Grow Deeper In Your Faith
Do you want to grow deeper in your faith?
You are beautiful inside out! It’s an expression everyone wants to be associated with. But what qualifies you to receive this inner beauty is not what you do but what you receive from the Holy Spirit.
Your inner qualities as a Christian is based on the fruit of the Spirit. These qualities are sealed in your spirit-man when you became born again. And as a Christian, your knowledge about them and living according to these qualities gives you that inner beauty and a fruitful lifestyle.
In the Bible, there is nine fruit of the Spirit, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such, there is no law (Galatians 5:22-23, NKJV).”
Paul listed these nine character traits that the Holy Spirit produces in the Christian’s life. Jesus Christ is the supreme example of every spiritual quality, having embodied the fruit of the Spirit perfectly because each one is linked to who He is.
The list of spiritual fruit falls into three categories: the upward qualities (love, joy, peace); the outward qualities (longsuffering, kindness, goodness); and the inward qualities (faithfulness, gentleness, self-control).
These Spirit-produced characteristics fruit indicated beauty, spontaneous, quietness, and growth instead of effort, labor, strain, and toil. The use of the singular (fruit) indicates that there is a unity and coherence in the outworking of these virtues.
9 Fruits Of The Spirit That Helps You Live Confidently
Love: The greatest of all virtues (1Cor.13:13), love is the power that moves us to respond to someone’s needs with no expectation of reward.
Love is one of those words that, because of misuse, has lost its meaning. Yet love is the primary characteristic that identifies a believer in Christ (John 13:35),
The life of Jesus Christ on earth is an example of perfect love.
Joy: An inward hope and exuberance in spite of outward circumstances. Joy differs from happiness, which relies on favorable circumstances.
Peace: Both a supernatural calm amid chaos and the ability to bring harmony to divided factions. The peace that passes all understanding finds its source in love
Longsuffering: The quiet willingness to accept irritating or painful situations.
Kindness: Generosity and consideration toward others. “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you (Ephesians 4:32).”
Goodness: Moral excellence in all you do. “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith (Galatians 6:10).”
Faithfulness: Enduring loyalty and trustworthiness to yourself first and to others.
Gentleness: The power to control your reactions to difficult people and situations and should not be confused with weakness. “to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men (Titus 3:2).”
Self-control: Your ability to restrain inappropriate passions and appetites no matter the situation.
So what exactly is gives an “inner quality”? It’s the “Fruit of the Spirit.” Just as a tree is known by its fruit, so spiritual fruit manifests the Holy Spirit’s work in you through the refinement of your character.
The plan of God is that Christians are to be “conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren” (Romans 8:29). It is not by our effort that we can live supernaturally (like Jesus) instead of naturally (like fallen Adam).
It is only through the work and gifting of the Holy Spirit that you and every Christian possess the capability of reflecting the beautiful image of Christ in this fallen world.