Recap – Part 1
a. Fruit bearing is by design and is natural
b. Fruit comes from mature plants in DUE SEASON, in God’s time
c. You get what you plant
d. You have to plant GOOD SEED
e. God controls the quantity of the harvest

Characteristics of the Fruit
Paul's introduction of the word fruit is filled with meaning. Instead of using “Works”, he chose the term “Fruit”
i. Work equals “things you must do”
ii. Fruit equals “things that naturally grow”

Characteristics of the Fruit
"Fruit," however, is singular, indicating that all the fruits exist as a single unit (likeabunchofgrapesratherthanmanydifferentpiecesoffruit)
i. All the fruit are important to all believers (unlike "gifts" that are dispensed differently to different people, as God sees fit).

Characteristics of the Fruit
"Fruit" is a by-product; it takes time to grow and requires care and cultivation

The Spirit produces the fruit; our job is to live in harmony with the Spirit

The apostle Paul lists nine things the Spirit of God produces for our wellness and spiritual growth.

These nine fruit (singular) are the by-product of Christ’s control of our lives.

They come to us through His will and with His help

The fruit of the Spirit separates Christians from a godless, evil world, revealsapowerwithinthem,andhelpsthembecomemoreChrist-likein their daily lives.

In order to have them, we must:
- Know, love and trust Him
- Depend on Him
- Remember and Meditate on Him
- Imitate Him

Types of Fruit
Inward Traits (Come from God)
Relationships With Others

Inward Traits (Come from God)
Love (agape) - ἀγάπη
Love as shown by Jesus, whose love is self-sacrificing and unchanging, and as demonstrated by God who sent his Son for sinners.

Love forms the foundation for all the other fruit listed. Love seeks the better good of the one to whom it is directed. Agape love.

Elsewhere, Paul breaks love itself down into various components (see 1 Corinthians 13), so that "love" turns out to bear little resemblance to the emotional meaning so often given to the word.

Joy (chara) - χαρά
1. An inner rejoicing that abides despite outer circumstances.
2. This characteristic has little to do with happiness and can exist in times of unhappiness.
3. It is a deep and nourishing satisfaction that continues even when a life situation seems empty and unsatisfying.
4. The relationship with God through Christ remains even in the deserts and valleys of living.

Peace (eirene) - εἰρήνη
1. An inner quietness and trust in God's sovereignty and justice, even in the face of adverse circumstances.
2. This is a profound agreement with the truth that God, not we, remains in charge of the universe.

Relationships With Others
Longsuffering – Patience (makrothymia) - μακροθυμία
1. Patiently putting up with people who continually irritate us.
2. The Holy Spirit's work helps us to increase our endurance.

Gentleness – (chrēstotēs) - χρηστότης
1. Acting charitably, benevolently toward others, as God did toward us.
2. Kindness takes the initiative in responding to other people's needs.

Goodness – (agathosune) - ἀγαθωσύνη
1. Reaching out to do good to others, even if they don't deserve it.
2. Goodness does not react to evil but absorbs the offense and responds with positive action.

Outward Traits
Faith - (pistis) - πίστις
1. Faithfulness
a. Reliable
b. Trustworthy
2. The gift of faith is the ability to be FAITH FILLED. That means having faith.
a. Refer to the message from a few weeks ago
3. Being FAITH FILLED will lead to be FAITHFUL
4. The Christian will be a faithful individual, an individual faithful to his word and promises; an individual who can be trusted or confided in.

Meekness – (proates) - πραότης
1. This can also be translated as “gentleness”
2. Humble, considerate of others, submissive to God and his Word.
3. Even when anger is the appropriate response, as when Jesus cleared the temple, gentleness keeps the expression of anger headed in the right direction.

Temperance – (egkrateia) - ἐγκράτεια
1. This can also be translated as “self-control”
2. Mastery over sinful human desires and their lack of restraint. Ironically, our sinful desires, which promise self-fulfillment and power, inevitably lead us to slavery.
3. When we surrender to the God’s will, initially we feel as though we have lost control, but he leads us to the exercise of self-control that would be impossible in our own strength.

The Spirit produces these character traits that are found in the nature of Christ.

They are the by-products of Christ's control; we can't obtain them by trying to get them without his help.

If we want the fruit of the Spirit to grow in us, we must align our lives to his

a. Know, love and trust Him
b. Depend on Him
c. Remember and Meditate on Him
d. Imitate Him

To understand the fruit of the Spirit, we must see ourselves, not as individual trees, but as an entire garden under the cultivation of God's Spirit

- His purpose involves not simply the production of a single kind of fruit but all the fruit, each becoming ripe as it is needed.
- No one person can perfectly exemplify all the fruit all the time.
- We are all needed to produce God's harvest of virtue.
- We must not be discouraged if our love or patience is not perfect.
- Don't let your lack of fruitfulness in some areas destroy what God is trying to do in you today.