16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
- Galatians 5:16-17
Paul is writing to the Galatian church. They're a newish church & they're still struggling with the concept of walking in the Spirit. He tells them that everything they need to walk in the Spirit is the total & complete opposite of what they are accustomed to, as human beings. Where they would hit that person back for hitting them, Paul emphasizes on doing the opposite. This would be a FRUIT of the Spirit. A fruit is simply a payoff or benefit from one's work.
Look at verse 22. What do you see, besides the obvious, well-known list of fruits of the Spirits?
If you look in the beginning of the sequence (yeah, its a sequence), it starts off with love. Why?
1. Love=God. God=Love. God is Love.
He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. And we have know & believed the love God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
- 1 John 4:8 &16
The Scriptures clearly say God is love. Love is God.
Simply put- If you don't have God, you don't have love. You may think you do, and you might, just not the REAL or authentic stuff. It's just worldly or "man's" love. It's generic. Fraudulent. Leaves ya with this weird throbbing that comes when your heart gets broken, I don't know...
Anyway- not the point, but it is.
You have to have a full blown relationship with God to truly & fully understand the huge concept of love. Not the superficial kind, the real kind.
If you don't have this 1-on-1 relationship with God, stop reading. The rest will be a pile of uslessness. You won't have understood it & I will have wasted your time.
However, if you don't- I ardently encourage you to pursue one.
I promise you, I swear to you, it is without a single doubt, the absolute very best decision you can/ever will make.
2. Without Love, it's Impossible for the Other Fruits to Exist.
So the entire line-up of The Fruit of The Spirit follows love(God). Without love(God), the others are all immaterial. {Ok, to simplify things, whenever you see love ANYWHERE, in this, think God, ok?}
Without love, there is no joy, because there's nothing that gives you joy.
Without love, there is no peace, because there's nothing that gives you peace.
Without love, there's no long-suffering(patience), because to be patient, is to love.
Without love, there's no kindness, because to be kind, is to love.
Without love, there's no goodness, because goodness' motivator is love.
Without love, there's no faithfulness, because faithfulness' motivator is love.
Without love, there's no gentleness, because there's no reason to be gentle.
Without love, there's no self-control, because there's no reason to have self-control.
Every single quality REQUIRES love. (Remember- Love=God. God=Love)
3. Love is Self-less.
Look at the list of The Fruit of the Spirit. Besides love, only 2 of 8 of the listed Fruits are giving DIRECTLY to you. That's only 1/4! Joy & Peace are the only 2 that are giving a gift, in a sense, to you. The rest are all things that you use for the betterment/exhortation/encouragement of your brothers & sisters in Christ & everyone around you. So obviously, if there's no Fruits without love, and only 2 of the Fruits are about/for you, then obviously love is selfless.
It's not about you, but rather what you can do for others.
This idea does work. Think of it like this-
Sam has Sally's back, Sally has Sue's back, Sue has Spencer's back, and Spencer has Sam's back.
A complete circle.
So if you have someone else's back, and everyone abides by this code, like Christians are called to do- Then you don't have to worry about yourself. You shouldn't anyway, God has you all taken care of. This is just one of His methods.
4. After Love, Each Fruit Leads into Each Other.
I'll show ya-
When you have love(God, remember?) you automatically are joyful/happy because you're filled & feel all warm & fuzzy. So, you have something to be joyful about, and with this joy & "cloud-9" feeling, you have a sense of peace. This comes because you're not hollow & empty, but full AND happy, to boot. Now that you're feeling blessed & refreshed, it's time to share what you have & offer the opportunity to others-
But, since the world is the world, they're not the most cooperative bunch, so a degree of patience is most definitely required. With this patience, you continue to be kind & good to those about you. But this not only requires patience, but also faithfulness- persistence & a will to continue what you have set out to do. You continue to be the example you're called to be, and with this new ingredient (faithfulness) added to the mix of patience, a gentleness becomes a part of your MO. But there is only so much a person can take, how you deal with it is up to you. That's where this neat, little fan-dangled thing called self control comes in. It gives you the strength to repeat the WHOLE cycle all over again- which is every day.
All of this originates/begins with/comes from love.
So Love-
1. Love=God. God=Love. God is Love.
Without Him, no love.
2. Without Love, it's Impossible for the Other Fruits to Exist.
Without love, no other fruits. No God/love, no love/God, no Fruits.
3. Love is Self-less.
It's not about you, but rather what you can do for others.
Think of the circle.
4. After Love, Each Fruit Leads into Each Other.
Love is the base for it all. God is the base for it all.
Love=God. God=Love. God is Love.
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