Fruit of the Spirit

a verse or two

“ 8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth).” Ephesians 5:8-9

Spiritual Walk and Musings: Fruit of the Spirit - LOVE

The following is William Barclay’s comments on the fruit of the Spirit—Love.

The New Testament word for love is agape. This is not a word which classical Greek uses commonly. In Greek there are four words for love. (a) Eros means the love of a man for a maid; it is the love which has passion in it. It is never used in the New Testament at all. (b) Philia is the warm love which we feel for our nearest and our dearest; it is a thing of the heart. (c) Storge rather means affection and is specially used of the love of parents and children. (d) Agape, the Christian word, means unconquerable benevolence. It means that no matter what a [person] may do to us by way of insult or injury or humiliation we will never seek anything else but [their] highest good. It is therefore a feeling of the mind as much as of the heart; it concerns the will as much as the emotions. It describes the deliberate effort—which we can make only with the help of God—never to seek anything but the best even for those who seek the worst for us.

To Pray and Ponder:

FRUITFULNESS:

The fruit of the Spirit is the spontaneous work of the Holy Spirit in us. The Spirit produces the fruit of the Spirit character traits that are found in the nature of Christ. They are the by products of Christ's control; we can't obtain them by trying to get them without his help. If we want the fruit of the Spirit to grow in us, we must join our lives to his (see John 15:4-5). We must know him, love him, remember him, and imitate him. As a result, we will fulfil the intended purpose of the law: to love God and our neighbours. Which of these qualities do you want the Spirit to produce in you? [From the Life Application Bible Commentary]

GARDEN:
To understand the fruit of the Spirit, we must see ourselves, not as individual trees, but as an entire garden under the cultivation of God's Spirit. His purpose involves not simply the production of a single kind of fruit but all the fruit, each becoming ripe as it is needed. No one person can perfectly exemplify all the fruit all the time. We are all needed to produce God's harvest of virtue. We must not be discouraged if our love or patience is not perfect. It is the constant flow of the Spirit in all of us that produces all the fruit. Don't let your lack of fruitfulness in some areas destroy what the Holy Spirit is trying to do in you today. [From the Life Application Bible Commentary]

an Encounter with Martin Luther

a verse or two

^“4 And if you try to please God by obeying the Law, you have cut yourself off from Christ and his wonderful kindness. ⁵ But the Spirit makes us sure that God will accept us because of our faith in Christ.” Galatians 5:4-5 (CEV)

Spiritual Walk and Musings: Luther, Martin (1483-1546)

info for this blog is from http://www.hollywoodjesus.com/ 

The “Father of the Protestant Reformation.” Luther was a monk in Germany who became convinced that the doctrines of the church were not consistent with the Bible. In particular, he felt that the church ignored the biblical teaching of justification through faith by grace. In 1517 he posted his 95 Theses on the door of the Wittenberg church. In this document he set forth his disagreements with the Roman authorities in the church, particularly with regard to the sale of Indulgences. His rallying cries became ‘by faith alone’, ‘by grace alone’, and ‘only the Scriptures’. By ‘by faith alone’ he meant that a person could be saved only through faith, not by indulgences granted by the church. In 1520 he was excommunicated by Pope Leo X, and in 1521 he received a hearing before an imperial diet in Worms. He was asked to recant his teachings, but he refused, saying, “Here I stand, I can do no other. God help me. Amen.” 

Luther’s ‘by faith alone’ effected all of society. What is it today in our society that needs reform? And what is the churches role in this?

To Pray and Ponder: ON FAITH - here are a few of quotes on faith.

“Faith can put a candle in the darkest night” Margaret Sangster (1838–1912) 

“Faith does not mean believing without evidence. It means believing in realities that go beyond sense and sight—for which a totally different sort of evidence is required.” John Baillie (1741–1806) 

“A Christian who walks by faith accepts all circumstances from God. He thanks God when everything goes good, when everything goes bad, and for the “blues” somewhere in-between. He thanks God whether he feels like it or not.” Erwin W. Lutzer (1941– ) 

What do you think about the quotes – do you agree? Disagree? Why? 

God Bless, Jon