Fruit of the Spirit
Introduction: Fruit of the Spirit
Turn in your Bible to Galatians 5:22. This is a relatively familiar verse. Ask any child fresh out of a bible-learning program—Bible School, years of Sunday School and Awana, whatever—to name the fruit of the Spirit, and they can probably tell you. “The fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” They can recite those words with huge smiles on their faces, ticking them off on their fingers and expecting to be rewarded for remembering all seven. Most adults can probably name at least five or six of the “fruits of the Spirit.” Or, if you, like me, are a former attendee of GA (Girls in Action) or presumably RA (Royal Ambassadors) camp, you can sing a little song to come up with all seven. “’Cause the fruits are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” This is in response to the statement that the “fruit of the spirit’s not a….” fruit of choice. The ones coming to mind at the moment are “watermelon” and “cherry” simply because I can remember the motions that go along with them. Of course, if you want to be either a watermelon or a cherry, “You might as well hear it: you can’t be a fruit of the Spirit.” This song can go on for quite some time, especially if the camp counselors are trying to stall and entertain a large crowd of girls who are about to beat down the doors to the lunch hall if they aren’t fed soon. Here’s the thing, though: if you’re still ticking off seven “fruits” of the Spirit—regardless of whether or not you have a handy song to go along with it—you’re missing the picture. Read Galatians 5:22 again. “For the fruit of the Spirit is….” One fruit, all the product of the same tree. One Holy Spirit, who will give all of these things to each and every one of us. Turn to John 15:1-8. Jesus tells us several crucial things here.
1) Jesus is the vine and the Father is
Turn in your Bible to Galatians 5:22. This is a relatively familiar verse. Ask any child fresh out of a bible-learning program—Bible School, years of Sunday School and Awana, whatever—to name the fruit of the Spirit, and they can probably tell you. “The fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” They can recite those words with huge smiles on their faces, ticking them off on their fingers and expecting to be rewarded for remembering all seven. Most adults can probably name at least five or six of the “fruits of the Spirit.” Or, if you, like me, are a former attendee of GA (Girls in Action) or presumably RA (Royal Ambassadors) camp, you can sing a little song to come up with all seven. “’Cause the fruits are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” This is in response to the statement that the “fruit of the spirit’s not a….” fruit of choice. The ones coming to mind at the moment are “watermelon” and “cherry” simply because I can remember the motions that go along with them. Of course, if you want to be either a watermelon or a cherry, “You might as well hear it: you can’t be a fruit of the Spirit.” This song can go on for quite some time, especially if the camp counselors are trying to stall and entertain a large crowd of girls who are about to beat down the doors to the lunch hall if they aren’t fed soon. Here’s the thing, though: if you’re still ticking off seven “fruits” of the Spirit—regardless of whether or not you have a handy song to go along with it—you’re missing the picture. Read Galatians 5:22 again. “For the fruit of the Spirit is….” One fruit, all the product of the same tree. One Holy Spirit, who will give all of these things to each and every one of us. Turn to John 15:1-8. Jesus tells us several crucial things here.
1) Jesus is the vine and the Father is