Galatians 5:22-23

²² But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.

As a Christian I always hear about the fruits of the Spirit and that I need to model them out in my life and towards others. Yet, I didn’t always know exactly what that means to me…in my life. I decided to have a look at the verses and look up the dictionary meaning of each ‘fruit’, and I thought that I would share it with you. This is what I found…

There are nine fruits of the Spirit according to Galatians 5:22-23 (see above for the verse).

#1 Love

Dictionary definition:

love
/lʌv/
noun
an intense feeling of deep affection.
“babies fill parents with feelings of love”

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As it says in the Amplified version of this part of the verse, it says ‘unselfish concern for others’. I believe that we need to put the needs of others before our own sometimes. We need to think of others and not just ourselves. This is not always easy as people quite often make it difficult to love them and yet we must press forward.

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#2 Joy

Dictionary definition:

joy
/dʒɔɪ/
noun
a feeling of great pleasure and happiness.
“tears of joy”

– – – – – – – – – –

In a lot of verses in the Bible, it talks about the joy of the Lord and that your joy should come from God and not your circumstances or relationships, etc. That means that no matter what is happening in your life, you should always be joyful. That is sometimes a tall order, especially when you want to throw a stapler at someone’s head.

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#3 Peace or Inner Peace

Internet Definition:

Inner peace refers to a deliberate state of psychological or spiritual calm despite the potential presence of stressors.

Dictionary definition:

peace
/piːs/
noun
freedom from disturbance; tranquillity.
“he just wanted to drink a few beers in peace”

– – – – – – – – – –

This is something I have to ask God for daily. Especially when there are things that try their best to make sure your inner peace evaporates.

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#4 Patience

Dictionary definition:

patience
/ˈpeɪʃ(ə)ns/
noun
the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, problems, or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious.
“you can find bargains if you have the patience to sift through the rubbish”

– – – – – – – – – –

I learnt a long time ago that if you ask God for patience, He will constantly put things in your path that require you to have patience until you learn to have the patience you asked for. He doesn’t just drop it in your lap. The Amplified Bible version also adds ‘not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting’. This is also very important to God according to His Word. It is mentioned in several verses in the Bible.

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#5 Kindness

Dictionary definition:

kindness
/ˈkʌɪn(d)nəs/
noun
the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate.
“he thanked them for their kindness and support”

– – – – – – – – – –

For people that are born with this in them, it comes naturally and they don’t even have to think about it but for those that aren’t born with it, it takes work. I am half and half.

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#6 Goodness

Dictionary definition:

goodness
/ˈɡʊdnəs/
noun
the quality of being morally good or virtuous.
“a belief in the basic goodness of mankind”

– – – – – – – – – –

This is a quality that seems to be lacking a lot in the world these days. With the media not always promoting good and virtuous behaviour, people have been following the wrong examples in their life.

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#7 Faithfulness

Dictionary definition:

Faithfulness
/ˈfeɪθf(ʊ)lnəs/
noun
the quality of being faithful; fidelity.
“faithfulness in marriage”

Or, the Biblical definition:

The fact or quality of being true to one’s word or commitments, as to what one has pledged to do, professes to believe, etc.: In the Bible, the psalmist David reports God’s faithfulness in keeping promises.

– – – – – – – – – –

It is very important to keep your promises that you make, especially the ones you make to God. He will not be taken for a fool. It shows good character if you are a person that keeps your commitments and promises. It shows that you are trustworthy.

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#8 Gentleness

Dictionary definition:

gentleness
/ˈdʒɛntlnəs/
noun
the quality of being kind, tender, or mild-mannered.
“Michael was admired for his gentleness and tolerance”

– – – – – – – – – –

I think we can see a trend here. The Lord wants us to be good, gentle, kind, faithful and loving people. This means, we need to be like Jesus. We need to show people God’s love.

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#9 Self-Control

Dictionary definition:

self-control
/ˌsɛlfkənˈtrəʊl/
noun
the ability to control oneself, in particular one’s emotions and desires, especially in difficult situations.
“Lucy silently struggled for self-control”

– – – – – – – – – –

Ooo, this is always a difficult one. It means that you can say no to that piece of chocolate, or the next drink. It means that you need to say no it to have self-control. We don’t always want to say no, do we?

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Do you still struggle with some or all of these?

That’s it from me for now…

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