The
Fruit Of The Spirit Study Course
The
Fruit Of The Spirit Study Course
Lesson Sixteen: The Fruit Of Love
Galatians 5:22-23 - But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, [23] Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. <Emphasis Mine>
To have fellowship with God, to walk with God, to walk in God’s realm, we must walk in love: divine love, for God is love. Most love today is the eros or erotic, sensual love. This love is usually selfish and demanding while seeking only sexual gratification. In the positive sense of the word, this is the type of love a husband and wife have for one another when they marry. It’s a sexual type love that comes from a sexual attraction between two people.[1]
There are three main Greek words for love found In the New Testament that describes other types of love.
Agapao (Agape) – means to love in a moral or social sense. It also means the judgment and deliberate assent of the will as a simplest form. Anyone who puts forth a conscience effort to be friendly, polite or sociable to others, or anyone who is inclined to live in companionship with others or in a community, is demonstrating this simplest form of love. Scriptures that use this form of the word love include:
Matthew 22:3
John 15:17
Luke 6:27
Mark 12:30
Initially, it was God’s AGAPAO love for us that caused Him to send His Son to suffer and die so we might have life.
John 3:16 - For God so LOVED the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
1 John 3:23 - And this is the commandment, that we should believe on the name of his Son, Jesus Christ and LOVE one another.
1 John 4:7 - 7 Beloved, let us LOVE one another, for love is of God; and every one that LOVETH is BORN of GOD and KNOWETH God.
Philadelphia Love – means fraternal affection, kindness and brotherly love. This is one of the fruits of the Spirit we first manifest when we are born into the Kingdom of God. Agape love will emerge from this love as we practice patience and forgiveness toward our brothers and sisters in the Lord. It could also be sad that sinners can even have a degree of this type love.
1 Thes. 4:9-10 - But as touching BROTHERLY LOVE, ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to LOVE (AG.APAO) one another. 10 And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren that are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you that ye INCREASE more and more.
Agape - Agape is the Greek word used in Galatians 5:22 for the attribute of spontaneous and divine love. This is the highest form of love we can ever hope to acquire as Christians.
1 John 4:8 He that loves not knoweth not God; for GOD IS LOVE
(AGAPE).
Agape love is a ripening fruit of the Spirit that must be cultivated like all other attributes. We must allow the Word of God and the Holy Spirit to cultivate this fruit within us.
1 John 2:5 - But whoso KEEPETH HIS WORD, in HIM verily is the LOVE (AGAPE) of God PERFECTED.
Col. 3:14 - And above all these things PUT ON CHARITY, which is the bond of PERFECTNESS.
Charity, or love, carries with it the sense of giving one’s self and expecting nothing in return. In reality, Charity IS THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT of which Paul Is talking about in Galatians. In Colossians, Paul said charity is the bond of perfectness (teleiostcs), which means in the GREEK a state of mental and/or moral completeness. Bond is the Greek word sundcsmos that means a uniting principle.
Paul is saying that charity, or love, is the uniting principle combining and joining together all the attributes of the Spirit into one perfected singular and complete FRUIT IN THE BELIEVER. LOVE and CHARITY developed in a believer brings that believer to a state of total MATURITY and COMPLETENESS in their walk with God.
In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians (we will discuss this later in detail), he gives several attributes about love in the 13th chapter that corresponds with each attribute he listed in Galatians as a Fruit of the Spirit: (Some of these are repeated)
1 Cor. 13:4-7 - Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envies not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, [5] Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; [6] Rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; [7] Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Now compare:
Love Believeth All Things - The Attribute of Faith
Vaunts not itself; is not puffed up The Attribute Of Meekness
Doth not behave itself unseemly The Attribute Of Peace
Thinks No Evil The Attribute Of Temperance
Suffereth long The Attribute Of Longsuffering
Beareth all things The Attribute Of Longsuffering
Expects All Things The Attribute Of Faith
Is Kind (useful) The Attribute Of Gentleness
Seeks Not Its Own The Attribute Of Goodness
Rejoices Not In Evil The Attribute Of Joy
TO TRULY BE PERFECT LIKE OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN IN PERFECT, WE MUST DILGENTLY CULTIVATE AND DEVELOP AN INDIVIDUAL LOVE RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR HEAVENLY FATHER. THE OUTFLOW OF THIS RELATIONSHIP WILL BE THAT WE LOVE OTHERS AS GOD LOVES THEM.
B. The Function of Love in a Believer.
Love helps us get to Know Our Heavenly Father.
