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Series: Fruit of the Spirit

When you follow God’s way, the Holy Spirit cultivates the fruit of the Spirit in your life. The fruit of the Spirit are the qualities that the Spirit grows in youa beautiful metaphor for your life in Christ.

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)

Paul gave this list to the church in Galatia to correct bad teaching about the Christian life. This 15-day devotional series will follow Paul’s teaching to the Galatians, and especially his teaching about the fruit that the Spirit wants to cultivate in every believer.

How has following Jesus changed your life? If you are following Jesus, even if you have been following Jesus your whole life, Jesus should be changing you day-by-day.

As you study Galatians, consider where Jesus is working in your life, and look for the good fruit he is cultivating.

Fruit of the Spirit

Live by the Spirit

Read: Galatians 5:16-17 But I say, walk by the Spirit. (v. 16) For the next two weeks we’ll consider Paul’s letter to the Galatians, which includes the listing of the “fruit

Fruit of the Spirit

A Follow-Up Letter

Read: Galatians 1:1-9 To the churches of Galatia . . . (v. 2) Paul’s relatively short letter to the Galatians was not simply meant to inform or encourage the new Christians in Galatia. Instead,

Fruit of the Spirit

Fruit vs. Self-Help

Read: John 15:1-8 But the fruit of the Spirit . . . (Gal. 5:22) Most bookstores that are divided into subject areas will have a decent amount of shelf space devoted to the

Fruit of the Spirit

Fruit in Bunches

Read: Galatians 5:24; John 15:12-17 Those who belong to Christ . . . (v. 24) The fruit of the Spirit is different from the fruit of the self-help movement, and it’s also different from

Fruit of the Spirit

Love

Read: Galatians 5:22-23; John 13:31-35 But the fruit of the Spirit is love. (v. 22) The first fruit of the Spirit is love, which echoes other scriptural references to the primacy

Fruit of the Spirit

Joy

Read: Galatians 5:22-23; Philippians 1:15-21 But the fruit of the Spirit is . . . joy. (v. 22) What comes to mind when you think of joy? What was the last experience you had

Fruit of the Spirit

Peace

Read: Galatians 5:16-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is . . . peace. (v. 22) Paul lists “strife,” “rivalries,” and “dissension” among the works of the flesh (Gal. 5:20), but peace blossoms from

Fruit of the Spirit

Patience

Read: Galatians 5:22-23; Colossians 3:12-15 But the fruit of the Spirit is . . . patience. (v. 22) No one advertises a smartphone, computer, or tablet as “nice and slow.” Each new technological gadget

Fruit of the Spirit

Kindness

Read: Galatians 5:22-23; 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 But the fruit of the Spirit is . . . kindness. (v. 22) One of my favorite poets, Naomi Shahib Nye, wrote a poem called “Kindness” in which