The Fruit of the Spirit: Choose Joy

by David Chadwick

Joy is a choice. As our church’s worship leader says in one of the songs he has written, “I will choose joy!” This one doesn’t always come naturally. Without Jesus, it can feel impossible to walk in joy in the midst of this broken world.

Remember, where one fruit is present, all nine are present. They are interdependent. But I do love the order because love and joy walk hand in hand. Joy proves that our affections are rightly aligned with God’s will. Joy flows out of a heart that loves him.

When you are so intimate with the Father in heaven and his Son, Jesus, the Spirit gives our natural affection the joy of an intimate friendship forever.

Joy is not happiness. Happiness depends upon circumstances being good. Joy, on the other hand, has nothing to do with circumstances. It only looks at the Beloved, the one who has given us life.

That inward joy transcends all that’s going on around us. And simply rejoices that his plans and purposes are being carried out in our lives no matter what.

The joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10). Our joy is made complete by resting in the one whose joy was made complete in obedience to the Father in heaven (John 15:11).

How do you choose joy? By simply focusing on the One in whom you are abiding, resting, and remaining forever. Making sure your connection with Jesus is always secure.

The Spirit produces this joy. You simply choose to abide. And then pray for more joy from the Spirit in whom we abide.

The Fruit of the Spirit: First Comes Love

by David Chadwick

When you have an intimate connection with Jesus, the fruit of the Spirit is evident. The overflow of a Spirit-filled life is a Spirit-led life where the fruit of the spirit from Galatians 5:22-23 are found in ample supply.

The first fruit of the Spirit is love.

Love is the first fruit of Godly attributes and character found in the life of a believer.

I find it so significant that love appears first. The Greek word here is agape. It means unconditional acceptance of another person just the way he or she is. No strings attached.

The word agape is used to describe Jesus’s love for his people.

The Greek people thought that only the gods could love this way. You can imagine their surprise when Christians came in and adopted this word to describe their faith’s preeminent virtue.

Agape is the highest quality of Christian character (1 Corinthians 13:1-13; 1 Peter 1:5-7).

Agape most clearly reflects the character of God, for God himself IS love (1 John 4:8).

In addition to his holiness, love describes God. And while we were still sinners, he came and chased us down with his agape love. God sent his son Jesus to die for us. This kind of self-sacrificial love is how Jesus tells us to agape one another and how the world will see that we belong to him (John 13:34-35).

The world doesn’t have this kind of agape, but followers of Jesus do! How do we have this kind of love? Only by being connected to the Spirit who is perfect agape. Allowing him to flow in and through us and then out to those around us.

I pray the Spirit will flow more love in our hearts both today and forever.

The Fruit of the Spirit: An Introduction

by David Chadwick

The fruit of the Spirit is one of my favorite things to teach. In fact, every time I think about this topic, I immediately flash back to my daughter Bethany’s 6th birthday party. It was a “fruit of the Spirit” themed party. I dressed up as her favorite character called “Sunny Love Tree” and each child who came to the party was given a different fruit of the spirit. That party was one for the books!

Much like I, as a Father, long to see my children walking in the light, Jesus longs to see his followers abiding in him.

A life that displays the fruit of the Spirit is a life that has learned how to abide in Christ. In John 15:7, Jesus said, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” Jesus knew that apart from him, his disciples could do nothing (John 15:5).

Notice that none of these fruit are produced through human strength or effort. They don’t come out of your striving. They are the mere byproduct of a life that is fully surrendered and yielded to Jesus. Just as an apple tree doesn't have to work hard to produce apples, a follower of Jesus doesn’t have to work to produce love. It happens naturally as the root is connected to the healthy soil, which, in turn, produces healthy, luscious fruit.

A life rooted in Jesus will produce the fruit of the Spirit.

Finally, notice two things as we commence this study. First, “fruit” in the Greek is karpos - a singular term. ALL nine of these fruit should be evident in the life of a believer in Jesus. You don’t pick and choose which ones you have. Think of it more like a fruit salad than a bunch of individual fruits.

Secondly, take note that it’s only through a connection to the Spirit, Christ in you, the Father upon you - all three persons of the Godhead - that produces this fruit. Faith is the connection point. Not human effort. So, as we walk through the next two weeks together, focus on abiding! If not, this fruit will never appear.

As we examine each fruit, I pray that you will see the face of Jesus in each one. And that he will encounter you with his love and you will become more like him!