Matthew 22:37 - Jesus said unto him, thou shall LOVE the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with thy entire mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment.
It’s imperative we develop a LOVE relationship with our heavenly Father. Knowing the Father on earth will be the source of our confidence when we each stand before the Son of God on that day that is yet to come (John 14:8-9). In Biblical times, many called God, “Father” but few personally ministered love to Jesus (Who was, after all, Emmanuel - God with us) through such acts of kissing His feet (Luke 7:38), anointing his head, (Mark 14:3) or taking the time to return and say, “Thank You” (Luke 17:15-16). God desires His children get to know Him in a personal, intimate way on earth. Jesus said in Matthew 7:22-“Many will say to me in that day, LORD, LORD, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast our devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works?”
Jesus said one basis of His rejection of these people will be expressed in the words...”I never KNEW you.” The Greek word for knew is ginosko which means to know by experience or effort, knowledge as the result of prolonged practice; knowledge grounded in personal experience; to get to know. Jesus will be in essence saying, “I never got to know you, for you did not cultivate the fruit of love and develop an intimate personal relationship with me.” Eternal life is in the balance of developing the attribute of love inside us.
Walking With God
Matthew 6:32 for your heavenly Father KNOWETH that ye have need of all these things. V.26- your heavenly father FEEDETH them.
God is our Father and He cares for us if we are born-again and in His family. He is interested in us and loves each one of us just the same. It’s our job to walk with Him and learn of Him through the Word and prayer. We are not under the Old Covenant any longer that only allowed a certain few into His presence. We are living under a better covenant based on better promises. Paul said in Hebrews for us to come boldly unto the throne of grace...
Genesis 5:24 - And Enoch WALKED with God: and he was not; for God took him.
Believers with this hope must have this testimony - that they pleased God.
The Fruit of Love Helps the Believer Walk in Absence of Fear.
1 John 4:18 There is no fear in LOVE (agape); but perfect LOVE (agape) casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in LOVE. (Agape)
There is a part that cultivating love for the Father plays in walking in total absence of fear. Too many times we are casting out a spirit of fear in people when we should be instructing them to cultivate their love for the Father! People can cast out the spirit of fear until they are blue in the face, but if their lives are devoid of that perfect love for the Father, then their houses will be empty of the one quality that will prevent this spirit from returning. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. (18c). In this last hour, Jesus warned that the things that are coming on this earth would cause many to fear.
Luke 21:26 Men’s hearts failing them for FEAR, and for looking after those things that are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
The world is experiencing what Paul described in Romans 8 as the groaning and travailing in pain as the end time approaches. Fear is slipping into the hearts of millions, including believers. It’s time to cultivate the fruit of love inside us arid get our hearts off the things of earth and fix our heart and mind on things above. Jesus presented an image of God the Father as someone who would encourage His children to cultivate His perfect love inside them.
Matthew 10:29-31 - Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. [30] But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. [31] Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.
Jesus was telling the 12 that if they would develop a relationship with God that fully realized their loving Father’s awareness of them, they need not to fear! This kind of relationship must be cultivated and developed.
Hebrews 13:5-6 - He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may BOLDLY say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not FEAR what man shall do unto me.
According to Hebrews 11:27, it was this reason that Moses did not fear Pharaoh.
Hebrews 11:27 - By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.
The Father wants his children to “see” Him in time of their trouble. With this we then can boldly say, “I will not fear what the enemy shall do to me, for the Lord is my HELPER.”
Love Helps Believers Conquer all Things.
Romans 8:31 What shall we say then to these things? If God be for us, then who can be against us?
As believers cultivate and develop love for the Father, an awareness of Him as conqueror will increase, and our confidence in His willingness and His ability to make them conquerors will become manifest in their lives. “God is for me” is quite a confident statement. The reason many Christians cannot say this honestly, is because they have never cultivated the fruit of love in their hearts toward God. Loving God is key before you can love your fellow man.
Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for GOOD TO THEM THAT LOVE GOD, to them who are called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than CONQUERORS through him that LOVED us.
GETTING TO KNOW THE HEAVENLY FATHER IS THE KEY TO VICTORIOUS CHRISITIAN LIVING AND DEVELOPING THE PERFECTED FRUIT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT INSIDE YOU! DEVELOPING A LOVE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE FATHER INVOLVES MORE THAN HAVING AN EXPERIENCE.
C. Cultivating The Fruit of Love.
Developing Sight of God.
