But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Galatians 5:22 (NIV)
The second mark of the person who is living by the Spirit is that the fruit of the Spirit is growing in his or her life.
There is a contrast between the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. The flesh produces works. The Spirit produces fruit. Fruit grows. It comes from a life within. It is not manufactured.
It is fruit of the Spirit (not of the law). If you were to ask: How do I get more love, joy, and peace in my life? How do I increase self-control? The answer is not by the law, but by the Spirit.
Suppose you had an apple tree in your backyard. But you don’t like apples. You like pears. There are two ways you could get pears. The first is to pull all the apples off the tree, buy some pears, and fix them to the branches with sticky tape. The second is to plant a pear tree in your yard.
That’s the difference between the law and the Spirit. The law cannot produce fruit. That’s the problem with attempts to live the Christian life that rely on bringing yourself under some authority—someone to hold you accountable. That may be of some value in restraining sin, but it is has no power to produce fruit! This approach produces “Just tell me what to do” Christians who do not have life in themselves. They are simply trying to imitate the life they see in somebody else, so that they become like plastic flowers.
The Holy Spirit will produce good fruit in your life. Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me…he will produce much fruit” (John 15:5).
What are some of the fruits you have observed growing in your own life?
