Good things
This week's study is about Galatians 5:22-23:
I don't think these verses get enough attention. They say a lot about our transformation as Christians. A lot of people look at the verses that come before them, where Paul lists a bunch of things that are signs that you don't get it. It's easy to go down the "don't" list and pat yourself on the back at the end, either because you didn't catch yourself doing any of them, or because you know God forgives you despite being wretchedly off the mark. But not many people go further and ask themselves if they show any evidence of having the fruit of the Spirit they are certain they have.
Paul says in other verses, paraphrased, that "If you have a great healing ministry, or you're always doing something for the church, or you're living a good life, or you're a great worship performer, or you donate a huge ton of money to the poor, or you speak in tongues, but you don't have love, it isn't worth anything. Not a thing!" It doesn't do us any good if we're not changed by God's Spirit. Everything we do is wretchedness and rubbish without being in alignment with him, the God of love.
Even if you got a perfect score in the Law, never eating a cheeseburger, never wearing a cotton polyester blend, never working on Saturday, never eating bacon, what good is it? Except to glorify yourself for putting in such an effort, what have you gained? Even if you inspire others to do what you do, and they start getting perfect scores too, what does it help anyone if you don't have love? We serve a God of love! How can we claim to have anything to do with him if we don't have the one quality he's known for? Anything else is filth!
People point to themselves and are like "I got X many people saved," or if they're a bit more humble, "my ministry led X number of people to the Lord." But what good is it if you don't love them? Jesus had some words for the Pharisees who bragged about their converts: "What good is it for you to gain converts if you just make them twice as much of a son of Hell as you are?!" If you have no love, and your new disciples have no love, what good is it? What has changed but a label and the set of pointless actions they spend their days doing?
Paul is saying "Look, it's not enough just to not be overtly bad. If you have the Holy Spirit, if it's real and God is in your life changing you, this is what your life will look like." Think of it as one of those stupid tests in the back of chick magazines where they ask a bunch of questions to tell you whether you really love your boyfriend. Only this one is actually based on something! All of the things Paul lists are the acts of someone filled with love. For slow readers, the first word is even "love!"
He describes them as the fruit of the Spirit. They're not requirements in order for you to get filled with the Spirit. They're not a law you have to follow when you have the Spirit. They are what the Spirit naturally produces, the same as an apple tree produces apples and a dandelion plant produces dandelions. If your life is filled with the Holy Spirit, this is what it will produce. This is what people will see.
Pentecostals love to claim that speaking in tongues is the evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but how many do you hear pointing to these verses? Is it really so surprising that many of them live lives just as wretched and polluted as the "sinners" they wave their tracts at? Signs and wonders are great! I love miracles! But Paul tells us what the fruit of the Spirit is: It's the ability to be superhuman through the unstoppable power of God's love!
Who naturally can be as filled with love as what Paul describes? Who have you ever met that has love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control? There's nobody they don't care about. They're happy people. They're relaxed and help people to get along. They don't get revenge or fight for their rights over others or hold grudges. They are kind and gentle. They don't complain. They do good things for people. They keep their word and trust God over all things. They control their impulses and reactions and behavior. I don't know anybody who is like that consistently! Human nature ("the flesh") kills it all!
People are always all about "Seek first the gift of prophesy," because it's sexy. Who doesn't want to be able to tell others what they think God is saying? But if you do that without this, you're missing the point! Who is going to believe you, when the God you describe is obviously a stranger to you? They may see power, but where is this God of love whose kingdom you represent? You might as well be performing magic tricks. If you've got the love of God, nothing else matters. People are going to be like "I don't know what this guy's got, but I need it!"
So Paul in a way is saying "If this isn't what your life looks like, then you need to get some more." If a plant doesn't produce fruit, what could the reason be? Is it too immature? Is it not nourished enough? Is it not the plant you thought it was? Does it need to be pruned? Does it spend too much time in darkness? Is it dead? God can fix all of that, but it's important that we recognize our condition.
