1. Fruit of the Spirit Galatians 5:22-23 Series Introduction

2. Glass Grapes and the Fruit of the Spirit We crave the fruit of the Spirit, but often they seem very elusive. Why? The world promotes glass beads … not the real thing.

3. Galatians 5:13-26 “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.

4. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.”

5. The biblical usage of the term “fruit” has a specific, almost constant form. Fruit symbolizes the consequence or product of an action or set of beliefs. The fruit is a result of the thinking and behaviour. Therefore, the fruit of the Spirit finds is genesis in our thoughts and behaviour. Notice that the passage says the “fruit of the Spirit is” not the “fruits of the Spirit are”. As followers of Jesus we should be showing all nine character qualities, not just picking and choosing to bear the fruit that we find we almost naturally produce. We will all experience the fruit in a different mix – some may be more patient, others more loving, and so on – but we are to embody all nine of the characteristics in some way in our lives.

6. It is not the “fruits of the Spirit”, a Harvey’s sort of selection, but the “fruit of the Spirit”, a McDonald’s Big Mac sort of order.

7. Two ideas: fruit denotes a result of thought and behavior and that fruit denotes a singular produce. Paul presents an interesting dichotomy – he speaks about the flesh and the Spirit - two “natures” in direct conflict The ultimate fruit of the acts of the flesh is an inability to enter into eternal life. The passage in a nutshell - A person controlled by the flesh, engages in the acts of the flesh, which produces things like evil, hatred and indiscipline, ultimately culminating in an exclusion from eternal life. A person controlled by the Spirit, engages in the acts of the Spirit, which produces the fruit of the Spirit and ultimately, eternal life. How do we become people of the Spirit, rather than people of the flesh?

8. Spirit Rather than Flesh You become people of the Spirit when you submit to the lordship of Jesus Christ and allow the Spirit to take up residence in you – when you become a dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. This movement from flesh to Spirit, from death to new life, is a God thing, plain and simple. Why does the fruit we bear matter anyhow … is it not just about believing in Jesus and praying “the” prayer?

9. Matthew 7:15-23 Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

10. The fruit we bear is important because it acts as evidence to us of the reality of our salvation. What does the fruit of my life tell me about my standing in Christ? “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do … For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing … So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.” (Romans 7: )

11. “But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.” (Romans 8:10-11) It is through the ongoing work of the Spirit in our lives that we begin to engage more regularly in the acts of the Spirit, thereby producing the fruit of the Spirit in increasing measure.

12. This type of a life is highly desirable from a personal point of view, but the real effect is that fruit produced by the Spirit nourishes an undernourished world. Our world craves the fruit of the Spirit, but mistakes the false for the genuine artifacts – we desire grapes, but chase after glass beads. When love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control effuse from us through the power of the Holy Spirit, the spiritual strongholds in our community will buckle and break. People hungry for this real fruit will be drawn to us, and through us, be drawn into eternal relationship with God.

13. We cannot program the development of the fruit of the Spirit, we cannot conjure this up, or manipulate it into occurring. In the end, it is profoundly a God thing, a working of His Holy Spirit. “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is —his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:1-2)

14. It begins with a sacrificial offering of ourselves and continues with a refusal to conform to the world any longer; it is a rejection of this world in favour of Christ’s Kingdom. When we find ourselves able to sacrificially submit to Christ and open to a transformation of our mind, then we will be in line to determine God’s will; it is then that we will be able to engage in the acts of the Spirit that result in the production of the fruit of the Spirit.