For it is His Touch that Imparts: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness,
Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control!
Galatians 5:22-23 TPT22–23 But the fruit produced by the Holy Spirit within you is divine love in all its varied expressions: joy that overflows, peace that subdues, patience, that endures, kindness in action, a life full of goodness, faith that prevails, gentleness of heart, and self control strengthened of spirit.
Never set the law above these qualities, for they are meant to be limitless.
Love (Agape Love)
The Bible is a written work that comes to the conclusion that the singular "Fruit" of Holy Spirit is Love, with all the other virtues
of Holy Spirit displaying characteristics of the greatest quality of Spirit-life, Agape love. This Love (agape) is of the greatest intensity and is of the most lasting of all Christian virtues. It's moral excellence definitely motivates our lives in moving with a divine selfless love. A selfless love that awakens our heart, to the true character of God. It's the most sterling Love of all, for it is a love that comes primarily an act of ones will, and not of ones emotions.
John 15:13 TPT
13 For the greatest love of all is a love that sacrifices all. And this great love is demonstrated when a person sacrifices his life for his friends.
In John 13:34-35 I truly believe that the Apostle John speaks of the Agape Love that Jesus had for others as a badge of discipleship that we must also wear and walk with.
John 13:34-35
34 “So I give you now a new commandment: Love each other just as much as I have loved you. 35 For when you demonstrate the same love I have for you by loving one another, everyone will know that you’re my true followers.”
It portrays in us an unselfish, benevolent concern for other persons. It propels us into loving God and others with a godly consideration that is expressed with such significant importance in Matthew 22:37-40.
Matthew 22:37-40 TPT
37 Jesus answered him, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with every passion of your heart, with all the energy of your being, and with every thought that is within you.’ 38 This is the great and supreme commandment. 39 And the second is like it in importance: ‘You must love your friend in the same way you love yourself.’ 40 Contained within these commandments to love you will find all the meaning of the Law and the Prophets.”
The Apostle Paul I believe came into agreement to the importance of Gods Agape Love with his declaration of Love in 1 Corinthians 13.
1 Corinthians 13 : 1-13 TPT
1 If I were to speak with eloquence in earth’s many languages, and in the heavenly tongues of angels, yet I didn’t express myself with love, my words would be reduced to the hollow sound of nothing more than a clanging cymbal.
2 And if I were to have the gift of prophecy with a profound understanding of God’s hidden secrets, and if I possessed unending supernatural knowledge, and if I had the greatest gift of faith that could move mountains, but have never learned to love, then I am nothing.
3 And if I were to be so generous as to give away everything I owned to feed the poor, and to offer my body to be burned as a martyr, without the pure motive of love, I would gain nothing of value.
4 Love is large and incredibly patient. Love is gentle and consistently kind to all. It refuses to be jealous when blessing comes to someone else. Love does not brag about one’s achievements nor inflate its own importance.
5 Love does not traffic in shame and disrespect, nor selfishly seek its own honor. Love is not easily irritated or quick to take offense.
6 Love joyfully celebrates honesty and finds no delight in what is wrong.
7 Love is a safe place of shelter, for it never stops believing the best for others. Love never takes failure as defeat, for it never gives up.
8 Love never stops loving. It extends beyond the gift of prophecy, which eventually fades away. It is more enduring than tongues, which will one day fall silent. Love remains long after words of knowledge are forgotten.
9 Our present knowledge and our prophecies are but partial,
10 but when love’s perfection arrives, the partial will fade away.
11 When I was a child, I spoke about childish matters, for I saw things like a child and reasoned like a child. But the day came when I matured, and I set aside my childish ways.
12 For now we see but a faint reflection of riddles and mysteries as though reflected in a mirror, but one day we will see face-to-face. My understanding is incomplete now, but one day I will understand everything, just as everything about me has been fully understood.
13 Until then, there are three things that remain: faith, hope, and love—yet love surpasses them all. So above all else, let love be the beautiful prize for which you run.
That about sums it up in a nutshell, if you have anything you'd like to add to this conversation. Please feel free to click on contact us and let me know what's on your mind. I'd enjoy conversing with you. With that being said, let us continue to the varied expressions that are components of God's divine love.
of Holy Spirit displaying characteristics of the greatest quality of Spirit-life, Agape love. This Love (agape) is of the greatest intensity and is of the most lasting of all Christian virtues. It's moral excellence definitely motivates our lives in moving with a divine selfless love. A selfless love that awakens our heart, to the true character of God. It's the most sterling Love of all, for it is a love that comes primarily an act of ones will, and not of ones emotions.
