We work on one "fruit" at a time, praying in faith and trusting God that the love, joy, peace, and patience spoken of in Galatians 5:22–23 might become a reality in our lives.
Helping Strategy
1. If the inquirer expresses concern about having the fruit of the Spirit in his or her life, you may review the appropriate information from the "Background."
2. Sometimes questions reveal where the focus is needed. Ask:
• Is there any unconfessed sin in your life which is keeping you from a close walk with God? • Do you know of any lack of personal discipline? • Is there a broken relationship that needs healing? • Are you consciously abiding in Christ? • Are you reading and studying your Bible daily? • Are you praying about your relationship with Christ, asking Him to develop the fruit of the Spirit in you?
3. Pray with the inquirer that his or her desires for the fullness of the Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit may be fulfilled. Scripture
"Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God" (Romans 6:11–13).
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—which is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will" (Romans 12:1–2, NIV).
"Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's" (1 Corinthians 6:19–20). Other suggested Scriptures: Galatians 5:22–23
HOLY SPIRIT, GIFTS OF
Background
The truly committed Christian will want to appropriate all that God has in reserve for his or her life. We have received God's grace through the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now we should be open to receiving the gifts of the Holy Spirit; we should "earnestly desire" them (1 Corinthians 12:31).
We need to be careful, however, not to be presumptuous in claiming any gifts, but rather trust the sovereign Holy Spirit to give "to each one individually as He wills" (1 Corinthians 12:11). Many people claim to be possessors of certain gifts, but their lives and ministry do not give evidence of such possession. Spiritual gifts are not to be thought of as making any one believer or group of believers any more holy or more spiritually advanced than others. Spiritual pride can nullify the effectiveness of any gift.
Some Christians obviously possess the more "public" gifts, such as preaching, teaching, or evangelizing. This does not mean that they are "super-Christians." They are merely exercising the gifts God has given them. The Christian who exercises the quiet gift of faith is just as important to God and to the building up of the body. Nowhere in the Scripture is it indicated that we are to seek the same gifts. All gifts are not the same, but they all have the same goal: They are all meant to contribute toward the uniting and building up of Christ's body, the church (Ephesians 4:12–16).
Two Scripture portions enumerate the gifts of the Holy Spirit:
"To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines" (1 Corinthians 12:8–11, NIV).
"It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up" (Ephesians 4:11–12, NIV).