Galatians 5:16-25
16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, (unbridled lust, imaginary or not)
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering (enduring patience and willingness to forgive), gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
John 15:1-5
1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
These scriptures are telling us that first of all the human body, our natural selves war against the Spirit of God, they are "contrary the one to the other," due to the fall of man. But there is a cure for all the wickedness we want to do and that is walking with Christ daily, every moment searching His will. The works of the flesh (our sin nature) can be horrible, terrible deeds such as rape, murder, incest, adultery or they can be just simple lies we tell others to avoid awkward conversations or being to shy to do as the Lord leads during a church service. (Any disobedience of the Lord is a sin and pushes us further from His will.)
When you are in the Lord's will, seeking His direction in every aspect of your life, you cannot help but to have the "fruit of the Spirit". Being in the Lord's will and seeking Him daily brings peace like you've never known. The resentment, hatred, fears and other sinful aspects of your life will all but fade away to leave you with love, joy, peace and comfort knowing that you are in His grace. Now, just because you are in the Lord's will doesn't mean you won't have troublesome times. However, it does mean you will have the ability to give those times over to the Lord's control and have Faith that no matter the outcome it was His will and you will be a better Christian for it. Those who walk in the Spirit of the Lord are not judged by the law, they are under Grace.
In John, we see that if you are walking in the Spirit, living day by day in God's will, seeking Him in everything you do through our prayers and reading of His word, then you will bear fruit. You won't be able to help but to see Him in everything, you will WANT to have works inspired by Him, you will WANT to give, pray, volunteer, guide people, help others, love others. Those around you will be able to see Christ in you. In the 2nd verse the Lord says that every branch that bears fruit will be pruned so that it will bring even more fruit. I think this is talking about our trials and tribulations as Christians. The more we put our faith in Christ, the more we see Him working in our lives equals even more faith and more outward evidence we can use to witness for Him, to praise Him and glorify Him.
Notice that Jesus Christ is the "true vine" and God the Father is the "husbandman"(the caretaker, gardener, the one with the pruning shears.) and we are the branches of the vine. Without the vine and the caretaker the branches would be laying on the ground dying. Without Christ, God, the Living Water, we are nothing. We would be judged upon our works which are inherently evil. We can do NOTHING without Christ Jesus guiding our every move, thought, and emotion. He is our Saviour and He is my Joy!
(in the scripture above, inside the parentheses are definitions that I thought may help.)
16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, (unbridled lust, imaginary or not)
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering (enduring patience and willingness to forgive), gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
John 15:1-5
1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
These scriptures are telling us that first of all the human body, our natural selves war against the Spirit of God, they are "contrary the one to the other," due to the fall of man. But there is a cure for all the wickedness we want to do and that is walking with Christ daily, every moment searching His will. The works of the flesh (our sin nature) can be horrible, terrible deeds such as rape, murder, incest, adultery or they can be just simple lies we tell others to avoid awkward conversations or being to shy to do as the Lord leads during a church service. (Any disobedience of the Lord is a sin and pushes us further from His will.)
When you are in the Lord's will, seeking His direction in every aspect of your life, you cannot help but to have the "fruit of the Spirit". Being in the Lord's will and seeking Him daily brings peace like you've never known. The resentment, hatred, fears and other sinful aspects of your life will all but fade away to leave you with love, joy, peace and comfort knowing that you are in His grace. Now, just because you are in the Lord's will doesn't mean you won't have troublesome times. However, it does mean you will have the ability to give those times over to the Lord's control and have Faith that no matter the outcome it was His will and you will be a better Christian for it. Those who walk in the Spirit of the Lord are not judged by the law, they are under Grace.
In John, we see that if you are walking in the Spirit, living day by day in God's will, seeking Him in everything you do through our prayers and reading of His word, then you will bear fruit. You won't be able to help but to see Him in everything, you will WANT to have works inspired by Him, you will WANT to give, pray, volunteer, guide people, help others, love others. Those around you will be able to see Christ in you. In the 2nd verse the Lord says that every branch that bears fruit will be pruned so that it will bring even more fruit. I think this is talking about our trials and tribulations as Christians. The more we put our faith in Christ, the more we see Him working in our lives equals even more faith and more outward evidence we can use to witness for Him, to praise Him and glorify Him.
Notice that Jesus Christ is the "true vine" and God the Father is the "husbandman"(the caretaker, gardener, the one with the pruning shears.) and we are the branches of the vine. Without the vine and the caretaker the branches would be laying on the ground dying. Without Christ, God, the Living Water, we are nothing. We would be judged upon our works which are inherently evil. We can do NOTHING without Christ Jesus guiding our every move, thought, and emotion. He is our Saviour and He is my Joy!
(in the scripture above, inside the parentheses are definitions that I thought may help.)
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