8. The Spirit and Character (Galatians 5:22-26)
by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson
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We'll be considering just five verses in this lesson -- but
they are central to our Christian walk, and our sanctification, that is, the
work of the Spirit in us to mature us and make us like Christ.
The Fruit of the Spirit (5:22-23)
Paul has listed the results of yielding to our flesh. Now he
explains the fruit, result, or product[246]
of yielding to the Spirit.
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and
self-control. Against such things there is no law." (5:22-23)
I've sometimes heard people make much of the fact that
"fruit" here is singular. Yes, but in both Greek and English, the word "fruit"
can function as a collective singular, as "the fruit in the bowl," whether of
one kind or of several.[247]
Before we look at the fruit of the Spirit one-by-one, notice
the concluding sentence: "Against such things there is no law" (5:23b). Paul's
point is that the flesh needs restraint. Without restraint the "works of the
flesh" (5:19-21) begin to reveal themselves -- unless restrained a bit by the law
from their full-blown manifestation. But when we are walking in the Spirit, we
automatically begin to manifest the character of God in these nine virtues. When
there is virtue, there is no longer any need for law. The Spirit makes the law
obsolete.
We often look at the fruit of the Spirit as personal
character traits -- and they must be. But it's likely that Paul intends that the
Galatian churches put them into practice in their Christian communities, in
light of what Paul has just said.
"If you keep on biting and devouring each other,
watch out or you will be destroyed by each other." (Galatians 5:15)
Paul exhorted the Ephesian congregations.
"And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom
you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and
anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind
and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God
forgave you." (Ephesians 4:30-32)
Now let's examine the fruit of the Spirit one by one.
Love is the greatest virtue (1 Corinthians 13:13) and appears
first in this list of the fruit of the Spirit. In Greek, there are at least four
words for love. All of these are God-given, but you'll see that agapē
love mentioned here is special.
Eros -- passionate love, with sensual desire and
longing.
Philia -- friendship or affectionate love that you'd
find in a family, or between friends.
Storgē -- natural affection, like that found from a
parent to offspring.
Agapē -- unconditional, unselfish, sacrificial love.
Agapē love is the kind of self-giving love shown by
the Father when he gave his son to bear our sin (John 3:16). God's love doesn't
just fix itself on a worthy person, but is love that initiates care and concern
whether or not it is reciprocated. Our understanding of love comes from God: "We
love because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19). But once we understand this love,
we are commanded to emulate it. The greatest commandments -- and they sum up the
law -- are: love God and love your neighbor (Matthew 22:36-40). Perhaps the best
way to understand agapē love is to read and meditate on 1 Corinthians 13,
the famous "love chapter." This kind of love is beyond us as mere humans, but
when the Holy Spirit comes, he changes and enables us:
"God has poured out his love into our hearts by the
Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." (Romans 5:5)
Human beings seek to be happy. Often all their decisions are
made on the basis of: Will this person or this thing make me happy? Or will I
derive personal pleasure from this? Carried to an extreme, this approach to life
is hedonism.
But with the fruit of the Holy Spirit is a subtle difference.
The word "joy" is chara, "the experience of gladness, joy."[248]
Joy is not something we seek, but an experience of gladness that comes to us in
God himself. When God is the source of our joy, then we aren't constantly
seeking outward experiences and people to bring us happiness, but we are finding
happiness in God himself.
This is both an individual and community expression of the
Holy Spirit's presence. Paul exhorts us:
"Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and
spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving
thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."
(Ephesians 5:19-20)
We also read of Paul and Silas in the Philippian jail,
"praying and singing hymns to God" at midnight (Acts 16:25). This is an
expression of joy in the heart, even in the worst of circumstances.
In my own personal experience, I've found an outpouring of
this joy immediately following an intense experience of the filling of the Holy
Spirit. I find that when I thought about God and Jesus now, I have an emotion of
love towards them -- a response, no doubt, to the love I feel from them. Call the
experience of this love "joy," if you will.
When I analyze this, I see that my joy is the result of my
belief that God actually loves! It springs from my knowledge that he wants to
hear from me and that he can talk to me personally. It derives from a
hopefulness about the future -- my ultimate future, that is. Yes, I experience
difficult experiences and go through hard times, but "through it all, I've
learned to trust in Jesus, I've learned to trust in God."[249]
There is the ultimate hope that my life and my future are secure in his hands.