When I feel God's spirit in a place, or in my life, I suddenly become good at all of the things on Paul's list. I am so filled with love for everyone that nothing bothers me. I'm not interested in doing anything stupid or wasteful. It's the strongest metric I've found for whether the Spirit of God is in a place or a person. People talk about the early Christians being known by their love. Is there any ethnic or religious group you can think of who is known for that now? We have plenty of Christians though.
People are all clenched up about moving out in the Spirit. What if what the Holy Spirit is asking me to do isn't really the Holy Spirit asking? What if it's something big and terrifying? What if it makes things worse because I do it wrong? Paul is also saying here, there is no law against any of those things on that list. You cannot go wrong doing those things or letting yourself be that way. They're 100% safe!
It's a test of sorts too. You've got a spirit asking you to do things, but it's never asking you to do any of the things God is known for? Hmm. What is power without love, if not ultimately destructive? That's not to say that it isn't the Holy Spirit moving in your life, but it's certainly a moment for self-reflection. Like perhaps why do the things that involve you crucifying yourself get ignored while the things that make you look spiritual to outsiders don't? God is patient. He is kind. He gives gifts to people who don't deserve them. We have every chance to change and grow and embrace Him for who He is, gifts or no gifts.
There's no law against any of these things, and yet we don't do them. God is known for these qualities. That's something to ponder too. How clear our imperfections are when held even to the simplest comparison to him! Forget the law, we can't even manage to exhibit qualities that God has freely given to us! Like someone gave you a shirt to wear to their wedding and you go, but you can't even be bothered to put it on. We're that lazy and selfish.
But anyway, we all need more of God. How much time do we spend simply trying to get to know him and who he is compared to what we spend trying to get what we want or to make a name for ourselves? We are embraced by a God who has given us everything, for free, and who even lets us use His name and represent Him in public. And yet we want his things, and his eternal life, and even the blood of his only natural born son, but not a true bond. We want the inheritance, but not to follow in His path. We want to be nothing like Him, if it means not getting our way. Do you really want to end up like Jesus? Or like the stories of those who followed him? If you do, then Paul is telling you what signs to look for that might confirm the path you're on.
Ask God to bear His fruit in your life. If his Holy Spirit is in you, how can it not happen?
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
I don't think these verses get enough attention. They say a lot about our transformation as Christians. A lot of people look at the verses that come before them, where Paul lists a bunch of things that are signs that you don't get it. It's easy to go down the "don't" list and pat yourself on the back at the end, either because you didn't catch yourself doing any of them, or because you know God forgives you despite being wretchedly off the mark. But not many people go further and ask themselves if they show any evidence of having the fruit of the Spirit they are certain they have.
Paul says in other verses, paraphrased, that "If you have a great healing ministry, or you're always doing something for the church, or you're living a good life, or you're a great worship performer, or you donate a huge ton of money to the poor, or you speak in tongues, but you don't have love, it isn't worth anything. Not a thing!" It doesn't do us any good if we're not changed by God's Spirit. Everything we do is wretchedness and rubbish without being in alignment with him, the God of love.
Even if you got a perfect score in the Law, never eating a cheeseburger, never wearing a cotton polyester blend, never working on Saturday, never eating bacon, what good is it? Except to glorify yourself for putting in such an effort, what have you gained? Even if you inspire others to do what you do, and they start getting perfect scores too, what does it help anyone if you don't have love? We serve a God of love! How can we claim to have anything to do with him if we don't have the one quality he's known for? Anything else is filth!
People point to themselves and are like "I got X many people saved," or if they're a bit more humble, "my ministry led X number of people to the Lord." But what good is it if you don't love them? Jesus had some words for the Pharisees who bragged about their converts: "What good is it for you to gain converts if you just make them twice as much of a son of Hell as you are?!" If you have no love, and your new disciples have no love, what good is it? What has changed but a label and the set of pointless actions they spend their days doing?
Paul is saying "Look, it's not enough just to not be overtly bad. If you have the Holy Spirit, if it's real and God is in your life changing you, this is what your life will look like." Think of it as one of those stupid tests in the back of chick magazines where they ask a bunch of questions to tell you whether you really love your boyfriend. Only this one is actually based on something! All of the things Paul lists are the acts of someone filled with love. For slow readers, the first word is even "love!"
