LOVE  Love is the root and foundation of all the fruits of the spirit. Love must be in a state of growth before any of the other fruits can take root in our spirit. Love is selflessness; it is the restriction of all selfishness; the lack of all fear of not having personal glory or gain. Love is summarized and defined completely in this single phrase: “God is Love.” 1 John 4:8 It is well itemized in 1 Corinthians 13. Love restricts the flesh, which is often rightly defined as the ego. Love is not puffed up, does not vaunt itself, does not behave unseemly, seeks not its own, thinks no evil, is not easily provoked, hates iniquity, never envies and cannot fail. But love is like the Divine Nature; it rejoices in the truth, is kind, is long-suffering. It believes all things that God wishes to be, it endures all that God desires it should endure, bears all God’s burdens, and hopes for the fulfillment of all of God’s future plans. The death of the flesh and the forsaking of the self-conscious ego allows love in the door of our heart. Love is God’s character, His way and the very essence of His being. It is the foundation of all the glorious fruits of the Spirit which are cultivated by faith in dying to self so that the resurrected Christ may find room and become welcome to abide in us.

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JOY  “The joy of the Lord is my strength.” Neh 8:10 So the Scripture entreats. Joy, as a spiritual fruit, is not earthly or carnal joy, but joy that derives from the bosom of God. We are anointed with the oil of gladness by our protracted desires and effort of will to praise God for all of His manifold mercies toward us, “who daily loadeth us with benefits.” Ps 68:19 Our joy is not confined or conditioned on factors of worldly joy or the style and luxury we may enjoy, or the approval of man we might win to our side. Applause, esteem and awards of men, recognition, or success in the world do not give rise to our joy, in fact, they often end up diminishing our joy. In Christ we are cultivated in and by the Spirit to rejoice in God’s love and grace bestowed upon us on a daily basis. In the end, this is what makes God joyous; this is what makes our spirit beam with joy. Our joy, our true, abiding and lasting joy subsists in union with God’s desires and His joy. This is the meaning of “the joy of the Lord is my strength”, and the essence of the spiritual fruit of joy. My joy will be derived from what God takes pleasure in and when He is happy and glad. God’s joy being realized is what strengthens my soul and blesses my spirit. The joy of the Lord, therefore, will be and is, my strength.

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PEACE  The fruit of Peace is the peace that passeth all understanding. What peace could this be? It is the ability to stand in the presence of God feeling no condemnation or apprehension. It certainly must be a heavenly fruit because no man can alone stand before God. It is a peace won by the blood of Jesus Christ that has purchased all forgiveness of unrighteousness in God’s eyes. If I am obedient to Christ I am reassured of God’s love for me. “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Phil 4:7 The peace of the Spirit is the growing assurance that we are in God’s loving care that “all things work together for good to those who love God, to them who are called according to His purpose.” Rom 8:28 This peace allows us to be used by Him because when we are at peace with Him we can trust Him. We have been reconciled to God by Christ and we are now partakers of the ministry of reconciliation of Christ. The peace of the Spirit is not peace with the world, for Christ came not to bring peace but a sword to the world, but we are at peace with our creator. When we are obedient peace abides in our heart we can stand in the presence of Almighty God with assurance of faith.

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LONGSUFFERING  The fruit of longsuffering is often thought to be just another word for patience, but patience is much more than longsuffering since it is a requirement for the growth of all the fruits. Longsuffering is the maintenance of hope and the forbearance of faults in other. When we are longsuffering toward a person or their deeds we are as Jesus who was able to put up with the ignorance of the disciples and the “little faith” of His closest friends without condemning them. His longsuffering spirit was able to teach them in spite of these frustrations which at times vexed His soul. Longsuffering is the willingness to aid the feeble-minded and to help those who are weak in the faith. It is able to pardon faults in others and forgive even those who have committed wrongs against us. “And be at peace among yourselves. Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men. See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.” 1 Thess 5:13-15 Jesus exhibited His longsuffering character when Peter tried to talk Him out of going to Jerusalem to be crucified and when John and James wanted to call fire down on the Samaritans. Both times the disciples did not know what spirit was urging them on, but Jesus did not reject them, He merely corrected them. Perhaps the greatest instance of longsuffering was on the cross when he said, “Forgive them Father for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34

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GENTLENESS  The early Christian writer Irenaeus associated the fruit of gentleness with what he called “childliness.” Jesus said, “Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.” Mark 10:15 We must come to God with a child’s faith and trust. This is being gentle towards the Spirit of God. The fruits are an expression of Christ’s character and He too was and is a son. He always goes to the Father in a humble and gentle manner. He always paid honor and respect to the Father as a dutiful child. As a child is unassuming and trusting, so gentleness of spirit exhibits the same qualities. “speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, showing all meekness unto all men.” Titus 3:2

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GOODNESS  Goodness is simply godliness. Being a partaker of the Divine Nature means partaking of God’s character and godliness is fundamental to being like God. “Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” 2 Tim 2:22. Godliness is the forsaking of self. All selfishness, self-consciousness and self-pity. Godliness is the propensity to look to the things of others and come in the spirit of a true servant. Resisting all temptations of the flesh makes room for attitudes and actions of godliness. Godliness is the true positive outlook on life, “whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” Phil 4:8 The spiritual fruit of goodness expresses the wholesome and clean spirit of God.

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FAITH  Faith is unique among the fruits because it is the only characteristic that is common to the Scriptural list of both the gifts and the fruits of the Spirit. Faith is given by the Spirit and is grown in us. It is a two way street: the gift of God and a fruit that is cultivated through prayer and by asking God Himself to increase it in us. The Word itself is the food that supplies the energy that causes faith to grow in us; “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Rom 10:17 Since faith is either given to us by God or grown in us by the Spirit it is obtained in purely spiritual ways through our relationship with God and, therefore, has spiritual substance and reality. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” Heb 11:1-3 God sees to it that our faith is confirmed by evidence and that it takes on substance. Through faith we are told that we gain understanding of things which cannot be discerned with our physical senses.

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MEEKNESS  “The meek also shall increase their joy in the LORD, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.”, so the prophet Isaiah reports. Isa 29:19 Meekness is the forsaking of our own way and rejoicing in God’s will. This attitude will strengthen us in the inner man though we appear weak on the outside. The Bible tells us that Moses, the mighty man of God was “very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.” Num 12:3 In his lack of self-reliance and his recognition of God’s power Moses found true strength. The Psalmist sang, “the meek shall inherit the earth: and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.” Ps 37:11 It was this Psalm Jesus referred to when He said, “blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.” Matt 5:5 Humble meekness allows us to enter into the treasury of God’s wealth. When we are weak, or meek and humble, then He can be strong in us. This is the meaning of: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Phil 4:13 The prophet summed up the fruit of meekness in this command: “He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” Mic 6:8

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TEMPERANCE  As the fruit of Love is needed as a nutrient for all the other fruits, temperance is an aggregate of all the fruits combined. Temperance is more than just abstaining from lusts and carnal appetites, though it is certainly that. Temperance is the balance of all the fruits together so that nothing but love dominates. Temperance blends and molds joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness and meekness with the right proportion of faith. Temperance sees to it that the fruits are put at God’s disposal according to His timing and His need. “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost. And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.” Rom15:13-14 Our joy, peace, goodness and faith, along with the other fruits will be made evident in our natural operation of a daily life in Christ through our temperate and modest life.