From such a hope springs personal joy. Peter expresses it this way:
"Though you have not seen him, you love him; and
even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an
inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your
faith, the salvation of your souls." (1 Peter 1:8-9)
This joy, dear friend, is found in Jesus, and is poured into
your heart by the Holy Spirit when you put your faith in Jesus, and invite him
into your life. If you've never done that in a personal way, do it right now in
prayer.
"Peace" is eirēnē, "a state of concord," here,
"harmony in personal relationships peace, harmony."[250]
The common Jewish greeting was, "Shalom," which has a rich, full meaning. The
root idea of shālôm is "completion and fulfillment—of entering into a
state of wholeness and unity, a restored relationship." It connotes "peace,
prosperity, wellness, health, completeness, safety."[251]
This isn't just a personal fruit of the Spirit. It is the fruit of living out
our lives in the Christian community in a peaceful and harmonious way.
This peace that comes from the Holy Spirit does not mean lack
of conflict. Study what Jesus says about the peace he gives his disciples:
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do
not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do
not be afraid." (John 14:27)
"I have told you these things, so that in me you may
have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome
the world." (John 16:33)
The Holy Spirit brings inner peace, which can exist in the
midst of outward conflict. This peace flows from an implicit faith, a trust in
God, that he will handle all the problems. And this faith itself is augmented by
the Holy Spirit, who introduces us to more and more of the depths of God (1
Corinthians 2:9-16).
This inner peace also comes through rejoicing, praying, and
focusing our thoughts on the positive rather than the negative. Such positive
thinking results in peace. Read carefully Philippians 4:4-9. Here's the promise:
"And the peace of God, which transcends all
understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
(Philippians 4:7)
The Holy Spirit also assures us of peace with God, that is, a
right relationship with God, where God is seen no longer as a Being to fear
because he will punish us, but a Person who loves us and has given his Son -- at
great cost -- to redeem us and bless us.
This inner peace from the Holy Spirit is your birthright, my
friend. If you need help experiencing peace, I encourage you to talk to a
Christian friend or to your pastor.
Q1. (Galatians 5:22a) Love is the first and primary fruit
of the Holy Spirit, but joy and peace are inseparable from love. Why can't joy
and peace exist apart from love -- love for God and love for our neighbors?
http://www.joyfulheart.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1148
"Patience" (NIV, NRSV), "longsuffering" (KJV) is
makrothymia, "state of being able to bear up under provocation, forbearance,
patience toward others."[252]
There's an old joke about the person who prays, "Lord, give me patience -- and
give it to me right now!"
Patience is the personal manifestation of this word, but
"forbearance" is how it is to express itself in the Christian community. It has
to do with "one's long forbearance toward those who oppose or distress one in
some way."[253]
Often this word is paired in the New Testament with another
word, hypomonē, "the capacity to hold out or bear up in the face of
difficulty, patience, endurance, fortitude, steadfastness, perseverance."[254]
Makrothymia stresses the idea of forbearance and patience in difficult
times, while hypomonē emphasizes the idea of perseverance and
steadfastness during difficult times.
I think that there's a natural kind of patience that comes
with age and experience. As we get older, we're not so anxious about things,
because we've discovered that some things take time and can't be hurried. And
that's a good thing. But there is a Holy Spirit fruit of patience that comes
from a trust in God that he will bring something to pass when he's ready.
Patience is a product of a maturing faith, and comes from walking closely with
the Holy Spirit.
Q2. (Galatians 5:22) The fruit of patience should be
understood as forbearance, that is, putting up with people around us without
exploding. Why is this patient forbearance such an important personal character
element? Why is it so important for peace in the family and in the Christian
community?
http://www.joyfulheart.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1149
"Kindness" (NIV, NRSV), "gentleness" (KJV) is chrēstotēs,
with the basic idea of "usefulness, helpfulness." Here it means, "the quality of
being helpful or beneficial, goodness, kindness, generosity."[255]
The word also has the sense of "moral goodness, integrity,"[256]
making it a word that emperors and politicians liked to have engraved next to
their name on public inscriptions.
New Testament usage focuses on four facets of kindness:
friendliness, compassion, helpfulness, and forbearance.
1. Friendliness. Kindness is friendly, actively
seeking to form and foster personal relationships. It cannot exist in a vacuum.
