The Power Behind the Fruits of the Spirit

In Galatians 5:22-23 Paul lists the Fruit of the Spirit. He writes:

“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.”

Would you like to experience more of these fruits? Yes, of course…me too. This is one reason why your spiritual growth is so important. Remember this principle:

The More You Grow Spiritually the More You Will Experience the Fruits of the Holy Spirit

It’s that simple. Experiencing more Fruit of the Spirit is about power. You need power from the Spirit of God to experience more of the fruit that comes from the Spirit of God. Since the fruit comes from the Spirit, where else could you get it?

In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Paul writes, “Rejoice always, pray continuously, and give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

To accomplish this requires a great deal of spiritual power. Where does that power come from? The answer is the Holy Spirit. This is why Paul in the very next verse writes, “Do not quench the Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 5:19).

The Spirit Paul is talking about is the Holy Spirit. To quench means to lessen the flow (or power) of the Holy Spirit. It is like trying to water your lawn with a kinked garden hose. It just does not work. This means that our behavior changes the amount of the power of the Holy Spirit being applied to our lives. Right behavior increases the power of the Holy Spirit. Wrong behavior decreases it. Would you say it is hard to rejoice always, to pray continually, and to give thanks in all circumstances? Of course you would. But we want to do those things–especially knowing they are God’s will for us. We must not quench the power of the Spirit because if we do, we will not be able to rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances.

So the big question then becomes: what must you do to gain the fruit of the Holy Spirit in this life? The broad answer is you must experience ongoing, sustained spiritual growth. Experiencing spiritual growth is the only way to grow in the fruits of the Holy Spirit. The reason is that none of these fruits can be produced in your own strength. All require a transformation in your heart, which you are powerless to accomplish in your human power.

The good news, however, is that although you can’t change your heart, God can and will. This transformation only occurs through the process of experiencing ongoing and sustained spiritual growth. In other words, the more we grow spiritually, the more the power of the Holy Spirit is applied to our lives. As a result, we become more of what God desires us to be, which is also what we desire to be. As followers of Christ, ultimately, what we desire for ourselves is also what God desires for us.

Remember the fruits of the Holy Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). I want to grow in these things. They sound good. They feel good. The more of the fruit of the Holy Spirit I experience in my life the better my life becomes. So if spiritual growth results in a greater degree of the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives, is it worth it to grow spiritually? I say yes. I bet you say yes too.

Spiritual growth is worth working hard to achieve!