Fruit of the Spirit in the context of RelationshipMessage preached by Ronny Cham, Head of the Preaching
& Teaching Ministry of SIB Metro Church on Sunday, November 16, 2008 at
6.00 pm evening service. Fruits of the
Spirit in the context of Relationships Scripture: Galatians
5:16-26 16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not
fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the
Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one
another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are:
adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery,
hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions,
dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries
(noisy celebration, partying), and the like; of which I tell you beforehand,
just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will
not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness,
self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are
Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25
If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us
not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. (NKJV) “Walk in
the Spirit” pictures the action of taking step by step along a
journey together with the Holy Spirit.
“Together” suggests a state of “relationship”. We who are Christ’s, our spiritual
relationship with Christ is very special and this is
how Jesus described it in John 14:20, “At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I
in you.” (NKJV) And in Romans 8:11, Paul said, “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus
from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give
life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” (NKJV) Now, this “togetherness”
is literally “oneness”
between the Father God, His Son & His Holy Spirit and I. This “oneness” is not only the
basis but also the special characteristic of this spiritual relation is between
God and I in the Spirit. This is the key to this message. What does “being
led by the Spirit” mean? When considered together with the term
“walk in the Spirit”, it is best understood as the Holy Spirit
leading us step by step in that journey.
For example, I want to take a holiday in Hong Kong in Christmas this
year and I would like my wife to take me there. So, I talk, communicate and discuss with
my wife. So, together, we related and we agreed. Then, what do I do? The next day, I will go to the
travel agent and buy two air tickets.
The buying of the air tickets is the first step. Then the next step
would be to book the hotel accommodation, and so we do the next thing in preparation,
take the next step and so on and soon we will be on the flight for the holiday
in Hong Kong. When a father and son are together, if they don’t
talk to each other, there is no relating to each other and therefore there is
no relationship even though they are together. If a husband and wife are together in
one place and they each do their own thing, there is no mutuality of thought,
action and speech, there is no relating and there is no relationship. ONLY when there is a real relationship existed that the
togetherness or oneness will produce something. When there is no relationship, there is nothing
produced.
So, “walk in the Spirit” or “led by the Spirit”
is best understood by picturing I and God who is in me, His Holy Spirit
dwelling inside of me, being together as one, walking and talking,
communicating and relating along this journey. It is this relationship between God and
I in the Spirit that will produce fruits. We so often can be ignorant about this “oneness”
relationship with Christ and His Holy Spirit. But, when I try to do something against
the righteous word of God, there is someone inside of me telling me, rebuking
me or just tickles me and that’s the Holy Spirit who dwells inside of me.
If I live in the Spirit, I therefore walk in the Spirit and I will not ignore
that small still voice of the Holy Spirit within me because He and I are
ONE. If I ignore that small still voice of the Holy Spirit
within me, I will step outside of that relationship with Christ into the
relationship with the world and the prince of darkness. I would be found doing
things not to please the Lord but to please myself, my fleshly desire. According to Paul, we will be heading
the opposite way. Paul is not talking about non-believers. He is talking about us, those who are
Christ’s, urging and encouraging and warning us not to fulfill the lust
of the flesh, but walk in the Spirit. This means that we can step outside of that spiritual
relationship with the Lord in the Spirit and into the relationship with the
World; instead of sowing to the Spirit (which will of the Spirit reap
everlasting life), but sow to his flesh which will, of the flesh, reap
corruption (see Galatians 6:8). How do we know we are sowing to the flesh or the lust
of the flesh? Paul said in verse 19, “the works of the flesh are
evident”. This means that as
much as the fruits are evident, so are these actions or deeds of the flesh are
evident. Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,
idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish
ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries and the
like are actions and deeds of a person, done according to his own desire to
satisfy his own lust of the flesh. Paul warned that if what we are doing is
basically craving and lusting after the flesh, such actions or deeds will be
exposed, will be found out, will be discovered. Remember what the Lord said in Matthew
10:26, “…. For there is
nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.”
(NKJV) On the other hand, appreciating and knowing the “oneness”
with Christ, as we walk in the Spirit, every step of our life journey led by
the Holy Spirit in relationship with Christ in the Spirit, out of that
spiritual relationship will produce fruit, the
fruit of the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”. How is this fruit of the Holy Spirit being
produced? This fruit of the Holy
Spirit is produced out of that special spiritual relationship between God and I in the Spirit. Therefore, the fruit of the Holy Spirit:
“love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness,
self-control” cannot be found outside the context of that spiritual relationship
between God and us. Without that
relationship, there will be no fruit of the Holy Spirit. There will be no relationship with
Christ if we do not know our existence with our God as “one”. Thus Paul said in verse 25, “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” Let every step of our life journey be
taken together in oneness with the Lord in the Spirit. Asking
the Lord for guidance, direction, approval or insight or wisdom before taking
the next step. How do I know if there is this fruit of the Holy
Spirit? No, I won’t know. The
Bible does not allow me to praise myself.
I won’t know patience, kindness or goodness, for example, in any
given situation of my life. Out of all the relationships I have with all the people
that I know in the world, there is one commonality, one common element in those
relationships, that is, “me”,
“I”. If I relate with
people out of my own desire and satisfying the lust of my flesh and doing
things that I wish to do, people will soon discover my ulterior motive and soon
the works of the flesh will be revealed.
The end result would be – destruction of these relationships. But if I choose to walk in the Spirit, if I choose to
stay within that spiritual relationship with the Lord in the Spirit as “one’,
the “me” or “I” will diminish, or vanish from the
equation of all the relationships I have with all the people in this world. Every
act of relating, every deed of communicating and every response in those
relationships will be based on my relationship with the Father God, His Son and
His Holy Spirit, people will perceive the presence of the fruit of the Holy
Spirit. The fruit of the Holy Spirit is perceived by others. Though
it is evident in my life, but it is produced by that relationship with God, in
oneness with Him, walking in the Spirit with Him, being led by His Holy Spirit. Outside of that spiritual relationship
with Him, there is no fruit of the Holy Spirit. Let us therefore walk circumspectly, not as fools but
as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil (Ephesians 5:15-16). Ronny Cham |
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