We often celebrate the ministry of the Holy Spirit –
directly or indirectly. What three great
blessings are proclaimed in these verses:
No one can say
“Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit.
1
Cor. 12:3
If we live by
the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
Galatians
5:25
For God is at
work in you both to will and to work for His purposes. Philippians 2:13
As each
believer has receive a spiritual gift, use it for one another… 1 Peter 4:10
___________________________________ ____________________________
___________________________________
But there is a fourth category of blessings, too. They involve the inner transformation in our
attitudes, our priorities – our spirit.
In many ways, this is the foundation for the transformation in our lives
that are spoken of in Gal. 5:25 and Phil. 2:13.
These are called “The Fruits of the Spirit.” They, too, are gifts from God and the working
of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
“Through love, be servants of one another, for the
whole law is fulfilled in this – ‘you shall love others as yourself.’ Walk by the Spirit and no not gratify the
desires of the flesh…The fruits of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity,
licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealously, anger,
selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing and the
like… But the fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control; against these there is no
law. So if we live by the Spirit, let us
also walk by the Spirit.” Galatians 5:13-25
The first (and greatest) of these fruits is love…
1. “Love” is not an easy word to define!
How might it be defined by…
·
A little child
_______________________________________________________________
·
A teenager
_______________________________________________________________
·
A Non-Christian ____
_______________________________________________________
The Bible itself speaks of 3 different types of love.
“Phileo”
This is especially the “friendship” kind of love, also the extreme of liking.
“Eros” This is the romantic, physical kind of love
“Agape”
This especially means unconditional, sacrificial love that flows but isn’t
necessarily earned or deserved; sometimes called “parental love.”
2. How are these
definitions sometimes confused?
The
word in our text is agape. Read the following verses and try to
develop a good definition of this love:
Do nothing out
of selfish ambition or vain conceit but in humility consider others as more
important than yourselves. Philippians 2:3
Greater love
has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13
If you love
those who love you, what credit is that?
Even sinners do that! Luke 6:32
Let us not
love in words alone but in deeds and in truth.
1
John 3:18
This is the
love of God that we keep His Commandments. 1 John 5:3
God loved the
world so that He gave His only begotten Son… John 3:16
Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or
boastful; it is not arrogant or rude.
Love does not insist on its own way, it is not irritable or resentful;
it does not rejoice at evil but rejoices in righteousness. Love bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Based on these verses, write your definition of love:
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Love is DOING! A very wise person once said, “if love
doesn’t have a ‘so that’ then so what?”
Love is to be an active thing!
Love can exist only in our heart but it’s not worth much. Love is extended and revealed by what we say
and do – not just by how we feel.
Love is also HARD! Read the following story and see if you can
relate:
I was awakened at 1:00 AM by
my son, Todd, then 5 years old. He was
sobbing in his room and saying something about a nightmare. I was very still in my bed, sure my wife
would also be awakened by this situation, confident that mothers have ears
keenly tuned to such things. I waited
for those keen ears to do their thing.
And I waited some more. I was a
bit concerned that Todd’s crying seemed to be getting louder, not softer, and I
was beginning to wonder if something was wrong.
Pains of guilt were actually beginning to rush over me, but – just in
time – those mother ears caught the sound and Lynne immediately jumped out of
bed and rushed to Todd’s room. Aren’t
moms great!!
3.
Is it harder to love the “jerk” at work that we
can usually avoid or the normal one with whom we must live, pretty much
24/7?
4.
In what situations is love especially hard for
you?
5.
What people are hard for you to love?
6.
What grade would people give you for your love:
______ At home, in the family
______ Among your friends
______ At work
______ At church
7. Consider your
lowest grade in # 6. In a practical
sense, what can YOU do
about that? Who will empower you even
more mightily that you can imagine?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
We often celebrate the ministry of the Holy Spirit –
directly or indirectly. What three great
blessings are proclaimed in these verses:
No one can say
“Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit.
1
Cor. 12:3
If we live by
the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
Galatians
5:25
For God is at
work in you both to will and to work for His purposes. Philippians 2:13
As each
believer has receive a spiritual gift, use it for one another… 1 Peter 4:10
___________________________________ ____________________________
___________________________________
But there is a fourth category of blessings, too. They involve the inner transformation in our
attitudes, our priorities – our spirit.
In many ways, this is the foundation for the transformation in our lives
that are spoken of in Gal. 5:25 and Phil. 2:13.
These are called “The Fruits of the Spirit.” They, too, are gifts from God and the working
of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
“Through love, be servants of one another, for the
whole law is fulfilled in this – ‘you shall love others as yourself.’ Walk by the Spirit and no not gratify the
desires of the flesh…The fruits of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity,
licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealously, anger,
selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing and the
like… But the fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control; against these there is no
law. So if we live by the Spirit, let us
also walk by the Spirit.” Galatians 5:13-25
The first (and greatest) of these fruits is love…
1. “Love” is not an easy word to define!
How might it be defined by…
·
A little child
_______________________________________________________________
·
A teenager
_______________________________________________________________
·
A Non-Christian ____
_______________________________________________________
The Bible itself speaks of 3 different types of love.
“Phileo”
This is especially the “friendship” kind of love, also the extreme of liking.
“Eros” This is the romantic, physical kind of love
“Agape”
This especially means unconditional, sacrificial love that flows but isn’t
necessarily earned or deserved; sometimes called “parental love.”
2. How are these
definitions sometimes confused?
The
word in our text is agape. Read the following verses and try to
develop a good definition of this love:
Do nothing out
of selfish ambition or vain conceit but in humility consider others as more
important than yourselves. Philippians 2:3
Greater love
has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13
If you love
those who love you, what credit is that?
Even sinners do that! Luke 6:32
Let us not
love in words alone but in deeds and in truth.
1
John 3:18
This is the
love of God that we keep His Commandments. 1 John 5:3
God loved the
world so that He gave His only begotten Son… John 3:16
Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or
boastful; it is not arrogant or rude.
Love does not insist on its own way, it is not irritable or resentful;
it does not rejoice at evil but rejoices in righteousness. Love bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Based on these verses, write your definition of love:
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Love is DOING! A very wise person once said, “if love
doesn’t have a ‘so that’ then so what?”
Love is to be an active thing!
Love can exist only in our heart but it’s not worth much. Love is extended and revealed by what we say
and do – not just by how we feel.
Love is also HARD! Read the following story and see if you can
relate:
I was awakened at 1:00 AM by
my son, Todd, then 5 years old. He was
sobbing in his room and saying something about a nightmare. I was very still in my bed, sure my wife
would also be awakened by this situation, confident that mothers have ears
keenly tuned to such things. I waited
for those keen ears to do their thing.
And I waited some more. I was a
bit concerned that Todd’s crying seemed to be getting louder, not softer, and I
was beginning to wonder if something was wrong.
Pains of guilt were actually beginning to rush over me, but – just in
time – those mother ears caught the sound and Lynne immediately jumped out of
bed and rushed to Todd’s room. Aren’t
moms great!!
3.
Is it harder to love the “jerk” at work that we
can usually avoid or the normal one with whom we must live, pretty much
24/7?
4.
In what situations is love especially hard for
you?
5.
What people are hard for you to love?
6.
What grade would people give you for your love:
______ At home, in the family
______ Among your friends
______ At work
______ At church
7. Consider your
lowest grade in # 6. In a practical
sense, what can YOU do
about that? Who will empower you even
more mightily that you can imagine?
Fruit of the Spirit” Courtesy of www.GivingGodsWord.com, 2005
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
