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gentleness

How all Nine Fruits of the Spirit Work Together

All of the Fruits of the Spirit that are mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23 are given to the believer in order to benefit others by drawing people to God through them. The fruits are divinely infused into the Christian by way of the Holy Spirit. the Fruits of the Spirit acutally become part of the person’s personality. This happening is made possible only through the infilling of the Holy Spirit.

Together, the fruits are very powerful in producing results.  God intended for the nine Fruits of the Spirit to work as one, as a team, within the believer in their life; transforming, sanctifying, and touching people for God.

The Fruits of the Spirit work together to draw and invite others to God’s love and acceptance. For example, love, the first fruit listed, could be called the gateway fruit – when it’s lived out by the Christian, other fruits are naturally enacted. Joy and peace can follow – because the Christian is walking in love towards others. Unbelievers will be touched, saved, and open to witnessing – if the believer is reaching out to them in love.

Goodness, longsuffering, kindness, and gentleness are a tight team as well, as each Fruit of the Spirit feeds right into the next. It is difficult to be kind without goodness, or gentle without being kind. God designed these fruits to fulfill and go along  each other. As they are walked in daily out of habit, they become even more effective!

As believers become increasingly aware of the power of allowing the Holy Spirit to flow through them, instilling these Godly qualities, their victories in life increase.  Unbelievers are drawn to God through His people, as they see a real living manifestation of fruit produced in their lives.

It’s important to remember that learning to walk in, and utilize, these Fruits of the Spirit characteristics is a two part process. God does His part by instilling the qualities in the believer and then believers must do their part – choose to walk in and use those qualities instead of the natural inclinations of the flesh. Beginning the new habit of walking with love, gentleness, or self-control is sometimes a fight against the old, self-satisfying way that unfortunately more and more people today are prone to.

In today’s world it seems far too many people are raised to believe what they want is the most important thing, or paramount. With the help of the Holy Spirit and transforming of the believer’s mind, it’s possible for Christians to show others how much greener the grass really is when they follow God’s ways instead of the fleshly ones that so many around them are directed by.

The Bible reminds us of this in Romans 12:2 (KJV) – “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God”.

 

 

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Fruits of the Holy Spirit – Longsuffering, Gentleness, and Goodness

All nine of the Fruits of the Spirit are very strong, and the middle three are extremely powerful also. Let’s take a look at these Fruits of the Spirit: Longsuffering, Gentleness, and Goodness. We’ll get a closer look at each one to see just how important they are.

Longsuffering

Galatians 5:22-23 says longsuffering is the fourth Fruit of the Spirit.  Longsuffering can be thought of as extreme patience, a quality that is in dire need in today’s world. Just as with the other fruits listed, longsuffering can only be obtained through the help of the Holy Spirit at work in believers.

Longsuffering is defined as “forbearance under ill-will”, and “endurance and steadfastness under provocation”.  Both of these definitions are correct and both recognize that patience occurs out of enduring a hard time, being provoked, or under ill-will.  In other words, having patience is not something born out of easy times.

When the believer’s natural inclination towards impatience becomes over-ridden by the Holy Spirit’s flow of longsuffering, the bearing of this fruit becomes evident in a person.

Gentleness

Gentleness, or kindness, is the fifth Fruit of the Spirit. This spiritual characteristic works closely together with the love fruit.  Once the Holy Spirit’s infusion of love (the first Fruit of the Sprit) becomes visible in the believer, the kindness fruit naturally follows suit.  Kindness is also defind as “steadfast love”, “goodness of heart”, and “gracious aid in times of need”.  Kindness , also known as Genteness, is a beautiful quality to have (and to show). And like all the other Fruits of the Spirit, believers are completely dependent on the Holy Spirit to infuse their lives with it. Only then will the height of gentleness be reached.

Goodness

Goodness is the sixth fruit Fruit of the Spirit, and it’s a quality that will draw people to God directly through the believer who displays this fruit. The quality of goodness can be likened to a magnet in the believer – it doesn’t waiver like human goodness can.  People are drawn by the totally visible effect of goodness in the believer’s heart, as they feel safe and can trust this divine quality.  The Scriptures say “.…unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” – Psalm 27:13 KJV

Goodness is also defined as “love in action”, and “quality of being good”.  A person simply cannot manifest this fruit on their own because the sin nature goes in the opposite direction, looking out for the interest of Self rather than God’s will.  Goodness instilled in the believer’s heart by the Holy Spirit is the only true Godly type of person. The person who shows this type of goodness is always looking to serve others and their needs and putting the interests of Self last.

These three Fruits of the Spirit, just like the others, work their best when accompanied and used with the other six: Peace, Love, Joy, Faithfulness, Meekness, and Temperance. While one doesn’t need to have all nine in the beginning, the goal is to work towards becoming a Christian who possesses all of them and uses them every day in their life.

 

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