Fruit of The Spirit Bible Scripture Study:
Lesson 1 of 2:  
Have You Been Marked?

 

Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal.  The promised Holy Spirit ~Ephesians 1:13 (NIV) 

Exploring the Fruit of the Spirit in the Bible:

...Every healthy (sound) tree
bears good fruit [worthy of admiration],
but the sickly (decaying, worthless) tree
bears bad (worthless) fruit.  
A good (healthy) tree cannot bear bad (worthless) fruit,
nor can a bad (diseased) tree
bear excellent fruit [worthy of admiration]...  
Therefore,
you will fully know them by their fruits.
- Matthew 7:17-20 (AMP)

Jesus told His disciples that you can tell if someone truly belongs to Him by the kind of spiritual fruit that they produce.  What does that mean?

When you surrender your life to Jesus, your salvation is not free.  It's  bought with a very high price.  The crucifixion and death of Christ.

You may sometimes ask yourself why God thinks you're worth of that sacrifice? Despite all of your attempts at perfection, you constantly miss the mark. Surely trading Jesus' excellence for your mediocrity could not have been the best choice.

But Your Heavenly Father has a very special kind of love towards you.  He longs for you to be able to bask in His presence.

And, once He finally gets you - You're Marked.  

Now, the changes don't happen over night. They're gradual.  

You may not notice them over days and weeks.  Or even after several months.  But, you are God's work in progress.  And,  eventually, the signs that you are His become more and more evident.

Everything that you do.  Every thing that you say.  You begin to look more like Jesus.

Christian Peace

There are two kinds of peace that we have as Christians.  We have peace with God, and we have the peace of God.  Let me explain the difference.

You will learn in a future lesson about the Holy Spirit in the Old testament that, before Jesus, we were not allowed to be in the presence of God. But, through Jesus' sacrifice, our peace with God was purchased.

THEREFORE, SINCE we are justified (acquitted, declared righteous, and given a right standing with God) through faith, let us [grasp the fact that we] have [the peace of reconciliation to hold and to [enjoy] peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One)-Romans 5:1 (AMP)

In addition to Jesus' death buying you peace with God, it also serves as a cleansing sacrifice to allow you into the presence of the Lord.  

With the Holy Spirit now living inside of you, you are able to experience the peace of God.  This is the kind of peace that the Fruit of the Holy Spirit manifests.  

We are told in Philippians how to receive this peace for ourselves.

Don’t worry about anything;
instead, pray about everything.
Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done.
Then you will experience God’s peace,
which exceeds anything we can understand.
His peace will guard your hearts and minds
as you live in Christ Jesus.  
-Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT)

 
We are promised a peace that exceeds our understanding.  That means, it is a peace that does not make sense to us mentally.  In times when we should be pulling out our hair and biting our nails, we feel an overwhelming peace in our spirits.  

Fruits of the Holy Spirit Bible Scripture Study Lesson 1 of 2 Reflection Questions:   Why do you think that it is significant that Jesus uses the action verb Agapao to describe the kind of love that the Holy Spirit wants to develop inside of you? Why do you think God tells you that His joy is what acts as your strength during trying times? Can you think of a time when His joy kept you strong? Why do you think so many Christians today struggle with receiving and maintaining God's peace?  Do you feel that you have a problem maintaining your peace?

Have You Been Marked by the Spirit of God?
Here are the 9 Signs to Check For:

1.          Love

2.          Joy

3.          Peace

4.          Patient Endurance 

5.          Kindness

6.          Goodness

7.          Faith and Faithfulness 

8.          Gentleness 

9.          Self-Discipline 

(Galatians 5:22-23)

These signs are called the 9 Fruits of the Spirit. They are evidence to the world that you have been paid for by the blood of Jesus, and you have the Mark to prove it!

You live for Him, and His Spirit lives inside of you.

 

A Closer Look At Each of the Fruits of the Holy Spirit

But the Holy Spirit
produces this kind of fruit in our lives:
Love,
Joy,
Peace,
 Patience,
Kindness,
Goodness,
Faithfulness,
Gentleness, and
Self-control.
 There is no law against these things!
 - Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT)

Christian Love 

By this shall all men know
that ye are my disciples,
if ye have love one to another.
-John 13:35

The Greek word used in Galatians 5, and again here in John 13, is Agape. 

This is the kind of love that God loves us with - It is self-sacrificing. It is unconditional. And, let's face it, it is impossible for any human to achieve on their own.  It can only be developed as a Fruit of the Holy Spirit. But, Jesus says that developing this kind of love in your heart is the only way the world will be able to identify you as His.  In Matthew, Jesus explains that Agapao (the verb form of Agape)  is the actual basis of Christianity.  

 

Jesus tells us that everything God calls us to boils down to this:

You must love the Lord your God 
with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.
This is the first and greatest commandment. 
A second is equally important:
Love your neighbor as yourself.  
The entire law and all the demands of the prophets 
are based on these two commandments.
-Matthew 22: 36-40 (NLT)

 

There is no wonder why Paul lists love first in his description of the Fruits of the Holy Spirit.