John 15:13 TPT
13 For the greatest love of all is a love that sacrifices all. And this great love is demonstrated when a person sacrifices his life for his friends.
In John 13:34-35 I truly believe that the Apostle John speaks of the Agape Love that Jesus had for others as a badge of discipleship that we must also wear and walk with.
John 13:34-35
34 “So I give you now a new commandment: Love each other just as much as I have loved you. 35 For when you demonstrate the same love I have for you by loving one another, everyone will know that you’re my true followers.”
It portrays in us an unselfish, benevolent concern for other persons. It propels us into loving God and others with a godly consideration that is expressed with such significant importance in Matthew 22:37-40.
Matthew 22:37-40 TPT
37 Jesus answered him, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with every passion of your heart, with all the energy of your being, and with every thought that is within you.’ 38 This is the great and supreme commandment. 39 And the second is like it in importance: ‘You must love your friend in the same way you love yourself.’ 40 Contained within these commandments to love you will find all the meaning of the Law and the Prophets.”
The Apostle Paul I believe came into agreement to the importance of Gods Agape Love with his declaration of Love in 1 Corinthians 13.
1 Corinthians 13 : 1-13 TPT
1 If I were to speak with eloquence in earth’s many languages, and in the heavenly tongues of angels, yet I didn’t express myself with love, my words would be reduced to the hollow sound of nothing more than a clanging cymbal.
2 And if I were to have the gift of prophecy with a profound understanding of God’s hidden secrets, and if I possessed unending supernatural knowledge, and if I had the greatest gift of faith that could move mountains, but have never learned to love, then I am nothing.
3 And if I were to be so generous as to give away everything I owned to feed the poor, and to offer my body to be burned as a martyr, without the pure motive of love, I would gain nothing of value.
4 Love is large and incredibly patient. Love is gentle and consistently kind to all. It refuses to be jealous when blessing comes to someone else. Love does not brag about one’s achievements nor inflate its own importance.
5 Love does not traffic in shame and disrespect, nor selfishly seek its own honor. Love is not easily irritated or quick to take offense.
6 Love joyfully celebrates honesty and finds no delight in what is wrong.
7 Love is a safe place of shelter, for it never stops believing the best for others. Love never takes failure as defeat, for it never gives up.
8 Love never stops loving. It extends beyond the gift of prophecy, which eventually fades away. It is more enduring than tongues, which will one day fall silent. Love remains long after words of knowledge are forgotten.
9 Our present knowledge and our prophecies are but partial,
10 but when love’s perfection arrives, the partial will fade away.
11 When I was a child, I spoke about childish matters, for I saw things like a child and reasoned like a child. But the day came when I matured, and I set aside my childish ways.
12 For now we see but a faint reflection of riddles and mysteries as though reflected in a mirror, but one day we will see face-to-face. My understanding is incomplete now, but one day I will understand everything, just as everything about me has been fully understood.
13 Until then, there are three things that remain: faith, hope, and love—yet love surpasses them all. So above all else, let love be the beautiful prize for which you run.
That about sums it up in a nutshell, if you have anything you'd like to add to this conversation. Please feel free to click on contact us and let me know what's on your mind. I'd enjoy conversing with you. With that being said, let us continue to the varied expressions that are components of God's divine love.
Joy
The first time that I took notice of the word Joy was in my study of the Holy Scriptures and it came in the form of Nehemiah 8:10.
Nehemiah 8:10 AMPC
10 Then [Ezra] told them, Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet drink, and send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. And be not grieved and depressed, for the joy of the Lord is your strength and stronghold.
The joy referred to here is deeper than mere happiness; it is rooted in God and comes from Him. And since it comes from God, it is more serene and stable than worldly happiness, which is merely emotional and temporary.
Christianity speaks of its weighty importance and illuminates the old doctrine of Nehemiah and the priests, by proclaiming that Divine joy is power.
