Fruitful
Living
Introduction
Session
1
Galatians
5: 13-26
Key
verses: 22-23:
“But
the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
The
key issue is how we live our daily lives: we must “be what we’re about”.
See Matthew 7:15-20 “By their fruit you will recognise them.”
1.
“Fruit” is singular, not plural.
i.e. not 9 fruits, but 1 fruit with 9 flavours.
The whole fruit is given to all believers.
Compare the gifts of the Spirit – different gifts given to different
believers, eg. 1 Cor. 12:4-11.
So we cannot suggest that one flavour is “not for me”.
2.
Fruit is natural, not manufactured.
Compare “acts” (“works”) of the flesh in v. 19.
But the fruit is natural only for those who have the Spirit, i.e.
believers. It is not to be equated with qualities that come naturally to all
people because they are made in God’s image.
So even if we naturally have some flavours, God can still improve them.
3.
Fruit grows.
It does not appear fully-formed when we become Christians.
We do not need to be despondent: we can grow.
We must not be complacent: we need to grow.
How does it grow?
(a) Rooted in the Word of God – Ps. 1: 1-3. We need to delight in and
meditate upon His Word.
(b) Joined to the Son of God – Jn. 15: 4-5. We need a close
relationship so that we can know His mind.
(c) In step with the Spirit of God – Gal. 5:25. We need to follow His
guidance.
Checkpoints:
1.
Is the fruit growing in my life? Look back 1 year.
2.
Am I rooted in God’s Word? Do I regularly spend time in the
word?
3.
How is my relationship with Jesus? Am I remaining in Him? Does
anything in my life need pruning?
4.
Am I in step with the Spirit? Or am I trying to do things at my
own pace?
Fruitful
Living
Love
Session
1
1.
What is love?
There is a very wide range of meaning in the English language. In Greek,
there are 4 different words:
(1)
Storge
– affection, eg. for parent or
child;
(2)
Phileo
– friendship;
(3)
Eros
– romantic, passionate.
C.S.Lewis calls these 3 “natural loves”, i.e. they come naturally to all
people, although they can all be corrupted.
(4)
Agape
– unconquerable benevolence
(William Barclay); actively wanting and seeking the best: a choice, “not a
mood, a magic feeling or a reaction”; a matter of the head, not the heart;
supplements and complements the natural loves.
2.
Who should we love?
(1) God – Deut. 6:5; Matt. 22:37
(2)
Ourselves – Matt
(3)
Our neighbours – Gal. 5:14;
(4)
Our brothers and sisters in Christ – John 13: 34-35
(5)
Our enemies – Matt. 5:44
A
harder question is who we should not love!
3.
How should we love?
Love never has an agenda; it is unconditional.
Jesus is our example: Eph. 5:2; John 15:13. It involves sacrifice;
“laying down” our lives for others. It is not natural; it is from God: Rom.
5:5
Checkpoints:
1.
Is there anyone I find it hard to
love? Do I need to ask God to help me to make a choice to love them?
2.
Go through the 1 Cor. 13 checklist
to see how I measure up.