The Fruit of the Spirit - 4
Published by Stanley Pouw in 2020 · 29 March 2020
We’re looking at Galatians 5 and verses 16 - 25. As I was thinking about these verses, I began to see our own culture not in a material sense, but in a moral sense. Life in our society is the worst that I have ever seen. Open sin runs freely through the streets of our society through every level of discourse. Moral sewage once contained underground now runs openly by everyone everywhere.
And it is not just that our society is defined by that, there is a compounding reality explained in Romans 1, where we read about the judgment of God on people who reject Him. Those who know about God but don’t glorify Him as God, those who ignore the knowledge of God will experience the wrath of God. It is revealed against people who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.
What does it look like when God unleashes that judgment? Romans 1:24, “Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves.” When God judges a nation, the first thing that will happen is the lusts of the heart to impurity will dominate, and then their bodies will be dishonored. You will have a sexual revolution.
The second thing that happens in verse 26-27, “For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. 27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.” This is homosexuality.
And the third judgment is in verse 28, “God gave them over to a depraved mind.” That means the mind only focuses on sin. That’s when a kind of insanity prevails, which is demonstrated clearly in the fact that now we’re not allowed to say a man is a man and a woman is a woman. “To do those things which are not fitting; 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness and covetousness.”
“full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, 30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; 32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.”
These are all the desires of the flesh that we read about in Galatians 5:19-21. So we should ask the question, “How do we as Christians, as slaves of our Lord, how do we as saints escape this pollution? Can we live above the moral sewage that’s all around us? And, of course the answer is yes. This is not the first society that went through this kind of cycle of depravity and this kind of judgment.
The Jews believed they needed to be better people, and that meant adhering to the law of God. They couldn’t be better people on the inside by themselves, so they were trying to please God on the outside. Those ceremonial duties like circumcision, adherence to rituals in Judaism, those are the things they could do on the outside; and they believed that they became better and God would accept them.
Paul writes his letter to the Galatians to undo all that these Judiazers taught. And in the opening four chapters he talks about salvation being by faith alone, and he says in Galatians 1:6 that if you add works to it, you have invented a different gospel, “which is not really another gospel.” Verse 7, “there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.”
He then pronounces a double judgment in verse 8, “If we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!” Paul goes on to say, “Salvation is by faith and faith alone. Anybody who preaches anything other than that is damned.” So he uses the first four chapters basically to answer the idea of works added to faith and salvation.
And then in Galatians 5 he addresses the issue of the role of works, deeds of the flesh in regard to sanctification. He says in Galatians 3:3, “Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” These Judiazers were saying, “Look, you must do all these external things in order to be saved, and to be sanctified. You have to keep the external laws of Moses.”
But Paul’s message was that you have been set free from all of that. Galatians 5:1, “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm, do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.” Don’t go back to the law. You are free in Christ. In Christ you are free from an accusing conscience, free from condemnation, free from pressure and frustration in trying to do the impossible.
These Jewish teachers were deeply concerned with the need to obey the law. They had spent their whole life trying to earn their way with God by keeping the law, and now freedom in Christ was a stumbling block to them. They believed that the law was the divine means to restrain sin, to produce righteousness, to honor God and to escape judgment. To them Paul was a heretic.
The Jews are going to say, “How are you going to do what honors God? How are you going to escape judgment if you don’t adhere to the law?” Answer, verse 16, “Walk by the Spirit.” Verse 18, “If you’re led by the Spirit, you’re not under the law.” Verse 25, “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” This is Paul’s answer: this is the path of sanctification, walk by the Spirit.
We also saw that there is a conflict; because our remaining human flesh fights against the Holy Spirit. The Spirit fights against the flesh to keep us from doing what our flesh wants. There is a stark contrast however between what the flesh wants and does, and what the Spirit wants and does; and we’re looking at that in verses 19 - 23. The flesh can only produce what’s listed there.
But we as believers are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and verse 22 - 23 says, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness and self-control.” This is very different than the world. This is how the church should display gospel power in the world. While all the world is living out the deeds of the flesh, we are to be living showing that the Spirit is in us.
So the challenge is how do you even find the real Christians? Now notice it’s a singular fruit that has many qualities. If you’re walking in the Spirit, which means you’re walking under His power in obedience to the Word of God, this is what your life is like. When you’re walking in the Spirit this is the picture. All the fruit is there when the Spirit is filling you and you’re walking in the Spirit.
The way to understand their nature is that they’re all attributes of God, they all have a heavenly quality, and they’re all godlike virtues. Now you might argue that, perhaps, meekness or humility is not a godlike virtue; but the word that is used for “meekness” here has the idea of gentleness. And certainly gentleness is characteristic of God; it shows up in His mercy and His grace toward us.
