Fruit through you

We're really glad that you're here and that's not an old saw. Okay. We had originally announced three work days in a row, and the folks that came the last couple of Saturdays have cleaned it all up, so thank you very much. And so we won't need to do the one this next Saturday.

Now the other thing to let you know is we'll be starting a month from today, the first Sunday in December, a study in Genesis. So just kind of so you're thinking ahead. We'll be finishing up the book of Galatians here by the end of this month. Now, last week we talked about the works of the flesh and we, among other things, gave you a chart of these works of the flesh here as we taught on them and described them. We're fortunately moving away from that this Sunday and moving into Galatians 5, 22, 23, which is the fruit of the Spirit. And so let's take a look at that now.

Now, one of the things that you may have noted, I found it to be true on kind of the family farm, is that fruit only grows on something that's living. We had living apple trees, not so many of them are living now, but anyway, we had living apple trees and we had living cherry trees and living fig tree until the pigs got ahold of it. But anyway, anything living, then, produced fruit. And that's one of the things, as we look at this passage, why did he switch from works of the flesh to fruit of the Spirit? Well, it takes life to produce fruit.

And that's key here. It's, I think, less than or rather more than incidental. So this is why Paul refers to these fruit, love, joy, peace, etc. as the fruit of the Spirit. Can you hear me okay? A little subdued? Initially it was a little bit too hot. I'll try to speak up until they turn it up and then I'll try to speak down. But I'm not speaking down on you. You understand?

Galatians 5.16, a verse we looked at just recently.

Paul said that the believers must walk. What do we mean by walk? Pattern their lives step-by-step. Believers must walk and we expand to get the idea across by means of the Spirit or in the Spirit as some translations have it. By means of. It is through the Holy Spirit, by means of the Holy Spirit that we do our walking, our day-to-day patterning, step-by-step of our lives. Believers are patterning their lives step-by-step by means of, and we've had a handout from Hal from years past, by the multiple ministries of the Holy Spirit.

Got that? The multiple ministries of the Holy Spirit. Hal's list itemized 22 with the references that went along with it. We have an abundance of ministries of the Holy Spirit. all the time that direct us towards that walk and provide everything we need for that walk. The Holy Spirit pointing to Christ, directing our attention to Him.

Here we have the list here of the fruit, and they all fall under this heading, Aspects of this Personal Character. Express in the course of life that is the character of Christ. It is Christ himself expressed. That's what these are describing We mentioned last week that some of the works of the flesh were kind of different descriptions of parts of the same thing This has something similar.

These are different descriptions only it's not part of some of the same thing It is of the same person Jesus Christ his life his character Now, we said previously, I think about two weeks ago, in Galatians 5.17, that the spirit and the flesh are locked in passionate opposition to one another.

Alright? And Nancy said it's okay to show this picture as long as I cut off the tiny end of this kid. Anyway, but they're locked in passionate opposition. I really wanted to use that picture because it showed the mismatch. They are opposite, but not equal.

The deeds of the flesh and the fruit of the spirit are also opposites in outcome. They are opposites in outcome in character and behavior. They don't end up with the same thing. We said before that the Holy Spirit and the flesh are opposites, but by no means equal. We made that statement a couple of weeks back. Now, we want to make this statement in the same way. The works of the flesh and the fruit of the spirit are opposites, but not equal. The works of the flesh are no match up for the fruit of the Spirit. No match up at all. What do I mean by that?

It is the work of the Holy Spirit that brings us together as a body. We are already a body. We have, Paul says, I urge that you preserve the unity of the Spirit. You're preserving something that is already there. Why? Because of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the one who draws us to meet together. It is the Holy Spirit who directs us to focus upon Christ, to behold Him. The flesh has no focus except self. The Holy Spirit has a unique focus and it's a person, Jesus Christ. Beyond that, everything that the Holy Spirit motivates and works and brings about in our lives is rewardable in eternity. Nothing of what the flesh motivates and brings about in our life is rewardable in eternity. They are entirely unequal. Quite unequal.

You got fruit, which you can see, and it's only on things that are living. Or you got the works of the flesh. You've got one or the other, and they're quite different. Now, he goes through these love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. This fruit coming forth from the life of Christ in the believer is evident to others. Just like you go by a fruit tree and you look at it, especially when the fruit is nearing ripeness, you look at it and you say, that is a fruit tree. Why? You can see the fruit. The fruit is apparent. The fruit is visible, right?

There's something else about a tree that produces fruit, and that's that it draws all its resources from something outside of itself. It is simply the instrument for producing the fruit, but the water, the sunshine, the air, the minerals, everything it gets from the air and the ground around it, and without those resources it produces nothing. But with those resources it produces the fruit.

