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Context Matters: The Fruit of the Spirit

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Arturrro (2016), public domain

Perhaps you’ve heard about the fruit of the Spirit. You may have learned about them or taught them at Vacation Bible School, and you might even know a catchy song that helps you remember what comes after love, joy, and peace.

Many people know that the famous fruit of the Spirit come from the book of Galatians. But we rarely connect these Christian qualities to the message of Paul’s letter. Why was this list written to these specific Christians?

Context matters. Every word in the Bible was written in a historical moment and for a purpose. When we learn to read the Bible and honor the way it was written in time, we’ll see that some of its most familiar, musical verses have more depth than we have thought.

The Immediate Context

Paul lists the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Gal 5:22-23)

The larger section in most Bibles is Galatians 5:16–26. Paul urges the Galatians to “walk by the Spirit” so that they “will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Gal 5:16). He describes how the desires of the flesh and the desires of the Spirit are opposed to each other. Immediately before the fruit of the Spirit, Paul lists “the works of the flesh,” which are “evident.”

Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Gal 5:19-21)

We clearly must not take these sins lightly!

Then Galatians 5:22 contrasts these obvious works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit. When the Spirit is present—when a person is “led by the Spirit” (Gal 5:18), “live[s] by the Spirit,” and “keep[s] in step with the Spirit” (Gal 5:25)—these fruit sprout forth in a similarly obvious way.

The Larger Context

This list of the fruit of the Spirit comes not only in a specific paragraph, but toward the end of a specific letter. How does this fit in with Paul’s train of thought?

Some of those in Galatia were deserting Christ, turning toward a different gospel (Gal 1:6). Paul insists that his gospel is from Jesus himself (Gal 1:11) and then writes about his own reception of the gospel and how he responded.

In Galatians 2:15–21, Paul writes the content of this gospel, nicely summarized in verse 16: “…a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ.” This faith brought with it the Holy Spirit, and since the Galatians began in faith by the Spirit, they must also continue by the Spirit (Gal 3:2-3). This is the “promised” Spirit that is received through faith (Gal 3:14).

God sent his Son “to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Gal 4:5). And sons receive the “Spirit of his Son” in their hearts, inclining them to call God “Father” (Gal 4:6).

Before they knew God, the Galatians were “enslaved to those that by nature are not gods” (Gal 4:8). Paul tries to show them the foolishness of turning back “to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more” (Gal 4:9).

Christ set us free for freedom (Gal 5:1). “Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another” (Gal 5:13).

By this point we have arrived at the paragraph we examined earlier. But now we can place it in context. Those who have embraced the true gospel have received the promised Spirit by faith. This Spirit leads away from slavery to the works of the flesh and toward freedom—the freedom to serve one another through love.

How do we know we are walking by the Spirit? We show the fruit of the Spirit.

The Spirit Bears Fruit

The fruit of the Spirit are not a magical collection of good behaviors or character traits. Rather, they are what the Holy Spirit brings about in those who believe the true gospel—those who have been justified by faith, those who have the Spirit of adoption as sons, those who “belong to Christ Jesus” and “have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Gal 5:24).

Context matters.

(My co-blogger Peter wrote some similar ideas about the fruit of the Spirit more briefly back in June, but I wanted to give this section of Galatians a longer treatment.)

For more examples of why context matters, click here.

Why We Apply the Bible

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Answering this question—why should we apply the Bible?—is almost like explaining why lovers should kiss or why children should open birthday presents. Good things delight the soul, and true delight can’t be captured in a numbered list. There’s something magical and beautiful here, and I wish I could simply say, “It’s more fun than a prepaid Amazon shopping spree,” and be done with it.

But this important question warrants at least a few concrete answers. Too much rides on it.

1. Apply the Bible because you know God.

Your allegiance to the lover of your soul prevents you from continuing in old habits, values, or patterns of thinking. “Now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more” (Gal 4:9)?

2. Apply the Bible because God knows you.

He knew you before you ever knew him, and he vowed to make you more like Jesus. “Those whom [God] foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son” (Rom 8:29).

3. Apply the Bible because you are free from sin.

Jesus Solana (2012), Creative Commons

Jesus Solana (2012), Creative Commons

You’re not stuck in the old way of doing things. You don’t have to keep hurting yourself and the people you love. You’re free to do what God wants you to do, which is always the best thing you could do. “But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness” (Rom 6:17-18).

