Bountiful Fruits

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

Where Im from, West Texas, everybody gets taught these nine fruits in Sunday school to the tune of a little song and have them memorized by the time they are in 3rd grade.

For the duration of my twenty-five and a half years on this planet, I’ve always thought that this “list” of fruits was exhaustive, which means that these are the ONLY fruits of the Spirit and I would imagine that many of you are in the same boat. I never really had a reason to question this belief until I read a chapter in a book that was required for my classes. This man’s teaching has completely altered the way I think towards the fruits and after I’ve sat and thought about it for a few months, I’m convinced. I want to suggest to you that this list isn’t exhaustive, but merely representative. That, quite possibly, there could be countless other fruits of the Spirit. Here is why I have changed the way I think.

Galatians 5:19-21 - NASB “19 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, 21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

If you notice, after the list of sinful things, towards the end of verse 21, Paul uses the phrase, “such things.” This simple phrase, which has gone unnoticed much of my entire life, whacked me in the face. (A very loving sweet whack.) I hope you realize and are aware that this list of “deeds of the flesh” is by no means exhaustive. We don’t need a rocket science degree or have to go to seminary to realize that there is NO WAY that these fifteen things exhaust the works of the flesh. “Such things” refers to similar things.

Now if we go back and read Galatians 5:22-23, “22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

Paul uses the same phrase describing the fruits as he did the deeds of the flesh! If the list of fleshy deeds is obviously not exhaustive, why do we think that the list of fruits would be? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control, are awesome but I am beginning to think that that list continues. We have nine, but where can we find more?? We had the privilege of having Jack Taylor in class a few months back and he was talking about the Holy Spirit, and basically said that, “The Holy Spirit is Jesus without skin.” This completely rocked me…along with half of my class. This opened a completely new paradigm and changed the way I think forever.

Romans 8:9 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.

It is pretty obvious what Paul is telling us, but I want us to look a little deeper, perhaps at not the “obvious part” of the verse. In the same sentence, he refers to the Holy Spirit as Spirit, Spirit of God, and Spirit of Christ. They are the same thing. They are all one. While walking this planet, The Holy Spirit was the Spirit of Christ. So while Jesus walked this planet, He was the Holy Spirit’s skin. So essentially, the fruits of the Spirit are the fruits of Christ and in turn, since Jesus only did what he saw the Father do and only said what the Father said, they are also the fruits of the Father.

So let me go back to the beginning and ask a question: Are the nine fruits of the Spirit listed here in Galatians the ONLY nine fruits displayed in the life of Jesus and ultimately the only nine fruits of the Father? Is that list exhaustive? I’m thinking no way Jose. In the life of Christ we see many other “fruits” displayed. Not only did He walk in the nine, but also purity, compassion, forgiveness, loyalty, courage, hospitality, humility, and honor to name a few. So let me ask you this: What other fruits do you see manifesting themselves in Jesus’ life?

Some of you may be thinking, what is the big deal of having more than nine fruits of the Spirit? It might not be a big deal to some, but God has changed the way I think and that is a very big deal to me and I know that there are thousands of other West Texas believers that have believed the same thing I had their entire lives. In writing this article, hopefully I bring new revelation and understanding to not only myself, but people who thought just like I did. Let me let you look into what I am thinking. If we are now the Body of Christ (1st Corinthians 12:27), and just as Jesus was the Holy Spirit’s skin while on this planet, then we have taken Jesus’ place and are now the Holy Spirit’s skin. If that is the case, then we should have access to every single “fruit” displayed in Jesus’ life.

Papa, display your fruits to us. Open our eyes to your Holy attributes. Let us see new things about you and your Character every day.