We're like that too. We are not the resource. We are simply the instrument. God providing by ministry of the Holy Spirit, Every resource we need centers upon the person of Jesus Christ. All we need. Then the fruit comes, not because of us, but through us. And that's the way we see it.

The fruit does not come from human resources. The fruit of the Spirit is not produced by human resources. We have companies all over the Denver area that have a human resources department, and that's fine. That's okay that they have those, but that's not where the fruit of the Spirit comes from. It's not human resources.

It is the Holy Spirit directing us to Christ. That's the resource. It's Christ's life by means of what we mentioned, the multiple ministries of the Holy Spirit. That's how the fruit is expressed. The first of those fruit that he mentioned here is love. It's the kind of love that has God as its source. Got that? As God as its source. If a person has no relationship with the Lord, this kind of love is not going to be produced as fruit. This kind of love.

It is a selfless love. It seeks the benefit of the one loved without looking for something in return. It doesn't ask, I'll love you if you'll love me. You're awfully lovely, so I'll love you. It doesn't do that. It seeks the benefit of the recipient without asking, what do I get back? He loved us while we were yet sinners, enemies. That's when he expressed the kind of love the scripture talks about.

Galatians 2.20.

Here is the ultimate expression. And I could point to other passages as well. Start with the last part of Ephesians 5. The ultimate expression. He loved us and gave himself up for us. He loved us and gave himself up for us. The New Testament says that repeatedly. And by the way, in that same order. He loved us and gave himself up for us. That's the ultimate expression of love. He loved us while we were real cute and cuddly? No. He loved us while we were yet sinners. While we were yet enemies, He loved us. For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross, not because the cross was lovely, not because taking our sins upon Him was lovely, but because He loved us with this kind of love. Joy.

It doesn't come from outward circumstances. It comes from, spiritually speaking, inward circumstances. What is the believer's inward circumstance? I'm in Christ. What's the believer's inward circumstances? I'm indwelt by the Holy Spirit. What's the believer's inward circumstance? I'm seated in the heavenlies. That's my inward circumstance. That's the circumstance the world doesn't see or understand, right?

This is the joy that even in spite of circumstances sees joy in the difficult ones. Here's James after saying, hi, my name's James. The first thing he says, consider it all joy. And you could translate that, consider it ultimate joy. Now, what do you think of as an ultimate joy? Do you think of some ultimate joys in your life? Would you think of this? That's what he says.

As a matter of fact, let me put the emphasis that the Greek has. You must consider it ultimate joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials. And by the way, the word various, that word in the Greek is the word where we get our word polka, like in polka dots. Little ones, big ones, various ones. Why? Knowing that the testimony of your faith produces endurance. It's productive. That's an ultimate joy. Is it because the circumstances are just great? No. It's because of what it produces spiritually.

Now there's peace. Certainly scripture talks about a peace with God and that every believer has. Certainly scripture talks about peace with other people and especially peace with one another as believers. Scripture addresses that. But this particular piece here is peace in the believer's heart. Peace in each believer's heart.

Why that? Even though we do have this conflict, he just a few verses earlier told us, we have this conflict going on the flesh and the spirit in a tug-of-war right inside of us. But, We have a peace that comes from knowing who we are in Christ. We have a peace that comes from knowing our spiritual history. Yeah, because we believe. We have a peace that comes from knowing our spiritual future. And we have a peace from knowing Him who makes it all possible, personally, eternally. We have a certain hope in a totally faithful Lord.

Certain, not meaning just specific, but certain meaning it's unchanging. It's not an I hope so kind of hope, but a certain hope, a fixed hope. Ah yes, patience. And you notice I show it with a mother and a kid. This is one that's particularly important to note. Because there are different words in the Greek for patience. This one means patience with people. It leans towards that direction. Not patience with circumstances, as other Greek words indicate. But this one particularly, patience with people. Now that doesn't mean that people are easy to be patient with, especially those little kids.

I was talking to a mother just recently, and we talked about how the interruptions are very well timed. with little kids. Very well timed. Timed not to make you be patient but to test your patience. The interruptions come at exactly the wrong moment. They come entirely unplanned. Just as a good case in point.

This word doesn't mean just bottling up our raids better. I'm ready to explode, but I'm not going to because I have the fruit of the Spirit and all this patience. No. It doesn't mean that I wait longer before I explode. Right? So it's not that either.

