Questions about the Holy Spirit
Transformational knowledge of the Holy Spirit is understanding that can deepen your daily walk with the Lord. This blog series will explore important questions about the Holy Spirit: How do you Receive the Holy Spirit, Is the Holy Spirit God, What Does the Holy Spirit Do, and What Are the Fruits of the Holy Spirit. These are crucial questions that can further your understanding of God, enrich your Christian faith, and empower your walk.
Gifts from the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit bestows spiritual gifts on believers to build up the Church and glorify God. These gifts are diverse but unified in their purpose. Galatians 5:22-23 lists the “fruit of the Spirit,” which includes love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
An important distinction to make about the fruit of the Spirit:
Fruit is about the character of the believer, while gifts are about the works or service of the believer.
The gifts of the Spirit are various abilities that are given to believers for the sake of building up the body of Christ. No individual is given all the gifts of the Spirit – they are given individually so that we must work together and depend upon one another (example: administration, leadership, healing, etc.)
The fruit of the Spirit is character qualities which are produced in us as we abide in Jesus Christ. As Christians, we can potentially produce all the fruit of the Spirit in our individual lives (example: love, joy, peace, etc.).
What are the fruits of the Holy Spirit?
God wants all of us to enter into a sanctification process with Him so that He can begin the process of molding, shaping, and transforming us into the image of His Son Jesus Christ. God isn’t asking you to clean yourself up; He’s inviting you to step into His workshop. He’s beckoning you into His master craftsman shop, pulling on His leather apron, and saying, “Let Me do the shaping.” He’ll plane the splinters, steam-bend the crooked grain, and buff the cloudy finish until strangers catch a glimpse of Jesus in your smile.
But don’t lie there like a block of wood. The Spirit does the carving; you keep handing Him the tools. Open the Word like a blueprint: find the spots He’s circling with red pencil—attitudes to chisel off, virtues to brush on. When you read “patience,” let Him glue it into your timeline; when you see “gentleness,” invite Him to sand away your sharp retorts.
These nine traits—love, joy, peace, and the rest—aren’t home-grown: they’re Spirit-shipped, direct from Heaven’s warehouse. These nine fruits are major fruits and qualities that are coming directly from God Himself. Notice the capital “S” on Spirit: every fruit is trademarked “Holy.” That means the same power that rolled the stone away is willing to roll selfishness out, roll kindness in, and keep pushing until your life feels like walking Gospel.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” (Galatians 5:22)
Love – Fruit of the Spirit Bible Verse
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13)
Here are some of the different definitions of what love is from different Bible Dictionaries and Commentaries:
- Unselfish, benevolent concern for another; brotherly concern; the object of brotherly concern or affection
- The self-denying, self-sacrificing, Christ-like love which is the foundation of all other graces
- Unselfish, loyal and benevolent concern for the wellbeing of another
- The high esteem which God has for His human children and the high regard which they, in turn, should have for Him and other people
- To love, to have affection for someone; to like; to be a friend; the love of brothers for each other
One of the main messages that comes through loud and clear from studying our Bible is the extreme importance that God the Father is placing on everyone learning how to love Him, love ourselves, love one another, and to even go as far as to be able to love our enemies and those who will try and hurt us. It is only when the love of the Holy Spirit starts to flow and enter can we even begin to love God, love ourselves, and love one another to the degree and to the intensity that God would really like to see from each one of us.
Joy – Fruit of the Spirit Bible Verse
“You make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11)
In the rough world we live in, with all the crime, disorder, and bad things that can happen to anyone of us at any time, many Christians have lost a lot of their joy in the Lord because of some of the trauma experienced in this life. The quality of joy is a quality we need today. No matter how bad of a beating you may have taken in this life, God can fully heal, deliver, and restore you if you are willing to work with Him in this healing process.
Here are some of the different definitions of what real joy is all about:
- Great delight; gladness of heart
- The happy state that results from knowing and serving God
- That deep, abiding, inner rejoicing in the Lord
- To rejoice, to be glad
- Happy, joyful, cheerful, rejoicing, festive
Realize that God can transmit this divine quality into your personality, and this will be His joy, not your joy. The Bible says that the joy of the Lord is your strength. This is why it is so important that every Christian have some level of God’s joy operating through them in this life. The joy of the Lord can really give you an incredible surge of strength in your own daily walk with God, especially when you have to take on some difficult and painful situations.
Peace – Fruit of the Spirit Bible Verse
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27)
This is a quality that we all need operating in our lives, especially with all of the uncertainty of this life and never knowing what is going to happen next. Jobs are no longer as secure as they used to be. Half of all marriages end up in divorce. Epidemics may come and take loved ones from us. We are all forced to constantly live under the threat of future terrorist activity, never knowing when or where the next attack will come from. With all of this kind of heightened activity that we are all forced to deal with daily, it becomes very easy to lose your sense of peace, especially your peace in the Lord.