4. Apply the Bible because you are a Christian.

A static life is inconsistent with true faith. According to 1 John, you’ll know you have eternal life by three pieces of evidence: confessing Christ, loving others, and keeping God’s commandments. These pieces of evidence don’t mandate sinlessness—John expects us to repent often and be forgiven (1 John 1:8-2:2)—but they mean that our lives should change over time to reflect what God wants for us.

“By this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says ‘I know him’ but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” (1 John 2:3-6)

Many people know these four truths, but still struggle to apply the Bible to their lives. For those who simply don’t know how, there’s a way to get started. For those who can’t find the motivation, something more is needed.

I saw that “something” illustrated a few years ago when I attended a marriage conference taught by Paul Tripp, author of What Did You Expect? Tripp spoke the word of God powerfully, and he paved the road of application with dozens of vivid personal stories. Few stories made him look good; most were about his epic failures as a husband. During a break, I overheard an attendee ask Tripp how he could be so frank and vulnerable in public, and his answer captured the essence of good Bible application: “Jesus died for me, so I have nothing left to prove.” Here was a man living and leading others as though he really believed Romans 8:1: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Here’s the magic. Here’s the beauty. God offers you your freedom. He knows you better than you know yourself, and he’ll make you more useful than you dreamed possible. He wants what’s best for you, and he makes his best available to you. You have nothing left to prove, so you’re free to admit you were wrong and try something else.

Jesus often answered a question with a question, and I want to be like him, so ask me why you should apply the Bible, and I’ll ask you why on earth you would want to stay the same.

Question: What motivates you to apply the Bible to your life?

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How to Tell if Someone Knows God

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At a church dinner on Sunday, I was discussing last Friday’s post with an older, wiser gentleman in my congregation. We reflected on the main measure of success for any Bible study: Do people know God better through his Son Jesus Christ? And this good man asked a great question: How do we know whether someone knows God (or knows him “better”)? How does one observe and evaluate such a thing?

The question was neither aggressive nor condescending. This kind brother intentionally stimulated further meditation and consideration of the Scripture. Thank you, Denny!

Easy but Unacceptable Answers

Of course, some answer the question in clearly unbiblical ways:

  • People can’t know God unless they are members of our church.
  • People can’t know God unless they adhere to every specific of a certain extra-biblical creed, doctrinal statement, or code of conduct.
  • People can’t know God unless they use a certain translation of the Bible.
  • People can’t know God unless they are baptized.

Now I’m no hater of church membership, historic Christian creeds, decent Bible translations, or baptism. But reacting against unbiblical abuses of such things is right and true. (For example, consider Paul’s reactions to abuses of circumcision and law in Galatians 5:2-12, 6:14-16.) And it’s not hard to come up with exceptions that disprove each proposed rule.

However, let’s not over-react with equally unbiblical conclusions, such as “I’m not God, and I can’t see people’s hearts. Therefore, I can’t know whether someone truly knows God or not. I won’t play God by even asking the question.”

Though a question as personal and invasive as this can inspire fear in the stoutest heart, let’s not hesitate to speak clearly where God has spoken clearly. What can be more helpful than to have a clear way to observe and evaluate the presence or absence of true faith and knowledge of God?

So what has God spoken on this topic?

Three Clear Tests

Chiceaux Lynch (2007), Creative Commons

Chiceaux Lynch (2007), Creative Commons

God gave us an entire book of the Bible to answer this very question. Consider this explicit purpose statement for John’s first epistle:

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. (1 John 5:13)

While John intended his Gospel to stimulate faith leading to eternal life (John 20:30-31), he intended his first letter to promote assurance of eternal life for those wondering whether their faith is true faith. As a result, the teaching of 1 John helps us test not only ourselves but also other people, including professing Christians. John doesn’t hesitate to apply his principles to the spirits and teachers within the church to call out the false prophets, devil’s children, and antichrists among the membership (or former membership). The letter’s tagline is “We know.”

John gives three clear and objective tests of genuine faith. He states them early and returns to them repeatedly throughout.

  1. Keeping God’s commandments: the test of personal change.
  2. Loving the brothers: the test of personal affection.
  3. Confessing Christ: the test of personal witness.