No. This is patience that has God's perspective and sees what God is doing. Frequently, our patience has to do with our sense of justice and what timing that ought to take place in. And what we have in mind, this patience looks at, what is God doing in my life? And what is God doing in that person's life? And realizing that I'm not the one who calls the shots in life. Oh yeah, I've got some responsibilities, but probably if I'm losing patience, it's because I've forgotten who's responsible.

We have the same patience called for in Ephesians 4, first three verses, and notice the other words that fit in the same passage in Galatians we looked at. But he urges the believers, as he's writing to them, to walk, here's that word walk again, in a manner worthy of the calling with which you've been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another and love. With patience.

Now this word kindness shows up. This word has the idea of God's grace in action. We've been having an elective here that's been meeting for now four months and has a couple months yet to go on grace. This is grace in action. God's grace acted out. What does God's grace acted out look like? That's what this kindness is. Now, one could even call this the surpassing riches of His grace kind of kindness.

Now, what do I mean by that? Do I mean you're just drowning in money? No. There is, however, a wealth that Scripture refers to. He starts off in Ephesians 2, 4-7, but God being rich in mercy, you can insert there, wealthy in mercy. God is infinitely wealthy in mercy. And he goes on to describe how he'd been identified with Christ. And finally in verse 7, "...so that in the ages to come he might show the surpassing..."

This is the overthrown. Pah! Kuperbalo. Overthrown. Okay? "...riches of his grace." The incredible, over-the-top wealth. This is the hitting it out of the ballpark, out into the stratosphere kind of wealth. Okay? Lots. Huge. Massive. in kindness toward us. Grace in action. Grace shown. Now this word goodness. This word here has the idea of moral excellence in action. God's goodness.

2 Thessalonians. I think the 1 Thessalonians class is going to stop just short of this one. 2 Thessalonians 1, 11 and 12. Paul wrote, To this end also we pray, for you always that our God will. Notice that our God's going to do something. Our God's going to do something. And look what's next. And fulfill every desire for goodness. Do you have a desire for goodness? It's not your job to stir that up. It's God's job. How about that? It's God's job. It's not yours to do. You're not asked to do it. He prays that God will do it in them. And that's exactly how we can pray for one another.

Now is this gentleness. And it's interesting, we translate it in our translations, and sometimes you might find variations in what your translation says. And the reason is there isn't one equivalent English word to match up with this. It's a word that means a combination of gentleness and strength, a mixture of the two. Isn't that amazing? Gentleness and strength. Great strength, great gentleness.

So, this is a balance that the flesh does not know. That's why we have here, I was once a 98 pound spiritual weakling. This is a balance the flesh does not know. What is the flesh going to do is to take it apart and take it to extremes. The flesh is going to take this, and, oh, I know how to be gentle. That looks like wimpy. No, I don't want to be wimpy. So then I'll be greatly out of control with lots of energy. See, the flesh always carries this out of balance. It doesn't know how to do it. The flesh is clueless. The Holy Spirit directing us to Christ, pointing to the character and life of Christ, pointing us to draw upon His resources. That's how this is done.

Then there's this word faithfulness. This is a word that spreads its arms wide. It's a big word. Here's why I say that. On the one hand, it's a word that talks about being reliable and trustworthy, and we oftentimes think of that. But it also has this other sense of being based upon faith in God. So it's faithfulness that on the outside looks reliable and trustworthy, but the deeper part of it is that it's trusting God. for that reliability, trusting God for that faithfulness and everything else. It's a big word.

Here's one of the places in the New Testament where Paul uses it, the things which you have heard. Now, this is second Timothy. This is Paul's last letter to Timothy, last letter we have anyway. And think, when you write something that, boy, this is the last time to communicate, probably for the rest of life, he's passing on something that's near and dear to his heart. Here's what he says.

The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust, oh boy, that's a key word, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Men who are reliable, men who are trustworthy, men of faith. men who are reliable and trustworthy because they have their faith and dependence upon God. Now, self-control, the last of these.

The flesh says, if a little is good, then way too much is just so much better. That's the way the flesh thinks. If a little is good, if this is just the right amount, then a whole, whole lot more is just great. That's the way the flesh looks at everything. out of balance, out of control, anytime it can be. The two favorite words of the flesh are more and again.

Godly self-control has this perspective and character of Christ, acts in healthy judgment, and restraint in the matters of life where it counts. Self-control, interestingly enough, we use the word self-control, but it's not the self in control. How about that? Self-control is not the self in control. It is the Holy Spirit pointing us to Christ. His life lived out. That's self-control, not the self in control.

Against such things, this word here has the idea that just like we saw with the works of the flesh, these are representative of the way the life of Christ lives out in us as believers, but not necessarily exhaustive. Let me give you another for instance. How about wisdom? Not on the list, but that also is something that gets lived out in our life as the life of Christ is lived out through us. Wisdom would be another one.

