What Fruit of the Spirit Are You Growing?

Contributing Writer

Updated December 21, 2022

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Whether you are new to Christianity and the Bible or have never heard the term “fruit of the Spirit” before, this concept can sound strange or foreign. Many children’s ministries teach them through songs, but whether we know the list, do we understand the meaning? What are the fruit of the Spirit?

The fruit of the Spirit are found in Galatians 5:22-23 which says, “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.” In this passage, the apostle Paul is explaining the difference between living in the flesh and living by the Spirit. There is a daily spiritual battle for believers to live for the Lord or for the flesh. Even though we have salvation through Jesus, there is still a very real struggle to follow Him. Jesus said that this is why it was better that He ascended so that He would send His Holy Spirit to us (John 16:7).

Galatians 5:24-25 continues by saying, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” The ultimate goal of the fruit of the Spirit is that we will choose to make decisions with the help of God that produce Spiritual blessings, and not sinful consequences in our lives. We do this by keeping in step with the Holy Spirit, daily seeking Him and His guidance, and having Him help us in our weaknesses. There is One Spirit, but many fruits are produced.

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Love

The first fruit mentioned is love. This is no coincidence because we read many times that God is Love (1 John 4:16), that there is no greater commandment than to love God and love others (Mark 12:30-31), and it was out of love that Jesus died for the world to be saved (John 3:16-17). When we live out the fruit of love, we model Christ in a beautiful way and show the world what real love is. It is eternal and it is from God Himself.

Joy

The second fruit mentioned is joy. This is a unique fruit because something special that Christ followers have is the ability to have joy (John 15:11). This is not a temporary happiness, but an eternal hope and strength. When trials come, a Christian has joy in the midst of the suffering (James 1:2-4). God fills us with true joy with His presence and eternal security in Him (Psalm 16:11).

Peace

The third fruit mentioned is peace. In a world of worries and fears, the Holy Spirit enables a Christ follower to have peace. This does not mean that difficulties do not come, but nothing can take away the eternal rest that a believer has in Christ. Jesus is our Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6), when we ponder this, He can rule our hearts and minds with peace. Philippians 4:6-7 tells us that God’s peace is more than we can understand. It is important that believers know to take thoughts captive and keep their minds steadfast on Him as their peace (Isaiah 26:3).

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Patience

The fourth fruit mentioned is patience. The Holy Spirit enables us to have patience beyond ourselves. It can be very challenging to trust God in this area, however with the help of the Spirit, we can fully rely of Him to give us inner strength to wait upon the Lord (Romans 12:12). Patience teaches us that we cannot be in control, we have to rest in the fact that God fights for us (Exodus 14:14). A patient follower of Jesus is a strong witness to God's work in his life (Romans 15:5).

Kindness

The fifth fruit mentioned is kindness. It is a beautiful gift to live out genuine kindness. The Spirit of God enables believers to be truly kind. Although many people in the world can show kindness, a person with the Spirit lives out kindness from God (Ephesians 4:32). This kindness is shown equally to those who are not kind to us (Luke 6:27). Our Savior Himself was so kind (Titus 3:4) and we are able to model Him.

Goodness

The sixth fruit mentioned is goodness. The Holy Spirit enables us to have goodness in our lives. On our own, nothing is good about us (Romans 7:18). The goodness of God living in us empowers us to do good in His name (Galatians 6:10). We can even overcome evil in our lives with good because of Jesus (Romans 12:21). When we in our sinful nature live out something genuinely good, that is an incredible testimony of the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives.

Faithfulness

The seventh fruit mentioned is faithfulness. Our Savior Jesus has been perfectly faithful to us (Psalm 145:17). His faithfulness is new each day (Lamentations 3:22-23). He gives us the strength to be faithful to Him, to our word, and to others. God keeps His promises (Hebrews 10:23). We in and of ourselves are not faithful. However, with the Spirit’s help we can be faithful. Our lives can be loyal and dedicated to Christ. We can live lives where there is no hidden agenda, but true faithfulness from God.

Gentleness

The eighth fruit mentioned is gentleness. It is not a common quality that people strive for in today’s culture, however, gentleness is truly great strength. God gives us the ability to show gentleness to others to communicate to gospel (Colossians 4:5-6), deflate arguments (Proverbs 15:1), and show gentleness to all people because He is near (Philippians 4:5). Gentleness is an honorable quality of a believer.

Self-Control

The ninth and final fruit mentioned is self-control. Self-control is so important because it marks the life of a believer. It reveals that a person has truly changed and can say yes and no to things that would otherwise be challenging in the flesh without God’s help. Self-control protects us from sin (1 Corinthians 10:13), it protects us from the negative effects of sin (Proverbs 25:28), and it helps us to test God’s will for our lives (Romans 12:1-2).

Each fruit of the Spirit is valuable. We may not all be strong in each one, but as believers we should be seeking the Holy Spirit to help us produce more of these wonderful fruits in our lives each day. We cannot live these out on our own, but the Spirit can lead us into a life full of good fruit.

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Emma Danzey Emma Danzey’s mission in life stems from Ephesians 3:20-21, to embrace the extraordinary. One of her greatest joys is to journey with the Lord in His Scriptures. She is wife to Drew and mom to Graham. Emma serves alongside her husband in ministry, she focuses most of her time in the home, but loves to provide articles on the Bible, life questions, and Christian lifestyle. Her article on Interracial Marriage was the number 1 on Crosswalk in 2021. Most recently, Emma released Treasures for Tots, (Scripture memory songs) and multiple books and devotionals for young children. During her ministry career, Emma has released Wildflower: Blooming Through Singleness, two worship EP albums, founded and led Polished Conference Ministries, and ran the Refined Magazine. You can view her articles on her blog at emmadanzey.wordpress.com and check out her Instagram @Emmadanzey.