The Fruit of the Spirit - Part 8: The Last Fruits on First Fruits

​ So since today is our annual First Fruits Sunday here at High Point Church, it seemed good to me and to the Holy Ghost to wrap up our teaching on the Fruit of the Spirit on this particular Sunday. With that being said, my title for today’s summary & recap of this series is “The Last Fruits on First Fruits.”
 
Now I hope you all have gotten as much out of this series on the Fruit of the Spirit as I have. This series of teachings has caused me personally to look at these nine virtues known as the Fruit of the Spirit quite differently than I had before.
 
For one, I had never really seen these nine fruit as being the core nature of God Himself. But we have many Scriptures that back this up—because, for example, we know God is love, right (see First John 4:7)? He is also called both the “Prince of Peace” and the “God of Peace.” On top of that, we are constantly reminded in the Bible that God is good and He is faithful too. So, throughout the Bible we can find these nine virtues describing God Himself. Therefore, the fruit of the Spirit is essentially a call for us to imitate God in our hearts, actions and behavior. So, while most have essentially described the fruit of the Spirit as us simply displaying character in our lives, I now see these virtues as us basically producing God’s character in our lives.
 
This is huge, church—because I believe that once we begin to see God as love, joy, peace, etc., then we find the freedom to reflect these virtues in our lives. In other words, once we see God as this way, we can see ourselves becoming this way too! Therefore, beholding His fruit is how we can nurture the seed for those same fruit that we who have been born again already have on the inside of us.
 
And this has always been God’s plan for His creation, saints—to be fruitful and multiply in the paradise of His presence: Do you remember on the third day, after the Lord created the earth, what the Lord said? He said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.” (Genesis 1:11-12). Here we see how God originally designed fruit to be produced:
And I want you to notice that, first of all, in order for the tree to yield fruit that it must be created as a fruit tree. For example, if the tree is not an apple tree, then what is it not going to produce? Apples! So, the first thing that had to transpire in order for you and I to bear the fruit of the Spirit in our lives is to be recreated as a fruit-bearing tree. And we know that this occurred by the Holy Spirit when we called on the name of the Lord, were born again, and received the new nature we received through the Spirit washing, renewing and regenerating us (Titus 3:5).
 
So, the Lord created things so that a fruit tree will yield its fruit, but notice that it yields fruit “according to its kind.” I like how the New Living Translation says this. It says, “from which they came.” In other words, a fruit tree is only going to produce the fruit, and the seed in that fruit, from the seed from which they came.
So, the reason it is called the fruit of the Spirit is because it is fruit that is according to His kind, or you could say, it is the fruit that came directly from the seed of the Spirit.
 
And that is exactly how I defined the Fruit of the Spirit: It is the fruit of a spiritually alive and Spirit-empowered life. That means that it is what is produced in our lives both from what we have in our recreated spirit when we got saved (i.e. the fruit of our spirit) and from what the Holy Spirit helps us to produce (i.e. the fruit of the Holy Spirit). And both of these truths work together to see more fruit in our lives—for we had to be born of the Spirit to be capable to produce His fruit and we also need His help in producing it as well.
 
So, what I want to do in this, the “last fruits” of our teaching on the Fruit of the Spirit is go back through each of these nine virtues and briefly touch on some of the highlights of what they are and how we can see them produced in our lives:
 
Now these nine virtues are, of course, listed in Galatians 5:22-23 as “… love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control …”  (Galatians 5:22-23).
 
First of all, I made the point as we went through these nine fruit that the order that Paul listed them in is significant: For example, and understandably so, love is mentioned first in his list. Why? Well, because God’s core nature is agape. Therefore, like God is at the top of the food chain, love should certainly be at the top of the fruit chain. Also, Jesus called love—both our love for God and our love for our neighbor—the greatest of all the commandments. And Jesus then gave us a new commandment that was a whole new standard of love—loving one another as He has loved us. So, love certainly deserves to be the first in Paul’s list.
 
