Fruit of Love

Thank you so much for taking the time to read what the Spirit of the Lord is leading me to share with you. If the posts encourage or enlighten you, please feel free to share with others who may benefit from reading them also. Feel free to make a comment if you would like to and I will do my best to respond in a timely fashion. Blessings!

According to my November 16, “Fruit of the Spirit” post, fruit is “that which originates or comes from something. It is an effect or result. So, the ‘fruit’ of the Spirit is the work, act, or deeds that originate from the Spirit of God.”

Our main Biblical references for the “Fruit of the Spirit” is Galatians 5:22 and 23 which states, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” The fruit we will be looking at in my upcoming posts is the fruit of the Spirit, or that ‘fruit’ which reveals and represents the very nature of God.

The fruit we will focus on today is the first fruit listed in verse 22, “love".” Love is not merely an attribute of God, it is a part of His very make up. God is not only loving. At His core, He is love. By His design, He is also the source of the love which is in all of creation.

1 John 4:7,8 and 16 reveals this very truth, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.... 16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.” The Greek word used when referring to God’s love in the New Testament is agape (ag-ah-pay). According to Word Wealth in the New Spirit Filled Life Bible , “agape “denotes an undefeatable benevolent and unconquerable goodwill that always seeks the highest good of the other person, no matter what he does. It is the self-giving love that gives freely without asking anything in return, and does not consider the worth of its object. Agape is more a love of choice and it refers to the will rather than the emotion. Agape describes the unconditional love God has for the world.”

John 3:16 (NLT), “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

Romans 5:8 (NLT), “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.”

As we read 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a from the Amplified Bible, we will see a great scriptural definition of agape. Verse 4, “ Love endures with patience and serenity, love is kind and thoughtful, and is not jealous or envious; love does not brag and is not proud or arrogant. 5 It is not rude; it is not self-seeking, it is not provoked [nor overly sensitive and easily angered]; it does not take into account a wrong endured 6 It does not rejoice at injustice, but rejoices with the truth [when right and truth prevail]. 7 Love bears all things [regardless of what comes], believes all things [looking for the best in each one], hopes all things [remaining steadfast during difficult times], endures all things [without weakening]. 8a Love never fails [it never fades nor ends].”

Love is part of God’s nature. Love is also a virtue of God which He desires that we have residing in us, as evidenced when during the creation, the Father spoke, “Let us make man in Our image.” ( Genesis 1: 26)

A.W. Tozer once stated, “Nothing God ever does, or ever did, or ever will do, is separate from the love of God.”

God’s love is totally, absolutely, without exception unconditional. Truth be told, that is His desire for us as well.

John 13:33 and 34 (NLT) reveals, “Dear children, I will be with you only a little longer. And as I told the Jewish leaders, you will search for me, but you can't come where I am going. 34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.”

Then, we read in Matthew 5:44, that we are to love even our enemies. Verse 44 “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.”

God’s Word declares that “all” we do should be done with love. 1 Corinthians 16:14, “Let all that you do be done with love.” 1 Peter 4:8a (ESV), “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly”

This love, agape, can only be produced by God and the love of God in us! 1 John 4:7-13 (ESV), “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.”

It is because of the Holy Spirit in us that we are able , by His fruit, born in us, to love others as God loves us.

This is awesome! Romans 5:5 (ESV) states, “and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Let me repeat, God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us! The fruit of the Spirit - His love!

The love which the world speaks of is produced purely by human efforts which can never have the life changing power that is produced by God’s love - God’s unconditional love.

According to ourworldindata.org>homicides, worldwide, more than 400,00 people die from homicides every year. Statistics on abortions worldwide vary greatly. The World Health Organization states there are around 73 million induced abortions each year, while www.blow the trumpet.org estimates there are 46 million per year. The U.S. has the 6th highest divorce rate in the world. Human love will and does fail.

God’s love will never fail. as we saw earlier in 1 Corinthians 13:8a.

When Jesus was water baptized by John in the Jordan River, the Holy Spirit came upon Him in the bodily form like a dove. At this point Jesus was filled with the Spirit. Then we see in Luke 4:1 and 14, “Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, ... 14 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.” Right after He was filled with the Spirit at the Jordan River, the Spirit led Him into the wilderness. In the wilderness, He successfully withstood the temptations of the devil, then He came out of the wilderness “in the power of the Spirit.”

Jesus, (the Son of man), was filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit’s presence working in and through Him. Everything Jesus did was motivated by the love and direction of God. (John 5:30, “I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.”

Then, we read that Jesus told His disciples in John 20:21b and 22, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.” How did the Father send Jesus? In the power of the Spirit! The Greek word for ‘power’ in Luke 4:14 is dynamis which means: inherent power, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature, and specifically, in verse 14, it means: under or full of the power of the Holy Spirit.

If we (believers) are gong to be effective in life and ministry, we need to acknowledge and obey the Holy Spirit, Who is in us. John 14:16 and 17, “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever-- 17 "the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”

We Must:

Recognize the Holy Spirit

Acknowledge His presence in us

Learn to respond to His voice

Allow Him to lead and be in control

Choose to let His fruit grow in us and thereby, produce the nature of God in us!

Unless otherwise noted, all scriptures are NKJV New King James Version

NLT New Living Translation

ESV English Standard Version