Lets look into it's essence. There is quite a difference between worldly joy and Spiritual Joy. The Spiritual Joy that comes from the Lord, is imparted into ones spirit from Gods Spirit, it does not come from an entity driven by a superficial temporal world. For the eternal power of God's Joy surges like a reservoir into ones inner being and is not contained by time. For it grows where earthly bliss would perish and is a Joy that springs from having an inner communion with the Spirit of God. This Joy manifests in those who totally surrender themselves to God. This is a category of true joy that can only be accomplished when one wholeheartedly submits to its truth. Only then with this surrender being consummated, will the consciousness of a guilty past be lifted from ones heart.
Then we will see the Joy in ones fellowship with the Father. Then will experience a Joy that springs up from us securing a compassionate understanding of a spirit or a truth higher than ourselves. We will see the power of our Fathers creation, a realm that brings so much Joy into our lives, as we come to realize the presence of the beauty which is God's Spirit surrounding us, and inspiring us with an emotion which no words can describe? We will be exposed to God's truth as it breaks in upon us through a nebula of doubt, where God will ultimately give us a clear vision of its beauty. It may take a long and fruitless search, nevertheless when the clarity comes, we feel a thrill of deep and unspeakable Joy. For on that day, the touch of our Fathers Joy will made us feel nobler, stronger, and wiser. And if this be true of earthly communion, must it not be supremely so when we realize the fellowship of God as our Father? It is this which makes "our joy full."
II. THE POWER OF THIS JOY OF THE LORD. We may trace it in three ways.
1. It is power to resist temptation. It forms in itself the fulness of emotion, and surrounds us with a heavenly atmosphere in which the assaults of the adversary fall powerless away.
2. It is strength for Christian action.
3. It is strength for patient endurance. We would be ineffectual to endure the discipline of life unless we have joy.
Let us seek a joy that shall pierce deeply into the region of self and rise from the consciousness of self-surrender and forgiveness. Just as at the Cross of Christ the burden of the past fell, for at the Cross He yielded Himself the Joy of being obediant.
Nehemiah 8:10 AMPC
10 Then [Ezra] told them, Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet drink, and send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. And be not grieved and depressed, for the joy of the Lord is your strength and stronghold.
The joy referred to here is deeper than mere happiness; it is rooted in God and comes from Him. And since it comes from God, it is more serene and stable than worldly happiness, which is merely emotional and temporary.
Christianity speaks of its weighty importance and illuminates the old doctrine of Nehemiah and the priests, by proclaiming that Divine joy is power.
Lets look into it's essence. There is quite a difference between worldly joy and Spiritual Joy. The Spiritual Joy that comes from the Lord, is imparted into ones spirit from Gods Spirit, it does not come from an entity driven by a superficial temporal world. For the eternal power of God's Joy surges like a reservoir into ones inner being and is not contained by time. For it grows where earthly bliss would perish and is a Joy that springs from having an inner communion with the Spirit of God. This Joy manifests in those who totally surrender themselves to God. This is a category of true joy that can only be accomplished when one wholeheartedly submits to its truth. Only then with this surrender being consummated, will the consciousness of a guilty past be lifted from ones heart.
Then we will see the Joy in ones fellowship with the Father. Then will experience a Joy that springs up from us securing a compassionate understanding of a spirit or a truth higher than ourselves. We will see the power of our Fathers creation, a realm that brings so much Joy into our lives, as we come to realize the presence of the beauty which is God's Spirit surrounding us, and inspiring us with an emotion which no words can describe? We will be exposed to God's truth as it breaks in upon us through a nebula of doubt, where God will ultimately give us a clear vision of its beauty. It may take a long and fruitless search, nevertheless when the clarity comes, we feel a thrill of deep and unspeakable Joy. For on that day, the touch of our Fathers Joy will made us feel nobler, stronger, and wiser. And if this be true of earthly communion, must it not be supremely so when we realize the fellowship of God as our Father? It is this which makes "our joy full."
II. THE POWER OF THIS JOY OF THE LORD. We may trace it in three ways.
1. It is power to resist temptation. It forms in itself the fulness of emotion, and surrounds us with a heavenly atmosphere in which the assaults of the adversary fall powerless away.
2. It is strength for Christian action.
3. It is strength for patient endurance. We would be ineffectual to endure the discipline of life unless we have joy.
Let us seek a joy that shall pierce deeply into the region of self and rise from the consciousness of self-surrender and forgiveness. Just as at the Cross of Christ the burden of the past fell, for at the Cross He yielded Himself the Joy of being obediant.
