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Location:
6425 Jefferson Rd. For
directions, click here.
Jerry
Varnado,
pastor October
13, 2002 So
I say, live by the Spirit, and
you will not gratify the desires
of the sinful nature. For the
sinful nature desires what is
contrary to the Spirit, and the
Spirit what is contrary to the
sinful nature. They are in
conflict with each other, so that
you do not do what you want. But
if you are led by the Spirit, you
are not under law. The
Fruit
of the
Spirit
is
Love... The
Fruit
of the
Spirit
is...Joy The
Fruit
of the
Spirit
is...Peace The
Fruit
of the
Spirit
is...Patience The
Fruit
of the
Spirit
is...Kindness
and
Goodness But
the fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control.
Against such things there is no
law. Those
who belong to Christ Jesus have
crucified the sinful nature with
its passions and desires. Since
we live by the Spirit, let us
keep in step with the Spirit. Let
us not become conceited,
provoking and envying each
other.
(Galatians
5:16-26) A
few weeks ago, I concluded a
series
of sermons on the gifts of the
Holy
Spirit
as we experience them in
corporate worship. As I was
prayerfully thinking what I
should preach next, I decided
that I should give some time to
the fruit of the
Holy Spirit. Balance
is important in the Christian
life. If we place too much
emphasis on the gifts of the
Spirit without also seeking to
manifest the fruit of the Spirit,
we end up with Christians who
speak in tongues but are mean as
junkyard dogs! That
surely is not pleasing to God and
bears no resemblance the kind of
Christian life described to us in
the New Testament. As
we begin to talk about the fruit
of the Holy Spirit, I need to
repeat some things I said in the
introduction to the sermon series
on spiritual gifts. The
word "fruit" is used in two
different ways in the Scriptures
-- in addition to the kind of
natural fruit that grows on trees
and such. First, there is the
fruit of the
ministry. Look
with me at John 15:16. Now,
if all Jesus meant by that
statement was his disciples
should have love, joy, peace,
patience, and so on in their
lives, you and I wouldn't be here
today. The
"fruit" Jesus is talking about
here is the production of new
Christians. He means that through
our lives and witness, others
will come to know Him as Savior
and Lord. This is the fruit of
ministry. But
the Bible also speaks of fruit as
the fruit of one's personal
life -- and that's what the
passage we looked a moment ago in
Galatians 5 is focusing on. It is
this kind of fruit that I want to
talk about today, and for the
next several Sundays. What
is fruit anyway? Look with me at
this definition on the video
screens: The
fruit that deives from this
energy is that our lives begin to
reflect the character and nature
of God! So
here's the contrast between gifts
and fruit. The gifts of the
Spirit have to do with our
calling or function in the Body
of the Christ -- what we
do. The fruit of the
Spirit has to do with the quality
of our lives -- who we
are. In
Galatians 5, Paul names nine
particular fruits of the
Spirit. As
with other lists given in the New
Testament, I don't think this one
is intended to be an exhaustive
catalog of all the things that
might bloom in our lives because
the Holy Spirit lives in us.
These are rather the core, or
central, attributes of God's
character that ought to become
evident in the lives of those who
claim Jesus Christ as their
Savior and Lord, as we grow and
mature in our knowledge of
God. At
the top of the list is "love." In
fact, some scholars believe the
grammatical structure of this
verse suggests what has been
called the "one fruit
theory." They
say that the original Greek could
be read in this way: "The fruit
of the Spirit is love, which
shows itself in our lives through
joy, peace, patience," and so
on. Frankly,
I'm not sure if that's the way
Paul intended it to be read or
not. But I do know this: the rest
of the fruit named in this list
is based on God's love being
poured into our lives. Indeed,
it is because of that love that
we can love God in return, and
love each other -- and even love
our enemies. It is God's love
that enables us to live the
Christian life. So
even if love isn't the "one
fruit" of the Spirit, it
certainly is the root and
foundation of the growth and
development of the other eight.
So
as we begin this series today,
let's focus on "love" -- and the
love referred to here in
Galations 5:22 is a particular
kind of love. In
English, and in our culture in
particular, we use the word
"love" in lots of different ways.
We love our parents, our
children, our relatives (most of
them) and our friends. But we
also say that we "love" football,
fried chicken, and ice cream!
Obviously we don't mean the same
thing in all those
situations. The
Greeks were a bit more careful in
their word usage. In fact, they
had four different words for
love, eacg describing a different
type of love. There was one word
for love among friends, another
word for romantic love, another
word for the kind of love a
parent has for a child.
To
refer to the love of God, the
authors of the New Testament
chose a word that, at the time,
was little used: agape. In
fact the Scriptures, particularly
1 Corinthians 13, shaped our
present understanding of that
word. Let's
look at that passage. 1
Corinthians 13, starting in verse
one: Love
is patient, love is kind. It
does not envy, it does not
boast, it is not proud. It is
not rude, it is not
self-seeking, it is not easily
angered, it keeps no record of
wrongs. Love does not delight
in evil but rejoices with the
truth. It always protects,
always trusts, always hopes,
always perseveres. Love
never fails. What
this passage is describing is a
love that is unconditional. It is
given in spite of the
shortcomings of its object. This
love does not seek its own
fulfillment, but rather the
fulfillment the
beloved. This
describes God's love for you and
me -- and that ought to make us
feel wonderful! But
I must confess that it's also a
bit convicting! Because this is
the kind of love we are to show
to others. You
know what? Apart from God, you
and I just not capable of giving
that kind of love -- even to
family, much less to our
enemies! But
don't despair! This where the
Good News comes in! The
incredible claim of Jesus Christ
is that He can reproduce His life
in anyone who will give his or
her life to Him for that purpose.
