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Galatians 5:16-25 gives a range of Christian character traits on the “fruit of the Spirit.” The Apostle Paul teaches how to recognize and know these traits, and how to grow from there as Christians saved by grace. There are several points to note about these traits borne from the Holy Spirit.

Firstly, they are internal, they are not of the law (v23). The law constrains behavior, which are external actions, whereas the Holy Spirit deals with your heart. Living under the law means to make performance a mark of your salvation, whereas the Spirit changes your heart, your character and your motivations. Secondly, all the traits are integrated. Notice that Paul uses the singular “fruit”. He does this deliberately because we need to grow in all aspects of our Christian character. We can’t just grow in peace and joy if we do not have patience, kindness and goodness. This total view is necessary in order to build lives of integrity as Christians. Thirdly, with the fruit analogy, he also tells us that it takes time to mature as Christians. A fruit take time to grow and mature, over a few seasons. So don’t be discouraged if you think or feel you are not growing for a season.

So how do we grow this fruit in our lives? In verse 24, Paul says that if we are in Jesus, our sinful nature with all its passions and desires are crucified. He warns against falling into the trap of making performance the basis of salvation. His key warning is against making good things into ultimate things, as these become idols which we worship and slave for. For example, our career, which is a good thing, can become an idol, because our performance at work determines our identity, rather than our love for Christ. With this, he also points to how to grow this fruit—by looking at Jesus. All the traits in the fruit of the Spirit were ultimately personified in Jesus. 1 John 3:2 tells us that: “when He appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is”. The extent to which you are a Christian today is determined by the extent to which you understand what Jesus did for you; the extent to which you know the depth of His love and His grace. Herein is the secret to growing the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives.