Every single follower of Christ knows that the Christian life is not always easy. As long as we are here on this earth, we will struggle with the battle against sin and face the trials and deep suffering that come from living in this fallen world as we do our very best to honor Him by the way we live our lives. As we have seen during our Bible study together this week, we are not left alone to walk through this life. The Holy Spirit helps us live the Christian life and even produces character traits in us that help us persevere and honor God throughout everything we face in this life, from the good times to the heartbreakingly difficult times, and everywhere in between.
The apostle Paul explains the work that the Holy Spirit does in our hearts in Galatians 5 after we place our faith in Christ. In this passage of Scripture, he teaches that those who live according to the Holy Spirit live differently from the rest of the world. Unlike the rest of the world, which lives according to its sinful nature, Paul writes that followers of Christ are changed by the Holy Spirit’s work in their lives. He said in Galatians 5, “The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (verses 22-23). I do not know about you, but these traits do not come naturally for me. Left to my own devices, I am impatient, anxious, and I lack self-control, just to name a few. Can you relate? This is why we need the Holy Spirit. We need the Holy Spirit to work in our lives and help us live differently. As we walk with God and grow in our relationships with Him, we become more and more like Him as the Spirit produces characteristics in us that we could not possess on our own. The Holy Spirit guides and changes us so that we reflect our Heavenly Father rather than our own sinful nature throughout whatever we face. The more we follow Christ, spend time in His word, pray, and follow the Holy Spirit’s promptings, the more we will reflect Him through our actions. After all, spiritual fruit is simply an outward reflection of the work the Spirit has done in our hearts.
The good news for us today is that we are not left on our quest to become more like Christ. The Holy Spirit lives within us and changes us from the inside out, producing spiritual fruit in us that we cannot produce on our own. Make no mistake, the Holy Spirit is an invaluable gift to each one of us!
Look at the list of fruit that the Holy Spirit produces in our lives in Galatians 5:22-23. Which of these “fruits of the Spirit” would you like to grow in? What is one step you can take to grow in that area today? For the next few moments, ask God to work in your life as you take steps to grow in that area.
1So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.
2 Listen! I, Paul, tell you this: If you are counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ will be of no benefit to you. 3 I’ll say it again. If you are trying to find favor with God by being circumcised, you must obey every regulation in the whole law of Moses. 4 For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace.
5 But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us. 6 For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love.
7 You were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth? 8 It certainly isn’t God, for he is the one who called you to freedom. 9 This false teaching is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough! 10 I am trusting the Lord to keep you from believing false teachings. God will judge that person, whoever he is, who has been confusing you.
11 Dear brothers and sisters, if I were still preaching that you must be circumcised—as some say I do—why am I still being persecuted? If I were no longer preaching salvation through the cross of Christ, no one would be offended. 12 I just wish that those troublemakers who want to mutilate you by circumcision would mutilate themselves.
13 For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. 14 For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.
16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. 18 But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.
19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. 26 Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.
