Daily Worship

Let’s keep in step with the Spirit!

John Povey September 28, 2024 3 3
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Galatians 5: 22-26 (NRSVA)

22 By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another.

In this beautiful passage of Scripture, listing the ninefold fruit of the Spirit, there can no longer be any doubt about freedom from works-based laws. The person who observes the rituals of the law with pride and conceit but has little love in their heart is nothing but a hypocrite.

No law could ever match or produce the qualities that count. Only the Spirit can harvest these within us. The fruit of the Holy Spirit will develop for us a healthy character.  Patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control — we human beings cannot grow these things on our own — only the Holy Spirit can do that for us. And all six of these are preceded by the most godly qualities of them all — love, joy, and peace.

All that Paul has been saying about freedom leads up to this ultimate conclusion. The Christian faith is first and foremost not about what we can achieve with our talents alone. Gifts and abilities can be used for good or evil. What counts above everything is Christian character. Then all else will fall into place.

Healthy fruit will come only from something that is alive and active. The Holy Spirit is never static but always on the move. The freedom Christ gives us empowers us to keep in step with the Holy Spirit, that we may discover love, joy and peace to be realities in our lives, and a blessing to our neighbour.

 

Prayer:

 

Heavenly Father, thank you for your patience, grace, and forgiveness. I pray that You would help me to walk in step with your Spirit day by day, that I may grow in grace to be more like Jesus in love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, that your Name may be honoured and your love cultivated and shared. In Jesus’ Name, I pray. Amen.