Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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The fruit of the Holy Spirit
Galatians 5:22-24
“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. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:22-24).
The bible emphasizes that the fruit of the Holy Spirit is the result of the Holy Spirit’s presence  in the life of a Christian, which is essentially attained by believing in Jesus Christ (Romans 8:9; 1Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 1:13-14). The presence of the Holy Spirit transforms a Christian's life in accordance with the image of Christ, making us more like Him.
It is His life that the Spirit produces in believers as they walk in His grace and power. His life in us is the fruit of the Holy Spirit which is revealed as love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. They reflect His nature and it is always the outward manifestation of the yielded believer's inner life when the spirit abides in a believer. However, there is only one fruit of the Spirit with many virtues, which illustrates the holistic nature of the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, it is very important for us believers to accept Jesus Christ in our life to receive the fruit of the spirit. As it is illustrated in John 15:2 “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.... Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in me”.
Evidently, the Christian life is a battle of the sinful flesh against the new nature given by Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. However, the fruit of the Holy Spirit allows us to conquer the opposing sinful desires as it is in direct contrast with the acts of the sinful nature (Galatians 5:19-21). Those who live in sin will not inherit the kingdom of God.  Christ will never own those who yield themselves up to be the servants of sin.
Hence, as Christians we should walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called (walking in the Spirit, Galatians 5:16), with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of  peace (Ephesians 4: 1-3). The main purposes of the Christian life is to progressively allow the Holy Spirit to produce more and more of His fruit in our lives, and to allow the Holy Spirit to conquer the opposing sinful desires. Dear friends, a Christian's duty is to bring forth the fruit of the Spirit and a Christian’s character should be Christ's Excellency reproduced by the Spirit in a renewed life.
Prayer: O lord, we pray to make us worthy of receiving the Holy Spirit. Help us to manifest the fruit of the Spirit which you desire our Christian lives to exhibit with your presence in us.
Thought for the Day: ‘Fruit reveals the Spirit in every person’

Dr. Binu Shajimon, Christos MTC, Philadelphia

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