He describes them as the fruit of the Spirit. They're not requirements in order for you to get filled with the Spirit. They're not a law you have to follow when you have the Spirit. They are what the Spirit naturally produces, the same as an apple tree produces apples and a dandelion plant produces dandelions. If your life is filled with the Holy Spirit, this is what it will produce. This is what people will see.
Pentecostals love to claim that speaking in tongues is the evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but how many do you hear pointing to these verses? Is it really so surprising that many of them live lives just as wretched and polluted as the "sinners" they wave their tracts at? Signs and wonders are great! I love miracles! But Paul tells us what the fruit of the Spirit is: It's the ability to be superhuman through the unstoppable power of God's love!
Who naturally can be as filled with love as what Paul describes? Who have you ever met that has love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control? There's nobody they don't care about. They're happy people. They're relaxed and help people to get along. They don't get revenge or fight for their rights over others or hold grudges. They are kind and gentle. They don't complain. They do good things for people. They keep their word and trust God over all things. They control their impulses and reactions and behavior. I don't know anybody who is like that consistently! Human nature ("the flesh") kills it all!
People are always all about "Seek first the gift of prophesy," because it's sexy. Who doesn't want to be able to tell others what they think God is saying? But if you do that without this, you're missing the point! Who is going to believe you, when the God you describe is obviously a stranger to you? They may see power, but where is this God of love whose kingdom you represent? You might as well be performing magic tricks. If you've got the love of God, nothing else matters. People are going to be like "I don't know what this guy's got, but I need it!"
So Paul in a way is saying "If this isn't what your life looks like, then you need to get some more." If a plant doesn't produce fruit, what could the reason be? Is it too immature? Is it not nourished enough? Is it not the plant you thought it was? Does it need to be pruned? Does it spend too much time in darkness? Is it dead? God can fix all of that, but it's important that we recognize our condition.
When I feel God's spirit in a place, or in my life, I suddenly become good at all of the things on Paul's list. I am so filled with love for everyone that nothing bothers me. I'm not interested in doing anything stupid or wasteful. It's the strongest metric I've found for whether the Spirit of God is in a place or a person. People talk about the early Christians being known by their love. Is there any ethnic or religious group you can think of who is known for that now? We have plenty of Christians though.
People are all clenched up about moving out in the Spirit. What if what the Holy Spirit is asking me to do isn't really the Holy Spirit asking? What if it's something big and terrifying? What if it makes things worse because I do it wrong? Paul is also saying here, there is no law against any of those things on that list. You cannot go wrong doing those things or letting yourself be that way. They're 100% safe!
It's a test of sorts too. You've got a spirit asking you to do things, but it's never asking you to do any of the things God is known for? Hmm. What is power without love, if not ultimately destructive? That's not to say that it isn't the Holy Spirit moving in your life, but it's certainly a moment for self-reflection. Like perhaps why do the things that involve you crucifying yourself get ignored while the things that make you look spiritual to outsiders don't? God is patient. He is kind. He gives gifts to people who don't deserve them. We have every chance to change and grow and embrace Him for who He is, gifts or no gifts.
There's no law against any of these things, and yet we don't do them. God is known for these qualities. That's something to ponder too. How clear our imperfections are when held even to the simplest comparison to him! Forget the law, we can't even manage to exhibit qualities that God has freely given to us! Like someone gave you a shirt to wear to their wedding and you go, but you can't even be bothered to put it on. We're that lazy and selfish.
But anyway, we all need more of God. How much time do we spend simply trying to get to know him and who he is compared to what we spend trying to get what we want or to make a name for ourselves? We are embraced by a God who has given us everything, for free, and who even lets us use His name and represent Him in public. And yet we want his things, and his eternal life, and even the blood of his only natural born son, but not a true bond. We want the inheritance, but not to follow in His path. We want to be nothing like Him, if it means not getting our way. Do you really want to end up like Jesus? Or like the stories of those who followed him? If you do, then Paul is telling you what signs to look for that might confirm the path you're on.
Ask God to bear His fruit in your life. If his Holy Spirit is in you, how can it not happen?
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