The Fruit of the Spirit
“And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;” Ephesians 5:18
To be filled with the Holy Spirit is not a suggestion for Christians but rather a command, as we see in the above verse. It was A.W. Tozer who said, “The Spirit-filled life is not a special, deluxe edition of Christianity. It is part and parcel of the total plan of God for His people.”
As with any duty of a Christian, in order to strive for a spirit-filled life, one must first get a better understanding of what God’s Word is speaking. Galatians 5:22,23 gives us a description of the fruit that will be present in a spirit-filled believer:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”
As the girls and I talked about these verses the other day, we took a closer look at each virtue listed, and then, I encouraged them to follow my example and copy the words down along with the comments that follow them.
love – “to God especially, and to one another for his sake”
joy – “by which may be understood cheerfulness in conversation with our friends, or rather a constant delight in God”
peace – “with God and conscience, or a peaceableness of temper and behaviour towards others”
longsuffering – “patience to defer anger, and a contentedness to bear injuries”
gentleness – “such a sweetness of temper, and especially towards our inferiors, as disposes us to be affable and courteous, and easy to be entreated when any have wronged us”
goodness – “(kindness, beneficence), which shows itself in a readiness to do good to all as we have opportunity”
faith – “fidelity, justice, and honesty, in what we profess and promise to others”
meekness – “wherewith to govern our passions and resentments, so as not to be easily provoked, and, when we are so, to be soon pacified”
temperance – “in meat and drink, and other enjoyments of life, so as not to be excessive and immoderate in the use of them”
(taken from Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary)
The list is a lot to remember, isn’t it? But, if it is God’s will for us to be filled with the Holy Spirit then we can be assured that He will help us…if that is our heart’s desire.