The Fruit of the SpiritSýnishorn

Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness

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 virtue, faith that prevails, gentleness of heart, and strength of spirit. Never set the law above these qualities, for they are meant to be limitless. —Galatians 5:22–23, TPT.

Joy is an internal feeling of great pleasure. The difference between joy and happiness is that joy is internal; happiness comes from external things that make us feel good—a kind letter, a raise in pay, a compliment. Joy, however, is internal. This pleasure flows from voluntarily refusing to point the finger at someone else. It is an act of the will.  

When I refuse to point the finger—difficult though it may sometimes be—the result is sooner or later the same: joy. Internal pleasure. I feel good that I resisted pointing the finger. It is as though the Spirit rewards me for keeping no record of wrongs. But as I said before, one may experience joy by refusing to complain or not giving in to any temptations of the flesh.

Like love, joy can come either by an act of the will (as I’ve just described) or spontaneously. Years ago, I experienced spontaneous joy while driving my car from Palmer, Tennessee, to Nashville. It is quite impossible to describe. It was truly “joy unspeakable and full of glory” (1 Pet. 1:8, KJV). It lasted a good while, but one day—suddenly—it ended. After that I had to get my joy from voluntarily, actively, and intentionally overlooking faults in others that bother me. Or refusing to grumble. Or not speaking evil of another person—even if what I might have said was true! One can state what may well be true about another, but we will grieve the Spirit if our motive is to make another look bad.

Now you understand what I meant when I said that the fruit of the Spirit is sometimes spontaneous and sometimes by an act of the will. However, as I said, it is because you have the Holy Spirit that you can produce the same fruit by an act of your will.

Peace is equally difficult to describe. It is not merely the absence of anxiety; it is the undeniable presence of a calm feeling deep inside. Calm is perhaps the best word to describe it. It is a feeling of self-control—a fruit that Paul includes at the end of the list. You cannot turn on instant peace by an act of the will, but you can do what leads to it by intentionally overlooking another’s faults, refusing to point the finger, and telling God alone—not others—what you feel (Ps. 142:2).

Patience is the steadfastness to endure pain, delay, or trouble without getting angry or upset. Again, sometimes this is given with spontaneous ease; other times you force yourself not to complain. This is why James said we should count it—impute to the trial—pure joy when we fall into various kinds of trouble (Jas. 1:2). James added, “And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (v. 4).

Peter has his own list of qualities, similar to Paul’s but not in the same order:

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

—2 Peter 1:5–8

This passage shows that the order of the listed virtues is not of supreme importance; it shows how the minds of two godly men work differently. Also, whereas Paul lists some of these qualities as “fruit” of the Spirit, Peter puts the onus on us as if we are responsible for such a pursuit. The point is, the fruit of the Spirit listed by Paul and the qualities listed by Peter are what you and I are commanded to display.  

There is a difference between the fruit of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit. You and I are required to manifest love, patience, and brotherly affection; we are not required to have the gift of miracles or discerning of spirits, as we will see in day 13.

The writer of Hebrews wrote to discouraged Jewish believers, “You have need of endurance” (10:36). Don’t we all? Sometimes such a virtue flows passively without effort; other times, as I have been saying, we must make an effort to do these things because we do have the Holy Spirit.

Paul said, “Love is patient and kind” (1 Cor. 13:4). Kindness means being considerate, friendly, or nice. I have learned that kindness goes very far in winning people over to your position. In the days I met with Yasser Arafat (1929–2004) and some Palestinians, I learned one thing for sure: our doctrine will not win them; showing that we care will win them. That’s it. When they feel this from us, they are far more apt to listen to what we have to say.  

This is why James makes a huge point, namely, that the “poor man” (2:6) will not be impressed by our sound teaching but by our showing good works. James asked, “Can that faith save [the poor man]?” (v. 14). Answer: no, but our kindness is more likely to win him over.

Kindness, then, is a fruit of the Holy Spirit—even if you have to remind yourself to be kind!

Personal Reflection

Consider the moments or seasons in your life when you have experienced the most joy. How much of your joy was the result of spontaneous feeling, and how much was the result of deliberate decisions on your part? What choices have you made that have filled you with the most joy?  

Where do you feel the Holy Spirit stretching you to grow in fruitfulness? Do peace, patience, and kindness come easily to you, or do they come with more of an effort on your part? Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you today with an increased measure of His empowering grace!