Walking with the Spirit part 3

Fruit for Others

Last week we began looking at the fruit of the Spirit in light of our topic of discipleship noting how the first three in the list are central to our ability to walk in the Spirit faithfully. Let’s continue our look at the list, but first, let’s remember our key verse for the series.

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

Galatians 5:16-17

Last week, I paid special attention to the opposing nature of flesh and Spirit—you can’t serve both at the same time. Today, look again at the last phrase of verse 17, “to keep you from doing the things you want to do.” Now, what keeps us from doing the things we want? If you look back, the subject of the sentence is the “desires of the flesh”. If we want to serve the Lord, the desires of the flesh will keep us from doing that. But the opposite is true also. If we want to gratify the desires of the flesh, but we are walking in the Spirit, the Spirit will keep us from doing that. I had a preaching buddy who said it this way, “Scripture will keep you from sin, but sin will keep you from Scripture.”

Cultivating the fruit of the Spirit in our lives will keep us from sinning.

No, I do not necessarily mean we will reach perfection in this life, but we can at least work toward the standard of holiness the Lord calls us to which is to be holy as he is holy (1 Peter 1:15). And we will know we are on the right track when we see the fruit of the Spirit cultivated in our lives.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Galatians 5:22-24

Again, last week we took the first three as they are central to the others—especially love. Without love, all the others make little sense, nor are we actually able to achieve them. Paul said without love we are just banging gongs and clanging symbols. Likewise, without love attempting to have patience, kindness, and goodness are really just faking at being a nice person. Sure, you may look like a nice guy, but the reality is kindness without love is hypocrisy.

The last six traits really deal with our relationship with other people. Patience, kindness, and goodness are direct reflections of how much our walk with the Spirit has affected our love for fellow humans. And so let’s take a look at these three fruits with an eye towards how we can cultivate them in our lives and relationships.

Patience

This conflict between the Spirit and our flesh is possibly nowhere as apparent as in the fruit of patience. As we learn to walk in the Spirit, the desires of the flesh will tear at our patience begging for attention. Augustine called it a “most furious war” in his commentary on Paul’s letter. He writes,

A most furious war is waged against the gospel and against those who have been reconciled to God. The remnants of fornication, though long lukewarm, can nonetheless still be rekindled. The contrary of this war is the peace by which we are reconciled to God. When the same peace of God is maintained toward humans, the vices of poisonings, enmity, strife, deceit, animosity and dissension are healed among us, so others among us may be treated with due moderation. Forbearance fights to endure these vices, kindness to assuage them and goodness to forgive them. Furthermore, faith struggles against heresy, meekness against envy, continence against drunkenness and gluttony.

- Augustine, Epistle to the Galatians, 51 [1B.5.22–23]

Augustine notes the contrast between the “works of the flesh” in verses 19-21 and the fruit of the Spirit, but even more, he rightly tells us we fight against the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit. When we are reconciled to God, we have peace. And with this peace, we can have peace with others. Enmity, strife, deceit, animosity, and dissension are all healed when we exercise the peace of God in our relationships.

Patience is the result of applying the peace of God to the relationships of life.

Consider what it took in order for us to be reconciled to God. In our sin-corrupted state, we did not even seek God—He sought us. And even when we continued in our rebellion against God, he continued to seek us. His love for us was so great that he continued his plan for our salvation and redemption despite the animosity humanity showed him. He sent his Son to a world that did not want to receive him in order to save the world. And only after we understand the gravity of our sinful state do we recognize the gift that is Christ Jesus.

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8

And this love is what brings us peace, and through peace we can find patience. Paul says it this way in Ephesians.

Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

Ephesians 2:12-16

The Gentiles were once alienated from Israel and strangers to the covenant with God “having no hope and without God.” In our lost state, we are just as hopeless, but Christ brings us near to God and breaks down the hostility between Jew and Gentile. Now, we are neither Jew nor Gentile, we are Christians saved by the blood of Christ reconciled to God and each other.

