Fruit of the Spirit with Amy Gannett
On today’s episode of the Journeywomen podcast, we’re kicking off a brand new series on the fruit of the Spirit! I know ya’ll, I know, it sounds a little Sunday school, but the truth is, if you’re like me, you’ve probably been subject to some misinterpretation and misapplication of this famous passage in Galatians. We tend to think of the fruit of the Spirit as a list of good Christian virtues to adopt as moral Christian living *instead of* seeing it as our invitation to be indwelt by the Spirit of Christ! And to be made more like him as a result. So, in this series, we hope to grow in our understanding of how the Spirit helps us mirror the character of God. We plan to cover each one of the fruits in a way that helps us see that God's commands aren't about behavior modification, but that they're really an invitation to mirror the character of God by the help of the Spirit.
For those who missed your first Journeywomen episode and because things have changed a bit since we recorded last year, can you share with the listeners a little about who you are and what you do?
Today we're launching into our series on the fruit of the Spirit. What is the context of this famous passage in Galatians?
What is the importance of this passage? How would you encourage us to read the passage on the fruit of the Spirit?
How have you seen the passage wrongly understood, applied, and/or taught?
What is the fruit of the Spirit really about?
How does the Spirit help us mirror the character of God?
What's the difference between keeping in step with the Spirit versus trying to produce good fruit in and of our own strength?
Our last series was on living in light of redemption. We spent the entire series focusing on how the gospel is redeeming us, currently, and what it looks like to wrestle and struggle with the reality of the fall in light of the cross. How does living in light of redemption enable us to live by the Spirit?
What are some helpful ways we can talk about the fruit of the Spirit with those who we are discipling or spiritually nurturing? What are some things we want to beware of or potential pitfalls?
What encouragement do you have for us as we spend the next 9 weeks examining each one of the fruits?
THREE QUESTIONS I ASK EVERY SECOND-TIME GUEST
What 3 resources would you recommend for someone who wants to learn more about the fruit of the Spirit?
What piece of advice would you give your 25-year-old self?
What is something you're looking forward to in your journey with Jesus?
NOTEWORTHY QUOTES
“It’s not according to the things we do in the flesh but according to the Spirit of God.”
“The passage on the fruit of the Spirit in its context is a passage that is a summary of gospel living and gospel power. Paul wants to remind these believers that they do not have to do works according to the flesh anymore. It’s no longer about the things that they do in their own efforts to produce righteousness that makes them right before God. It is the Spirit of God that is going to do that work in their life because they’ve been justified by the righteousness of Christ.”
“We want to read these verses as an invitation to lean into what it means to live our lives as gospel Christians. To be reminded that because of Christ’s sanctifying work on the cross, because of the power of his resurrection, the door has been opened to us to accept a life of righteousness in Christ through faith.”
“As we accept Christ’s invitation of grace, by placing our faith exclusively in Christ, we receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and it’s the Holy Spirit in us that is going to bear the fruit of righteousness. The fruit of that righteousness is the fruit of the Spirit living in us.”
“As we live life in the Spirit, he’s going to make us like himself.”
“Because the Spirit abides in us, the Spirit is going to bear (singular) fruit in our lives, the fruit of righteousness. We miss something, and we miss out on something, when we think about it as multiple fruits.”
“If we summarize all of these attributes in one word, it’s Christ-likeness.”
“The goal of the Spirit in our lives is to seal us until the day of redemption and to bear the fruit of the Spirit of Christ-likeness.”
“You have freedom in Christ, this is what it looks like - it’s freedom to serve through love.”
“As we look at each attribute, what we are doing is we are fixing our eyes on the God who is the source of those attributes. As we fix our eyes on God, we are going to desire him more deeply as we know him more fully. As we desire him more deeply, we are drawn into a posture of saying, ‘Lord make me like you.’”
“We want to focus on the God who is love, the God who is joy. As we fix our eyes on him we will be captivated by his character. The more we know of God, the more we should respond in worship. Our theology (knowledge of God) should always lead to our worship of God.”
“As the Spirit unites us to Christ, he is making us like Christ.”
“It’s easy for us to look at these attributes as something that we just need to respond to in obedience. Don’t get me wrong, we do need to respond in obedience to God’s call to emulate these traits, but it’s really an invitation to look more and more like our loving father.”
“We have to relearn what it means to live in a new family. We are learning how to live as members of God’s household.”
“The way we keep in step with the Spirit is by putting reminders in front of ourselves that the Spirit dwells in us and is our helper to make us more like Christ. We remind ourselves that we cannot do it in our own strength. So when we feel that nagging sense of guilt that we have not done well, when we’ve had an outburst of anger, when we have that feeling of guilt that we are not good enough, we want to embrace that feeling as a reminder that we need the Lord. No we are not good in the flesh and we can invite the Spirit in and say, ‘forgive me and help me.’”
“God shows up in our lives to make us more like him.”
“One of the good truths of the gospel is that sin does die. In the presence of Christ and by the power of the Spirit, sin does die. When we take inventory of our lives and say ‘how has God changed me,’ we will see sin dying and Christ increasing. That is something that only God could do!”
“Christ-likeness is our main missional occupation - our main way of testifying to God’s grace in our lives. God’s not just making us more like himself for the sake of ourselves, he is doing so for his glory and so that the world might know.”
RESOURCES
Biblehub.com for word study (INT)
Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians by Martin Luther
Galatians for You by Tim Keller
Living Beyond Yourself by Beth Moore
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
What does it mean to walk in the Spirit?
How has your view of the passage on the fruit of the Spirit grown or changed?
What's the difference between keeping in step with the Spirit versus trying to produce good fruit in and of our own strength?
How can you praise God for how he has grown you in the last year?
What will abiding in Christ look like for you this week?
SCRIPTURE MEMORY
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” Galatians 5:22-24
IMPORTANT NOTE
Journeywomen interviews are intended to serve as a springboard for continued study in the context of your local church. While we carefully select guests each week, interviews do not imply Journeywomen's endorsement of all writings and positions of the interviewee or any other resources mentioned.
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