WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.860 Galatians 5 22 says the fruit of the spirit is 00:00:04.860 --> 00:00:10.199 love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, 00:00:10.519 --> 00:00:15.099 goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, against 00:00:15.099 --> 00:00:19.940 such there is no law. Love is the first fruit 00:00:19.940 --> 00:00:25.760 we find in this list. Love is the sugar that 00:00:25.760 --> 00:00:28.600 can be found in the rest of the fruit of the 00:00:28.600 --> 00:00:32.140 spirit. It is the thing that makes the other 00:00:32.140 --> 00:00:36.100 fruit sweet. The reason we love fruit more than 00:00:36.100 --> 00:00:41.159 vegetables is because they are sweeter. We can 00:00:41.159 --> 00:00:45.140 see this in 1 Corinthians 13, where Paul spends 00:00:45.140 --> 00:00:48.520 quite a bit of time explaining what love is. 00:00:49.460 --> 00:00:53.840 It is not good works. That is very clear. But 00:00:53.840 --> 00:00:59.140 good works are a result of charity. He says, 00:00:59.399 --> 00:01:02.740 though I speak with the tongues of men and of 00:01:02.740 --> 00:01:06.840 angels and have not charity, I am become a sounding 00:01:06.840 --> 00:01:09.980 brass or tinkling cymbal. He says it doesn't 00:01:09.980 --> 00:01:14.599 matter what we say, doesn't matter if we say 00:01:14.599 --> 00:01:17.620 we're filled with the spirit, if there isn't 00:01:17.620 --> 00:01:22.659 love, it is superficial. And he says in verse 00:01:22.659 --> 00:01:25.469 two, and though I have a the gift of prophecy 00:01:25.469 --> 00:01:28.189 and understand all mysteries and all knowledge 00:01:28.189 --> 00:01:31.769 and though I have all faith so that I could remove 00:01:31.769 --> 00:01:35.670 mountains and have not charity I am nothing he 00:01:35.670 --> 00:01:38.829 continues to explain it doesn't matter what giftings 00:01:38.829 --> 00:01:42.609 we may have how spiritual we think we are because 00:01:42.609 --> 00:01:46.409 of our spiritual knowledge if we don't have love 00:01:46.409 --> 00:01:50.530 it amounts to nothing And though I bestow all 00:01:50.530 --> 00:01:53.209 my goods to feed the poor, and though I give 00:01:53.209 --> 00:01:56.590 my body to be burned and have not charity, it 00:01:56.590 --> 00:02:01.810 profiteth me nothing. Works not motivated by 00:02:01.810 --> 00:02:06.370 love gain us no points with the Lord. All our 00:02:06.370 --> 00:02:10.909 actions must be motivated by love for God and 00:02:10.909 --> 00:02:14.469 love for people. Paul continues to describe love, 00:02:14.550 --> 00:02:18.169 what it does, what it is. And in that description, 00:02:18.189 --> 00:02:21.189 we see the fruit of the spirit written about 00:02:21.189 --> 00:02:26.889 in Galatians or to the church in Galatia. Love 00:02:26.889 --> 00:02:33.009 or charity suffers long, long suffering or patience. 00:02:33.509 --> 00:02:36.490 I feel like the King James word for patience, 00:02:36.969 --> 00:02:41.599 long suffering, is a very apt description. of 00:02:41.599 --> 00:02:46.639 patience. Love is kind. It comes from that same 00:02:46.639 --> 00:02:51.800 root as gentleness in Galatians 5, which is useful. 