Yesterday we talked about Love and Joy, we continue today with the rest of the seven.
Peace - eirene
The Biblical concept of peace, εἰρήνη (eirene) in Greek, is: inclusive of life without conflict, as well as wholeness and harmony with God and others. A life of peace is safe and secure both physically and mentally.
“The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.” (Romans 8:6)
“Peace is a result of allowing the Holy Spirit to work in our hearts and minds. When we have peace, we are from fear and worry about finances, our safety, our salvation, and our eternal life. The fruit of the Holy Spirit is seen in the peace that comes even when our circumstances are far from tranquil. (Penny Noyes)
Jesus encouraged his followers in John 16:33, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Forbearance - makrothumia
Makrothumia is used to express a slow human reaction toward another human being or of God waiting long to bring judgment against man. Makrothumia is a necessity in Christian fellowship, as well as in ministry. This is because successful fellowship and ministry among Christians happens only when human reactions are under control. People need the ministry of God's Spirit, not the human reaction and opinions of others. It is produced by God's Spirit alone. It is not an ability possessed by a human being, nor is it the result of human effort.
Makrothumia can also be described as long tempered as opposed to short tempered. The usual English words are patience, endurance, constancy, steadfastness, perseverance, longsuffering, and slowness in avenging wrongs.
The Holy Spirit empowers believers to withstand challenging situations with perseverance and endurance.
Kindness - chréstotés
Strong's Concordance states chréstotés as goodness, excellence, uprightness (Strong’s Lexicon). Again, these are characteristics of the heart rather than outward actions. In modern times we can represent all those words by “kindness” (KJV), which is a quality (Webster), not an action in itself. There “acts of kindness” or a “kind act” are based on the quality of kindness.
chréstotés conveys the meaning of moral goodness, integrity, usefulness, and benignity, all enabled by the Holy Spirit without getting trapped in self-righteousness judgement, but lead to repentance through the kindness of God.
Romans 2:4
4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?
Goodness – agathosune
Agathosune describes a positive moral quality characterized especially by interest in the welfare of others. It is not only about being good but doing good as well, therefore “goodness” is seen in our actions.
So putting it simply and as per 2 Thessalonians 1:11,
“We pray for God's power to help you do all the good things you hope to do and your faith makes you want to do.” Through the Holy Spirit's work in Christians' lives, they are upright in heart, and they do good things.
Like any human action, first you need to want to do something; second you hope to be able to do it, which means that there is a passion to want to do it and lastly you actually do it. That is what Paul was talking about in this verse, that the Holy Spirit helps us in all three aspects of doing good – want, hope and action.
Faithfulness – pistis
Pistis means conviction of the truth of anything. In Biblical terms we know it as faith. However, we contrast it to faithfulness which is an ongoing practise of faith. Why do I say that? Because Faith is belief and faithfulness is belief in action, or faith in action. So the question is – is our salvation through belief in Christ or is it through our acts of faithfulness?
I think this question deserves personal thought and reading to understand since we are clear that salvation cannot be earned through action.
In the New Testament, faith is the belief in God and the conviction that Jesus is the Messiah through whom we obtain eternal salvation. The reason we are highlighting this is because
“With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith.”
Gentleness – prautes
The NKJV translates the Greek word prautes as "gentleness," while the KJV uses "meekness." II Corinthians 10:1 refers to Christ's meekness (prautes) and gentleness (epieikeia) as separate virtues. Prautes describes a condition of mind and heart—an internal attitude—whereas gentleness (mildness combined with tenderness) refers to actions—an external behavior. Although English has no direct equivalent words to prautes, "meekness" comes closest. The drawback to this is that in modern English "meekness" carries the stigma of weakness and cowardliness. In contrast, the meekness manifested by God and given to the saints is the fruit of power. It is enduring injury with patience and without resentment.
Self Control – egkrateia
According to Strong, egkrateia means mastery, self control which is the ability to control one’s body and its sensual appetites and desires – physically and mentally.
This kind of self control cannot be but 100%, meaning that either we have it or we don’t. And the only way to complete self control is though the power of the Holy Spirit. According to penny Noyes – “Self-control relates to both chastity and sobriety, particularly moderation in eating and drinking. Self-control is the opposite of the works of the flesh that indulge sensual desires.”
As Galatians 5:16 says “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.”
Conclusion
This discussion is mainly to help understand the importance of the Holy Spirit in our lives. In a nutshell –
- It is the presence of God in our lives
- Indicates a strong relationship with Christ
- The fruit of the spirit are the inward and outward effects of the Holy Spirit in our life.
In Matthew 7:16-20, Jesus warned his followers to be wary of false teachers, “By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”
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Notes and Credits
This study was based on the article What Are the Fruits of the Spirit? Bible Meaning and Examples by Penny Noyes.
Other credits as stated.
You can Download a free PDF for "Living By the Holy Spirit Power - A Prayer and Scripture Guide" here.
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