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Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

As we continue our look at the Fruit of the Spirit, we come to the second on the list; ‘joy’. The word itself can mean happiness, gladness, or rejoicing, but there is so much more to it. I like to think of joy as the emotion of salvation.

1 Peter 1:8 (NIV)
8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,

People often confuse joy with happiness. Happy, from the word happenstance, is tied to circumstance. When our circumstances are just right, we will experience happiness. While happiness is good, joy is better. Joy is deeper. Joy is not dependent on circumstance. Joy comes from the Lord. It is a fruit of the Spirit.

We all go through times in our lives when we are facing some very difficult situations. Financial crisis, illness, loss, broken relationships, hurricanes, or other natural disaster; but we can still have joy.

James 1:2 (NIV)
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,

That verse is one of those verses that should make you pause and ask ‘really’? Trials should be considered pure joy? We need to get some context to try and understand what James is saying.

James 1:2-4 (NIV)
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

The idea is that when we are going through trials, we need to remember that we are New Creation people and that we have an unswerving hope to hold onto. As we face trials, and as Holy Spirit leads and guides and helps us through them, we learn that we can always trust God. We know that these trials are temporary. There is a time coming when death will not exist and there will be no more pain or tears or hurt. We can lean into our hope, draw on His promise and experience this joy that the Spirit is producing regardless of the current situation and circumstances. Continue to yield to Holy Spirit as He develops His fruit in you!

Steve Lawes is a Church Consultant and also provides coaching for pastors, churches, ministries and church planters.

Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

In the introduction to this series, we described the “fruit of the Spirit” as the nine visible attributes of a believer that are being produced in us as we yield to Holy Spirit. Love is the first of these attributes as it encompasses all the other fruits of the Spirit. The Apostle John makes an awesome claim when he writes that “God is love”.

1 John 4:8 (NIV)
8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

1 John 4:16 (NIV)
16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.

God is love. This reality has a huge impact on the way that we are to live as His children because He wants us to love like He does. When Jesus is asked about the most important commandment in the law, His answer is twofold: Love God and love your neighbor as yourself.

Matthew 22:34-40 (NIV)
34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

When the expert in the law asked Jesus this question, he was probably expecting the first part of the answer since Jesus was quoting from Deuteronomy 6:4-9, a passage known as the Shema which had become the Jewish confession of faith.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (NIV)
4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

But Jesus then adds something that went beyond what was specifically asked, saying, “And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ ”. This was not a new commandment since Jesus was quoting Leviticus 19:18.

Leviticus 19:18 (NIV)
18 “‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.

It appears the religious leaders of the day had not put these two verses together before. Jesus raised “love your neighbor” to a much higher level of importance. He wants us to love like He does.

More than a Feeling

Biblical love is not merely a feeling, it is about what we do.

Matthew 7:12 (NIV)
12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

If you only love when you feel like it, you are not experiencing the supernatural love that is a fruit of the Spirit. Holy Spirit empowers us to love in actions and in words. Jesus develops this concept in a “new command”:

John 13:34 (NIV)
34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

What was new about this command? The second half of the verse changes everything, “As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” When Jesus says, “love one another,” He means for us to walk in love even when it is not easy and He models this in His life and ministry.

Matthew 20:28 (NIV)
28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

John 15:13 (NIV)
13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

Jesus laid down His time and energy continually, and then laid down His very life for those He loved. The love of God must be produced in us by Holy Spirit and then flow out of us to those around us.

Steve Lawes is a Church Consultant and also provides coaching for pastors, churches, ministries and church planters.

Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

In this series we are going to look at the “fruit of the Spirit”. The “fruit of the Spirit” is a term that describes the nine visible attributes of the life of a believer listed in Galatians 5:22-23.

This “fruit of the Spirit” is what the Holy Spirit is producing in us as our lives are transformed. I often think of the “fruit of the Spirit” as the currency of the Kingdom of God. Before we dive into our look at each of the fruits developed by the Spirit in us let’s get some context.

Galatians 5:13-18 (NIV)
13 You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. 14 The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. 16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.

In Galatians 5 we are challenged to live by the Spirit. When Adam and Eve sinned they died spiritually.

Genesis 2:17 (NIV)
17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”

This was a condition they passed on to all of us.

Ephesians 2:1-3 (NIV)
1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.

But in Christ we are made alive.

Ephesians 2:4-5 (NIV)
4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions–it is by grace you have been saved.

This life in Christ is made possible by grace.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God– 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

Works (the law) couldn’t do it. We are to live this life in Christ by the Spirit.

Galatians 5:16-18 (NIV)
16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.

The Holy Spirit lives in us and leads and guides us into real life. We are to yield to Him, to cooperate with Him so that the “fruit of the Spirit” is fully developed in us. This allows us to experience true freedom. Understanding that we are no longer under the law does not mean that we can now go and do whatever we feel like doing to try and satisfy our old sin nature.

Galatians 5:13 (NIV)
13 You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.

This freedom allows us to experience real life by serving others in love and in so doing to transform the world. As we learn to yield to Him the “fruit of the Spirit” is there. When we are not yielded to Him, our sinful nature is running things and the fruit is not there.

I always talk about driving, but think about it, when my sin nature is engaged I am all about me. I have no patience for people. No kindness. But when I am yielded to the Spirit it is natural to be patient and kind.

This life in Christ, by the Spirit, empowers and frees us to act in love, to know and share joy, to experience His peace and all the other blessings of the “fruit of the Spirit”.

Steve Lawes is a Church Consultant and also provides coaching for pastors, churches, ministries and church planters.