Today we will continue our series entitled “God’s Grace & Our Faith.” We are looking at The Law given under Moses vs. the Grace provided by Jesus. Our primary scriptures are John 1:14 & 17. In our last message, we also looked at Galatians 5:19-21. Today we will look at verses 22 and 23.
(John 1:14 New International Version)
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
(John 1:17 New International Version)
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
(Galatians 5:22,23 The Passion Translation)
But the fruit produced by the Holy Spirit within you is divine love in all its varied expressions:
joy that overflows,
peace that subdues,
patience that endures,
kindness in action,
a life full of virtue,
faith that prevails,
gentleness of heart, and
strength of spirit.
Never set the law above these qualities, for they are meant to be limitless.
So what does this mean for you today? A few things. Let’s get into it.
1. God is love, and the “God type of love” produces fruit.
Many believers list love as one of the nine fruit of the Holy Spirit. But I like the way The Passion Translation says, “the fruit produced by the Holy Spirit within you is divine love.” It then goes on to say that the eight “fruit” of the Holy Spirit are actually “varied expressions” of love.
Love is not something God has or something God does. Love is WHO God is. When you have God living inside you, you have LOVE HIMSELF! Love is a person. That person is God! As you learn to discern the voice of the Holy Spirit and you begin to do what He leads you to do, people will experience God’s love (Himself) when they come in contact with you.
2. There are only two things God IS.
God may be like lots of things, and we can say that many things are like God. But there are only two things the Bible says God actually IS. 1 John 4:8 tells us that God is love. 1 John 1:5 tells us that God is light. Once you are Born-Again, you are walking around with divine love and divine light inside of you. The goal then is to die to self, so God’s love and light can be seen through you.
3. Your life produces fruit (good or bad).
— The eight fruit of the Holy Spirit are actually divine expressions of God’s love.
The Bible says, “But the fruit produced by the Holy Spirit within you is divine love in all its varied expressions:
joy that overflows,
peace that subdues,
patience that endures,
kindness in action,
a life full of virtue,
faith that prevails,
gentleness of heart, and
strength of spirit.
Never set the law above these qualities, for they are meant to be limitless.” (Galatians 5:22,23 TPT).
— God gave you His Spirit and His grace so the fruit of the Holy Spirit can be produced IN you and then emanate FROM you.
— The Holy Spirit is powerful. The power of the Holy Spirit will produce change IN you and fruit FROM you.
— Think about a fruit-bearing tree for a moment. The external fruit represents the internal nature of the tree. In other words, what you see on the outside is a result of what is going on inside the tree. Your life is always producing fruit. Your life is constantly telling people external to you what is going on internally to you.
— I already listed the fruit of the Holy Spirit, which is the fruit of God’s love. Yesterday we looked at what Paul said about the fruit of the flesh. Paul told us that some people’s lives produce: “Sexual immorality, lustful thoughts, pornography, chasing after things instead of God, manipulating others, hatred of those who get in your way, senseless arguments, resentment when others are favored, temper tantrums, angry quarrels, only thinking of yourself, being in love with your own opinions, being envious of the blessings of others, murder, uncontrolled addictions, wild parties, and all other similar behavior. Haven’t I already warned you that those who use their “freedom” for these things will not inherit the kingdom realm of God!”
— Read the fruit of the Holy Spirit (the fruit of love) and then read the fruit of the flesh. Now think about what type of fruit you want your life to produce. Remember, external fruit is a result of the internal condition of your heart. So if you want to produce Godly fruit, you must meditate and medicate on God’s Word, you must learn to be led by God’s Spirit, and you must attempt to live #TheGraceLife. It is only by the grace of God that your life will produce Godly fruit.
4. If you live your life by the grace of God, your life will produce fruit that will impact the world for good.
— In a book talking about the grace of God (Galatians), the Apostle Paul teaches us about the fruit of the flesh and the fruit of the Holy Spirit. His point is that God has given us the grace to live free from the fruit of the flesh (sin) and produce the fruit of the Holy Spirit daily.
— As you are led by God’s Spirit today, you should have “joy that overflows, peace that subdues, patience that endures, kindness that can be seen in action, a life full of virtue on display, faith that prevails/overcomes, gentleness of heart, and strength of spirit.” These are not things you have to attempt to muster up or generate on your own. These things should be natural to you. They are the fruit of the Holy Spirit. They are the fruit the Holy Spirit produces as He is living inside of you.
— As you learn to hear God’s voice and as you develop the discipline required to actually DO what He leads you to do, your life will produce this fruit, and it will be evident to everyone. People who knew you before will be amazed at how God has transformed your life. When they come in contact with you, they will come in contact with Him. People will hear Jesus in your words. They will feel Jesus in your embrace. They will sense Jesus when they are dealing with you. This is the “grace and truth” Jesus died to usher us into. This is not how the people of the Old Testament lived. They did not have the Holy Spirit living inside of them. We do! Now it’s time to let Him out! If we do, our life will produce fruit, and we will leave a legacy of righteousness that will impact our children and our children’s children!
That’s enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for teaching me about Your amazing grace. I am Born-Again. I have Your Spirit living inside of me. Your Spirit produces Your fruit! So I declare that Your love is expressed in, with, and through my life in many ways.
I have joy that overflows, peace that subdues, patience that endures, kindness that can be seen in action, a life full of virtue, faith that prevails/overcomes, gentleness of heart, and strength of Spirit. This is how I live.
I don’t strive to make this happen. I don’t have to work hard to produce fruit. I simply die to self so You can live through me. As I do, Your fruit is produced IN ME, and it emanates FROM ME! It is sweatless. It is natural to me because I have taken on YOUR NATURE! I live by Your grace. I walk in Your love. Therefore, my life produces YOUR FRUIT, and I know GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