So these are representative against such things There are other qualities that the Holy Spirit produces, and we can find them certainly in Scripture. But Paul has given us an indication of the general character of it, but not necessarily every detail.

Then it says there is no law. The law of Moses certainly doesn't prohibit any fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit, for example, lists joy. You find anything in the law of Moses that says, by all means, don't be joyful. Say anything like that?

Not so much. The law just really doesn't address this. The law also cannot generate these qualities. How would you like it if somebody said, you better be joyful or boy, you're in deep trouble. You had better be full of kindness or you're in deep yogurt.

No, not so much. The law just doesn't get there, does it? Does that motivate you? Does that generate That character? No. The law just can't get there. And that's the thing. The law has no bearing on these qualities lived out from the heart. The law just doesn't even touch it. It just doesn't go there. It doesn't generate it. It doesn't prohibit it. It just has nothing to do with it.

Now we get into verse 24. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh. Now, he said in two chapters earlier, Galatians 3.29, and if you belong to Christ, and that was written in such a way that it said, and it was assumed to be true for inviting them to think through his logic. So, he had already told them, yeah, you belong to Christ if you're believers.

1 Corinthians 3.23, he said basically the same thing. You belong to Christ.

Have what? Have crucified the flesh. Now, believe it or not, I hope you don't get too shaken by this, crucifixion was designed to make a person dead. It was. The biblical message and a key point for believers to get is that death is separation. It's not termination, annihilation, cessation, the end. It is separation. Death is separation of body from soul and spirit. Death is separation. When Christ died on the cross, He separated us from a few different things.

From the flesh and sin nature. The old man. Separated us from the law. And as we'll see later on in Galatians, separated us from the world. That's spiritual separation. The believer has been separated in our position, right, from the flesh. In Romans 6, 3 through 7, and we certainly won't go through all of it here, but in verse 6, which says, knowing this, and it has the form in the Greek, because you know, that our old man, excuse me, our old self, translate old man in the King James, was crucified with him. What does that mean? Separated. Our old self, our old man was separated spiritually, in our position, from us. With its passions and desires. Along with being separated in Christ, in our eternal position in Him, from the flesh, we're also separated from those passions. Now, so, does that mean now that you're a believer you'll never be drawn to have any of these fleshly passions. Never be angry again. Never, ever, ever have any problem with patience.

Right? Not so much. Okay. What does it really mean? It does mean that the passions and desires that are driven by the flesh don't have anything to do with who we are internally in Christ. It doesn't mean they go away while we're here. But it doesn't have anything to do with who we are eternally in Christ.

It does mean, and He's already told us, that walking by means of the Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is going to point us to Christ, direct us to Him, is the one kind of walk that is consistent with who we are eternally. It means that the fruit of the Spirit describes the character and the qualities that are fitting to who we are in Christ forever. Now the last couple of verses here, 25 and 26.

If we live by the Spirit, and that's another one of those that is written with a built-in assumption that it is true for the sake of inviting logic here. So we who believe because of the Holy Spirit's work have been born again. We live, we've been born again because of the Holy Spirit's work, because of the Holy Spirit's doing. We are spiritually alive because the Holy Spirit brought that about in our lives.

Because of the logic of our eternal position in Christ, And that is because it is graciously given, the motive, a grace motive for walking with him. Paul urges that we walk. What is that? That's that patterning of our lives, step by step, by means of the Spirit. Motive, grace. Means, means of the Holy Spirit. He urges that we take up that opportunity. The last verse, let us not become boastful.

Paul is one of those who writes very clearly and he doesn't just state the positive, he also says, not this, not this. And I think it's a pretty safe guess that the this that he's cautioning against has been happening at the church there in Galatia, especially as they've been under law. You have on your handout, page 4, expanded and explained. I'm not going to take the time to go through that. But I just would invite you to think about, as believers, the things that Paul has been telling us.

Walking by means of the Spirit. Having been separated positionally, in our position, from the flesh. is exactly what is needed in our homes, in our marriages, where we work, where we shop, and in every path of life, including here. Walking by means of the Spirit who directs us to Christ, the life of Christ lived through us because we have fellowship with Him.

That's what's needed. That's what's needed among us all. It's exactly what God had in mind. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you as we look at these things. You have done marvelous things and you have revealed incredible depth in what you've told us here. And we pray that by your Holy Spirit's ministry, these truths might be worked and worked out in our lives. And we thank You that we can count upon that. In Jesus' name, Amen.