This magnificent passage of Scripture needs to be quoted in its entirety, usually when any part of it is quoted. This is true for two large reasons: 1)- it is one fruit tree with many fruits; and, 2)- it is perceived as open to immensity and miracle in that there is no limitation in generating goodness in the Christian, as God perceives goodness, in a Christian’s spiritual context. Rightly taken from God through the Holy Spirit and expressed in living out relational life with others, life context has a specialness that becomes the health of the person ingesting the fruit – the character of Christ. There is working out of what the person ought to be and become. The Fruit of the Holy Spirit is the living out, in the human context, the context of Christ in thought and action. It must be generated from God, simply because in its most effective form it can’t be generated and carried through from human effort alone. It is a gift from God to be gifted to others.
The following three verses of the text (24-26) inform us what is likely to be the case, in some of variant factors, if the Fruit of the Spirit is not made a part of the Christian and spiritual growth related to the self and human relationships. The Fruit of the Spirit makes Christ-likeness genuine – not contrived. There is developed a unity between that which is spiritually genuine within to the person expressing self-formation to the outside world, and to the person gaining (benefitting personally and offering to others) that Fruit.
In following God’s nature for those who acknowledge God, and inviting him to form them, we discover some examples from Scripture (by which we gain instruction on formation). Our focus here is gentleness even though we find the other factors in this or that textual reference. Paul, the Apostle partly responsible for the first Christian martyr’s death, reveals his formation a little over two decades later when he wrote to the Thessalonian Church to be gentle (mild, kind, nursing) (1 Thessalonians 2:7) and to his colleague, Timothy, the same (kindly, your best person) (2 Timothy 2:24). The factor is important to the moderation of pride and arrogance, as noted by the Psalmist. (Psalm 18:24-28) In this David accounts for some of his successes (v. 29). James, Peter and Paul argue for gentleness (moderation, patience, appropriateness, leading to greatness with God). (James 3:17; 1 Peter 2:18; Titus 3:2) Knowing about Peter and Paul before they lived the life of the Fruit of the Spirit, we can imagine the force of the meaning in the words. The implication of all this is that we do not look down on another. We reject the negatives. If there is to be any abasement, it will be of oneself. The Fruit of the Spirit is simply understood, but difficult to absorb in the self – an excellence of character that treats others better than ourselves. It is a selflessness orientation, the base for understanding Christian humility, submission to God and his way which influences our freedom.
I felt a bit of all this meaning, when a dear friend apologized to me for what he thought may have been taken as an offense on my part. I told him that I took it as a joke, which is what he meant it to be. I then replied, somewhat off the cuff, that I would refuse to be offended even if he meant to offend. I hope I live constant by that statement. I pray that I do. It means that I am not fodder for any meanness. To be above it is the point. The motivations of the persons at the cross of Jesus offend me deeply. I want to cry out against them, the treatment, the circumstances, and the murder. Rising to the character of Christ I am to rejoice, and be comforted in the death, because here is the redemption of the world in the character of God. In his character, whatever happens he can turn for good, for blessing. We pray for that. At our best we live in that. Doing so, we win a higher standard. We would be with Christ on the Cross, than in the crowd below.
We have a measure of maturity in the manner in which we receive insult, intended or unintended. Persons may deliberately insult others. Donald Trump, running for office, openly shocked the public with variant insults of persons. His election revealed the public had also reduced personal idealism. We learn humility and meekness when we reject the negative life. Mature persons should not dignify insult comment about themselves, their homes, families, jobs, even educations. Underneath the insult is likely a person wrangling for personal worth, who feels lifted (falsely) by putting down others. *Mark W. Lee, Sr. — 2016, 2020