Peace
John 16:33 ESV I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Peace with God creates an internal well-being that spills into our relationships with others so that we become not only peacemakers, but also overcomers.
Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.
Having peace with God does not refer to a mere feeling of peacefulness but to a real situation of peace. It is now the end of hostilities between God and sinful man. It comes to fruition when one believes in Jesus Christ and the state of blessing and salvation that God promised his people in the end. To believe in faith deals with having a confidence that something is real, it also comes with a strong implication that action will ensue from this belief. While a person’s faith can be rather ordinary at times. We must always refer having to faith in God or Christ. Such faith calls for active belief, entrusting oneself completely to God.
Mark 11:22 (AMP) 22 And Jesus, replying, said to them, Have faith in God [constantly].
In entrusting and submitting myself totally to God, there was always His word to help me out. His word showed how I needed to give custody of my life over to Him. When it came to coming to God I knew that I had to have a peace about it. My life up to this point had always been extremely volatile in all my thinking and of course in my actions. My living in tranquility came from a variety of drugs, sexual encounters and believe or not violence. It was calming to me when I knew that I had hurt someone into submitting to my wants and needs. It was all about me. That is until I became what God had wanted me to become. A Peacemaker! I was moving towards being called a son of God!
Matthew 5:9 ESV “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
At this junction in my life, I decided that I would do better living with the peace of God governing my hatred and anger. So I began my pursuit of finding the peacemaker in me. First, I wanted to get to know God better than I did and one way to do it was to learn what it is that defines a peaceful life. I found out that in having peace in my life I first must stop being a zealot for hate. If I wanted peace, I had to have the absence of bad blood in my life and take on the presence of God’s good blood for my life. It was a must to gain a peace with God but it was also essential to acquire a peace with everything in heaven and on earth. And it could only come through the blood of Christ.
Colossians 1:20 NLT and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.
As I kept on pursuing God, I found that in my communicating my desires to Him, I had to do it with prayer. Well, as I allowed praying to become a habit in my life, I slowly but surely began to experience more than I thought I would. The peace of God being one. It surpassed my expectations of what I was desiring. The Word of God was at work in me again, answering many of the demands I was asking of God.
Philippians 4:6-7 NLT 6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 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.
My experiences walking in God’s peace began to change me. I believe that even the sinful nature that once was the very source of what governed my life. It believe it was Holy Spirits work in me that allowed Gods peace to overcome my sinful nature. In partner shipping with Him I did just that. The peace of God was overcoming my malicious ways. Praise God!
Romans 8:6 NLT 6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.
Romans 12:18 NLT 18 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.
Ephesians 4-3 NLT 3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.
John 16:33 ESV I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Peace with God creates an internal well-being that spills into our relationships with others so that we become not only peacemakers, but also overcomers.
Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.
Having peace with God does not refer to a mere feeling of peacefulness but to a real situation of peace. It is now the end of hostilities between God and sinful man. It comes to fruition when one believes in Jesus Christ and the state of blessing and salvation that God promised his people in the end. To believe in faith deals with having a confidence that something is real, it also comes with a strong implication that action will ensue from this belief. While a person’s faith can be rather ordinary at times. We must always refer having to faith in God or Christ. Such faith calls for active belief, entrusting oneself completely to God.
Mark 11:22 (AMP) 22 And Jesus, replying, said to them, Have faith in God [constantly].
In entrusting and submitting myself totally to God, there was always His word to help me out. His word showed how I needed to give custody of my life over to Him. When it came to coming to God I knew that I had to have a peace about it. My life up to this point had always been extremely volatile in all my thinking and of course in my actions. My living in tranquility came from a variety of drugs, sexual encounters and believe or not violence. It was calming to me when I knew that I had hurt someone into submitting to my wants and needs. It was all about me. That is until I became what God had wanted me to become. A Peacemaker! I was moving towards being called a son of God!
Matthew 5:9 ESV “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
At this junction in my life, I decided that I would do better living with the peace of God governing my hatred and anger. So I began my pursuit of finding the peacemaker in me. First, I wanted to get to know God better than I did and one way to do it was to learn what it is that defines a peaceful life. I found out that in having peace in my life I first must stop being a zealot for hate. If I wanted peace, I had to have the absence of bad blood in my life and take on the presence of God’s good blood for my life. It was a must to gain a peace with God but it was also essential to acquire a peace with everything in heaven and on earth. And it could only come through the blood of Christ.
