Living Waters
Lesson 6
“The Fruit of Holy Spirit”
1. Into Our History
Suggested Ice-breaker:
Preparation : Have 3x5 cards and a hand full of pens and/or pencils ready.
Execution :
Pass out the paper and writing utensils and ask your group this question:
- Do you ever think about how you will be remembered by others when you depart from this earthly life?
Give people an opportunity to describe how they would like to be remembered. Have each person write their own obituary in one paragraph. When finished, have each person read their obituary. Probe a little deeper about their self-descriptions.
Questions:
- Would your friends, co-workers, neighbors, and family members agree with your obituary? Why? Why Not?
- Application: Turning from death to life, believers of Jesus Christ carry the label “Christian,” which carries with it particular ideas that include both belief and behavior. Will your friends, co-workers, neighbors, and family remember someone who was unkind, someone who did not have joy or peace in their life, or maybe someone who lacked self-control? Or will they recall a Christ-like person, one who demonstrated the fruit of righteousness in all their ways?
- Transitional question: For those of us (all of us!), who display ungodly characteristics, how do we foster Christian virtues?
2. Into The Bible
Read:
Galatians 5:22 -23: 22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
These two verses suggest both the origin and development of Christian virtue.
A. The Origin of Christian Virtue:
- What does this passage point to as the origin of Christian Virtue?
Paul uses the phrase, “fruit of the Spirit” to indicate that Christian virtue has a relationship to the operation of God’s Spirit in a way similar to the relationship between fruit and a healthy and well-nourished tree; which is to say, godly activity is born out of the work of God’s Spirit in us.
Jesus says that, “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit; for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good man out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil man out of his evil treasure produces evil; for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:43-45)
“ For no good laundry detergent leaves stains on a shirt collar, nor does an inferior detergent get these stains out; for each product is known by its effectiveness. For cleanliness is not obtained from dirt, nor is softness obtained from industrial cleansers.
The good man out of a character based in ethical principles produces good, and the evil man out of a character based in unethical principles produces evil; for a man's words and actions reveal his true character.”
-- Pocket Parables, Carl Carlozzi
- How does the Spirit of God bear the fruits of righteousness in us?
1. In Rebirth: The Bible says that when we are born-again. The Spirit of God creates in us a new nature that craves after holiness and law-keeping.
Ezekiel 36:25-27: 25 “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 "Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.”
2. In Growth:
1 Peter 1:1: 1 “ Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.”
- What is meant by the phrase, “the sanctifying work of the Spirit?”
The word “sanctification” means to “consecrate” or “purify.” As it relates to the Christian life, sanctification is the process of the Holy Spirit, in which we are gradually made more holy. This process includes such things as conviction of sin, strengthening our desire to live for God, and showing us our character flaws. As this process continues, these internal changes eventually manifest themselves in outward fruit. Because this external fruit comes about as a result of the work of the Spirit, we call it the fruit of the Spirit.
B. The Development of Christian Virtue:
- What does the metaphor of the fruit tree suggest about the rate at which holiness is produced in our lives?
- What role do we play as believers in the process of becoming more like Christ?
The metaphor suggests that Christian virtues do not develop instantaneously. In the case of fruit trees, any one harvest sometimes requires a year of waiting. But even beyond the annual yield, a person can spend years pruning and working with a tree before it produces its potential. So it is with the Christian life.
Just a few verses before Paul’s statement about the fruits of the Spirit, he states that…
Galatians 5:16-17: 16 “ But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17 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.”
Elsewhere, Paul says:
Romans 8:12-13: 12 “ So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh -- 13 for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”
As fallen human beings, we are still trapped in a body that is prone to the temptations for sinful things. (see Romans 7:14-25) As Christians, we have the Holy Spirit producing His fruit in us, along with the availability of the Spirit’s power to conquer the acts of our sinful nature. (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:17 and Philippians 4:13) It is as if we are called to come along side of God and prune the old nature with the shears of the Spirit.
3. Into Our Lives
Imagine that you were able to view your obituary, and these words were written: “_____________ (insert name) wasa loving, joyful, peaceful person. _____________ displayed patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”
- If you had to edit this description today, which virtues would you omit (I suggest that you go around the room and have each person answer this question).
- Beginnng tonight, how can we work with God on those areas, where spiritual fruit is either absent, undeveloped, or in need of being cleaned up?
- Group Prayer: Pray over those specific areas of weakness.
Ezekiel is referring to the New Covenant. “The new covenant is God's pledge to forgive the sins of his people and to put his laws within us and to write them on our hearts, and to be our God and to make us his people. The new covenant is not a mere possibility; it is a new creation. It is something not merely that God proposes, but something that he accomplishes. It is the creation of a people for God who will not forsake him. They will be his people and he will be their God for ever. The certainty of it lies not in them, but in God's covenant commitment: he says that he will forgive their sins and remember their iniquity no more. And he says that he will write his laws this time not just on tablets of stone, but on tablets of the heart… Another way of promising the new covenant was made by Moses in Deuteronomy 30:6, "And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live." In the new covenant "thou shalt love the Lord your God" is not just a command, it is also a gift.” (John Piper, The New Covenant and the New Covenant People, http://www.desiringgod.org/library/sermons/93/020793.html)
Sanctification: (1) as the process of making holy dedicating, sanctifying; (a) as the operation of the Spirit making holy, causing to belong completely to God, sanctifying work (1P 1.2); (b) as the careful moral behavior that expresses one's dedication to God pure way of life, upright behavior, holy living (1TH 4.3, 4, 7), opposite avkaqarsi,a (uncleanness, impurity); (2) as the moral goal of the purifying process holiness, right behavior (RO 6.22) Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon.
In a painfully honest look at his own life, W.E. Sangster wrote in his journal that although he was a minister, the spiritual passion in his private life had languished. He made the following observations: * I am irritable and easily put out. * I am impatient with my wife and children. * I am deceitful in that I often express private annoyance when a caller is announced and simulate pleasure when I actually greet them. * From an examination of my heart, I conclude that most of my study has been crudely ambitious; that I wanted degrees more than knowledge and praise rather than equipment for service. * Even in my preaching I fear that I am more often wondering what the people think of me, than what they think about my Lord and His word. * I have long felt in a vague way, that something was hindering the effectiveness of my ministry and I must conclude that the "something" is my failure in living the truly Christian life. * I am driven in pain to conclude that the girl who has lived as a maid in my house for more than three years has not felt drawn to the Christian life because of me. * I find slight envies in my heart at the greater success of other young ministers. I seem to match myself with them in thought and am vaguely jealous when they attract more notice than I do. -- As quoted by Gordon MacDonald, in Restoring Your Spiritual Passions, pp. 49-50. (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1986)
This might be a great area to foster discussion on practical ways to develop certain characteristics. Often in a small group setting, what will be one person’s strength will be another’s weakness. In this setting, you will find one person minister to another. For example, one person may be seriously struggling with having patience, while someone else in the group has dealt with that issue and found that through memorizing Bible verse y, and reading book x, they have progressed. It might be good to think through each fruit of the Spirit and search practical ways for people to develop each of these.