Here is how the quality of peace is described in some of the different Bible Dictionaries and Commentaries:
- The presence and experience of right relationships
- The tranquility of soul
- Sense of well-being and fulfillment that comes from God and is dependent on His presence
- The inner tranquility and poise of the Christian whose trust is in God through Christ
- Tranquility, rest, harmony, the absence of agitation or discord
Without the peace of God operating in your life, you could become very easily rattled, shaken, tormented, and knocked right off your game in the Lord the first time any kind of adversity should ever come your way.
Longsuffering – Fruit of the Spirit Bible Verse
“Love is patient, love is kind …” (the Greek word for “patient” is the same one translated “longsuffering” elsewhere). (1 Corinthians 13:4)
One of the main definitions of the word longsuffering is that it refers to patience. Patience is needed in the fast-paced world in which we live in today. Just watch people standing in line at the grocery store or at your local fast-food restaurant and watch how short some people’s fuses are today. Road rage is still a major problem on some of our highways. People have very little patience operating in their personalities today. For Christians, this poses a major dilemma. One of the ways of our God is that He is a very patient and longsuffering God. His ways are not our ways. God operates on a much longer and slower time frame than we are used to. We live and operate in a fast-paced world.
Here are the different definitions for the word longsuffering:
- Forbearance, patience
- Patient endurance and steadfastness under provocation
- Forbearance under ill-will, with no thought of retaliation
- Patience, endurance, steadfastness and forbearance
- Forbearance under suffering and endurance in the face of adversity
- Ability to endure persecution and ill-treatment
You can see why we all need the patience and longsuffering of the Holy Spirit to start operating in our souls and personalities, especially when we are forced to face any kind of adversity. Sometimes it will be the patience and longsuffering of the Holy Spirit that will be the only thing that will give you the ability to last the entire length of a bad trial.
Kindness – Fruit of the Spirit Bible Verse
“Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32)
Many people have lost the ability to treat others with kindness and respect. A kind word or a kind action to another person can make a difference. When you study the life of Jesus in the New Testament, you can really tell how kind He always was with other people in His dealings with them. You cannot help but be more kind to others if God’s love is flowing through you.
Here are some of the different definitions of what real kindness is all about:
- Quality or state of being kind
- The steadfast love that maintains relationships through gracious aid in times of need
- Goodness of heart, serviceable, good, gracious, pleasant
- Love for mankind, hospitality, acts of kindness, readiness to help, human friendship, benevolence, taking thought of others
- Goodness in action, sweetness of disposition, gentleness in dealing with others, affability
- The ability to act for the welfare of those taxing your patience
As you can see from some of these different definitions, this is a beautiful quality to have.
Goodness – Fruit of the Spirit Bible Verse
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” (Psalm 23:6)
The Bible says that it is the goodness of God that will lead sinners to salvation. Not only does the goodness of God draw people directly to Him, but this fruit of goodness operating in a believer can also draw people directly to God through the actual believer. There is something special about the quality of goodness. Many Christians can effectively witness to others by just living right and being a good example and role model.
You can see God’s goodness and feel it when you get around these types of people. As a result of seeing this God-like goodness deeply ingrained into their personalities, there is an immediate drawing towards them. You feel totally safe being around them because you know you can trust them. This is why this particular fruit and quality is so important for each Christian to have. Because with it, you can easily draw people to the Lord.
Here are some of the different definitions of what this quality is all about:
- Beneficence, ready to do good, love in action
- The word beneficence means the fact or quality of being kind or doing good
- Kindness in actual manifestation, virtue equipped for action, a bountiful propensity both to will and to do what is good, intrinsic goodness producing a generosity and a Godlike state or being
- This particular quality is a very powerful fruit to have operating in your personality because of the drawing power it has in it.
If the goodness of God will lead people to salvation, then the goodness of God operating through an anointed believer will have the ability to draw nonbelievers into salvation.
Faithfulness – Fruit of the Spirit Bible Verse
“Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23)
This quality is not only needed in our own personal relationship with God, but it is also needed in our own personal relationships with our friends and our families. Once you are saved and have entered into a personal relationship with the Lord, one of the first things you will really have to grab a hold of is holding fast to the Lord and staying faithful to Him for the rest of your eternal life.
God wants you to be faithful and loyal to your spouses, to your children, to your parents, and to your good friends. If God brings you a wonderful mate, wonderful children, and good and wonderful friends then He will expect you to stay loyal and faithful to all of them in your own personal relationships with them. Just as God will stay faithful to you in His own personal relationship with you, He will expect you to stay loyal and faithful in your own personal relationships with the other people in your life.
