Village Bible Church || Aurora | Indian Creek | Sugar Grove | IL

Fruit of the Spirit: Ripe in All Seasons

“The Christian life, the fruit of the Spirit, is a constant reckoning of the flesh as dead and a constant relying on the present Spirit of Christ to produce love, joy, and peace within. ---John Piper

In Galatians, Paul gives a list of virtues called the fruit of the Spirit. They are certain qualities, where the Holy Spirit endows the church. They are the hallmark of a Spirit-filled life. Paul employs fruit of the Spirit to show the difference between a person who is under the flesh and a person who is walking by the Spirit.

J. I. Packer reminds us that, “Holiness is the fruit of the Spirit, displayed as the Christian walks by the Spirit (Gal 5:16, 22, 25). Therefore, the fruit of the Spirit is in stark contrast to the ‘works of the flesh.’” As a farmer prepares for a harvest of fruit, the Lord cultivates the fruit of the Spirit in the life of believers. As we study through the Spiritual fruits let’s ask the Holy Spirit to develop fruit in our lives.

A plant can’t produce fruit on its own. Plants need proper soil, moisture, and sunlight to mature to the point of producing fruit. If those elements are present, the plant will naturally produce fruit. Yet the fact that the fruit is born naturally doesn’t diminish the reality that work has to happen in the plant for the fruit to be produced. The work of that plant is consistent with the nature of the plant, so it’s natural, but it’s still work. We have a responsibility to actively depend on Christ. In this series, we will observe what happens when we inwardly depend on the Spirit. With this in mind we want to achieve 2 aims:

• To consider how you have seen the fruit of the Spirit in the lives of others.
• To identify the fruit of the Spirit in each our lives, examining the obstacles to fruitfulness and the ways we might overcome them.

About this spiritual fruit, Philip Kenneson writes,

“These metaphors and images underscore the importance in the Christian life of both work and grace. All farmers know that there is always more work to be done than there is time to do it; nevertheless, these same farmers also understand that much of what happens to the crops is beyond their control. There is much for the farmer to do, but the farmer cannot make the seed sprout, the sun shine or the rain fall. In fact, it is only because the farmer trusts that these good gifts will continue to be given that the challenging and risk-filled enterprise of farming is undertaken at all. Grace and effort, gift and work: these must be held together.

Unfortunately, Christians often either pit these against each other or emphasize one to the exclusion of the other. The wisdom of the farmer reminds us that both are required, in full measure, in order to grow anything worth harvesting. The same holds for the life of the Spirit. There is always plenty of work to be done, but no one who undertakes that work should do so without realizing that growth in the Spirit is first of all the gift of God.”

We must keep this understanding in mind as we explore the Spirit’s fruit. Only the Spirit can enable us to bear fruit, but our contribution to cultivating the fruit is essential too. Growing fruit takes time, and the fruit of the Spirit grows particularly slowly. Sometimes the growth is imperceptible, but the Spirit’s presence in our lives guarantees that growth will occur.

Our commitment to growth wanes easily when we grow tired of waiting, but we must not become discouraged. Rather, we must continue to do our part by laying aside our preoccupation with ourselves and focusing on others—both God and our neighbors. As we learn to do this, we will see fruit grow that only the Spirit of God working within us can produce.