The Fruit of the Spirit Explained

Every person desires to live a single life that counts, that matters, and is truly amazing. Yet, many Christians experience lives marked by defeat, disarray, and discouragement, failing to grasp the abundant life promised by God. Jesus Christ declared, “I have come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).

This promised “life beyond amazing” is visible when the Holy Spirit completely controls the life of a believer. This transformation produces the Fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. God calls believers to be people defined by these virtues, possessing endurance, compassion, and generosity—His ideal person.

However, many believers struggle to bridge the gap between this divine promise and their daily experience. This struggle is often caused by three core roadblocks.

Roadblocks to the Abundant Life

1. Misunderstanding Salvation

Many believers view salvation strictly in the past tense—as a finished event (“I have been saved”). However, the Bible presents salvation in three tenses:

1. Past: We have been saved from the penalty of sin.
2. Present: We are being saved from the power of sin over our lives (sanctification).
3. Future: We will be saved from the very presence of sin when we stand before the Lord and are made like Him.

If Christians remain stuck only in the past tense of salvation, they cannot fully embrace the “life beyond amazing” that God intends.

2. Misunderstanding the Role of Works

A second roadblock arises from misapplying the concept of works. The New Testament unequivocally teaches that salvation is not the result of human effort; it is the gift of God received through faith and grace, “not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Paul emphasizes that we are saved “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy” (Titus 3).

However, the sources stress that while we are saved apart from good works, we are saved for good works. God created believers in Christ Jesus “for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). Believers who have faith in God should be careful to maintain good works, as these things are profitable.

3. Mistaken Idea of Spirituality: The Divine Partnership

The third roadblock is a mistaken idea of spirituality, where Christians wrongly believe that sanctification (the process of being saved from sin’s power) will be done for them. The New Testament, however, commands Christians to take action.

The concept of spiritual growth involves a divine partnership, clearly illustrated in Philippians 2:12-13: “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for his good pleasure”.

This is crucial: Christians are commanded to work out their salvation, not work for their salvation. God has already worked everything we need for life and godliness in us. We must now take those spiritual gifts, resources, and precious promises (the Bible/guidebook) and actively maximize them for His glory. We cannot simply “sit and wait for the Holy Spirit to zap” us into spiritual maturity.

Character Development and Sanctification

The outcome of this spiritual partnership is character. Character is defined as becoming in practice what you already are in position. In God’s mind, a believer is already everything He calls them to be, but we must strive daily to become that in reality.

Strong character is distinguished by ethical strength, integrity, and fortitude. It requires discipline and involves actions such as:

• Honoring commitments and keeping one’s word.
• Choosing the harder right instead of the easier wrong.
• Working through tough times in marriage rather than quitting.
• Being committed to the well-being of others, even if it is personally costly.
• Having the courage to stand for what is right, even when standing alone.

Character is the only thing that believers take with them into the hereafter, and it is what people remember about them after they are gone.

The Fruit of the Spirit: Love and Joy

The fruit produced by the Spirit-led life includes foundational attributes like Love and Joy.

The Power of God’s Love (Agape)

Love is described as the “oxygen of the soul” and the first thing produced by the Holy Spirit. When a person receives Christ, the very love of God is poured into their heart by the Holy Spirit.

• Love is a Command, Not an Option: Unlike the world’s concept of self-centered love or “falling in love” based on feeling, Agape (God’s special, self-other centered love) is a command. The New Testament commands believers 55 times to love, 21 of which command them to love one another.
• Love is an Action (A Verb): When believers lose their “first love,” God commands them to “go back and do the first works”. Love is what we do more than what we feel.
• Cultivating Love: To obey the command to love, believers must pattern their love after how much God loved them, recognizing that “if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 John 4:11-12).
• The Risk of Love: Growing in love requires believers to risk being hurt. C.S. Lewis noted that the alternative to the risk of tragedy in love is “damnation,” as the only safe place from love is hell. Therefore, believers must practice love every day, one loving act at a time, allowing everything they do to be done with love. The world will know we are Christians by how we love one another.

The Fullness of Christ’s Joy

Joy is an essential attribute, yet the quest for happiness often leaves people depressed or unfulfilled. Joy and happiness are not dependent on circumstances.

• The Source of Joy: God Himself is a joyful person who rejoices over His people with singing. God wants His creatures to be joyful. Jesus’s entire ministry was surrounded by joy, from His birth (“Joy to the World”) to His miracles.
• Christ’s Joy is Full and Continual: Jesus wants believers to have His joy remaining in them, and that their joy may be full (John 15:11). This joy is not imperfect or incomplete; it is a complete, constant, lasting joy that is not hinged on happenings but perfected in a person—Christ Himself.
• Joy in the Midst of Trials: Christian joy is unique because it remains even during difficulties and trials (like Paul and Silas praying and singing hymns in prison). Furthermore, Jesus promised: “your joy no one will take from you” (John 16:22).
• Cultivating Joy: True, full joy requires surrendering one’s life to Christ and submitting totally to the Spirit of God, as joy is the fruit of the Spirit. Believers must also study the Word of God, which is God’s handbook on joy, and share their lives with others, as joy is contagious.