Fruit of the Spirit - Love (pt 2)

Fruit of the Spirit – LOVE

Before looking at each of the qualities of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5 let me expand the challenge I hinted at in part 1 of this series.

Answer this honestly, for yourself, it’s not necessary to shout it out for all the world to hear on social media, but answer honestly.

I hope you took a little time to consider and jot down the answer, we can look at this again at the end of the series.

So, now on to the first of the listed qualities. LOVE.

I looked up the definition in the dictionary and here are 2 dictionary definitions of the word Love:

an intense emotion of affection, warmth, fondness, and regard towards a person or thing  Collins dictionary

strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties   Merriam Webster dictionary

Love is one of those things that everyone knows something about and we all have people whom we would undoubtedly say we loved such as mothers, fathers, sisters, husbands and so on. And sometimes we often say we have love for things like I love spaghetti Carbonara and oooh I do so love chocolate!

So while we may know something of love from a natural perspective I believe this is not what Paul is referring to as a quality of the Fruit of the Spirit. Let’s see what the Bible says about love:

Romans 5:8 ESV

But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

John 13:34-35 ESV

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

1 Corinthians 13:7 ESV

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

John 15:13 ESV

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

John 3:16 ESV

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

1 John 4:18 ESV

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

1 John 4:10 ESV

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

1 Corinthians 13:4

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant

The love Paul refers to in Galatians is Agape love, the same love that caused Jesus to die on a cross for us. It is a selfless love; it is an intimate love.   Those are just a few scriptures but there are so many more….take a look in this great book, the Word of God,  for some. Colossians 3:12-14 and I Corinthians 13 is a great place for a wonderful and challenging description of love.

Even in the Old Testament we read in Song of Solomon that “His Banner over us is love”.  Like the bridegroom in the Song of Solomon, our Bridegroom, Jesus, has set His love over us as His declaration of victory. It is our identity. It is the identifying quality of a Spirit filled christian.

Interesting isn’t  it that this is the first quality of the fruit of the Spirit that Paul mentions, I don’t think it’s been listed first by accident or random choice. There is nothing about the Bible or in the bible by accident, the Word of God is living and breathed and inspired by the Holy Spirit.

Love, then, is the foundation without it there is no joy no peace no longsuffering no kindness no goodness no faithfulness no gentleness no self-control.  

So important is this characteristic that Jesus spent a large part of His last words to His disciples on the subject. In John 13–16, we see Jesus first demonstrates love and then preaches on it: love and obedience, love and the Spirit, love and prayer, love and His friendship, love and joy.

Does your life bear the banner of love? Are you aware of God’s great love for you? Do you have great love for Him and for others? Are you thoroughly saturated in love? “God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him” (1 John 4:16). There is no way around it.

The Christian life is a loving life. Love is the fruit of the Spirit which is produced in the life of every Christian.  Let me just note that fruit is not fully developed overnight. It takes time.