Kindness reaches out. "Love is patient, love is kind ... it is not self-seeking"
(1 Corinthians 13:4, 5). It is the friendliness that inquires about a spouse's
rough day.
Our model is God's friendly seeking us out, putting aside
past hurts to restore friendship. We reflect his kindness, "... for you have
tasted the kindness of the Lord"
(1 Peter 2:3). Our future also is secured by God's friendship, "that in the
coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his
kindness to us in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:7).
2. Compassion. Compassion is the second earmark of
kindness: a ready sympathy, a sincere concern for the needs of another. Kindness
cares. We make it part of our wardrobe: "Clothe yourselves with compassion,
kindness, humility, gentleness and patience," Paul wrote (Colossians 3:12). "Be
kind and compassionate to one another" (Ephesians 4:32). Compassion flows
readily to helpfulness.
3. Helpfulness. This third face of kindness is to be
generous, willing to extend yourself in practical ways to aid others. A
sightless beggar was brought to the Master. The question, "What do you want me
to do for you?" (Mark 10:51) characterizes Jesus'manner with people.
In exchange for the harshness of the law, Jesus offers his
help -- a "kind (Greek chrestos) yoke" (Matthew 11:30). Moreover, we
Gentiles are "grafted" into the tree of God's people through "the kindness of
God" (Romans 11:22). God's compassion flows forth in practical, helpful,
merciful deeds.
4. Forbearance. The fourth face of kindness is
uniquely Christian -- forbearance in the face of provocation. Again and again
God's response to hostility is an example of kindness. God's "kindness,
tolerance and patience" are designed to lead us to repentance (Romans 2:4). "He
is kind to the ungrateful and wicked" (Luke 6:35). Paul recites man's litany of
enmity and spite, then trumpets: "But when the kindness and love of God our
Savior appeared, he saved us..." (Titus 3:4-5; cf. 2 Corinthians 6:6-7).
Kindness is at the very root of the God's nature, and his
Spirit is maturing the
Father's kindness in our character.
"Goodness" (NIV, RSV, KJV), "generosity" (NRSV) is
agathōsynē, a "positive moral quality characterized especially by interest
in the welfare of others," generally, "goodness." Danker sees the meaning in
this verse as "generosity."[257]
This is a compound word from agathos, "good," akin to agamai, "to
admire."[258]
This word is closely allied with "kindness" (chrēstotēs),
the difference being that "goodness" is the more all-embracing quality,
describing one's character. Goodness does not exist apart from concrete
expression. Christians are described as "full of goodness" (Romans 15:14). After
extolling God's grace, Paul tells us:
"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ
Jesus to do good (agathos) works, which God prepared in
advance for us to do." (Ephesians 2:10)
Galatians concludes with the exhortation:
"9 Let us not become weary in doing
good (kalos), for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do
not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good
(agathos) to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of
believers." (Galatians 6:9-10)
We are to do good within the Christian community, caring for
those in need. Doing good in society by bringing justice and lifting oppression
is another expression of this fruit of the Spirit. Indeed, the Christian church
has been at the forefront of such movements as the abolition of slavery,
abolition of the slave trade, the right for women to vote, the Civil Rights
Movement, and seeking to limit abortion.
"Faithfulness" (NIV, NRSV), "faith" (KJV) is pistis,
"that which evokes trust and faith," here, "the state of being someone in whom
confidence can be placed, faithfulness, reliability, fidelity, commitment."[259]
It is also Paul's normal word for "faith," the "state of believing on the basis
of the reliability of the one trusted, trust, confidence, faith," but in a list
of virtues, "faithfulness" is more likely.
All the examples we have in the New Testament involve
faithfulness towards God, that is, a person living out his trust in God over the
long haul.[260]
"It is required in stewards, that a man be found
faithful (pistis)." (1 Corinthians 4:2, KJV)
We don't see the word used with regard to faithfulness
towards others, but this would be covered under the fruit of "love."
"Gentleness" (NIV, NRSV), "meekness" (KJV) is prautēs,
"the quality of not being overly impressed by a sense of one's self-importance;
gentleness, humility, courtesy, considerateness, meekness" in the older
favorable sense.[261]
We see this word used to describe Jesus'character:
"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am
gentle
(praus) and humble (tapeinos) in heart, and you
will find rest for your souls." (Matthew 11:29)
"By the meekness (prautēs) and
gentleness (epieikeia) of Christ, I appeal to you." (2
Corinthians 10:1a)
It's difficult to find an exact English equivalent of this
word. It has the sense of humility, which is evident in this letter:
"Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who
are spiritual should restore him gently" (6:1a, NIV), more literally, "in
a spirit of gentleness (prautēs)" (NRSV).