Ephesians 5:1-2 - 1 be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children. And WALK IN LOVE, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor.
According to these scriptures, we are to be imitators of God and walk in love just as Jesus walked in love. Jesus cultivated this fruit of love by obeying the Father.
John 5:17-19 - But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. Therefore, the Jews sough the more to kill him because he not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God. Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what thing so ever he doeth there also DOETH the Son likewise.
Jesus only did what he saw the Father do. God is Love, so Jesus was love.
1 John 4:7 - Beloved, let us LOVE one another, for love is of God; and every one that LOVETH is BORN of GOD and KNOWETH God. He that loves not knoweth not God, for God Is love.
Jesus KNEW the Father, who was and is Love. That was the source of Jesus’ victory in cultivating the fruit of Love.
Praying In The Spirit Cultivates Love
Jude 20-2 1 - 20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, PRAYING IN THE HOLY GHOST 21 KEEP YOURSELVES IN THE LOVE OF GOD, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
Praying in the Spirit keeps the love of God stirred up and thereby cultivates it.
The Example Of Peter.
In John 21:15-17, Jesus had asked Peter to feed his sheep. Peter had replied, “Lord, thou knowest that I love thee.” The word love in this part is translated the “Phileo, or Philadelphia” love spoken of earlier in this lesson. Upon Jesus third inquiry, Peter recognized his need for cultivating the love that was in his heart. At this point in his life, Peter was born-again. In 1 Peter 1:7-8, Peter expressed a relationship with Jesus he could not express in John 21:15-17.
1 Peter 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perishes, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.8 Whom having not seen, ye LOVE (agape).
Something took place in Peter’s life between John 21:15-17 and 1 Peter 1:7-8. What was it?
Acts 2:4 - And they were all FILLED WITH THE HOLY GHOST and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit of God gave them utterance.
One of the first things believers should notice following their receiving the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is that their love for God increases because the purpose of this experience is to bring the children of God into a closer love walk with the Father.
Practicing Love Cultivates the Fruit of Love.
1 John 4:12 - No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is PERFECTED in us.
We must act on the Word of God if we are to practice love.
Forgiveness
Matthew 18:15 - Moreover If thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
So many Christians don’t forgive using the lame excuse that they don’t FEEL like they can forgive that person. The feeling of love however, will come through if Matthew 18:15 is PRACTICED, not just read. FEELINGS FOLLOW ACTION.
True feelings of love will never come apart from the Father. Jesus knew this in Gethsemane when He did not FEEL like doing God’s will.
Matthew 26:39 - And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying. 0 my Father, if It be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
Jesus expressed to the Father the greatest example of Love when he died for humanity. GOD GIVES US GRACE TO CULTIVATE THE FRUIT OF LOVE INSIDE OF US AND LAY OUR LIVES DOWN FOR OUR FRIENDS.
John 15:13 - Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends.
D. The Bond of Perfection.
Col. 3:14 - And above all these things PUT ON CHARITY, which is the bond of PERFECTNESS.
1 Corinthians 13:4-74 (Charity) suffereth long, and is kind; charity envies not;
Charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up 5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, Is not easily provoked, thinks no evil 6 Rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth 7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopes all things, endures all things. CHARITY NEVER FAILETH.
Paul said there is a nine-fold ingredient of divine love:
1. Patience - Love is passive; it doesn’t hurry; suffers long, bears, believes, hopes and endures all things.
2. Kindness-Love in action; never acts rashly or insolently; not inconsistent, not puffed up.
3. Generosity-Love in competition: It’s not envious or jealous.
4. Humility- Love in hiding; no parade; no airs, works then retires.
5. Courtesy- Love in society: does not behave unseemly: always polite; at home with all classes; never rude or discourteous
6. Unselfishness-Love in essence: never selfish, sour, or bitter; seeks only good of others; does not retaliate or seek revenge.
7. Good temper-Love in disposition; never irritated, never resentful.
8. Righteousness-Love in conduct; hates sin; never glad when others go wrong; always gladdened by goodness to others; always slow to expose: always eager to believe the best; always hopeful, always enduring.
9. Sincerity-Love in profession; never boastful and conceited; not a hypocrite; always honest; leaves no impression but what is strictly true; never self-assertive; does not blaze out in passionate anger, nor brood over wrongs: always just, joyful, and truthful; knows how to be silent; full of trust: always present.
Study Questions For Lesson Sixteen Are Combined With Lesson Seventeen