And we’ve studied love, joy, peace, patience, kindness and goodness. Now let me continue with three final graces. The first one for today is the last one in verse 22, faithfulness. If you’re walking in the Spirit you’re going to manifest faithfulness. What does that mean? Loyalty or fidelity to your word. Truthfulness, trustworthiness and honesty that is what we’re talking about.
Lamentations 3:22 - 23, “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we’re not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness.” God is faithful, in 1 Corinthians 1:9 and 1 Corinthians 10:13. Psalm 36:5, “The faithfulness of God reaches to the clouds.” Psalm 89:33, “Nevertheless My lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor allow My faithfulness to fail.”
That is truthfulness, trustworthiness, honesty and integrity. This is essential as a virtue in a Spirit-filled life that you speak the truth. That you are true to your word, true to your promise. This is basic integrity. A Spirit-filled believer speaks the truth, lives the truth, can be trusted, is honest, steadfast, unwavering in loyalty to that which is true and right and good. What about your promises? Did you keep them?
It is an attribute of God, God who is truth and God who cannot lie. And the example is Christ: “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Second Thessalonians 3:3 says, “The Lord is faithful.” In Revelation 1:5, 3:14 and 19:11, the Lord Jesus Christ presented as the faithful and true One. It is an attribute of God who is true and cannot lie. It is manifest in Christ who is the faithful and true One.
And it is commanded of us, 1 Corinthians 4:2, “It’s required of stewards that a man be found faithful.” We speak truth, we live truth, we uphold truth, it says in Titus 2:10, “showing all good faithfulness so that they will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect.” We want people to adorn the doctrine of God, we want people to think well of God and be faithful to His truth.
Listen to 2 Timothy 2:22, “Flee youthful lusts, pursue righteousness, faithfulness, love and peace, with all those who call upon the Lord from a pure heart.” We’re commanded to be faithful. That means loyalty to the truth of God, the truth of those very things that we declare in our own lives. Where does the power come? It’s from the Holy Spirit. Faithfulness and the Holy Spirit go together.
The second onebegins in verse 23. It’s translated as “gentleness.” It’s actually better translated “meekness.” It’s humility with kind of a gentle edge. But here the virtue is humility. It appears with lowliness and being humble as well as being gentle. And humility by its nature is gentle. Humility doesn’t run roughshod over people, even people who are struggling with sin; it treats them with a meek, gentle way.
From a biblical standpoint this word is used to refer to being submissive to the will of God. “Humble yourselves, and God will lift you up.” It also is used to refer to submission to the Word of God. In James 1:21, it says, “Putting aside all filthiness, all that remains of wickedness, in humility, receive the word.” But it goes beyond that to the people around us. In Titus 3:2 it says, “Showing consideration to all men.”
2 Corinthians 10:1 speaks of the meekness and gentleness of Christ. He said in Matthew 11, “I am meek and lowly in heart.” Ephesians 4 says, “Walk in a manner worthy of the calling which you’ve been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness.” So God is the one who defines this. It is an attribute of His nature, as He as God humbled Himself to become man in Philippians 2.
1 Peter 3:15 says, “Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always be ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.” We even should proclaim the gospel with a meekness and a gentleness. This is the work of the Holy Spirit in us; God is the source, God is the definer of it and Christ is the model.
One last part of the fruit of the Spirit is self-control. It means “the power to keep your sin in check, the power to restrain your sin in thought, in word, in deed.” God has perfect self-control, He’s the definition of self-control. Malachi 3:6, “I am the Lord, I change not.” He never sins. He is absolute eternal holy perfection. Self-control is an attribute of God. And it’s a rare word in the New Testament.
2 Peter 1:5 says, “As believers add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge; add to your knowledge self-control.” Control yourself. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:27, “But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.” It’s the power to be consistent and virtuous. It’s the power over your corruption that still remains even in us.
The example is Christ: holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, pure and sinless. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever. Titus 1:8, “For an elder must be a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled, 9 holding fast the faithful word.” Titus 2:6, “Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled.” We are commanded to do this daily.
Verse 23 closes with this statement: “against such things there is no law.” There’s no law against such virtue. You that are so worried about the law, but there’s no law against that. Furthermore, the law is not able to produce that kind of virtue. The law can’t restrain the deeds of the flesh. Virtue can’t be produced by the law. And certainly the Lord would never forbid these things.
Conclusion in verse 24, “Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” That is a strong statement of a past act. You were crucified with Christ, you died in Him, and with that death was the execution of the lusts, passions and longings that totally dominated your life. Yes, it’s still present until our salvation is complete, but it’s not in charge.
“You are now a new creation; old things have passed away, and all things new have come.” God has done His part. You can walk by the Spirit now. You can overcome the flesh. You can, and you must, verse 25, “Since we live by the Spirit in us, let us also walk by the Spirit.” Now you do your part and walk by the Spirit consistent with His will and power as revealed in Scripture, Amen? Let us pray.