by Ava Pennington
Did you know there is only one fruit of the Spirit?
Have you ever wondered why you didn’t have more of the nine fruits of the Spirit the apostle Paul listed in Galatians 5:22-23? That list includes love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
But what if I told you there is only one fruit of the Spirit?
That’s right, just one, not nine!
God describes several of His attributes as fruit that He develops in us. They are not separate fruits (plural). Rather, each one is a display or facet of the fruit (singular) the Holy Spirit plants and grows in our lives.
They come as a package of nine.
God develops this fruit in us to grow us to be more like our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Of course, it doesn’t help that our spiritual enemy does not want us to grow in Christlikeness. So we are often subjected to temptations and distractions that prevent this growth. As a result, we talk about situations that “steal” our joy or disrupt our peace. Often, however, the disconnect is not caused by external forces or circumstances. Rather, it’s caused when we focus on our own desires and agendas.
At the moment the Holy Spirit indwells every Christian, He brings all nine displays of His fruit. And He is constantly at work cultivating and nurturing this fruit in us. Still, we have a responsibility to cooperate with His work through our surrender and obedience to His promptings.
So instead of wishing for more peace or patience, more joy or self-control, let’s ask how we can cooperate with the Holy Spirit to grow His fruit in us. Then celebrate how all these displays of fruit are working together to conform us to our Savior and reflect Him to a watching world!
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