The first exposition of the tests occurs in chapter 2: Change (1 John 2:3-6), Affection (1 John 2:7-11), Witness (1 John 2:18-25). But John repeats and develops the three tests repeatedly through the letter, climaxing with his closing statements.

  1. Change: “We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him” (1 John 5:18).
  2. Affection: “We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” (1 John 5:19). See 1 John 4:7 for John’s definition of what it means to be “from God.”
  3. Witness: “And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” (1 John 5:20-21).

Applying the Tests

As you evaluate whether your Bible study (or any other ministry) was a success, you’ll want to observe attendance figures, participation levels, and the faithfulness of the leaders. But please don’t neglect to ask the most important questions.

  • As a result of the study, do people know God better through his Son Jesus Christ?
  • How do we know?
    • Are people changing to become more like Christ?
    • Do they have more affection for each other, and are they acting on it?
    • Are they more empowered to confess Jesus as the Son of God? Do they firmly believe it, and do they boldly declare it?

John doesn’t expect anyone to be perfect (1 John 1:8-10); neither should we. These questions aren’t concerned with people’s position as much as with their direction. We know that those who head in the right direction in all three areas have eternal life.

Same Truth, Different Audience

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Yesterday I worked on a Bible study I’m supposed to lead on Monday. The preparation took longer than I expected, even though I’ve led this Bible study before. In fact, I’ve already led this study 3 times in the last 3 months, and I plan to convert this study into a sermon for my church in a few more weeks. This is my 4th time in the same text with the same main points.

It’s taking a while, though, because my context and audience changes each time. I must reconsider the passage for each one.

My text is 2 Timothy 3:10-17. The text’s main point is that we must learn from Scripture and continue in the things we’ve learned from Scripture (observe the only imperative in the paragraph – 2 Tim 3:14). The sub-points have likewise remained constant; Scripture matters because:

  1. It makes us wise for salvation (2 Tim 3:15).
  2. It makes us competent and equipped for every good work (2 Tim 3:16-17).
  3. It enables us to recognize and resist deception (2 Tim 3:10-13).

What complicates my preparation is that different audiences need different applications of these same truths. For that reason, I want to frame each Bible study differently to get the most mileage with participants.

Vern Hart (2007), Creative Commons

Vern Hart (2007), Creative Commons

Here’s how I’ve pitched it each time. This “pitch” dictates how I advertise, introduce, and conduct the study. It’s given me a different title for each discussion. The pitch also drives which questions I ask and how we arrive at our application.

  • At a homeschooling convention, I pitched the study as “Teach your children how and why to study the Bible.”
  • In an article for broad consumption, I pitched it as “My love-hate relationship with Bible study tools (and why we must learn to study the Bible itself).”
  • For the orientation of our ministry’s summer interns, I pitched it as “Why our organization focuses on studying the Bible.”
  • [On Monday] To help train our ministry’s new staff in fundraising, I’ll pitch it as “How the Scriptures direct our fundraising.”
  • In a few weeks at my church, I’ll pitch it as “What our church believes about the Bible.”

In all 5 cases, I’m using the same text, the same main point, and the same outline of sub-points. But the flavor of the study changes dramatically with the audience.

The 4th practice for preparing effective Bible studies is to decide how to lead your group toward what God has said. This step must come after relying on the Lord, figuring out what God has said, and allowing the message to change you. Practicing those first 3 steps doesn’t yet mean you’re ready to lead your Bible study. You must consider your group and how they’ll best hear the truth.

I didn’t invent this idea of “framing” or “pitching” a text differently to different people. Notice how two apostles can take the same text in very different directions for different audiences.

And [Abram] believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness. (Gen 15:6, ESV)

  • In Romans 4:1-12, Paul expects Roman believers not to boast in religious experiences like circumcision.
  • In Galatians 3:1-14, Paul calls Asian Gentiles to grow in Christ—and not merely come to Christ—through faith.
  • In James 2:20-26, James commands Hellenistic Jews not to grow complacent in proving their faith through good deeds.

The main point of Genesis 15 remains intact—God promises protection and great reward to those who take him at his word; none of these New Testament passages violate the original intent. But they re-frame the point to reach new audiences.

So should we.