“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” (Galatians 5: 21 – 25)
I am probably as guilty as anyone else of taking this passage out of context and making it an individual issue for me personally. This is not bad thinking in itself. Each of us should demonstrate these fruits of the Spirit in our lives. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10). However, I have also come to the conclusion that Galatians 5:21-25 has a greater meaning than just for the individual believer—it is for the community of believers.
Actually, all of Paul’s epistles to the churches were addressed to the company of believers in a particular geographical area. We will be considering the passage of Scripture that describes the fruit of the Spirit. I first want to consider verses from two other church epistles that Paul had written.
Let us look at Romans 12: 1 “I beseech you therefore, brethren [plural], by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies [plural] a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” I truly believe that heart, body and soul must be on the altar of “living sacrifice...which is our reasonable service.” What is our service for—ourselves, or for others?
Verse three: “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think.” It is speaking of individuals in a group setting.
Verse five: Speaks of individuals within a community: “So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.” Each one of us makes up the Body of Christ. We are not separate entities in and of ourselves.
Verses six through – eight: Takes up the matter of gifts that God gives to individuals for the common good of the community. Whatever gift God gives to each one of us is to be shared with others in the community of believers for its growth.
Verse 10: “Be kindly affectionate one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another.” This brings us back to Galatians 5:13 through 26. This section of Galatians speaks to two warring sides. The verses 13 and 14 set the stage, “For, brethren [plural], you have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”
The whole context of Galatians 5:13-26 is being addressed to the community of believers. It speaks very firmly to their interactions with each other. Verse 15 speaks of the hurt we can cause each other, “But if you bite and devour one another, take heed that you be not consumed one of another.” So far this is addressing the entire group. Thus, the local church or assembly or community of believers should be very careful to.
Verses 16 through 17 “walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that you cannot do the things that you would.”
Paul makes up a list of the works of the flesh, verses 19 through 21. I have seen a few of these in the church, and they affect the whole body. These that I have seen are adultery, idolatry, hatred, wrath, strife, heresies, and envying. “Wait,” you say, “these are individual sins.” No, they are not. You cannot have adultery, strife and envy all by yourself. In fact, each of these sins can involve two, three, or more people. Some of these works of the flesh have split and divided churches over the years. I have witnessed church breakups just in my own lifetime, and I have seen churches fold up and die away. I am wounded when I see this. Can you imagine how the Holy Spirit feels?
Let us give some thought to how the Holy Spirit of God feels over the issue of church fights. Ephesians 4: 30 “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” I want to put this verse into context, which we have, “Therefore, putting away lying, ‘Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. Be angry, and do not sin: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.
Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.—And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.—Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.” Paul turning to the bright side of the community of believers, list just after the “works of the flesh.” This is Galatians 5:22 and 23, which are, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control: against such there is no law.” Alleluia! I have seen and been in churches that had these qualities of “love, joy, peace, gentleness, and faith.” Once again, as the Church of our blessed Lord and Savior, “we live in the Spirit, let us walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.” This is a good admonition for us believers living together.
I believe that Galatians 6:1-2 sums up what has gone before: “Brethren, if a man is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one an others burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ.” Alleluia! Amen!
The Great Commandment “Love one another”
There are 13 New Testament verses with the words “love one another.” These verses all speak as commands. There is no support for a Christian to hold grudges.
1) John 13:34: A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
2) John 15:12: This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.
3) John 15:17: This I command you, that you love one another.
4) Romans 13:8: Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another, for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.
5)1 Thessalonians 4:9: Now as to the love of the brethren, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another.
6)1 Peter 1:22: Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart.
7) 1 John 3:11: For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
8) 1 John 3:23: And this is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us.
9) 1 John 4:7: Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
10) 1 John 4:11: Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
12) 1 John 4:12: No one has beheld God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us and His love is perfected in us.
13) 2 John 1:5: And now I ask you, Lady, not as writing to you a new commandment, but the one which we have had from the beginning, that we love one another.
All of this of what I have said speaks directly of the second great commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” You are not given any options in respect to this commandment. He has all the right to make this commandment, because He is the Son of God incarnate in the flesh as Jesus, and again, “We love Him because He first loved us. (John 4: 19).
There is one more very important ethic that must be followed by the church members. Apostle John brings this situation up in his first epistle. It speaks to worldliness , “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world; the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life; is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” (1 John 2: 15 – 17).
We should love the world as God loves the world. This is reaching boys and girls, men and women for Jesus Christ sake. The “lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life” is the matter of our attitude, and actions.
The epistle of James hits this problem head on. Worldliness to a Christian, or in a community of believers is full scale “adultery.” Consider this Scripture passage.
James 4: 1-4 “Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.—[Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.]” The attitudes express above are that of the world system.
I left verse four in context. I have seen anger, hate, and pride in the body of Christ. We have the “Holy” Spirit in each of us, but we are still human. Here is the ethic we must do.
1 Corinthians 13: 4 – 8a “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.”
The church—Statement of faith regarding the Word of God.
The Word of God: We believe that the Bible is the Word of God, fully inspired and without error in the original manuscripts, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit also supervised in the translation work so all may have the Word of God, and that it has supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct.