The Holy Spirit in Us

Do we understand that most of the fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23 characterize not only Jesus, but in fact God's relationship towards us?

'But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."

This is why Paul urges us to walk by the Spirit of God – to walk in the ways that the Lord Himself is – in order that we might be a witness to the world of God's love which is what the display of fruit is all about. If we are, instead, biting and devouring one another (Galatians 5:15), we display the flesh, the kingdom of the enemy and not the kingdom of God. This is why it is by our fruit that we are known. When we call ourselves by the name of Christ, and yet display the works of the flesh, we blaspheme the name of God and we cause others to blaspheme His Holy Name as well. By this, we show that we despise God…no matter how well we worshipped Him in church on Sunday. This is how critical the display of fruit is to be in us – matching our actions with our words so that we do not blaspheme or cause others to blaspheme God. This is what God blamed David for in his sin with Bathsheba – causing others to blaspheme God (2 Samuel 12:14) - and we must not take it lightly, as some minor offense. For it is not minor according to God.

When we choose to walk by the flesh instead of by the Spirit, we grieve the Holy Spirit:

"And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." Ephesians 4:30-32

What is interesting is that all of these characteristics aren't about who we are, but rather about how we think of and treat others. Again, this is because as God loves us, we are to love others. It isn't so much about us being gentle, as it is about us being gentle towards others. If we make this fruit something that we are to become, then we put ourselves under the law again. If we inspect ourselves and find that we fall short of having those things within us, then we put ourselves back under the law. The fruit are not to be in us, for no good can be accomplished by their being IN us. They are to be an outward expression, not something inward.

It is the Holy Spirit that is to be IN US, transforming us into the image of Jesus Christ, the risen and living Son of the living and one true God. The fruit are to be what is displayed by us toward other believers as we live and work together in Christian community. The fruit of the Spirit can come only from the Holy Spirit, not from within ourselves. As we learn to walk in the Spirit, the ways that we treat others, become the pointers of how we are doing.

We will not find the "test results" of our progress by judging ourselves in an introspective manner. Our "grade" is to be found (and, in fact, is clearly seen by one and all) by looking outward: are we, as individuals, showing the love of God to the brethren – for their good and the common good of the church - and not just as it pleases us? Thus, walking by the Spirit denotes not how we are in terms of our relationship with Christ, for we have been justified by Christ and our position is solid. Walking in the Spirit, instead, denotes how we are in terms of our relationship to one another within the Christian community.

The problem comes about when we make a "law" out of the fruit of the Spirit. A thing cannot be "law" and "Spirit" at the same time. It is either one or the other. And being made new creations through Christ, we are no longer under the law.

"But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law." Galatians 5:18

Here's an example of making a "law" out of the fruit of the Spirit.

If we have a believer in our midst who does not appear to be walking by the Spirit, or is not displaying the fruit of the Spirit, but rather the works of the flesh, what is our response to be toward that individual? Our response is to be a display of the fruit of the Spirit towards that individual. However, the reverse often happens:

We bring the "law" down upon that individual as though the law states that "you MUST display the fruit of the Spirit; now off to jail with you until you learn how to act!" This does not display the work of the Spirit. It displays self-righteousness such as the Pharisees had. That self-righteousness only begets more self-righteousness as the one criticized works harder at being what we think they should be, but they normally do it in another church altogether, having been too humiliated in this church to remain.

[Please note: This is not the same thing as putting out of our midst one who is blatantly immoral, as Paul dealt with in the Corinthian church (1 Corinthians chapter 5), yet even then, we are to approach that one in a spirit of gentle restoration, hoping to draw them back to Christ in repentance; removing them from our midst only after all the biblically prescribed attempts at reconciliation with God have been rejected by that individual, thus avoiding the leaven of sin engulfing everyone within that Christian community.]

Displaying love one towards another, however, is a work of the Spirit. If I may use a very simple analogy (perhaps too simple), the Spirit of God is driving the car of transformation. It is not for us to get behind the steering wheel of someone else's car and dictate where they should go. The Spirit of God has that in His own able Hands. We are merely to be the street lamps for that car, illuminating by the light of the Spirit within us, the path on which it is to drive.

We cause offense when we attempt to take the wheel out of God's hands.

More on this tomorrow.