The Fruit of the Spirit

The Apostle Paul describes “the fruit of the Spirit” as “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). These qualities reflect God’s character and the behavior of those living according to God’s Spirit.

When we become connected to God through Jesus Christ, we’re like new branches that are grafted into a living vine, which begin to yield the fruit of that vine (see John 15:1-11). So if God is loving, patient, and always emanating peace, then as we participate with God, we will bear that same spiritual fruit, like love, patience, and peace.

We can better understand the nature and purpose of these spiritual fruits by exploring their source and the nuanced way they connect with other parts of Scripture.

By describing these characteristics as the fruit of the Spirit, the Apostle Paul is saying they come from the Holy Spirit, who is God. The Spirit cultivates them within us.

We cannot produce “spiritual fruit” on our own; we can’t simply will ourselves to be more gentle or work harder to be more joyful or faithful. But Scripture does suggest that human beings somehow take part in providing the conditions for the growth of spiritual fruit. In order for the life of the vine to grow fruit in us, we have to firmly connect ourselves to the vine by pursuing God’s way of life over our own.

When writing his letter to the churches in Galatia, Paul expresses frustration because many are disconnecting from God’s way of life. Rather than trusting Jesus’ Gospel, they’ve begun to follow a “different gospel” (see Galatians 1:6-7). As a result, they’re accepting or rejecting one another based on human traditions and social status, instead of sharing and experiencing God’s gracious love with each other. They’re embracing a way of division that opposes God’s Spirit and works against the loving, unifying gospel of Christ (see Galatians 3:28-29).

So Paul teaches them to return to Jesus’ real gospel and to participate with (rather than oppose) the Spirit’s work, which provides the conditions needed for spiritual fruit to grow. Paul encourages people to “walk [or live] by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16). But what does that really mean?

Some traditions describe walking by the Spirit as a kind of personal surrender to the Spirit’s transforming work in our minds and hearts. As the Spirit changes our hearts, our behavior also changes, leading us to bear fruit. Other traditions suggest that walking by the Spirit is about choosing to trust God by following His instruction. For example, the choice to love and forgive our neighbor is also a choice to participate with God’s Spirit, which leads to more and more spiritual fruit.

However we understand the mysterious interplay between divine and human action, Paul invites us to cooperate with what the Spirit is doing in us. In this way, we can join in God’s work of restoring all things, including our own lives: producing fruit that brings healing and wholeness to the world around us.

—BibleProject, bibleproject.com, adapted