Who has some good teaching on the Holy Spirit that we could all learn from? I think we all would like to grow in the fruit of the spirit and live the spirit-filled life.
The Spirit–filled life. In all likelihood, these words evoke one of three responses in you:
You may say, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” If that’s your response, you aren’t alone. Many people don’t know much about the Holy Spirit, and they know less about how He works in the life of every Christian.
You may say, “Oh, I’m not sure I want anything to do with the Holy Spirit. Everything I’ve heard about the Holy Spirit seems divisive or too emotional for me.” If that’s your response, I have encouragement for you. If you are a genuine born–again Christian, you have a relationship with the Holy Spirit, whether you have acknowledged Him or not. Furthermore, He is not divisive or invasive. People may be, but He is not.
From Relying on the Holy Spirit: Discover Who He Is and How He Works (Charles F. Stanley Bible Study Series)
The Holy Spirit is a wonderful topic to study out. The fruit is the Spirit has always been of great interest to me. I think it's how we grow and Christ likeness. Righteousness peace and joy that's the kingdom of God.
Love, joy, and peace—the first three on Paul’s list of the fruit of the Spirit—are like a triplet. They come together. Jesus linked them very closely in his farewell conversations with his disciples:
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
John 14:27As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.
John 15:9-10I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
John 15:11And, to continue the picture, joy and peace are like twins. They come together as a pair even more often than love, joy, and peace come as a triplet. And Paul is particularly fond of the two words, joy and peace. This is the kind of thing he loves to say:
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Rom 14:17May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Rom 15:13In fact, Paul speaks of joy twenty-one times and peace forty-three times in his letters! But we can see in those verses in Romans that for Paul, joy and peace are not just incidental byproducts of the Christian faith. They are not just happy feelings. Look at what else he says about them in just those few verses above—it’s an impressive list.
• Joy and peace are key signs of the kingdom of God, just as important as righteousness. These are things that happen when God reigns—true joy and peace are born.
• Joy and peace are the way we are to serve and please God—not in solemn anxiety.
• Joy and peace are essential ingredients in our Christian hope—we are to be filled with joy and peace.
• Joy and peace are evidence of the power of the Holy Spirit overflowing in our lives.
So it’s not surprising that he includes joy and peace in the fruit of the Spirit! These words are not just describing a cheerful, contented emotional state. This is something profound and at the heart of our Christian life and witness.
Let’s think first of joy. What brings you joy? What makes your eyes sparkle? What makes your heart leap up and down? What gives you a glow of pleasure and makes you smile, laugh, or whoop out loud and throw your arms up in the air for joy and want to hug everybody around you?
When I ask myself that question, four things come to mind very quickly, and each of them connects with something very true about Christian joy as the fruit of the Spirit. These four things bring me great joy (even if I don’t do all the things I just mentioned—though sometimes you might just see me behaving like that!): having a family, having a feast, having a faith, and having a future.
Joy is having a future. I often bubble up with joy when I’m out enjoying God’s creation. I love the pleasure of being alive in God’s world. I feel joy in just being able to walk my dogs out in the open air, or go for a swim in the ocean. It’s a joy that, for me, is stuffed full of gratitude to God. This is God’s world and I love it and enjoy it—as God meant us to—and as the Psalms celebrate with great joy.
