Keep in Step with the Spirit 2

We are on a journey of discovery, not about where we are going but about our companion on the path of life: the Holy Spirit.

I hope you are as interested as I am to explore the proof that our lives are in step with that Spirit, through the exploration of the kind of fruit a life of walking with the Spirit produces.

John 13:34 [NIV] “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”  

While good deeds or good works do not produce salvation (only the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ can do that), they are an important indicator that we have faith.

Similarly, the fruit of the Spirit is not a list of deeds, but a list of attributes, points of character, that indicate the presence of the Spirit, which can only be evident in how we then act on them.

Galatians 5:22-23 [NIV] 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Love is the first fruit listed, and I would say that you cannot have any other fruit listed if you don’t have love.

Compare the fruit of the Spirit with the list of what love is, as outlined in 1 Corinthians13:4-8 [NIV] (I’ve underlined the attributes that seem to be the same as the list of the fruit of the Spirit and made notes throughout) 4 Love is patient (forbearance), love is kind (kindness). It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered (self-control), it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth (joy). 7 It always protects (good), always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres (always = faithful). 8 Love never fails...

John 13:34 [NIV] gives us a direct command from Jesus about how love should show up: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”  And how did He love us? He healed. He fed. He taught. And then He covered our sins (our nakedness) when He died for us.

Saying we have love is not the point. The point is how love shows up in our lives.  Jesus spells it out for us in Matthew 25 with action words: “I was hungry and you fed me. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was naked and you gave me clothing…”

Nothing has more value than love [See 1 Corin. 13:1-3], because love underscores every aspect of our Christian walk – both what we receive and what we are then to give out to others.

Jesus did not just have love, He acted out love, and He told us to do the same.

If we want to assess whether or not we are in step with the Holy Spirit, assessing if and how love shows up in our lives is the perfect place to start.

I welcome your comments and questions. You can write me in the comment section or any time at Nancy@DynamicChristianMinistries.org