The fruit of the Spirit

One fruit

Paul sets the works of the flesh beside the fruit of the Spirit and writes:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Galatians 5:22-23

The word karpos (καρπός) is singular here. Unlike the list just before it, "the acts of the flesh" in the plural (Galatians 5:19), the fruit of the Spirit is, as many interpreters note, one fruit with nine aspects. Love stands first, and Wesley calls it "The root of all the rest" Wesley.

Fruit is not manufactured; it grows from life. "I am the vine and you are the branches," Jesus said. "The one who remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). The fruit is the work of the indwelling Spirit before it is the result of our effort. Yet we are not idle. "Walk by the Spirit," Paul commands, "and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16); "Since we live by the Spirit, let us walk in step with the Spirit" (Galatians 5:25). That life of growth is sanctification.

Gifts and fruit

The gifts of the Spirit are abilities given differently to each believer for serving the church; the fruit is the character that should grow in every believer. Scripture says that even great gifts are nothing without love, and that people are known by their fruit: "By their fruit you will recognize them" (Matthew 7:16). Jonathan Edwards taught that true religion lies much in holy affections, and that their genuineness shows above all in the fruit of a changed life Edwards, Religious Affections. Fruit does not ripen overnight. So Christians need not despair at their own slow growth, nor hurry to measure the fruit of others.

Where the traditions differ

The Catholic Church, following the Latin Vulgate's text of these verses, counts twelve fruits, adding generosity, modesty and chastity to the nine Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1832; the Orthodox and Protestant churches follow the nine of the Greek text. Evangelicals also differ in emphasis over how far the fruit can ripen in this life. The Wesleyan tradition teaches that God can fill the heart with perfect love even now (Christian perfection), while Reformed and Lutheran churches teach that sanctification grows throughout life but is not completed on earth. All confess that the Spirit is the source of the fruit and that its likeness is Christ's. See the lesson Holiness and perseverance.