This pattern of reconciliation occurs because of the Gospel of Christ. And that same pattern can occur in every relationship, if we are willing to break down the barriers between us in the name of Christ. But it requires patience. Relationships are not healed over night. And every step of the way in reconciliation, there will be times when that peace and patience is tried. Misunderstandings, miscommunications, and residual anger will all creep up. The question is whether we are able to endure these times in the pursuit of love and reconciliation.

It may help to consider the word “patience” as means of illustration. The Greek word is makrothumia which is a compound of makro, meaning “long time/distance,” and thumia, meaning “passion or wrath”. “Thumia” shares a root with the verb meaning “to burn.”

Patience is not being indifferent to people problems, it is being able to withstand them for longer times.

If you are praying for patience hoping people just won’t bother you as much, you are misunderstanding patience—and possibly your own mental health. God will not make you indifferent to the world around you. He wants you to be engaged and be passionate for the problems of sin. Exercising patience is exercising peace. How well can you maintain the peace of God while you deal with the world around you?

With this in mind, let’s consider how to cultivate peace. First, we must have the mind of Christ. In Philippians 2 Paul writes,

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

Philippians 2:3-5

The mind of Christ is one of humility and servanthood. How well do you look after the interests of others, not just our own? Now, for those who look after others’ interests to the detriment of their own, that is another problem altogether. Healthy humility seeks the good for both self and others. When this is out of balance, we are either arrogant and selfish, or we are a passive doormat—neither of those are what Christ wants from us. Though Christ went to the cross, which does not seem very good for him, he still went willingly because the will of God was reconciliation with humanity.

Next, we need the heart of Christ. We already discussed God’s heart is reconciliation with humanity, but let’s consider this ministry of reconciliation. In 2 Corinthians Paul writes,

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

2 Corinthians 5:17-19

If you are in Christ, you are a new creation. Jesus explained this new creation to Nicodemus in John 3. It is a new creation wrought by the Spirit of God who gives us a new heart—“one of flesh and not stone” as promised in Ezekiel. Though we have this new heart, we have to be sure we are listening to it and not our old stone heart.

Our hearts must be aligned with Christ’s heart if we are to endure the hardships of life and people with patience.

God gives us this same ministry of reconciliation as Christ. We are to continue sharing the story of the Gospel and testify to the work of Christ through our daily living. And that is where we get to our hands being put to work for Christ, and that is where the next two fruit come into play.

Kindness

‘Kindness’ is a word that is often misunderstood in our day and age. Usually people think of kindness as ‘nice’ or not upsetting anyone’s feelings. And while it is helpful to consider people’s feelings when dealing with them, kindness isn’t necessarily about making someone feel better. The Greek is krestotes and it shares a root with the words for “supplying a need” or even “loaning”. With the additional word endings, it gives off the meaning of “usefulness”.

Being kind to someone is supplying a particular need, but scholars note the use of the word in the Bible (and outside the Bible) gives a further sense. Jesus, in Matthew 11:30, says his yoke is krestos, meaning it does not chafe. The Greeks described wine as krestos, or that it has a mellow flavor. And so, “kindness” is doing something, or saying something, in such a way that it is more receptive to the person. We might even say “sugarcoated,” though that has some negative connotations these days.

Kindness is a necessary component in reconciling relationships for believers.

It is the trait to describe what Paul says in Ephesians 4,

Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Ephesians 4:15-16

We must speak the “truth in love,” in other words wrap the truth in kindness. I have heard it said, “How much more loving can I be than to tell the truth and warn people of their sin?” Yes, it is loving to warn people of sin, but it is still possible to do this without kindness. How do we persuade people to turn to Christ? Do we show kindness—truth given with a mellow flavor and without chafing? Or is the truth shoved down their throat stinging the tongue and rubbing their minds raw?

