We all face a spiritual struggle. It’s a daily struggle for me. The Bible calls it the struggle of the flesh versus the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-17). The flesh is all those desires, appetites, and passions that come from self – that part of us that wants to protect, comfort, and promote ourselves. It’s the selfish part of you and me – what I think I want, need, desire, and deserve. It’s powerful. It rules much of our lives. It’s usually contrary to and in conflict with the will of God.
How do we deal with our selfish self? Paul says we have to kill it – Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:24-25).
The antidote to the power of our selfish flesh is the power of the Spirit of God. God can transform us. In the same passage, Paul describes what the Spirit can and wants to produce in our lives – Love, joy, peace, forbearance (patience), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). Paul calls these the fruit of the Spirit. They are the product of living and keeping in step with the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit are, in essence, the character of Jesus that God wants to produce in us.
That’s why we started a new teaching series last week called Manifest. If you missed the introduction to the series, you can watch it here. We call this series Manifest because the word “manifest” means to display, show and make clear. God wants to manifest the character of Jesus in us – the fruit of the Spirit.
Spiritual fruit will be manifested in us if God is living in us! The fruit is a godly character and the actions that flow from being like Jesus. I love how Jesus describes how this works in John 15:1-8. Jesus uses a metaphor and says he’s the vine and we are the branches. If we remain in him and stay connected, then we will produce fruit. But if, as branches, we are disconnected from him (the vine), then not only will we not produce fruit, but we’ll be pruned because of our lack of fruit.
Jesus makes it clear that we can’t produce anything like the fruit of the Spirit on our own. We can’t create that kind of character. Willpower isn’t enough. We need to stay connected to the Spirit of God. So, how do we do that? We do that by practicing the same things Jesus did while he was in the flesh. He regularly prayed. He relied on the truth of God’s Word. He fasted. Why? He needed to live and be led by the Spirit.
If you want to produce fruit, then walk with and be led by the Holy Spirit. Live by and keep in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:16, 18, 25). I created a guide to help you do that called Invite the Spirit to Transform You. You can access it here or text ‘Spirit’ to 46356 (Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy) Message and data rates may apply. You can text STOP at any time to stop receiving the texts or text HELP for Customer care. Take some time to discover how you can allow the Spirit to transform you into a person with a character like Jesus. Let God create in you amazing spiritual fruit that will bring meaning and depth to your life and those you touch.
Glen Elliott
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