1. powerpoint presentation designed by claro ruiz vicente http://clarovicente.weebly.com Adult Bible Study Guide Jan Feb Mar 2010 Adult Bible Study Guide Jan Feb Mar 2010

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3. Contributor Richard O’Ffill Principal Contributor T HE F RUIT OF THE S PIRIT

4. The Fruit of the Spirit is… General Introduction {4} Christians, by their very profession, are held up to a high moral standard. After all, look at the One whom they profess as their model, Jesus Christ. How, then, should Christians live? The key is found in Galatians 5:22, 23. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”

5. The Fruit of the Spirit is… General Introduction {4} We are going to look at this “fruit of the Spirit”; that is, we are going to look at what happens to those whose lives are surrendered to God and who thus allow the Holy Spirit to work in them. The fruit of the Spirit is what grows in us when we are born of the Spirit; it is what happens when we are born-again.

6. The Fruit of the Spirit is… General Introduction {5} The fruit of the Spirit is not a theory, though we have made it a study. It is not a lifestyle, though a person who is cultivating the fruit of the Spirit will not live as he or she did before. Instead, the fruit of the Spirit is a change of being.

7. The Fruit of the Spirit is… General Introduction {5} The key is surrender, a willingness to die to self and live for God and for others. The fruit of the Spirit is just that—the “fruit,” the result of salvation, not the means. The means is always Jesus and what He has done for us, which we claim by faith.

8. The Fruit of the Spirit Contents 1. “By Their FRUIT…” 2. The Fruit of the Spirit is LOVE 3. The Fruit of the Spirit is JOY 4. The Fruit of the Spirit is PEACE 5. The Fruit of the Spirit is PATIENCE 6. The Fruit of the Spirit is KINDNESS 7. The Fruit of the Spirit is GOODNESS 8. The Fruit of the Spirit is FAITHFULNESS 9. The Fruit of the Spirit is MEEKNESS 10. The Fruit of the Spirit is SELF-CONTROL 11. The Fruit of the Spirit is RIGHTEOUSNESS 12. The Fruit of the Spirit is TRUTH 13. The Fruit of the Spirit: The Essence of CHRISTIAN CHARACTER

9. The Fruit of the Spirit Our Goal {5} The purpose of this quarter’s lessons is not to focus on how we can become more patient or more loving or more gentle or more faithful but on how we can let the Holy Spirit make us more like Jesus, who is patience, love, gentleness, and faithfulness personified.

10. The Fruit of the Spirit Lesson 1, January 2 The Fruit of the Spirit Lesson 1, January 2 “By Their Fruit...”

11. “By Their Fruit…” Key Text Matthew 7:20 NKJV “ ‘Therefore by their fruits you will know them.’ ” “ ‘So you may know the quality of men by what they produce.’ ” Phillips

12. “By Their Fruit…” Initial Words {7} Those who abide in Jesus always will bear fruit of the Spirit. Do you sometimes wonder if that promise really could be for you? The answer is a resounding Yes. We can be confident of this very thing. And the best news yet is that the good work the Holy Spirit is doing in our lives is not just for now but for eternity.

13. “By Their Fruit…” Quick Look 1. Fruits: as Identity (Luke 6:43, 44) 2. Fruits: the Strategy (John 15:2, 5, 8) 3. Fruits: as Security (Luke 13:7)

14. “By Their Fruit…” 1. Fruits: as Identity Luke 6:43, 44 NKJV “ ‘For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit.’ ”

15. 1.Fruits: as Identity Known by It {8} A person reveals himself or herself not so much by what he or she profess by what he or she is. The fruit of the Spirit is given to the child of God so that his or her life might be changed. We can look good, sound good, and even appear to do good. But unless the Holy Spirit gives us a new heart, we can never be good.

16. A person will not miraculously be born and grow into maturity manifesting the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is not self- originating. God must graft it onto each individual. We have an active role in the process. We must surrender to God and allow Him to grow the fruit of the Spirit in us. 1.Fruits: as Identity Known by It {11}

17. “By Their Fruit…” 2. Fruits: the Strategy John 15:2, 5, 8 NKJV “ ‘Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. … Without me you can do nothing. … By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit….’ ”

18. 2. Fruits: the Strategy Connected {10, 13} A branch cannot bear fruit unless it is connected to the vine. This is a crucial point. The Vine is a symbol of Christ Himself. The Vine provides vitality and nourishment to the branches and enables them to bear fruit. The Vine is not just any Vine; it is a good Vine, and the branches, provided they are attached to the Vine, produce good fruit.

19. “ ‘Every branch that bears fruit He prunes.’ ” “Character must be tested, else there would be many spurious Christians who would keep up a fair semblance of religion…. When by the Lord’s permission sharp trials come to them, their lack of genuine religion, … shows them to be in need of the work of the Holy Spirit.” In Heavenly Places 266 2. Fruits: the Strategy Pruned {14}

20. “ ‘By this My Father is glorified.’ ” The fruit of the Spirit is not to make us look good but to make the Father look good. It is possible to create good will and leave the Father out, taking the credit for ourselves. What really motivates some of your actions? 2. Fruits: the Strategy Glorified God {12}

21. Luke 13:7 NKJV “ ‘For three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’ ” “By Their Fruit…” 3. Fruits: as Security

22. Proof of Salvation {16} If we would abide in Him we would bear much fruit; which is a product of being saved by Him. That is, if we abide in Him, by faith, we are assured of salvation, because of His righteousness, which is credited to us. If we do not abide in Him we will not bear fruit, and those who do not bear fruit will wither and at last be cast into the fire.

23. Jesus held out hope for those who produced bad fruit (they could someday produce good fruit) or those who had not yet had opportunity to produce fruit; but His response to the barren but visually appealing fig tree was to curse it and cause it to wither. A warning of ultimate end of a life that bears no fruit: the second death. 3. Fruits: as Security Proof of Salvation {13}

24. The Faith I Live By 90 Final Words {18} “All who join themselves to the church but not to the Lord will in time develop their true character. … The precious fruit of godliness, temperance, patience, kindness, love, and charity, does not appear in their lives. They bear only thorns and briers. God is dishonored before the world by all such professors.”