And notice Paul goes on to say we grow together when this love is applied to each other. This particular verse follows his description of the offices gifted to the church in order to build up the body of Christ—apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor/teachers. Their work requires kindness in their leadership, but the so-called “lay Christian” is held to the same standard. Kindness is a fruit of the Spirit, and that same Spirit is working in every believer to grow them closer to, and in more likeness to, Christ.

A measurement for our unity and maturing faith is the level of kindness in our interactions with fellow believers and the lost.

Goodness

Last, we come to ‘goodness.’ At first glance, it would appear Paul is being redundant, but the word for ‘goodness’ is a different word in the Greek with a different connotation. Whereas ‘kindness’ is more passive, describing the way in which something is done, ‘goodness’ (which is agatesune) is more active. It is a deliberate, almost aggressive kindness. Consider the most famous psalm. Do you remember Psalm 23? “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” Look at how it ends.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 23:5-6

The Lord prepares a table for the psalmist in the presence of enemies, anoints the head with oil, and his cup overflows. The Lord gives and gives abundantly. Then, the psalmists finishes by saying “surely goodness and mercy shall follow me.” The Hebrew for ‘follow’ is not a passive word. The Lord’s goodness and mercy does not slowly follow us like little puppies waiting for attention. The Lord’s goodness and mercy pursues us like wolves after prey. We can dwell in the house of the Lord forever because the Lord has pursued us with his goodness and mercy.

Goodness, as a spiritual fruit, is providing and caring for others whether they like it or not. Again, we consider kindness in our actions, but the fruit of the Spirit is not just being nice, nor is it just speaking well to people. It is also giving, ministering, and providing the needs of others as abundantly as we are able. You have heard it said,

Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

2 Corinthians 9:7

Why does God love a cheerful giver?—because He is a cheerful giver. Part of the way the Lord provides for his sheep (remember “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want”) is through other Christians who have more than what they need.

But there is one more aspect of goodness that feels like it may conflict with kindness. I said that goodness is a more aggressive kindness, and that is probably best illustrated with the scene of Jesus turning over the temple tables. William Barclay’s Study Bible Commentary says it this way:

Jesus showed agathosune when He cleansed the Temple and drove out those who were making it a bazaar; but He showed chrestotes when He was kind to the sinning woman who anointed His feet. The Christian needs that goodness which at the same time can be kind and strong.

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible commentary on Galatians, 51

How do we know when to be harsher with our goodness and when to be kinder? Well, when was Jesus harsh? If you read Genesis to Revelation, you will find the Lord is harshest to the priests and the ones who call themselves “religious”. To the unbelievers and the victims of this world’s systems, he shows mercy and grace. To the kings, the priests, and especially to those who sin in His Name, he shows very little mercy.

When ministering to the lost, we must remember, they don’t know any better. Their minds and eyes have been blinded by the dark forces of this world. But to the self-righteous, the judgmental, and the church people who ought to know better…a little harsh correction might do them some good.

Goodness is the willingness to supply a need and correct a wrong.

Next week, we will complete our study of the fruit of the Spirit paying special attention to how the fruit helps us fulfill the Great Commission. But, as we close today, let’s consider the fruit we have seen so far.

Love: the fruit that is foundational to the rest. It is the root of our spiritual tree.

Joy: the fruit that centers our mind and heart on the salvation and hope we have in Christ.

Peace: the fruit that enables us to continue onward in the path God has laid out for us giving us strength.

Patience: the application of peace in our relationships—the beginnings of putting our faith into practice.

Kindness: the willingness to speak the truth with love—the desire to do no harm while maintaining faithfulness to the gospel of Christ.

Goodness: the willingness to correct a wrong and supply a need even if it may be uncomfortable for either party.

How are you doing with these fruit in your own life? Everyone may have some of these to some degree, but if we are to truly grow in maturity of faith, we must be willing to surrender our fear, our fleshly desires, and our head, heart, and hands to the Lord. We must walk in the Spirit and let the Spirit cultivate these traits.