Colossians 1:20 NLT and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.
As I kept on pursuing God, I found that in my communicating my desires to Him, I had to do it with prayer. Well, as I allowed praying to become a habit in my life, I slowly but surely began to experience more than I thought I would. The peace of God being one. It surpassed my expectations of what I was desiring. The Word of God was at work in me again, answering many of the demands I was asking of God.
Philippians 4:6-7 NLT 6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 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.
My experiences walking in God’s peace began to change me. I believe that even the sinful nature that once was the very source of what governed my life. It believe it was Holy Spirits work in me that allowed Gods peace to overcome my sinful nature. In partner shipping with Him I did just that. The peace of God was overcoming my malicious ways. Praise God!
Romans 8:6 NLT 6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.
Romans 12:18 NLT 18 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.
Ephesians 4-3 NLT 3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.
Patience
Practicing patience (or tolerance, or long-suffering) gives us leniency toward other people and endurance under unfavorable circumstances. Just look at how God is patient with us and He promises that His presence will be with those who are patient with others.
Romans 2:4 NLT 4 Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?
Patience in its purest comes from a Christian submission to God’s divine will. God brings a calm temper to a believer, it’s a temperament which bears evils without murmuring or discontent. It’s a quality of bearing offenses and injuries without getting angry or desiring revenge. He enables the believer with a godly attribute of waiting long for justice or expected good without discontent. Patience brings perseverance into a believer’s life with a constancy by exerting a believer to move with an even temper.
As an overcomer of darkness and in dealing with the Fruit of the Spirit. You must remember the limitations of your human understanding. It is God’s comprehension of all that He created that should be what you are trusting in. What you know of this perverted world you live in is only the part of the iceberg you see. What lies beneath the surface of the visible world is a darkness too vast for you to comprehend.
Proverbs 3:5 Trust the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding.
This is why you must live by faith, not by sight, trusting in God’s Presence in your life.
2 Corinthians 5:7 (KJV) 7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight) Amplified Bible gives us a broader interpretation.
2 Corinthians 5:7 (AMP) 7 For we walk by faith [we regulate our lives and conduct ourselves by our conviction or belief respecting man’s relationship to God and divine things, with trust and holy fervor; thus we walk] not by sight or appearance.
Okay, here’s one last note on moving with the fruit of patience. Believers are to develop the patience to enable themselves to imitate Christ with a humble heart in how they treat one another. This means a believer must be consumed and saturated with the Agape love of God. Having an attitude and emotions of deep affection for one another, concentrating on faith filled loving actions, not just feelings alone. This Agape love is honored as the most important attribute. This manner of Love encompasses or as I like to say, embraces a believers developed patience.
Practicing patience (or tolerance, or long-suffering) gives us leniency toward other people and endurance under unfavorable circumstances. Just look at how God is patient with us and He promises that His presence will be with those who are patient with others.
Romans 2:4 NLT 4 Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?
Patience in its purest comes from a Christian submission to God’s divine will. God brings a calm temper to a believer, it’s a temperament which bears evils without murmuring or discontent. It’s a quality of bearing offenses and injuries without getting angry or desiring revenge. He enables the believer with a godly attribute of waiting long for justice or expected good without discontent. Patience brings perseverance into a believer’s life with a constancy by exerting a believer to move with an even temper.
As an overcomer of darkness and in dealing with the Fruit of the Spirit. You must remember the limitations of your human understanding. It is God’s comprehension of all that He created that should be what you are trusting in. What you know of this perverted world you live in is only the part of the iceberg you see. What lies beneath the surface of the visible world is a darkness too vast for you to comprehend.
Proverbs 3:5 Trust the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding.
This is why you must live by faith, not by sight, trusting in God’s Presence in your life.
2 Corinthians 5:7 (KJV) 7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight) Amplified Bible gives us a broader interpretation.
2 Corinthians 5:7 (AMP) 7 For we walk by faith [we regulate our lives and conduct ourselves by our conviction or belief respecting man’s relationship to God and divine things, with trust and holy fervor; thus we walk] not by sight or appearance.
