians 5:25 “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”
Paul is admonishing us to be in step with God. Ever been out of step with God?
Was it confusing? Did it affect those around you?
Illustration of Sonny...
I’d like us to go to Galatians 5:17–19 “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,”
He goes on in verses 20-21
Galatians 5:20–21 “idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
Comments:
Galatians 5:17–18 “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”
We are in constant, incessant, spiritual battle.
Romans 7:15–16 “For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good.”
Here in Romans, Paul is speaking of the same law he is speaking in Galatians.
He is saying that if He is living in the flesh, then the law is right and good.
However, he is teaching in Gal. 5:22-23 that when when we walk in the Spirit, there is no need for the law.
Check this out:
Paul writes “works of the flesh”-plural.(works) Which in my mind, indicates the potential for disunity.
Fruit of the Spirit (singular) Which in my mind, indicates unity and an unbreakable bond.
Let’s revisit John 15:5 ““I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”
John 15:7–8 “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”
Additionally,
Paul lists 18 works of the flesh, that can be broken down as this:
Galatians 5:19 “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,” (sexual sins)
Galatians 5:20 “idolatry, sorcery, (connected with pagan religion)
hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,” “envy, murder (sins of temper or passions)
drunkenness, revelries and the like (sins of drunkenness)
But the fruit of the Spirit combats and defeats all of these!
In my second closing,
I’d like to “breakdown” if you will, the fruit of the Spirit
1st three- Love, joy, peace concern our attitude toward God
2nd three-patience, kindness, goodness; social relations
3rd three-faithfulness, gentleness and self-control; concerning guiding the Christian (the individual)
Here’s yet another perspective for us to consider:
Joy, peace, patience and self-control; are virtues within us
Love, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and goodness; are virtues we express outwardly
In my third closing:
In the works of the flesh, we are called to avoid and oppose
Fruit of the Spirit, we are called to cherish and cultivate.
We’ve considered several ways to cultivate the fruit of the Spirit,
Asking the Holy Spirit to lead us
Sow the seeds of God’s word
Walk in the Spirit
Let’s turn to Galatians 6:6–8 “Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches. Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.”
Galatians 6:9–10 “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.”
