Before studying the list of the Fruit of the Spirit, I want to find out more about what is meant by the term "fruit". "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." (Galatians 5:22-23 NIV) Why does the verse say "But the fruit of the Spirit is....." not 'fruits of the Spirit are"? That was the first thing I noticed about Galatians 5:22 when I started my Bible study. It puzzled me.
From the commentaries I learned that, just as grape vines bring forth only grapes and apple trees bring forth only apples, there is just one type of fruit that the Spirit brings forth. Jesus, in the verse I used for the picture above, said that it is "good fruit". The Spirit never brings forth "bad fruit", just as an apple tree never grows a cluster of grapes on its branches. Also just as the fruit of the apple tree has certain characteristics (like color, shape,size, seeds, taste) that distinguish it from the grapes, so does the Fruit of the Spirit have certain distinguishing characteristics. The Good Fruit of the Spirit is characterized by Love, Joy, Peace... So that is the reason behind why the verse doesn't say fruits of the Spirit but Fruit singular.
In Matthew 7, Jesus talked to His disciples about recognizing false teachers. "By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?" Look at what they produce in their lives, are they living lives of Love, Joy, and Peace? Or are they stirring up trouble and strife by their teachings? He said next that "Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit." So you will also know the truly Spirit-led teachers by their good fruit. You will find things in their teachings that identify them as coming from the Holy Spirit. Later, Jesus used the same example of Fruit in John 15 to say that we, as followers of Jesus will be producing such things in our own lives because we are connected to Him as the Vine that gives us our vitality.
And that leads to my next discovery: This Fruit of the Spirit is, as the name implies, from the Spirit, not from us. Jesus said in John 15 that we must "abide" in Him in order to produce fruit, that without Him we can do nothing: " I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:5 ESV) How does Jesus "abide" in us? Jesus promised us that: "I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you." (John 14:16-17 ESV). We do not have to worry about producing this fruit ourselves. It does not come from us, it comes from our connection with Jesus Christ through His Holy Spirit dwelling within us. Just as the tree branch doesn't worry about whether it is going to produce an apple or a cluster of grapes, it is a branch of the apple tree so it will of course produce an apple! As we study the list of characteristics of the Fruit of the Spirit, keep in mind that you are not required to make them ''grow" in your own lives. They will grow without your "cultivating" them because of your connection with Jesus through His Holy Spirit.
That is the point of this whole study: Staying connected with Jesus and not stifling or hindering the action of the Holy Spirit within us. In the Bible study leading up to this one, we saw how Paul was contrasting our spiritual nature with our physical nature. And how we are involved in a conflict between the two. If you do not see the "Fruit of the Spirit" in your life, if you instead see things that show forth the "works of the flesh" then you know that you have slipped to the physical side of things and have been ignoring the work of the Spirit in your life. Find ways to focus more on the Spiritual side of things. Read your Bible. Pray for help. And remember these words from the book of Philippians: "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." (Philippians 4:8 ESV)
This is your "job" as a branch of the true vine, STAY CONNECTED and HAVE FAITH IN THE VINE! Listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, follow Him closely, focus on your spiritual life and stay away from those things that produce the "works of the flesh". And when you do this, you will begin to see the Fruit of the Spirit in your life. You will look among the leaves and find beautiful fruit that has all the characteristics of Jesus Christ Himself: " love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." And you will know that you have done your work as a faith filled and fruitful branch!