(Message by Pastor Philip Joseph. One fruit... Got it? Happy reading!)
Would you turn with me to Ephesians 5? Reading from verses 16 to 26:
Would you turn with me to Ephesians 5? Reading from verses 16 to 26:
“I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy murder, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another."
Paul is writing this letter to BELIEVERS; about walking according to the flesh and according to the Spirit: and the deeds of the flesh and the deeds of the Spirit. You see, we may be born-again believers, baptized in the water and baptized in the Spirit…but as long as we are here in flesh, there is always going to be a struggle; on one side the pull of the flesh and on the other the pull of the Spirit…
And we have a choice everyday… either to give-in to the pull of the flesh or to give heed to the voice of the Spirit. And yes…they are in exact opposite directions…contrary to one another (v17). And we can’t have BOTH ways - one leg here and the other leg there!
Apart from once in a life-time repentance and one time baptism, there are a few thing in the Christian life that are repetitive…and some repetitions are in a day-to-day basis. If we look at Luke 9:23, it reads: Then He {Jesus} said to them ALL, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross DAILY, and follow Me.”
That brings us again to the choice we have to make: saying ‘No’ to one-self; and ‘Yes’ to the Lord. You know, it is quite simple to say ‘No’ to others… but here, Jesus calls us to say ‘No’ to our own SELF. It is a conscious decision to say ‘No’ and take up our cross daily! The pull of our self is toward the world and its ways… and the leading of the Holy Spirit is towards obedience to God and His word.
But now the DEEDS or WORKS of the flesh are evident... Galatians 5 lists more than 15 of them and then there is also the FRUIT of the Spirit. On the one hand the pull of the flesh leads to the works of the flesh, and on the other hand, the leading of God’s Spirit towards the fruit of the Spirit.
What a contrast in works! Notice that it is written ‘works’ of the flesh – in plural; while it is singular ‘fruit’ of the Spirit (not fruits). It is just ONE fruit with nine facets to it… and these are listed too.
On the one hand, the list goes on for the works of the flesh…for Paul writes in the end “… selfish ambitions, dissensions…drunkenness, revelries, AND THE LIKE’; on the other we have a full-stop after the 9 fruit signifying the list is complete.
On the one hand, the works of the flesh is manifest in various forms… a person may not commit adultery, but may be given to drunkenness; or he may not murder, but commit fornication. A person may refrain from idolatry and sorcery, but may have outbursts of wrath and ceaseless contentions… so the works of the flesh is manifest in parts. But, the fruit of the Spirit is really only ONE fruit. One cannot say, ‘I have lots of love, but I can’t be patient’; or ‘I am full of joy, but no self-control’. These statements are NOT true when we say ONE fruit; either you have it ALL or NOT AT ALL.
So the fruit is not just love, joy, peace…it is also long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Paul also lists the deeds in a specific order… let us go over and compare them quickly. On the one hand the pull of the flesh and on the other, the fruit of the Spirit.
Deeds of the flesh | Fruit of the Spirit |
Adultery Fornication | Love |
The world teaches differently about love… a disguised lust that will last just a little time. And there is the pull of the flesh to immorality… On the other hand, we come to know of the agape love in God. Day by day, it leads to fulfillment and purpose of living…
Uncleanness Lewdness | Joy |
The world teaches that there is pleasure and enjoyment in these works… they coin a catch-phrase Life is short, enjoy to the fullest; the sad thing is that it is false happiness leading to pain and sorrow …but you know what, real joy is found in God, in knowing Jesus and the power of His resurrection, and the knowing the riches in the kingdom of God…righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.
Idolatry Sorcery /witch-craft Hatred / enmity Contentions / strife Jealousies | Peace |
As God’s children, we cannot provoke God to anger by our idolatry… we cannot partake of the table of the Lord on Sunday and go about partaking in the table of demons the rest of our week-days… that is why we do not ‘take-in’ any ‘prasad’ offered to idols. Jesus Himself has become our peace… and now there is no other sacrifice or appeasement required to have peace with God.
People of the world practice witch-craft against those they hate… against their competitors… they show forth their hatred by their acts. But as children of light we can make a choice to be at peace with all men; not bickering and quarrelling over any matter... nor striving, with our perceived competitors, in rivalry and jealousy. (Yes, these things happen even within a household; between spouses; between siblings.) The Bible says, ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God’. It says, ‘Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you…’ and ‘God’s sun rises on the just and the unjust…’; so whether in work or at home, whether in church (yes, even in spiritual ‘service’) or at school, we can be peace-makers in God…
Outbursts of wrath | Longsuffering / Patience |
We can make a choice whether to shout-down everyone else or to be patient… 2 Tim. says, ‘… a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient…’
Selfish ambitions / disputes | Kindness |
Do we wish to promote our own self? Do we have to dispute every thought, idea and be critical of others? Then we are behaving as children of the world pulled by the flesh… On the contrary, we can express kindness and show genuine concern in other’s well-being
Dissensions / divisions | Goodness |
It is Satan’s work to bring dissensions and divisions among brethren… do we want anytime to be part of it? The choice is ours… this is also true in believers’ gathering… banding and grouping together with few chosen members… this is playing the ‘church politics’. Or we can choose to be good to all and especially towards our brothers and sisters in Christ… we can be good to even those against us.
Heresies / false doctrine | Faithfulness |
Envy Murders | Gentleness / meekness |
Envy is another blot of the flesh, always having an ill-will or ill-feeling towards the other person(s). But we can make a choice by His presence to follow in meekness. Meekness is surrendering to God and His ways. The Bible says, ‘Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth’ Strange to hear the world saying we must fight for our rights to inherit, conquer and establish… but it is REALLY the meek who shall inherit the earth.
We may feel hurt when injustice is meted out to us, or when people talk against us slanderously… maybe we feel we must defend our name. But you know what! Jesus said, if any man speaks against the Son of Man it SHALL be forgiven him… When we hear Jesus say THAT, we can pause and learn to forgive…for the Spirit of God always leads us in the foot-steps of Jesus…(1 Peter 2:21). Jesus entrusted everything to God who judges righteously.
Drunkenness revelries | Self-control |
Finally, we can exercise self-control or behave out-of-control. Our mind is being renewed and our spirit is willing. The Bible warns, that those who practice the works of the flesh, make a habit of it, will NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD…
Understand the fruit of the Spirit…either you have it ALL or NOT AT ALL… Love without patience, joy without self-control, meekness without joy, patience without goodness - CANNOT BE the fruit of the Spirit!
You MUST desire for and have the GIFTS of the Spirit…but FRUIT is absolutely ESSENTIAL. Jesus says, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits…” (Matt. ). That is how I identify a true prophet from the false… it does not impress me one bit how many varied gifts they exhibit… I am going to heed to Jesus’ warning to discern deception… In these last days, we are called to be discerning and wise.
Galatians says, “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit”. What about you today? Have you been walking years of Christian life and yet now remain carnal? Or do you abound in the fruit of the Spirit - the agape love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness and self-control?
May God help us to be fruitful sons and daughters in the kingdom of God
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