00:02:52.919 --> 00:02:57.000 The word kind and the word gentleness, the root 00:02:57.000 --> 00:03:01.620 of both of them is useful. Kindness is to find 00:03:01.620 --> 00:03:06.360 oneself to be useful, while gentleness is usefulness 00:03:06.360 --> 00:03:10.710 that is moral excellence. The first example that 00:03:10.710 --> 00:03:13.650 jumps to mind is if you are in a store and someone 00:03:13.650 --> 00:03:16.530 drops something that spills everywhere. It is 00:03:16.530 --> 00:03:19.870 useful to help them pick it up. It is kind to 00:03:19.870 --> 00:03:23.990 stop and help them pick it up. Charity or love 00:03:23.990 --> 00:03:28.169 does not envy. We see envy as a work of the flesh 00:03:28.169 --> 00:03:32.270 in Galatians 5. Love does not brag or boast about 00:03:32.270 --> 00:03:36.699 itself, is not puffed up or proud, We see this 00:03:36.699 --> 00:03:39.340 reflected in the fruit of the spirit in meekness 00:03:39.340 --> 00:03:44.039 which implies humbleness. Does not behave itself 00:03:44.039 --> 00:03:48.500 unseemly. That word unseemly could also be said 00:03:48.500 --> 00:03:53.300 disgracefully. Love does not behave itself disgracefully. 00:03:53.939 --> 00:03:56.900 Again we see this reflected in the works of the 00:03:56.900 --> 00:04:02.599 flesh. Things that are disgraceful are not going 00:04:02.599 --> 00:04:06.120 to inherit the kingdom of God. Love seeks not 00:04:06.120 --> 00:04:09.979 her own. Charity is not covetous. It's not self 00:04:09.979 --> 00:04:15.879 -centered or greedy. Love is not easily provoked. 00:04:16.459 --> 00:04:18.720 We see this in the fruit of temperance or self 00:04:18.720 --> 00:04:24.379 -control. Love thinketh no evil. Strife, seditions, 00:04:24.800 --> 00:04:28.800 heresies, envy are all tied to thinking evil 00:04:28.800 --> 00:04:32.899 of others. Again, these are works of the flesh 00:04:32.899 --> 00:04:37.240 listed in Galatians 5. Love does not rejoice 00:04:37.240 --> 00:04:41.740 in iniquity. That is sin or impurity. It isn't 00:04:41.740 --> 00:04:46.100 entertained by it. It doesn't enjoy it. It does 00:04:46.100 --> 00:04:53.300 not bring joy to love. Love does rejoice in the 00:04:53.300 --> 00:04:56.959 truth. Love and truth go hand -in -hand because 00:04:56.959 --> 00:05:03.160 God is love and God is truth. Jesus said, I am 00:05:03.160 --> 00:05:08.639 the way, the truth, and the life. Love bears 00:05:08.639 --> 00:05:12.699 all things. I think of patience, self -control, 00:05:12.980 --> 00:05:15.819 meekness, gentleness, peace, all -mentionness, 00:05:15.959 --> 00:05:19.899 fruit of the spirit. All of these require bearing 00:05:19.899 --> 00:05:25.439 things that are not always easy to endure. Love 00:05:25.439 --> 00:05:31.819 hopes all things. It always has mercy. It always 00:05:31.819 --> 00:05:38.980 has hope for every situation. Love endures all 00:05:38.980 --> 00:05:43.279 things. How is this even possible? Do you ever 00:05:43.279 --> 00:05:46.879 feel like you can endure no longer? Then love 00:05:46.879 --> 00:05:50.459 says, hang on just a little bit longer. You can 00:05:50.459 --> 00:05:58.199 do it. Charity or love never fails. Love is the 00:05:58.199 --> 00:06:01.519 sweetness that is in all the other fruit. It 00:06:01.519 --> 00:06:04.720 is the foundation that makes all the others worthwhile. 00:06:05.459 --> 00:06:08.560 It's the oil in the engine, the things that makes 00:06:08.560 --> 00:06:12.500 it all run smoothly and effectively without grinding 00:06:12.500 --> 00:06:16.279 and jolting. Fruit is something to which people 00:06:16.279 --> 00:06:20.660 are naturally drawn. Fruit shows the health of 00:06:20.660 --> 00:06:24.800 the tree. A healthy tree produces firm, unblemished, 00:06:25.319 --> 00:06:28.899 brightly colored fruit. An unhealthy tree brings 00:06:28.899 --> 00:06:31.800 about small, hard, and even shriveled fruit. 00:06:32.480 --> 00:06:35.480 The difference may not be noticeable from a distance, 00:06:35.959 --> 00:06:38.939 but when you get closer, it becomes obvious. 00:06:39.720 --> 00:06:43.699 Next time, we will continue to study more of 00:06:43.699 --> 00:06:45.319 the fruit of the spirit.