Here is what some of the different Bible dictionaries and commentaries have to say about this particular quality:
- Fidelity which makes one true to his promise and faithful to his task
- Steadfast, dedicated, dependable and worthy of trust
- Steadfast, unchanging and thoroughly grounded in relation to the other
- Dependability, loyalty and stability
With the self-centered and materialistic world in which we now live, where many people’s only goals and ambitions are to get as much as they can out of this life while they still can, I am afraid this is one quality that is lacking. God the Father wants us to stay true, loyal, and faithful to Him, and true, loyal, and faithful to the friends and family that are brought into our lives. The flesh is strong, especially in the area of wanting to satisfy its lust for the material things of this life. This is why this quality is one of the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit. We all need the faithfulness of the Holy Spirit to help us keep loyal to God, family, and friends.
Gentleness – Fruit of the Spirit Verse
“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” (Proverbs 15:1)
Jesus was fully incarnated into a human flesh body, but this incarnation was done as a man, fully Man and fully God. There were times that He would engage and set people straight, like He did with some of the Scribes and Pharisees. But there were other times that He dealt with people very gently, with kindness and love. And one of the divine qualities that He had operating in Him with great abundance was the quality of gentleness. The quality of gentleness is another major quality needed in our world today. So many people have been beaten up and hurt in their dealings with other people – that just a gentle word, a gentle touch from another Christian can open up the door for that person to be able to receive Jesus and His healing, saving, and deliverance power into their lives.
Here are some of the different definitions of the quality of gentleness:
- Mildness combined with tenderness
- Gracious, kindly disposition, controlled strength
- A disposition that is even-tempered, tranquil, balanced in spirit, unpretentious and that has passions under control
- A character that is equitable, reasonable, forbearing, moderate, fair and considerate
- Power and strength under control
- Willing to pardon injuries, correct faults. One who rules his spirit well
Parents especially need this fruit operating through them, as it is very easy to get out of balance with the way you are correcting your children. Sometimes more of a tough love approach is needed, but at other times more of a gentle approach will be better suited for the situation. If all your children ever hear from you are stern words of rebuke and criticism, and it is never properly balanced out with words and actions of love, kindness, and gentleness, then after a certain period of time your children will start to pull away from you, and they then will have no more desire to want to establish any type of good, solid, loving relationship with you.
Self-Control – Fruit of the Spirit Bible Verse
“A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.” (Proverbs 25:28)
Last but not least, is the quality of self-control. We all have a certain amount of character flaws operating in our personalities. The Bible tells us that our spirits and our flesh will war against each other in this life. Our flesh wants immediate self-gratification at all costs and will stop at nothing to try and get it. Since we all live in a very self-centered and materialistic type of world, many people have very poor impulse control. If they see something they immediately want, they will do anything they can to try and get it. Our spirits know that some of our fleshly desires are not right for us and as a result, there will be a tug of war between the two. And the only thing that will be able to control and curb some of the desires of our flesh is the quality of self-control. This is why the Bible tells us that if we can learn how to walk in the Holy Spirit, then we will not fulfill the lusts of our flesh.
Here are some of the definitions of what the quality of self-control is all about:
- Temperance, rational restraint of natural impulses.
- Sober, temperate, calm and dispassionate approach to life, having mastered personal desires and passions.
- Calls for a self-disciplined life following Christ’s example of being in the world but not of the world.
- Restraint or discipline exercised over one’s behavior.
The above definitions perfectly describe what God is looking for once He starts to work. This specific quality is one of the major keys in being able to get any kind of victory over some of the lusts and desires of our flesh.
Conclusion About the Fruit of the Spirit
The nine-fold fruit of the Spirit is Heaven’s own character-sketch of Jesus.
Each trait, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, is a seed of divine DNA the Father longs to graft into everyday believers.
Let those seeds take root and three things happen at once:
- You change—your reactions soften, your motives sharpen, your ego shrinks.
- Others notice—people who would never read a Bible will read your life.
- God is seen—your personality becomes a window, not a wall, for His presence.
No résumé, platform, or seminary degree carries that kind of evangelistic weight. A single ordinary person quietly displaying all nine characteristics of the Spirit can pull more souls toward Christ than a stadium rally. But the graft still needs cooperation. The Spirit supplies the sap; we supply the yes. When He pours in supernatural patience and we choose sarcasm instead, the flow backs up. When He offers self-restraint and we indulge the outburst, the gift withdraws for a season.
Keep the list where you can see it. Pray it, visualize it, welcome it. Then walk it one conversation, one delay, one act of forgiveness at a time. The more consistently you say amen with your feet, the more brightly the Light will leak out of you, and the darker the world around you will appear by comparison, drawing people toward the Source you reflect.
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