In Philippians, Paul uses the attitude (in a synonym,
if not the word itself) so we can learn its meaning from its antonyms:
Do nothing out of selfish ambition (eritheia,
see 5:20 above) or vain conceit (kenodoxia), but in humility (tapeinophrosynē)
consider others better than yourselves." (Philippians 2:3)
The word prautēs has a lot to do with how we
view ourselves and carry ourselves. As Paul says in the "Love Chapter,"
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it
does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking...." (1
Corinthians 13:4-5a)[262]
"Self-control" (NIV, NRSV), "temperance" (KJV) is
enkrateia, "restraint of one's emotions, impulses, or desires,
self-control,"[263]
"the virtue of one who masters his desires and passions, especially his sensual
appetite."[264]
Unlike the virtues above, "self-control" never occurs with
reference to the character of God. Nor is it something that one does in the
community. It is an individual virtue, referred to by Paul with reference to
sexual continence (1 Corinthians 7:9), the self-discipline of an athlete (1
Corinthians 9:25), and the character of an overseer (Titus 1:8). It is with the
Spirit-fruit of self-control that we curb some of the excesses of the works of
the flesh listed above.
But note that "self-control" or "temperance" is not the same
as abstinence. While Paul strongly condemns drunkenness (1 Timothy 3:3, 8;
Ephesians 5:8; Titus 1:7; 2:3), for example, he is not teaching abstinence from
wine (1 Timothy 5:23). He is against sex outside of marriage (1 Corinthians
7:1-5), but he is strong against those who forbid marriage itself (1 Timothy
4:3). He speaks against any kind of legalistic abstinence as some kind of
Christian virtue.[265]
The fruit of the Spirit is not legalism but self-control.
As the Holy Spirit works in our lives he changes us
gradually, he sanctifies us -- that is makes us holy in our character. It is
sometimes called sanctification or spiritual formation. It is a process that is
activated on our part by walking in the Spirit and on God's part by bringing
about change in us by his Spirit.
Q3. (Galatians 5:22-23) How does the Holy Spirit produce
this fruit in our lives? What theological term would you use to identify this
process? How can it be that a person who has been a "Christian" for years
displays few or none of these fruits? Are they saved, but just immature? What
does James 2:17-19 say about this? Is that too harsh?
http://www.joyfulheart.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1150
Paul has contrasted the lawless "works of the flesh" with the
"fruit of the Spirit," the fruit that characterizes law-abiding people. Now, he
sums up the principle:
"24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have
crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25 Since
we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us
not become conceited, provoking and envying each other." (Galatians 5:24-26)
Christians have stopped living with the flesh as their
primary motivation. Paul uses a harsh phrase: "They have crucified the flesh." "Crucified" is stauroō, figuratively,
"destroy through connection with the crucifixion of Christ, crucify."[266]
He uses the same word as he concludes the letter:
"May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord
Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the
world." (Galatians 6:14)
The "world" in 6:14 corresponds to "the flesh" (sarx)
in 5:24, where kosmos refers to the world that seems to be organized in
opposition to God.[267]
In Romans we see Paul's clear sentiment about the flesh:
"To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set
the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For this reason the mind that is set
on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law—indeed it
cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God."
(Romans 8:6-8)
So to "crucify the flesh" means to utterly renounce and
turn from a life that "sets its mind on the flesh." Sadly, many seem to become
Christians without real repentance from known sin, and then wonder why there is
no power! But Paul believes in death to the old self and the old way of life.