Okay, here’s one last note on moving with the fruit of patience. Believers are to develop the patience to enable themselves to imitate Christ with a humble heart in how they treat one another. This means a believer must be consumed and saturated with the Agape love of God. Having an attitude and emotions of deep affection for one another, concentrating on faith filled loving actions, not just feelings alone. This Agape love is honored as the most important attribute. This manner of Love encompasses or as I like to say, embraces a believers developed patience.
Kindness
Romans 2:4 NLT Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?
When I first read this Scripture the words that most intrigued me, were contained within the phrase that identified the attributes of God that indicated how generous He is. Paul started with the words wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient. They are also appropriate in defining the giving spirit that reflects how God treats us. It is in the manner that God treats us that helps us in doing our best to defining ourselves as His children. What an excellent example of a loving Father we have in God. That through His kindness, He has generously poured out the Fruit of the Spirit which helps us to recognize our new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.
Romans 2:4 NLT Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?
When I first read this Scripture the words that most intrigued me, were contained within the phrase that identified the attributes of God that indicated how generous He is. Paul started with the words wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient. They are also appropriate in defining the giving spirit that reflects how God treats us. It is in the manner that God treats us that helps us in doing our best to defining ourselves as His children. What an excellent example of a loving Father we have in God. That through His kindness, He has generously poured out the Fruit of the Spirit which helps us to recognize our new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.
Goodness
Ephesians 5:8-10 NLT For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of the light! For
this light within you produces only what is good and right and true. Carefully determine what pleases the Lord.
Goodness implies a conformity to the recognized godly standards of right conduct. We must become light bearing individuals of the highest morality. Living with deep virtues in an eternal light. An illumination of the fruit of goodness, that even in spite of evil influences, it shines as a beacon to all of the individuals that seeking this incontestable virtue of walking in the goodness of God.
Romans 15;14 NLT I am fully convinced, my dear brothers and sisters, that you are full of goodness. You know these things so well you can teach each other all about them.
A goodness that full convinces you of being a light that so instructs others in the godly attributes that are so vital to succeeding in a life worthy of an overcomers calling.
2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 NLT So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of His call. May He give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way you live, and you will be honored along with Him. This is all made possible because of the grace of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ.
Faithfulness
1 Corinthians 1:9 (AMP) 9 God is faithful (reliable, trustworthy, and therefore ever true to His promise, and He can be depended on); by Him you were called into companionship and participation with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
He has called you: God has chosen you and brought you into a partnership with His Son.
1 Thessalonians 5:24 (NKJV) 24 He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.
In calling you faithful I believe God has seen you exercising good faith and fidelity in your relationships, just as God does with us. We should adhere firmly and devotedly to Him for who He brings to light and demands one's loyalty. In calling you faithful, you must come to realize that faithfulness and loyalty both suggest a dependable attachment and allegiance to God and of course you’re calling. You must remain sincere and reliable in maintaining a steadfast and fixed, unswerving loyalty. You must develop into a trustworthy ally, equipped with an unshakable devotion and loyalty that supports of the cause unconditionally. “Having the God kind of Faith “
Mar 11:22 TPT Jesus replied, “Let the faith of God be in you!
Let the faith of God be in you - Literally, “Have the faith of God.” This means that one must have a very strong faith, fully confident in God. Impelled by a strong belief that one is able to accomplish things that appear most difficult with infinite ease, just as Jesus made the fig-tree wither away with a word. Just a Jesus enabled Himself to walk on water.
Matthew 14:25 (AMP) 25 And in the fourth watch [between 3:00—6:00 a.m.] of the night, Jesus came to them, walking on the sea.
But the Lord is faithful!
2 Thessalonians 3:3 NLT But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.
In my road into becoming an overcomer of evil. I came to understand that although I had many so called friends that I could not trust. I met a friend in Jesus and I came to know God is faithful to His promises and His purposes. I could always confide in Him and go to Him for I came to trust in Him. It gives me a warm feeling when I know that God is there for me. For I’ve witnessed too much of man’s disloyal ways. I’ve seen how they lie and have totally abandoned Gods creed of truth. I’ve seen the lukewarm manner of many believers reduce the power of God in their Church. In such circumstances, men may be faithless and void of truth, but God never is. Many may refuse to embrace the gospel, and set themselves against it, but God will not abandon His promises and purposes. Many who are in the church have so denied the word of God by not showing any interest in its authority, but God himself will never abandon His authority and the truth of His Word. For God is faithful and He is the friend of the cause which we have come to believe and love. And in His faithfulness He will make us strong and protect us from all adversity.
