“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23
Have you ever eaten an orange freshly picked from a tree? Wouldn’t it be great to bite into it, and never hit a seed? It might be nice for eating purposes, but it wouldn’t be very helpful when trying to grow more oranges.
Seeds serve a very important function. They are the offspring of the parent plant, and they are formed in the fruit of the adult plant. Some fruits have many seeds, like the watermelon or apple. Other fruits have only one seed, such as the avocado and peach. When the time is right, the seeds will be dispersed and implanted. If a seed receives the nutrients it needs to continue its growth, one day a tiny plant will emerge from what was once the seed. Growth will continue until the plant is mature, producing fruit with seeds of its own.
If we are saved, the Bible tells us we have the Spirit of God within us. “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” (I Corinthians 6:19) If we have the Holy Spirit within us, then we also have His fruit within us. The Holy Spirit is like a tree that can yield fruit in our lives. Like a tree that will only yield one type of fruit naturally, the Spirit also yields only one fruit, but it is a fruit with many seeds in it. Those seeds are the nine attributes of Galatians 5:22-23.
There is the thought that the word “fruit” means more than one type of fruit. Grammatically, the word “fruit” is an exception where the noun is both countable and uncountable. So the plural of “fruit” can be either “fruit” or “fruits”. When we think of “fruit” as a group collectively and in a non-specific way, then we tend to use the word “fruit” without the “s”. However, in these two verses, the fruit is very specific. If we are emphasizing the different kinds of fruit, then it would be correct to use “fruits”. If each “fruit” of the Spirit was a different type, it would be grammatically correct to use “fruits of the Spirit.” So what does this all mean? It means that the “fruit” of the Spirit is one type of fruit.
Why is this important? It is important because when we have the fruit of the Spirit, we don’t arbitrarily “pick” one fruit and get “self-control,” and then at a later time, pick another fruit and get “love.” We are given one all-encompassing fruit from the Holy Spirit when we get saved. We receive all the seeds (attributes) at one time. Therefore, the attributes of the Holy Spirit are not items on a list that we check off as we acquire them, nor must we attain one before having the next one on the list. Instead, we are endowed with the whole fruit of the Spirit, which means we have the capacity to love, rejoice, be at peace, be patient, be gentle, be good, be meek, be faithful, and be self-controlled… all at the same time. We cannot claim that we are “working on love,” so that is why we haven’t had any patience. It doesn’t work that way. We are able to exercise all of the “seeds” because we have the entire “fruit” through the empowerment of God’s Spirit.
Because we have the entire fruit of the Spirit, we have the responsibility and the capability of dispersing its seeds to the world around us. We can spread love, gentleness, faithfulness, etc. to those with whom we interact at any time. The Holy Spirit empowers us with this ability. Then as those divine seeds are dispersed through the gospel message, they take root. Lives are impacted, and souls are won for Christ as God takes those seeds and nurtures them until they begin to grow and produce spiritual fruit themselves. Once “ripe” in the faith, they then go out and share their fruit with others!
Let’s make sure we have a bountiful harvest this year!
Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me.
Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me.
Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me,
Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me.
(from “Spirit of the Living God” by Daniel Iverson)
“Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.” John 15:8
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Tomorrow’s harvest depends upon the seeds sown today.