Elsewhere, he says,
"For we know that our old self was crucified
(systauroō) with him so that the body of sin might be done away with,
that we should no longer be slaves to sin." (Romans 6:6)
"For if you live according to the sinful nature, you
will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death (thanatoō) the
misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of
God are sons of God." (Romans 8:13-14)
"Put to death (nekroō), therefore,
whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil
desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is
coming." (Colossians 3:5-6)
"Crucify" in our passage equals "put to death." This is
an active idea, not a passive one. Thanatoō in Romans 8:13 means, "to
cause total cessation of an activity, put to death, extirpate."[268]
Nekroō in Colossians 3:5-6 means, "to deaden or cause to cease
completely, put to death."[269]
Notice that this cannot be done via will power, since will power can't restrain
the flesh over the long term -- only in brief bursts, after which we tend to
relapse into our previous behavior. This putting to death, this crucifying, must
be done "by the Spirit" (Romans 8:13; Galatians 5:24-25).
The "flesh" is the subject of this crucifying, but that's not
all. The flesh includes two elements in 5:24.
"Passions" (NIV, NRSV), "affections" (KJV) is
pathēma, "an inward experience of an affective nature, feeling, interest,"
here, "interests, desires, (the) sinful desires (not limited to sexual
interest)."[270]
"Passions" are also mentioned as a driver of the flesh in Romans 7:5.
"Desires" (NIV, NRSV), "lusts" (KJV) is epithymia,
"a desire for something forbidden or simply inordinate, craving, lust."[271]
Q4. (Galatians 5:24-25) What does it mean to "crucify the
flesh with its passions and desires"? Can a person be a Christian without "crucifying the flesh"? How have we produced such a crop of lukewarm Christians?
http://www.joyfulheart.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1151
In 5:26, Paul lists a few more examples of fleshly behavior:
"Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying
each other." (5:26)
"Conceited" (NIV, NRSV), "desirous of vain glory"
(KJV) is the adjective kenodoxos, "pertaining to having exaggerated
self-conceptions, conceited, boastful."[272]
"Provoking" (NIV, KJV), "competing against" (NRSV) is
prokaleō, "to call out to someone to come forward," frequently in a
hostile sense, "provoke, challenge someone."[273]
"Envying" is phthoneō, "envy, be jealous (of)
someone." It can also mean "dislike someone, be resentful toward someone,"
without the connotation of jealousy or a grudge.[274]
I don't doubt that Paul is referring to attitudes and sins
which are disrupting the Galatian churches. The law has no power to control
these; only the Spirit is able.
At the end of this section, Paul comes full circle to where
he started:
"Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step
with the Spirit." (5:25, NIV)
The flesh is dead, crucified (5:24). The Spirit is now our
source of life. "Live" is zaō, "live," here, "to live in a transcendent
sense."[275]
Alternatively, it could have the sense, "to conduct oneself in a pattern of
behavior."[276]
Paul is reminding them -- again -- that their very existence as Christians is from
the Spirit. Earlier he had written:
"Did you receive the Spirit by doing the
works of the law or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish?
Having started with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh?"
(3:2-3)
In the Galatian church they were quite aware of the
presence and the power of the Spirit, for Paul had continued:
"Does God supply you with the Spirit and
work miracles among you by your doing the works of the law, or by your
believing what you heard?" (3:5)
They had begun with the Spirit; their very spiritual life had
come from the Spirit. But now they were turning back to the old and now obsolete
covenant, the Law, to live in the flesh. You're past that! says Paul.
"Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step
with the Spirit." (5:25, NIV)
This phrase, "keep in step" (NIV), "be guided" (NRSV), "walk"
(KJV) isn't the normal word for "walk" or "be led." It is stoicheō, which
originally meant, "be drawn up in line." Here it has a figurative meaning, "to
be in line with a person or thing considered as standard for one's conduct, hold
to, agree with, follow, conform."[277]
It also appears at 6:16 and Philippians 3:16.
In this lesson we've seen the believer's relationship to the
Holy Spirit expressed in several analogies:
- Walking.
"Walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh."
(5:16, NASB)
- Being led. "If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law."
(5:18, NIV)
- Conforming. "Since we live by the Spirit, let us
keep in step with the
Spirit." (5:25, NIV)
What do these have in common? They all require the believer
to be active rather than passive. You are to actively seek the companionship of
the Spirit. You walk at his pace. You allow yourself to be led, rather than
trying to go your own way, and you conform yourself to the Spirit's will. Paul
isn't accusing the Galatians of not having the Holy Spirit. No, he's
acknowledged that they've received the Spirit (3:2-5). Rather, he's telling them
to actively embrace the Spirit they've been given. The Spirit is preferable to
the law any day of the week, for He is the Spirit of God himself -- within you to
guide, direct, and teach you.
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