But the fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is
no law. Those who
belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and
desires. Since we
live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Let me begin by saying I believe that
the Holy Spirit, not we ourselves, produce these fruits in our lives.
We cannot self-improve and end up with these benefits. But He will
cause them to grow in the Believer in Christ: Messiah, Jesus, Yashua.
Jesus promised to send the Spirit of God into the believer to guide,
teach, and empower for service.
God brought these verses out of
Galatians 5 to the front of my thinking this past Friday morning. I
was blessed by several moments of revelation last week as I
celebrated Season of Joy at a small campground not too far from my
home. Friday morning he spoke to me about the fruit of the Spirit.
I learned that Satan has a counter for every fruitful gift given by
the Spirit of God -rauch ha-qodesh - the Spirit of Holiness. The
gifts of Satan always fall short of the glory of God.
Love-the ability to selflessly seek
the benefit and success of another without regard to personal gain or
gratification: Satan counters with selfish desire for people, honor,
position, possessions and wealth.
Joy-the delight and extreme pleasure
that allows us to rejoice and triumph in both good and difficult
situations: Satan counters with temporary hilarity and excitement in
things and situations, some harmless and some destructive in nature.
Peace-the calm tranquility that feels
assured of God's control and goodness through both good and difficult
circumstance: Satan brings, in contrast, compliance, treaty, apathy.
Patience-the ability to remain calm
and confident when we must deal with annoyance, difficulty or delay:
Satan counters with tolerance, accepting evil as equal with good. A
friend said to me when discussing this that God is amazingly patient.
He will wait on us without time constraint. But he is not tolerant
nor does he change his truth for our opinion.
Kindness-the ability to treat others
with consideration, generosity, friendship, and concern: Satan
counters with social consciousness- benevolence without effect,
relief without hope, support without positive change.
Goodness-sometimes translated virtue
or godliness: Satan counters with self-awareness, personal
accomplishment and self-acceptance. Rauch ha-qodesh will change our
lives to conform with truth and virtue while Satan will convince us
to be happy with less than God offers.
Faithfulness-fidelity, integrity,
stability: Satan counters with adaptation, self-elevation, and
reciprocation.
Gentleness-meekness or humility: Satan
counters either with entitlement, or self-incrimination with feelings
of worthlessness.
Self-Control: Satan counters with
self-elevation or self-improvement with regret and guilt upon
failure.
Children of God through faith in
Christ, we must know our ally and His amazing power. But we must also
know our enemy and his relentless guile.