1 Corinthians 1:9 (AMP) 9 God is faithful (reliable, trustworthy, and therefore ever true to His promise, and He can be depended on); by Him you were called into companionship and participation with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
He has called you: God has chosen you and brought you into a partnership with His Son.
1 Thessalonians 5:24 (NKJV) 24 He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.
In calling you faithful I believe God has seen you exercising good faith and fidelity in your relationships, just as God does with us. We should adhere firmly and devotedly to Him for who He brings to light and demands one's loyalty. In calling you faithful, you must come to realize that faithfulness and loyalty both suggest a dependable attachment and allegiance to God and of course you’re calling. You must remain sincere and reliable in maintaining a steadfast and fixed, unswerving loyalty. You must develop into a trustworthy ally, equipped with an unshakable devotion and loyalty that supports of the cause unconditionally. “Having the God kind of Faith “
Mar 11:22 TPT Jesus replied, “Let the faith of God be in you!
Let the faith of God be in you - Literally, “Have the faith of God.” This means that one must have a very strong faith, fully confident in God. Impelled by a strong belief that one is able to accomplish things that appear most difficult with infinite ease, just as Jesus made the fig-tree wither away with a word. Just a Jesus enabled Himself to walk on water.
Matthew 14:25 (AMP) 25 And in the fourth watch [between 3:00—6:00 a.m.] of the night, Jesus came to them, walking on the sea.
But the Lord is faithful!
2 Thessalonians 3:3 NLT But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.
In my road into becoming an overcomer of evil. I came to understand that although I had many so called friends that I could not trust. I met a friend in Jesus and I came to know God is faithful to His promises and His purposes. I could always confide in Him and go to Him for I came to trust in Him. It gives me a warm feeling when I know that God is there for me. For I’ve witnessed too much of man’s disloyal ways. I’ve seen how they lie and have totally abandoned Gods creed of truth. I’ve seen the lukewarm manner of many believers reduce the power of God in their Church. In such circumstances, men may be faithless and void of truth, but God never is. Many may refuse to embrace the gospel, and set themselves against it, but God will not abandon His promises and purposes. Many who are in the church have so denied the word of God by not showing any interest in its authority, but God himself will never abandon His authority and the truth of His Word. For God is faithful and He is the friend of the cause which we have come to believe and love. And in His faithfulness He will make us strong and protect us from all adversity.
Gentleness
Gentleness is unlike in nature to the vices of Galatians 5:19-21 and requires godly strength. Gentleness depends on Godly Wisdom and discernment to keep you from putting your foot in your mouth or doing things in a most ungodly manner.
Galatians 5:19-21 (NLT) Results of the Sinful Nature
19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures,20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division,21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
As I looked at the beginning statement in Galatians 5:19. It started with, When you follow the desires of your sinful nature. As I read this I was moved by the certainty that the person that has decided to take this route, will obviously end up with their results literally concluding in the works of the flesh. When you place emphasis on the sinful actions of the flesh, this will definitely place you in a position where you will live apart from the power of God’s Spirit. When this is allowed, it suppresses your awareness of the basic understanding of right and wrong. Here’s where the moral impurity that comes from seeking the flesh, removes God’s holiness from overcoming your malicious thinking which makes fellowship with the Holy Spirit impossible.
The Holy Spirit brings influences to bear which act upon the germs of sin, as a disinfectant upon the germs of disease. If we yield ourselves to these influences, and are filled with the Spirit of Jesus, we shall be delivered from the self-life, which the Apostle describes as the flesh. As Jesus is more and more formed in us, the new flower and fruitage of the risen life will appear, while the corrupt works of the flesh will shrink and drop away. F.B,Meyer
One last word on gentleness. God is overwhelmingly gentle with us when we sin and need correction, and He expects us to be the same way with others. Also, gentleness shows the world that the way of violent encounters and situations ruled by emotion is not the better way. God wants us teach and correct with gentleness.