But love also might be first because it is the meant to be the first virtue produced in the life of a born again, Spirit-filled Christian. You see, the Bible is explicit that our love for one another is how we know that we have passed from death unto life (First John 3:14). It is also how the world will know that we are Jesus’ disciples (John 13:35). So, you could say that love is how both we ourselves and the world around us will know that we are Christians.
 
So, I don’t think I need to belabor this point any more that love is the greatest of all these fruit. Amen?
 
But we also learned that by walking in this love, it will organically yield in our lives the other fruit as well. For example, joy and peace then become a natural by-product of the love we are producing. I’ll tell you—you show me someone who loves well and I’ll show you someone who also produces some joy and peace in their lives. Amen?
 
So, my point is, these fruit play off one another in many respects. But do you remember how I made the point that the lower third of these nine manifestations of the Spirit are probably the last three virtues most Christians desire in their lives—faithfulness, humility (i.e. meekness), and self-control? Yes, I’m sure if we were to poll a hundred-plus Christians and asked them to honestly rank these nine Fruit of the Spirit, that these three would be at the bottom of the totem pole.
 
But I made the point that the fruit of the Spirit are like our spiritual muscles, and like it is with most body-builders, the tendency is to only focus on developing the upper third of their body. In other words, these gym rats like to work on their chest, shoulders and arms, but they don’t work on their thighs and calves. This should not be so for us, spiritually-speaking. We need to not just focus on the upper half of Paul’s list—desiring more love, joy and peace. No, we need to pursue being more faithful, humble and self-controlled in our lives like we would being more loving, joyful and peaceful.         
 
So, my point is that Paul’s order of these fruit shows us some important truths about all of the fruit’s importance in our lives.
 
So now, as promised, let’s briefly go back through each of the nine fruit of the Spirit in order to see what they are and how to see them produced in our lives:

