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Glory · The Holy Spirit
The fruit of the Spirit is the natural character of Christ forming in you as you walk with Him; the works of the flesh are what grows when you walk apart from Him. One is produced by the Spirit, the other by the unredeemed self. They are opposed to each other, and you will see one or the other in your life.
https://glorystudy.com/questions/fruit-vs-works-of-the-flesh · Scripture quoted from the World English Bible
Galatians 5:16-26
As you read: Paul's contrast between living by the Spirit and gratifying the desires of the flesh.
16But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you won’t fulfill the lust of the flesh.
17For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, that you may not do the things that you desire.
18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19Now the works of the flesh are obvious, which are: adultery, sexual immorality, uncleanness, lustfulness,
20idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousies, outbursts of anger, rivalries, divisions, heresies,
21envyings, murders, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these; of which I forewarn you, even as I also forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith,
23gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
24Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts.
25If we live by the Spirit, let’s also walk by the Spirit.
26Let’s not become conceited, provoking one another, and envying one another.
Romans 8:5-14
As you read: The mind set on the flesh versus the mind set on the Spirit.
5For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
6For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace;
7because the mind of the flesh is hostile towards God; for it is not subject to God’s law, neither indeed can it be.
8Those who are in the flesh can’t please God.
9But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if it is so that the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if any man doesn’t have the Spirit of Christ, he is not his.
10If Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
11But if the Spirit of him who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
12So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
13For if you live after the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
14For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are children of God.
Colossians 3:1-17
As you read: The practical outworking: what to rid yourselves of and what to clothe yourselves with.
1If then you were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God.
2Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are on the earth.
3For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
4When Christ, our life, is revealed, then you will also be revealed with him in glory.
5Put to death therefore your members which are on the earth: sexual immorality, uncleanness, depraved passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry;
6for which things’ sake the wrath of God comes on the children of disobedience.
7You also once walked in those, when you lived in them;
8but now you also put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and shameful speaking out of your mouth.
9Don’t lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his doings,
10and have put on the new man, who is being renewed in knowledge after the image of his Creator,
11where there can’t be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bondservant, freeman; but Christ is all, and in all.
12Put on therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, humility, and perseverance;
13bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, if any man has a complaint against any; even as Christ forgave you, so you also do.
14Above all these things, walk in love, which is the bond of perfection.
15And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.
16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart to the Lord.
17Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father, through him.
Paul lists them without flinching: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, and things like these. These are not occasional failures; they are the natural output of a life lived according to the desires of the flesh, apart from the Spirit's work.
“Now the works of the flesh are obvious, which are: adultery, sexual immorality, uncleanness, lustfulness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousies, outbursts of anger, rivalries, divisions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these; of which I forewarn you, even as I also forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God.”Galatians 5:19-21
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control. Notice: not fruits, plural, but fruit, singular. This is one character with many expressions, and it is the Spirit's work, not yours. You cannot manufacture it by willpower; it grows as you walk with Him.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”Galatians 5:22-23
Paul says the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. They are in conflict, so that you cannot do the things you would. The Christian life is not neutral ground; it is a battleground, and which side you feed determines which side grows.
“For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, that you may not do the things that you desire.”Galatians 5:17
“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace; because the mind of the flesh is hostile towards God; for it is not subject to God’s law, neither indeed can it be. Those who are in the flesh can’t please God.”Romans 8:5-8
The command is not 'try harder' but 'walk by the Spirit, and you won't fulfill the lust of the flesh.' Walking implies daily, step-by-step dependence. As you yield to Him, He produces His fruit in you, and the flesh loses its grip.
“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you won’t fulfill the lust of the flesh.”Galatians 5:16
“If we live by the Spirit, let’s also walk by the Spirit.”Galatians 5:25
Jesus said you know a tree by its fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit. The evidence of the Spirit's work is not ecstatic experience but changed character, visible in how you love, serve, and endure.
“By their fruits you will know them. Do you gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree produces good fruit; but the corrupt tree produces evil fruit. A good tree can’t produce evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree produce good fruit. Every tree that doesn’t grow good fruit is cut down, and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”Matthew 7:16-20
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”Galatians 5:22-23