Galatians 5:22 Commentary and Bible Study

By contrast the beautiful list that follows contains characteristics which belong only to the child of God. They are called the fruit of the Spirit because they are the product of the Spirit’s work in the believer’s heart, and come from that new nature which is the opposite of the flesh described in the previous three verses. The flesh is natural, but the new nature is supernatural and empowered by the Spirit, led by the Spirit, responsive to the promptings of the Spirit, and delighting in the thoughts and ways of the Spirit. We note that Paul attributes only evil qualities to the flesh, and only good qualities to the Spirit. The new nature is not capable of doing evil, just as the old nature is not capable of doing what is wholly acceptable to God, but of course much of the believer’s behaviour is a complex mixture of the two natures both operating at once. This is the confusing and frustrating situation that Paul describes in the latter part of Romans 7. It is a situation which is difficult to understand and therefore Scripture helps us to unravel it in this passage. ‘Love’ is a virtue which contains within it all other good virtues, for love is a teacher and teaches the heart the best way to fulfil God’s law towards others. Love is an emotion, but it is also a choice, an act of the will, and it is a way of thinking that considers the needs of others more than the needs of self. When Christ wishes to give an example of great love, even the greatest, he considers love in terms of how much it is willing to give. Love desires to do good in any way it can, but it aims at real good and not the counterfeit that man so often puts in its place. Therefore love considers all from the perspective of eternity and from the Lord’s point of view. ‘Joy’ or gladness comes from a sense of being blessed. We are joyful when we believe that some good has come to us or will come to us in the future, when we see objects of delight within our reach. The unbeliever’s joy is short-lived; he may rejoice over what he can see and handle and taste, but he is not capable of joy in the unseen things of God. The believer alone can rejoice in these things and he does so by faith. He rejoices that the living God exists, that he is who he is, and that he has done what he has done. These things, being true, transform his world. The ‘peace’ meant here is not the state of peace itself, but the experience and appreciation of that state in our hearts. Nevertheless a sense of peace with God is not possible unless we know that such peace actually exists. The Christian faith is not about self-delusion or psychological self-manipulation, convincing ourselves in order to manufacture some inner experience. God has done what no created power could do and reconciled us to himself through Christ. To be at peace with God is to feel the safety of his presence. It is to know that we can trust him even though he moves in a mysterious way, for he is actively working for our good in ways that we cannot even imagine. ‘Long-suffering’, forbearance, patience is the ability to bear long with adversity, or persecution, or hardship, and not to give way to unworthy behaviour. Not to give way to revenge, or hatred, or bitterness, or despair, or faithlessness. It is that grace by which the person, who has set his eyes on Christ and who is united to him, is ready to wait for his good things in the world to come. ‘Gentleness’ or kindness is a grace which takes account of the weakness, the fears, the sufferings, and the vulnerability of others. It is particularly good at putting itself in the place of others, and avoids doing anything which adds to their burden. Rather it wants to comfort and relieve. It is a response to the cruelty of a world where each one is out for himself, heedless of the pain that he causes. The man who has kindness in his heart has broken the cycle of tit-for-tat retaliation in the world. ‘Goodness’ does no harm, but it goes far beyond this and wants to find a way of adding what has real value. It approaches its neighbour with knowledge and with a very clear understanding of what is profitable to another soul. It takes account of the circumstances of the other and considers each case individually, however it measures goodness not by what man thinks is good but by what God declares to be good. Goodness can deal with very hard situations and may be called upon to reconstruct from the outcome of a disaster. Goodness is stronger than malevolence and does not despair when it sees the ravages caused by sin. ‘Faith’, surrounded by other relational virtues should be understood in the sense of faithfulness, loyalty, or fidelity. It is loyalty to our fellow man especially to believers, but fundamentally it is loyalty to the truth of God. Loyalty to fellow human beings has limits set on it by God’s word, but within these limits it operates to bind friendship together. To break friendship for no good reason, to betray trust, to hurt a friend who has not hurt us, is condemned here. It operates in the interest of others even when it cannot be monitored because the faithful man becomes his own policeman. Faithfulness is the quality in others which enables us to trust them.