2 Timothy 2:24 24 (KJV) And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,
Gentleness is unlike in nature to the vices of Galatians 5:19-21 and requires godly strength. Gentleness depends on Godly Wisdom and discernment to keep you from putting your foot in your mouth or doing things in a most ungodly manner.
Galatians 5:19-21 (NLT) Results of the Sinful Nature
19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures,20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division,21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
As I looked at the beginning statement in Galatians 5:19. It started with, When you follow the desires of your sinful nature. As I read this I was moved by the certainty that the person that has decided to take this route, will obviously end up with their results literally concluding in the works of the flesh. When you place emphasis on the sinful actions of the flesh, this will definitely place you in a position where you will live apart from the power of God’s Spirit. When this is allowed, it suppresses your awareness of the basic understanding of right and wrong. Here’s where the moral impurity that comes from seeking the flesh, removes God’s holiness from overcoming your malicious thinking which makes fellowship with the Holy Spirit impossible.
The Holy Spirit brings influences to bear which act upon the germs of sin, as a disinfectant upon the germs of disease. If we yield ourselves to these influences, and are filled with the Spirit of Jesus, we shall be delivered from the self-life, which the Apostle describes as the flesh. As Jesus is more and more formed in us, the new flower and fruitage of the risen life will appear, while the corrupt works of the flesh will shrink and drop away. F.B,Meyer
One last word on gentleness. God is overwhelmingly gentle with us when we sin and need correction, and He expects us to be the same way with others. Also, gentleness shows the world that the way of violent encounters and situations ruled by emotion is not the better way. God wants us teach and correct with gentleness.
2 Timothy 2:24 24 (KJV) And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,
Self-Control
This attribute gives one the ability to exercise restraint and control over one's feelings, emotions, desires, actions, and reactions, by one's own will. The Bible warns us that if we do not have self-mastery, we will be slaves to what controls us. Food, lust, money, and our words are on the top of the list. In lacking self-control we can find ourselves overcome with the consequences of not having the discipline that is vital in many areas of our life. Being self-controlled is the very foundation for living a life of righteousness and selflessness that reflects Jesus and brings glory to God. All we have to do is become fully persuaded that we have the power to bring sins under control! Praise God!
In the beginning of my attempt to overcome the adversary, I came to the conclusion that I had to change my way of thinking to God’s way of thinking. I found that I could only that by seeking Him out through His Word. The Scriptures gave me so much to work so that living a self-controlled became easier the more and more I enhanced my spirit with the spirit filling Word of God. The truth of Gods powerful Word fulfilled its destiny in my life. It began with Scriptures such as Philippians 4:8-9!
Philippians 4:8-9 8 (KJV) Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. 9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.
I urge every overcomer to meditate on God’s Scriptures so that, even during suffering and persecution, your lives will be worthy of being imitated and your minds and hearts will be filled with the peace that living a life of self-control brings.
As we continue I’d like to let you know that in addition to the 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit, the Bible also tells us that there are 9 gifts of the Holy Spirit.
This attribute gives one the ability to exercise restraint and control over one's feelings, emotions, desires, actions, and reactions, by one's own will. The Bible warns us that if we do not have self-mastery, we will be slaves to what controls us. Food, lust, money, and our words are on the top of the list. In lacking self-control we can find ourselves overcome with the consequences of not having the discipline that is vital in many areas of our life. Being self-controlled is the very foundation for living a life of righteousness and selflessness that reflects Jesus and brings glory to God. All we have to do is become fully persuaded that we have the power to bring sins under control! Praise God!
In the beginning of my attempt to overcome the adversary, I came to the conclusion that I had to change my way of thinking to God’s way of thinking. I found that I could only that by seeking Him out through His Word. The Scriptures gave me so much to work so that living a self-controlled became easier the more and more I enhanced my spirit with the spirit filling Word of God. The truth of Gods powerful Word fulfilled its destiny in my life. It began with Scriptures such as Philippians 4:8-9!
Philippians 4:8-9 8 (KJV) Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. 9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.
I urge every overcomer to meditate on God’s Scriptures so that, even during suffering and persecution, your lives will be worthy of being imitated and your minds and hearts will be filled with the peace that living a life of self-control brings.
As we continue I’d like to let you know that in addition to the 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit, the Bible also tells us that there are 9 gifts of the Holy Spirit.