Galatians 5:22-26 Keep In Step With the Spirit!

Galatians 5:22-26  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Against such things there is no law.  Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.  Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.  Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. 

Let us keep in step with the Spirit, who continuously and emphatically reminds us of the demeanor and attitude of Jesus Christ, empowering us to walk in the light of the Lord.  The Spirit abides in us because of our faith in Jesus Christ and his works.  He reveals Jesus Christ to us; Christ is the light of the world and IN HIM there is no darkness at all.  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  In him was life, and that life was the LIGHT of men.  The LIGHT shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.  (John 1:3-5)  The darkness in men and in the world is the result of sin and the resulting waywardness from God's perfect will for all life.  Even nature groans under the influence of the evil one, for he is the prince of this world.  We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE EVIL ONE.  We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true.  And we are IN HIM who is true — even in his Son Jesus Christ.  He is the true God and eternal life.  (1 John 5:19-20)  But praise God, Jesus Christ has come into the world to break the authority of the devil and to deliver men from death to life, from darkness to light.  He has brought the life and the light of God to all who have placed their trust in the saving grace of Jesus.  We no longer stumble around as captives to the sinful nature, but we have been set free to bear fruit for the Lord because at the cross Jesus paid the price for our sins and made a way for us to crucify the old fleshly self and to rise by faith in newness of life.  

If we have acknowledged Christ as Lord, we now find ourselves abiding in Jesus Christ through faith, and we will also find the Spirit of God abiding within us, giving us spiritual life.  And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.  (Romans 8:11)  As we yield to God, our ears are opened to the voice of the Spirit.  His leading becomes familiar to us.  The purpose of Christ in us will be known to us as the Spirit teaches us.  We will become Christ's witnesses, his influence in the world.  The Spirit will orient us towards Christ's life rather than our own life.  He will urge us to put down our self-willed, self-oriented lives and to pick up the cross of Jesus.  He will show us how to immerse ourselves in a lifestyle governed by the Spirit.  Our lives will contain the fruit of the Spirit.  Notice the above passage says fruit, singular, not fruits.  Jesus and we our one: we are to display his life, his fruit, to the world.  The fruit of the Spirit is the evidence of a Spirit-led life, a life fully immersed in God's perfect will.  This requires a death to the our fleshly pursuits and attitudes.  Self-oriented lives revolve around our needs, our desires, our plans for the future.  The Holy Spirit's unction is for us to live Christ's life more than our lives, to focus our energy, interests, purposes for living, on others, rather than exclusively on ourselves.  Our pursuit in life should be to reveal God's image to others; to bring glory to God by displaying his likeness.  The Sermon on the Mount reveals this focus very clearly, even to the point of loving our enemies, giving grace to the unlovely, the ungodly.  Jesus did not leave us a way of escape when He said: Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.  Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.  (Matthew 5:11-12)  This is the nature of our Lord, One who would forgive even at the cross: Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.  (Luke 23:34) 

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control are not attributes we naturally display in every situation when we do not follow Jesus by the Spirit.  Yes, at times, all flesh reveals some or all of these attributes, for we were made in God's image.  However, revealing them outside of God's leading will be determined by the flesh: according to our physical, psychological, and emotional needs.  If I believe it is in my best interest to be kind to someone, I will provide a kindness, but only if it suits me.  Definitely, we will not seek to love our enemies or those who slap us on a cheek.  We will strike back or harbor anger and bitterness in our souls against them.  But Jesus said in his Sermon on the Mount to be perfect as God is perfect.  Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.  (Matthew 5:48)  Of course, this is impossible in the natural through our own strength.  The world is too much in us.  If you do not believe this, think about your driving habits.  How many of us never break the speeding laws?  How many of us love ALL OF YOUR ENEMIES, ALL THE TIME?  As you can see by the last two questions, we are not perfect.  We often avoid the laws of God, the laws of man, and the laws we set for ourselves.  We are natural lawbreakers.  Without laws, we would have chaos on Earth.  The Bible expresses clearly the nature of men:  As the prophet Isaiah said, like sheep we have all gone our own way, seeking what is right in our own eyes.  Most of the time, we do what is beneficial and good for ourselves, not for others.  But what is God's will for us?  Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  (Philippians 2:5-7)  Jesus could have destroyed every adversary by placing his authority above all authority.  He could have made his life on earth one of ease.  But He didn't.  He became a servant to all.  We are to become servants by being servants of the Holy Spirit, following his leading in our lives.  We are to keep in step with him.  If we do, we will see more and more the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.  Of course, our flesh will grumble, complain; say that it is not fair, we have only one life to live, we should live it for ourselves.  But Jesus says through the Spirit's voice, "If you humble yourself, my light will enter the room."  Then He will make a difference in that room, bringing peace and resolution to every heart.  Let him touch your heart today.  Let him use your life to bring his love to those who are waiting to be set free.