1. LOVE – We made the point that there is a big difference between the way God uses the word “love” and the way the world uses the word “love.” This word “love” comes from the Greek word agape, which describes the God kind of love, again different than a worldly kind of love. An example that we used is how, in the world, we are quick to loosely throw around the term “love.” We say “I love Jesus” but also say “I love coffee.” Well, hopefully we love Jesus more than we love coffee. But my point is that this is a worldly kind of love because it is based on the condition of the thing we are loving. No, the God kind of love we are talking about here is a love that is not based on the behavior of the one being loved; it is solely based on the character of the one doing the loving. Therefore, agape is unconditional, limitless, and self-sacrificing. This is why I like aspects of the King James Version’s translation—the word “charity.” I believe this is a good description of agape because when one gives to a charity, there is nothing expected in return. It is understood that when we give to a “charity” that there are no strings attached and there is no reciprocation. Not to mention, “charities” are not designed to receive well wishes or good intentions. They receive tangible goods and monetary gifts. Likewise, agape is not just saying “I love you”; it is giving love. Therefore, we also learned that since love is a commandment and not a feeling nor a suggestion, then feelings are not a part of producing love in our lives. Therefore, as it is with the rest of the fruit of the Spirit, you and I can choose to put on love like we put on our clothes. It’s a choice—a deliberate and conscious choice that we are going to produce loving actions towards others.
2. JOY – We learned that if love is not some gooey feeling that just makes us feel love for others then why would joy be any different. A good example of this that we looked at was in Philippians 4:4 where the apostle Paul tells this church to “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, Rejoice.” Why would the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul tell us to always rejoice if joy was just automatic? I mean, if joy was just something that is manifested in and through us irrespective of our own conscious and deliberate decision, then why would we have to be told to exhibit it? No, joy is not just automatic. It is a fruit that we decide to produce in our lives as we put our attention on the things that are true, lovely, noble, etc. Therefore, we can accurately say that joy is the fruit of focus. I gave you several examples of how joy is like feeling like we have a million bucks when everything in the natural might say otherwise.  
3. PEACE – The same is true for peace. That tranquil, restful state of the soul that Jesus left us with is also a fruit of our focus—for He promised to keep us in perfect peace when our mind is stayed on Him (Isaiah 26:3). We saw that one aspect of peace is that peace that we can have within us during the storms of life. This is also what is implied in Philippians chapter 4 when Paul teaches us that the way to having the peace guard our hearts & minds is by us rejoicing, being thankful, turning to the Lord with the things which concern us, etc. (see Philippians 4:4-7). So, what we are beholding is again imperative to maintaining our peace. But we also learned that this peace that Paul speaks of is like a two-sided coin. Of course, there is the side of peace that describes the tranquility, quietness, and rest in the soul. But there is also the side of peace that describes peace between two individuals. And this is what we spent most of our time talking about last week—the peace we are to pursue with others.
4. LONGSUFFERING – This fruit of the Spirit comes from the Greek word makrothumia and comes from two words. The prefix is makros, which simply means “long”, and the other word is thumos, which describes “passionate anger or wrath.” So, when you combine these two words together, you see a person described that takes a “long” time to get “mad” or you could say they are slow to anger. When it comes to this word, I like to use the analogy of a stick of dynamite. But not just any ordinary stick of dynamite, but one that has a tremendously long fuse (i.e. that string that one lights on fire to ignite the dynamite). So, because its fuse is so long, you can “burn” it for a long time before it will ever “explode” on you. Therefore, the believer who is producing this virtue in his or her life is extremely “patient & forbearing” with others. So, one could say that the fruit of longsuffering is “patience with people.” But like it is the rest of the fruit of the Spirit, this fruit must be put on. In other words, just as your clothes didn’t choose you, but you choose them, neither will the fruit of longsuffering choose you; you must choose it. And one of the ways to choose it is when you are being tempted the most to not be patient. In other words, you must resist the temptation to not suffer any longer when people are irritating the mess out of you. This is how that spiritual muscle gets exercised. 
5. KINDNESS – The dictionary defines the word “kindness” as the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate. Therefore, I see kindness as being exhibited in demeanor, action & thought. What I mean by that is the fruit of kindness is to look kind, be kind, and to think kind. In other words, it is produced in our lives by our countenance, our actions, and our mindset. I would describe “kindness” as being motivated by compassion, or you could say, “moved with compassion.” And in order to be kind and compassionate, we must be conscientious and considerate. This is the key to kindness in my estimation: to give attention to the needs of others and then letting that awareness stir up a heart of compassion in us that will manifest in kind actions.
