"The Fruit of The Holy Spirit" (Galatians 5:22-25)

The fruit of the Holy Spirit is His ministry of bringing forth the character qualities of Christ Jesus in us! Apostle Paul tells us, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (5:22-23). About this passage, John Stott says, "The mere recital of these Christian graces should be enough to make the mouth water and the heart beat faster. For this is a portrait of Jesus Christ." (John R. W. Stott, Baptism and Fullness: The Work of The Holy Spirit Today), p. 76. I could not agree more! The question becomes, whenever you hear the list of qualities in Galatians 5:22-23, do you at times, like me, feel a sense of frustration? Does the hearing of this list bring to remembrance of what's lacking in your walk with the Lord? Truth be told, only Christ could be said to truly have possessed these qualities in perfection! As Christ followers, we can't help but wish that Jesus' perfections could also be found in our lives more often than they are. But, here's the good news. We can not bring forth these qualities by our own efforts. The awesome promise of our passage is that through the work of the Holy Spirit dwelling inside us, Christ's own perfect character, defined by the list of qualities, can be expressed in us! How great is that?!! Maybe you've been frustrated with how short you fall of living the life God desires you to live. Please allow this fundamental principle of the Christian life to saturate your thinking: The only one who can live the life of Christ is Christ Himself! We can't do it in our own strength. However, Christ, through the work of the indwelling Holy Spirit, is more than able to live His own life in and through us, if we will submit ourselves to Him! Recall the words of Paul. He said, "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me" (Galatians 2:20). In other words, this passage, as well as Galatians 5:22-23, teaches us about the Holy Spirit's work of bringing forth the perfect character qualities of Christ in us. Your move. Be encouraged! We will continue this series in part two.