Christian Discipleship Course 36.

Question and answer: “How is this fruit manifested in my life?”

As we surrender to God and continually receive the infilling of the Holy Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit should become a reality in our lives. This is not theory, but a daily experience in our every day lives. All the fruit is manifested through love, as *fruit is a singular word, and not the plural, which would be fruits.

Galatians 5:22-23 ‘The *fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control’

We are commanded by God to bear fruit within our lives Matthew 3:8. People will know us by our fruits - which are a changed character and lifestyle Matthew 7:16. As we surrender every area to the Holy Spirit, then our old negative ways will die (1 Corinthians 15:31). As the old ways die, we will produce new fruit; the fruit of the Spirit John 12:24.

We love God because of everything He has done for us. From the over-flow of our love for Him, we should love our fellow man. The Bible says that without love we are nothing 1 John 3:13-21, 1 Corinthians 13:1-7.

Wisdom: If you pray for more patience (long-suffering), don’t be surprised if God teaches you to be patient by difficulties in your life Hebrews 12:11. You will never wake up one morning as a ‘saint’! But God will help you to grow into His image by your daily circumstances.

Fact: When we surrender to God, we let His will be done in our lives.

To become kind or good is not a spiritual mystery, but a practical experience. You must choose to help someone, for example to go shopping with an elderly person, or help them in their garden. We can also choose to be kind in what we say to people. As we do this, we can pray that God will change us to be more like Him.

Think: What areas of my life show the least fruit? How can I change?

More Info: Mark 4:20, John 15:1-16, Romans 6:22, 7:4, Ephesians 5:9, Philippians 1:11, Colossians 1:10, James 3:17.