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Mar. 29, 2005 “22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.” (Galatians 5:22-25) Paul explained to the Galatians the meaning of “walking in the Spirit”; then he reminded them of the works of the “flesh”. Now he examines the “fruit of the Spirit”. This is how we recognize each other as Spirit indwelt believers. Many writers have dealt with the “Fruit of the Spirit”. A “Google” of the phrase bring over two million entries. The bottom line on this fruit is that it is an identifier. One person of faith can recognize another simply by sensing the values being displayed. Unbelievers will always give themselves away and I won’t go into that here. (They’ll have to figure that out for themselves). There is not one law written against love, joy or peace. These are things we always prefer to see in people. The true love is the love of God, from who stems all proper forms of love. There are plenty of improper forms as discussed in the previous verses. Adultery, fornication and sexually immoral practices between people in the heat of lust are not proper forms of love at all. We know that Jesus taught love of God as the first commandment. Without that love, all other ideals of love are whatever men determine. We’ve seen such determinations in the recent killing of little girls by sex offenders and the trials of famous celebrities who enjoy the company of little boys. The ideals of love as stressed by men take on some very hideous forms. “Gentleness and Goodness” are traits that are absent from “road rage” and the checkout lines at supermarkets. I have found that a smile, in the right circumstance, points anger away. I still will open the door for the woman, the child and the elder man. This column isn’t to show you what a great Christian I am. It is to help us understand our responsibilities. Jesus said that a light under a bushel doesn’t do anyone a whole lot of good in the dark. (Yes, I paraphrased.) Paul says that if you are Christ’s, then you have “crucified” the flesh with its inherent lusts. Going back to the forms of Christian self- examination, only we can answer such things for ourselves. In the New International Version of the Bible (NIV) verse 25 reads: “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” This is great advice for the true child of faith. Keeping in step with the Spirit will keep us on the right path. The Spirit of God never strays from the message of Christ. Jesus told the disciples that when he (the Spirit of truth) comes, he would not speak of himself, but would plainly address those things that Jesus taught. So this is for my friends in the true faith. My prayers remain for you. ------------ Email Skip: skiptoomaloo@hotmail.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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