How do you know if you are growing as a disciple of Jesus? In their book Organic Disciples, Kevin and Sherry Harney answer that question by having us focus on the fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23. That is, rather than focusing on a certain set of religious behaviors or practices (time spent praying, Bible verses read, etc.) as the measurement for if and how we are growing (which is how the Pharisees, whom Jesus rebuked, measured things!), we should look at our character to see the qualities of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control.
I think this is a very helpful way to approach this question, so I wanted to focus a bit more on the fruit of the Spirit. Rather than walking through each individual characteristic in the fruit, I want to ponder some qualities that manifest themselves in the imagery that the Spirit had the Apostle Paul use here and the context to which he wrote these words.
Not Earned Through Human Effort But Received Through the Faith
Both the imagery and the context show that these qualities are not something we achieve or earn through our own efforts. The major issue in the background of Paul’s letter to the Galatians is a false teaching that is spreading saying one must keep the Jewish Law in order to be saved; this would ultimately mean we are saved by works rather than faith. Paul confronts this by saying that it is through faith alone that we are saved (see Galatians 2:16) – in fact, it is through faith that we receive the Holy Spirit (Galatians 3:2). We don’t earn God’s favor by what we do, and it is the Spirit, not our own efforts, that produces these qualities in our lives. In addition, Paul contrasts the fruit of the Spirit with the “works of the flesh” (Galatians 5:19-21). Interestingly enough, Paul does not contrast the works of the flesh with “the works of the Spirit,” but rather with the “fruit of the Spirit.” I think this choice is intentional, as Paul wants to make it clear once again that these traits are not things we earn or achieve, but rather we receive by faith, with this faith being that we trust the Holy Spirit to guide and direct our lives rather than our natural, human natures. Don’t listen to your heart…listen to the Holy Spirit!
Not A Menu to Choose From But a Recipe
The Harneys use the imagery of a recipe to follow rather than a menu to choose from when discussing what they call the “markers” of spiritual maturity (Bible Engagement, Passionate Prayer, Wholehearted Worship, Humble Service, Joyful Generosity, Consistent Community, and Organic Outreach) that help the fruit of the Spirit to cultivate in our lives. I think this same imagery could be used regarding the fruit of the Spirit. Notice that the term is singular (fruit) rather than plural (fruits). While some scholars will argue that this is just tied to the nature of the work (what is known as a collective singular), I think there is an intentional contrast with the plural word “works” in terms of the contrast Paul makes between “fruit of the Spirit” and “works of the flesh.” The works of the flesh is a bit of a menu you might choose from; you might not have all these in your heart, but you will pick and choose some. In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit all go together. In fact, scholars have pointed out that the list of the “works of the flesh” has a random and chaotic feel, while the list of the fruit is ordered and they all seem to flow together. Thus, we need to remember that we can’t focus on some and not others on the list of the fruit. For example…yes to peace and joy (who doesn’t want those) and no to kindness and self-control (as those seem a bit more challenging!). It’s not “how am I doing in terms of the fruits of the Spirit?” but “how am I doing on the fruit of the Spirit?” – all of it together!
Not Automatic But Not Optional
In addition to fighting against a teaching that we are saved by works, Paul also counters a false teaching in Galatians that says what you do doesn’t matter – that you are free in Christ and now can do whatever you want (see Galatians 5:13-15). In fact, this is the immediate context in which Paul then gives this list, saying that our freedom from having to keep the Law should lead us to live this way and that living in the flesh means we would not inherit the kingdom of God (see Galatians 5:21). Thus, this fruit is essential for us to have. While it is the natural result of one having faith in Christ, it does not come automatically; It is through the work of the Spirit in our lives, but we are not passive in this because Paul then tells us that we need to walk by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16) and keep in step with the Spirit (5:21). How do we do that? I’m not sure if Paul tells us exactly here in Galatians, but this is where it goes back to the “markers” that the Harneys wrote about (see above); I would prefer to call these items “means” by which we get in touch with the Spirit and thus are able to walk with them. Reading our Bible, praying, worshiping, serving, being generous, being in community, and reaching out to others will not automatically cause you to follow the Spirit; conversely, I have a hard time seeing us walking with the Spirit if we aren’t doing those things as they provide means through which we turn from the flesh to depend upon the Spirit.
Not Actions But Attitudes
Another observation I want to point out about the fruit of the Spirit is how they are much more like attitudes than actions. The markers noted above are actions that we can easily mark off as doing, but the fruit of the Spirit are things that are difficult to precisely check off. We don’t say, “I did love today” but rather “was I loving?” This means that we bring these qualities into all areas of our lives and they will manifest themselves differently in different lives and also in different seasons. To use a different metaphor from a different teacher that comes from the musical world, these qualities give us the guidelines (key signatures, base melody, tempo) for how we are to live, but we will have to improvise in life accordingly – the music is not written all out for us! This also means that these qualities are not external but internal – they flow from the heart into actions rather than being actions that you can do for the wrong reasons.
Not Obvious But Embodied in Jesus
I’ve already mentioned how the fruit of the Spirit are in contrast to the works of the flesh in Galatians 5. Paul writes that the works of the flesh are “obvious” (CSB), but he makes no such comment about the fruit of the Spirit. Does that mean that these qualities are not obvious, that it is tough to figure them out? I don’t think that is the point he is making. In some ways, I think he is making it clear that the things that stand opposite to the Spirit are readily apparent; we should not plead ignorance that we didn’t know that these things are wrong. The challenge of the fruit of the Spirit is not that we don’t know what they look like, but that we choose not to follow the Spirit’s leading in our lives. And if we do need help to see what they look like, we should turn and look at Jesus who embodies all of these characteristics. The fruit of the Spirit is not a call to follow some rules and then everything will be good for us in life. Instead, it is a call for us to look to Jesus and follow Him and become more and more like Him. Let us keep in step with the Spirit and cultivate this fruit so that we may live like the one who came to live and die for us.
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