Fruit of the Holy Spirit is the descriptive name given by the Apostle Paul to a list of Christ-like attributes of a true Christian life. In the Gospel that precedes this epistle, Jesus had said, "These things I command you, that you love one another."[Jn. 15:17] referred to as the New Commandment. Paul illustrates with these attributes the kind of love that marks a true Christian life:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
The Douay-Rheims translation lists these as follows:
But the fruit of the Spirit is charity, joy, peace, patience, benignity, goodness, longanimity, [23] Mildness, faith, modesty, continency, chastity. Against such things there is no law.
Immediately before he illustrates Christ-like "love-one-another" love, author Paul issues a stern warning in presenting partial list of what he termed "acts of the flesh" which he labels as "obvious":
sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.
In one of the most austere statements attributed to Paul in the New Testament, he concludes the negative list with these unequivocal words: "I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God." There is no mention of these behaviors and attitudes being unpardonable sins. Perhaps the key words are "those who live like this" which imply a lifestyle.
The virtues are given in a pleonastic style which rhetorician George Kennedy describes as "The cumulation of a series of words which seem to come pouring out of his heart" (p. 90). This is a common stylistic feature of the Apostle Paul's writing. See Romans 1:29-31; 13:13; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; 2 Corinthians 12:20; Galatians 5:19-23; Philippians 4:8.
Agape denotes an undefeatable benevolence and unconquerable goodwill that always seeks the highest of the other, no matter what he does. It is the self-giving love that gives freely without asking anything in return, and does not consider the worth of its object. Agape is more a love by choice than philos, which is love by chance; and it refers to the will rather than the emotion. Agape describes the unconditional love God has for the world. The "Agape" love is more than that, is sacrificial, demonstrated by Jesus tful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily. It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God's love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong]. It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail. Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything without weakening. [Love never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]. Love never fails." (AMP)
Peace is the result of resting in a relationship with God.[1] Peace is a tranquility, a state of rest, that comes from seeking after God, or, the opposite of chaos.
The word "peace" comes from the Greek word eirene, the Greek equivalent for the Hebrew word shalom, which expresses the idea of wholeness, completeness, or tranquility in the soul that is unaffected by the outward circumstances or pressures. The word eirene strongly suggests the rule of order in place of chaos. When a person is dominated by peace, he has a calm, inner stability that results in the ability to conduct himself peacefully, even in the midst of circumstances that would normally be very nerve-wracking, traumatic, or upsetting...Rather than allowing the difficulties and pressures of life to break him, a person who is possessed by peace is whole, complete, orderly, stable, and poised for blessing.[2]
Jesus is described as the Prince of Peace, who brings peace to the hearts of those who desire it. He says in John 14:27: "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." NKJV
"Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the presence of God no matter what the conflict." -Anonymous
"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."[Rom 5:1] "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."[Rom 15:13]
Patience, which in some translations is "longsuffering" or "endurance," is defined in Strong's by two Greek words, makrothumia and hupomone.
The first, pronounced (mak-roth-oo-mee-ah) comes from makros, "long," and thumos, "temper." The word denotes lenience, forbearance, fortitude, patient endurance, longsuffering. Also included in makrothumia is the ability to endure persecution and ill-treatment. It describes a person who has the power to exercise revenge but instead exercises restraint. (Strong's #3115)
The latter, hupomone, (hoop-om-on-ay) is translated "endurance": Constancy, perseverance, continuance, bearing up, steadfastness, holding out, patient endurance. The word combines hupo, "under," and mone, "to remain." It describes the capacity to continue to bear up under difficult circumstances, not with a passive complacency, but with a hopeful fortitude that actively resists weariness and defeat. (Strong's #5281)
Hebrews 10:36 says, "For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise." We are "strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness".[Col 1:11] "With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love".[Eph 4:2]
Kindness does not necessarily mean being nice. One can be kind and not nice. Nice is defined by dictionary.com as being agreeable. In contrast, kindness is acting for the good of people regardless of what they do.
Strong's #5544: Kindness is goodness in action, sweetness of disposition, gentleness in dealing with others, benevolence, kindness, affability. The word describes the ability to act for the welfare of those taxing your patience. The Holy Spirit removes abrasive qualities from the character of one under His control. (emphasis added)
The word kindness comes from the Greek word chrestotes (khray-stot-ace), which meant to show kindness or to be friendly to others and often depicted rulers, governors, or people who were kind, mild, and benevolent to their subjects. Anyone who demonstrated this quality of chrestotes was considered to be compassionate, considerate, sympathetic, humane, kind, or gentle. The apostle Paul uses this word to depict God's incomprehensible kindness for people who are unsaved (see Romans 11:22; Ephesians 2:7; Titus 3:4).
One scholar has noted that when the word chrestotes is applied to interpersonal relationships, it conveys the idea of being adaptable to others. Rather than harshly require everyone else to adapt to his own needs and desires, when chrestotes is working in a believer, he seeks to become adaptable to the needs of those who are around him. (Sparkling Gems from the Greek, Rick Renner)
Kindness is doing something and not expecting anything in return. Kindness is respect and helping others without waiting for someone to help one back. It implies kindness no matter what. We should live "in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left".[2 Cor 6:6-7]
Popular English Bibles (e.g. NIV, NASB, NLT) translate the single Greek word chrestotes into two English words: kindness and goodness. "Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power".[2 Thes 1:11] "For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth".[Eph 5:9]
Faithfulness is committing oneself to something or someone, for instance, to God, to one's spouse. Being faithful requires personal resolve not to wander away from commitments or promises. It's not always easy to be faithful. It takes trust in God. "O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth".[Isaiah 25:1] "I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith".[Eph 3:16-17]
Gentleness, in the Greek, praotes,
The word rendered "self-control" is "enkrateia" in the Greek. Strong's #1466. Self-control
The Greek word used in Galatians 5:23 is "egkrateia", which means having command or "mastery over" (krat- as in "autocrat"), or possession of, "one's own behavior."
"...make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love."[2 Pet 1:5-7]
George A. Kennedy, New Testament Interpretation Through Rhetorical Criticism, (University of North Carolina Press: 1984)
Longman, Robert Jr. "Self-Control." Web: 19 Oct 2010. Spirit Home