Fruits of the Spirit

The Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)

• Love
• Peace
• Joy
• Long-suffering
• Goodness
• Kindness
• Faithfulness
• Gentleness
• Self-control

... By their fruits, you shall know them... Fruits conform the Christian to Christ's image.

The Fruits of the spirit have to do with our character traits that we display daily in our engagement with others and in our spiritual walk with Christ.

I recall when I first gave my life to Christ many years ago as an undergraduate, I desired the Lord with a passion. And then one day, while I was praying with my friends (a group of young believers too), something happened that I cannot forget till today. We were deep in the spirit and suddenly, a scream came out of my mouth and it was as though something was wrenched forcefully out of me. The scream was such that it drew students from the surrounding hostels - hostile boys who threatened to break down our room door, if we did not bring out the man we were harboring. God intervened and a few leaders from the campus fellowship came to our rescue and helped to disperse the crowd that gathered at our door.

Even as a very young Christian;    barely months old, I knew I had been delivered of demonic possession, oppression or depression or something akin to this. But for the next couple of months, rather than thank God for the deliverance, I went from one spiritual leader to the next asking questions. My fear was "was I really saved? if I was, how come that I still had anything of the devil in me?"

I was so worried. The doctrinal belief then was that at the point of salvation; when the spirit of God comes into you, the Holy Spirit eliminates all contrary spirits and things in your life. It was a time of deep torment to me and nobody could provide answers to my nagging questions. "If any man be in Christ, He is a new creature; old things  have passed away". This must be understood in context. Yes, you are a new Creature in Christ. The old man with evil ways will recede to the degree that you allow Christ's image to be formed in you; the degree that you yield to the Holy spirit.

"Be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind" is a call to Christians not unbelievers. It shows that there is great work to be done on the New Man. being "Born Again" does not imply a magical transformation; it requires a consciousness about the place of the fruits of the Spirit in our lives : Love, Joy, Peace, Long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and  self-control.

It is really amazing how that as a young Christian, there was so much emphasis on the Gifts of the Spirit rather than the Fruits of the Spirit which will enable us to conform to the image of Christ.

When we have the foundation of the Spiritual Fruits (which build the integrity of character in us and makes us Christ-like ), then we would be able to operate effectively with the Gifts of the spirit - which have more to do with operations, the tools you need to exercise authority and do the Christian work. That is why 1st Corinthians 13 is so apt. The fruits will abide with us through eternity but the gifts will end here on earth. In heaven, we will no longer need prophets and the gift of tongues; the action would have been taken to another level.

Bearing the fruits of the Spirit in our lives takes some discipline: Remaining in the presence of God, reading and living the word of God. Christ is the word and if we are to be like Him, then the word must abide in us. bearing the fruits of the Spirit means that we have yielded ourselves to the Holy Spirit. The Fruits do not come down and into our lives in one fell swoop just as the mango tree does not yield all of it's fruits to us all at once. We must remain near the tree, water it and even tend it over time. As the time becomes ripe, we enjoy the pleasures of the fruits.