The Fruit of the Spirit / Being Spiritual (July 6, 2025)

Galatians 5:22–23 ~ “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

Galatians 6:1 ~ “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.”

Every believer likes to think he or she is truly spiritual. The word spiritual in the Greek is used to reference “thinks emanating from the Spirit or exhibiting His effects and His Character.” Scripture does not leave believers in doubt, but it gives the standard by which they can determine whether or not they are truly spiritual. The standard is the fruit of the Spirit.

The word “fruit” in the Greek is defined as “harvest, produce, return, effect, results – that which originates or comes from something.” Spiritual people have things in their lives which emanate from the Spirit; things that exhibit or display the character of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the fruit of the Spirit proceeds from Him and is evidenced in the life of a spiritual person.

Let’s take a look at this fruit …

• LOVE – affection, goodwill, benevolence, in the sense of having preference for, wishing well regarding the welfare of.
  • This is the God kind of love that goes beyond the flesh and emotions.
  • This love results from a sense of valuing the object loved, and not merely because the object pleases or delights the one who is loving. It properly denotes a love founded in admiration, great respect, reverence and esteem.
  • Because this is love that involves wishing someone well, a preference for them and being concerned about their welfare, it is …
    • Complementary, not defamatory
    • Constructive, not destructive
    • Helpful, not injurious
  • The spiritual person should have an abundance of love in his/her life.

• JOY – gladness, delight, cheerfulness, mirth, rejoicing , state of joyfulness.
  • The Holy Spirit is the source of joy.

1 Thessalonians 1:6 ~ “And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit,”

• Joy is designed fundamentally to minister to the needs of the believer in a world that knows nothing of true joy. Sorrowful or distressed believers can be filled with joy as they yield to the Holy Spirit. He will produce an abundant “crop” of joy in their lives.

• PEACE – to bind together
  • The flesh will separate brethren, the Holy Spirit will join them together.
  • Peace is to be part of the spiritual person’s life.

2 Corinthians 13:11 ~ “Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.”

Ephesians 4:3 ~ “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

• Spiritual Christians do all they can to bind people together, not to separate them.

• PATIENCE – of the soul under provocation. It includes the idea of forbearance and patient endurance of wrong under ill-treatment
  • Believers are to be patient with one another.

Ephesians 4:1–2 ~ “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,”

• To the Christian, the BIG MAN is the one who refuses to get revenge, even when he could.

• KINDNESS – Benevolent gentleness
  • Kindness is indeed a characteristic of God.

Ephesians 2:7 “7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”

• The spiritual person will exemplify this virtue.

2 Corinthians 6:4–6 ~ “but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love;”

2 Peter 1:5–7 ~ “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.”

• The root of this word deals with “usableness”. The church world needs a church full of people who have mellowed enough by the Spirit to become usable for God in working with others. Like clay in the potter’s hand, we can be too hard for use.

• GOODNESS – practical and moral goodness, meaning, moral activities of a person; the quality in a man who is ruled by and aims at what is good – the quality of moral worth.
  • The spiritual person is one who is not only right and righteous legally, but who is also right morally.
  • The spiritual person is influenced by the Holy Spirit and thus manifests the traits of the Spirit of God, which includes moral righteousness.
  • It should be the aim of Christians to have this fruit produced in their lives.

• FAITHFULNESS – faith in action; fidelity, dependability, and reliability
  • Spiritual people are those who are dependable or stable when the going is rough.
  • This area of the Holy Spirit’s ministry in the believer’s life is to keep him/her from being and “up and down” sporadic Christian. It will enable the believer to be constant and dependable.
  • The Holy Spirit encourages one to be faithful and reliable.

• GENTLENESS – does not denote weakness; referring to the taming of a house; this did not diminish the power, rather, it harnessed the power; power under control
  • Gentleness makes us constructive instead of destructive.
  • Paul talks about the power of the flesh and how it is hostile to the Holy Spirit.
  • Through gentleness, the Holy Spirit produces in believers the power to control the rebellious nature of the self and flesh. Through this fruit, the Holy Spirit produces His character in us so that the spirit of “keeping up the the Joneses” doesn’t come through.
  • Instead of acting your normal self toward others, the Holy Spirit will enable you to be Christ-like. Spiritual people are not themselves, but have been harnessed by the Spirit of the Almighty God.

• SELF-CONTROL – holding in; maintaining control; to master by gaining a firm hold
  • We are admonished to abstain from lusts.
  • The lust in man attempts to draw him from God.
  • But, spiritual people do not give in to every wish and whim of the flesh. Believers do not have to do the things the flesh prompts them to do.
  • The person who is a victim of his passions, lusts, and desires certainly cannot be described as spiritual. However, the presence of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers is their guarantee that they do not have to be ruled by the flesh but can enjoy the restraining ministry of His power.

How Spiritual are you?