6. GOODNESS – The fruit of “goodness” denotes being “beneficial.” So, it paints the picture a benefactor, which would describe one who possesses great wealth and that uses their wealth to benefit others. Therefore, I would describe bearing the fruit of “goodness” as us being more “generous, liberal and charitable with our finances, time, or energy” like a “benefactor” graciously gives of him or herself to bless others. So, one important key to bearing more of the fruit of goodness in our lives is receiving more of the goodness of God in our lives. Someone might ask, “Are you saying that if I don’t have a lot of money I cannot produce this fruit in my life?” Absolutely not! All I am saying is that if you had more money, you could be even more beneficial than you are now. I get tickled when I’ve heard people say, “When I win the lottery, I’m going to give the church a million dollars.” Honey, if they don’t give a hundred dollars now, then they are fooling themselves to think they will give a million dollars if they hit the jackpot. No, we have to learn to bear the fruit of goodness now with what we have, and not wait until we feel like we have enough to spare.
7. FAITHFULNESS – We saw that the word that was used here by Paul is the same word used for “faith” itself. However, most agree that this particular fruit of the Spirit is describing someone who, through their faith, is reliable and loyal—that is, he or she is trustworthy, dependable, dedicated, consistent and unwavering in their dealings with others. Therefore, people can believe in the person who is faithful just like we can believe God because He Himself is faithful. It is for that reason that I said that God’s faithfulness is what our faith is rooted in, and our faithfulness is the fruit of the faith we have in Him. Amen. But how many of you know that faithfulness is not just automatically appearing on the branches of most of God’s people (i.e. us!)? So, how do we become more faithful? Well, it begins with beholding His faithfulness and then it comes by exercising this particular spiritual muscle. Sure, there will be times where we will be tempted to be unfaithful, but it is in exercising faithfulness that it can grow exceedingly. Amen.
8. GENTLENESS – Now most translations use this word “gentleness,” and the word Paul used here literally describes someone who is gentle, meek or mild. I made the point that the term “mild” is interesting here because what do you think of when you think of something being “mild”? We might think of something not being sharp, spicy or bitter. And it makes me think of cheese! I think of “mild” cheddar versus “sharp” cheddar. You see, mild cheddar is much blander and more moderate. The sharper cheddars, on the other hand, stand out a little more! They are a little tarter! Likewise, a “mild” person is much less abrasive, severe and harsh. Rather, they are gentle, meek, and humble. But this virtue called “gentleness” is by nature, meek, mild, and humble. The exact opposite of harsh, abrasive, and arrogant. Therefore, as you’ve heard me use already, perhaps the best translation of this word we would have today would be “humility.” But again, like it is with all of the fruit of the Spirit, this fruit is a mentality, an attitude, and a product of being pursued and put on. God doesn’t make us humble; we humble ourselves.
9. SELF-CONTROL --- We saw that this term “self-control” comes from the Greek word enkrateia which is a combination of two words—the word en which means “in, inner or inward” and the word kratos which describes “ruling power.” In fact, this word kratos is where we get our English term “democracy” from—the word demos being the Greek word for “people” and the word kratos meaning “ruling power.” So, the word democracy literally means “people ruling power”—essentially being a government that is ruled by the people. So, when we combine these words together, we get what I consider to be the perfect definition for “self-control.” Self-control is not people ruling power; it is “inward ruling power.” In other words, a person exhibiting the fruit of self-control is a person who is “governing” themselves. So, “self-control” is the supernatural ability of the Holy Spirit to rule over our outward man by our inward man. In other words, it is controlling the flesh by the spirit man. But like you’ll hear said in the world regarding people shooting down the notion that the majority rules when it comes to certain decisions— “This is not a democracy!” And it’s not with this particular fruit of the Spirit either! No, God the Father is not going to control you for you! Jesus is not going to make you produce His fruit either! And contrary to popular opinion, the Holy Spirit is also not going to make you bear this fruit of self-control! No, the only one that will control you is you! Therefore, we just need to be properly motivated.

 
CONCLUSION
 
Church, fruit in our lives is what the Lord is after. I would say that it is ultimate goal of God for each and every one of us. In fact, this Greek word for “fruit” in Galatians 5:22 is used 66 times in New Testament. What makes that number significant, you ask? Well, we have 66 books in the Bible. Therefore, I think it is safe to say that the entire Word of God is geared around “fruit”—showing us God’s fruit and teaching us to bear fruit according to His own kind.
 
And today is the fulfillment of all that we have been talking about over the past two or three months—for the purpose of First Fruits Sunday is to give everyone an opportunity to be even more fruitful by showing God’s love, goodness, kindness, etc. to your church family. In fact, it is essentially the same as what many people around the world are doing this week, where they are joining gyms and resolving to get back in shape for this coming year. Well, that is what today could be viewed as—for some of us it is us going to our spiritual gym for the first time in a while and exercising our spiritual muscles.  
 
But like we might say to the person who has made it their New Year’s resolution to start exercising, one quick word of encouragement: Don’t just make this a once-a-year event in your life. Live a lifestyle of blessing those around you—purposefully and intentionally thinking of ways to bear fruit towards those you come in contact with. This is the way to joy, the way of peace, and most importantly how to give glory to your Father! Amen and amen!