Let me say that again: The
incredible claim of Jesus Christ
is that He can reproduce His life
in anyone who will give his or
her life to Him for that
purpose. Jesus,
who is the perfect image of God,
the One whose name is love, will
give us the power to love as God
loves. Through Christ, living in
us by the Holy Spirit, God gives
us His agape. The
Apostle Paul writes this in
Romans 5:5: And
in 1 John 4:19 we find these
words: God
gives us His love, not because we
deserve it, but because He
chooses to do so. Now,
what do we do with this love. Do
we simply soak it up, like a
sponge? No, we have a
responsibility to do something
with it. Love
is not only a fruit that reflects
the inherent power of God living
in those who put their faith in
Christ; love is also a command.
We not only receive God's love,
we must give it to
others. Look
with me at John 15:12 -- the
words of Jesus: And
in Matthew 22:37-39: And
Luke 6:27-28: It
is the power of the Holy Spirit
that produces love in us, but we
must nurture its growth -- and
choose to give it to others.
How
do we nurture the growth of love
and the other fruit of the
Spirit? The
same way we get any fruit to
grow: Plow the site and clean out
the rocks and sticks; then you
plant, fertilize, water,
cultivate, pull weeds and
prune. How
this relates to our spiritual
lives will be the topic next
week. For now I leave you with
four basic principles of growing
fruit. Look at the video
screens: But
during this week, I want us to do
something. Let's pray for one
another the prayer that Paul gave
us in Ephesians 3:14-19 -- a
prayer about being rooted and
established in love. Look at it
with me: And
I pray that you, being rooted
and established in love, may
have power, together with all
the saints, to grasp how wide
and long and high and deep is
the love of Christ, and to
know this love that surpasses
knowledge -- that you may be
filled to the measure of all
the fullness of
God. I
want to close with the
benediction found in the next two
verses in Ephesians 3:
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Georgia.
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A
GATEWAY SERMON
The
fruit of the Spirit is
love...
(First
in a series)
Gateway
Church,
Athens GA
The acts of the sinful nature
are obvious: sexual immorality,
impurity and debauchery; idolatry
and witchcraft; hatred, discord,
jealousy, fits of rage, selfish
ambition, dissensions, factions
and envy; drunkenness, orgies,
and the like. I warn you, as I
did before, that those who live
like this will not inherit the
kingdom of God.
Sermons
in
this
series:
Love
is the
root
and
foundation
for
all
other
fruit
of the
Spirit.
It is
God's
love
that
enables
us to
live
the
Christian
life.
Joy
flows
from
being
in
God's
presence.
By the
Holy
Spirit,
the
Lord's
presence
isn't
just
with
us, it
is
within
us.
The
peace
of God
is
found
in a
particular
place:
the
path
of
God's
will
and
purpose
for
your
life.
We
must
learn
to
wait.
Not
doing
so can
lead
to
disastrous
consequences.
God's
truth
is
"wrapped"
in our
lives
for
delivery
to the
world.
Kindness
and
goodness
are
essential
elements
of the
wrapper.
The
Fruit
of the
Spirit
is...Faithfulness,
Gentleness,
and
Self-Control
Faithfulness
prospers
individuals
and
organizations;
Gentleness
resists
using
power
inappropriately;
Self-control
means
we can
overcome
behavior
that
violates
biblical
standards.
"You
did not choose me, but I chose
you and appointed you to go
and bear fruit -- fruit that
will last. Then the Father
will give you whatever you ask
in my name."
A visible expression of inward
power
Now,
this definition applies apples
and oranges and grapes, but it
applies to the fruit of the Holy
Spirit. The Bible says that when
a person comes to Christ, the
Spirit actually takes up
residence in that person.
Therefore, the "inherent energy"
in the Christian -- the energy
working inwardly in us,
motivating our thoughts and
actions -- is the power of God
Himself.
Types of fruit
A love unlike any
otherIf
I speak in the tongues of men
and of angels, but have not
love, I am only a resounding
gong or a clanging cymbal. If
I have the gift of prophecy
and can fathom all mysteries
and all knowledge, and if I
have a faith that can move
mountains, but have not love,
I am nothing. If I give all I
possess to the poor and
surrender my body to the
flames, but have not love, I
gain nothing.
And
hope does not disappoint us,
because God has poured out his
love into our hearts by the
Holy Spirit, whom he has given
us.
We
love because he first loved
us.
Our
responsibility"My
command is this: Love each
other as I have loved
you."
"'Love
the Lord your God with all
your heart and with all your
soul and with all your mind.'
This is the first and greatest
commandment. And the second is
like it: 'Love your neighbor
as yourself.'"
"But
I tell you who hear me: Love
your enemies, do good to those
who hate you, bless those who
curse you, pray for those who
mistreat you."
Rooted and
established
That's
the skeleton for what I want to
talk with you about next week.
I'll put some meat on those bones
next time.For
this reason I kneel before the
Father, from whom his whole
family in heaven and on earth
derives its name. I pray that
out of his glorious riches he
may strengthen you with power
through his Spirit in your
inner being, so that Christ
may dwell in your hearts
through faith.
His power at work within
usNow
to him who is able to do
immeasurably more than all we
ask or imagine, according to
his power that is at work
within us, to him be glory in
the church and in Christ Jesus
throughout all generations,
for ever and ever!
Amen.
An
audio tape of this sermon is
available
free of charge (U.S. requests
only).
Request
a tape by calling
or writing the Gateway Church
office.
Please specify tape number
021013a: The Fruit of the
Spirit is Love...
©
2002 Gerald R.
Varnado