Fruit of Spirit, Fruit of Flesh
It seems that when God wants me to pay attention to something he repeats it over and over. Lately, the theme has been Walking by the Spirit.
Galatians 5:16-17
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.
In an effort to live this out instead of keeping it in the arena of academia, I have written the fruit of the flesh and that of the Spirit (found in Galatians 5: 19-22) on a piece of paper that I keep with me:
FRUIT OF THE FLESH
1) sexual immorality 2) impurity 3) extreme sensuality 4) idolatry 5) witchcraft 6) hostility 7) bitter conflicts 8) jealousy 9) outbursts of anger 10) lack of unity 11) dissentions 12) cliquishness 13) envying 14) drunkenness 15) orgies, and things like these.
FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT
1) LOVE 2) JOY 3) PEACE 4) PATIENCE 5) KINDNESS 6) GOODNESS 7) FAITHFULNESS 8) GENTLENESS 9) SELF-CONTROL
I also noted that the fruit of the flesh is obvious (Gal 5:19), and that there is no law against the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22b). [I take it to mean no Spiritual law.]
A friend of mine pointed out to me that the fruit of the flesh are actually perversions of the fruit of the Spirit. For example, sexual immorality, impurity, extreme sensuality, jealousy, and orgies are perversions of the Spiritual Fruit of Love.
Satan does a very good job of taking what is good and twisting it. Be very careful. This is why it is important to stay in the Word and do what it says.
12 Comments:
Well said Bert. I was praying 15 minutes ago and it was impressed upon my mind to write down the two opposing "fruits" listed in Scripture. I decided to Google "fruit of the flesh" and see where it might lead. Well, your blog was the first sight and here I am. Thanks for what you wrote it was just what I was looking for. God bless, keith k.
its a great thought, and I believe you are correct. That is the most that the evil one can do is pervert and twist. I am teaching the to a group of kids 10-13 in age, about the fruit of the flesh and the fixer, the fruit of the Spirit. Teaching them to ask God for the fruit of the Spirit to combat the fruit of the flesh.
Once again, the Bible is telling me what to do, but it isn't telling me how to do it!
Pastor K.
Joann - John 15 maps it very clearly how to do it - it is not our works but the work of the spirit through us. Stay connected to the vine or "abide" which means to persevere. Let the Word of God abide in you and let your heart abide in the spirit of God and you will produce fruit. It is all a matter of what is planted into the garden of your heart that will produce the fruit of your life.
I also was doing some research on a message i am working on. I already have the heart of my message. I was just doing a little more research. I came across this and i like what was said..."It is all a matter of what is planted into the garden of your heart that will produce the fruit of your life." That was the point i was going to overall. The message is about the what fruit are we bearing. There were two trees in the garden. One which is the fruit of the flesh causing death. The other tree which is the fruit of the spirit, giving life. You just gave me my title. "What is planted in your garden?". I thought that was powerful.
I am very intrigued by this discussion, I am confused because I have evidence of good and bad fruit in my life, is this possible or am I confused about the fruits of the spirit v the flesh
i dont think your too confused frankpain, at least your started recognizing the fruits of spirit/flesh. God made us in his image our spirit desires good and our flesh wants bad, thats why theres always a day to day spiritual battle. if we practice God's word we can conquer against the flesh. we're never perfect but if u kno wats wrong then u kno wat u shudnt do its a day to day improvement not an overnight procedure. God will make u better just ask him to work on the areas u can not!
I was writing down a list of the fruits of the spirit (which I have memorized) and the fruits of the flesh (which I am endeavouring to memorize.) Came across this site and it is exciting to me to see others doing the same thing. I am focused on these opposing sets of behavior as markers of the spirit's role in our lives. I want to live a spirit-filled life. I look to these behaviors to see if I am on the right path and making the right choices throughout my day. I am no saint. It isn't easy, but I believe it will lead me to a better life and closer to God in the long run.
all the enemy has done is used the lords creation.he has mimicked and copy cat what the holy one has already done.nature in an out of order state of being.thru christ is how we return to the god intended state of being for the human being
The fruits of God's Spirit, are often found within none christians, as they behave as a law unto themselves.
When we receive the baptism with God's Holy Spirit, attested to with the God given gift of tongues, He leads us into an even closer relationship with God, and will, if we let Him, and ask Him to, open our minds to an honesty far beyond what we think we may already have, the fruits of which hone our behaviour, and our faithful walk with God - most christians are nowhere near as pious as they may think they are.
A great book on this subject is "The Walk of the Spirit,The Walk of Power" by Dave Roberson. Its free to read online. For those who are hungry for more of God and who have a hunger to want to know how to walk more in the spirit and in power this book is a great tool to help you do just that. Be Blessed!
I'm looking for a side by side list of the fruit with its perversions. I had one years ago but I can't find it. Does anyone know where to find one?
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