Greetings Friends! What are the Love-Fruits of the Holy Spirit?
The Love-Fruits of God’ Spirit speaks volumes, for it gives us a peek into the different tones of God’s Love which in turn reveal His wondrous glory. You can see the different Love-Fruits of the Spirit as itemized in appendix **** below, which is taken from 1 Corinthians 13:1-12.
The Depth of God’s Love Reveals His Unfathomable Glory
These Love-Fruits does not reveal our human emotions, but the spiritual fervor of the divine passion and nature by which God lives intuitively and spontaneously in His Triune nature. (2 Cor.13:14; Matt.28:19). The Love-Fruits of the Spirit reveal God’s glorious divine nature.
What is the “Glory of God?” Quite simply it means who and what God is in His holy divine Being of Love (Luk.1:49). God’s holiness is immeasurable because His Love is unfathomable – that beautiful truth reveals the “Glory of God” which exists in perpetuity. (1 John 4:8; Psa.111:9).
There’s a beautiful physical flavor of “God’s glory” we see in the biblical passage, “And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb” (Rev.21:23).
As for our human deficiency and insuffiency, the Bible tells us, “For all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God” (Romans 3:23). The Bible also gives us the only answer to imbibing and inheriting “God’s glory.” “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the Glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6). Yes, that is the human answer to “God’s Glory” – it is seen and experienced in the “face of Jesus Christ.” Hence, we read, “Christ in you, our hope of glory” (Col.1:27).
The “Glory of God” In The Face of Jesus Christ
At times, we think that our ‘human goodness’ are the actual likeness of “God’s Glory.” The Bible states that all good originate from God, including human goodness. (Jam. 1:17). But, His divine glory is beyond human comprehension, much less to attain through our human power or goodness. Only Jesus’ abode in human life brings “God’s Glory” to mankind, and its “Love-fruits” by extension. (1 Cor.3:16: 2 Cor.6:16; Rom.8:9).
The Spirit’s “Love-Fruits” are not legalistic demands placed upon us, which we may call human goodness. No, they reveal the ‘natural’ manner of God’s divine intuitive Love, which the Tri-Personal God (Trinity) have lived and exist by in themselves as far back as creation and beyond. Whenever we speak about God’s Love, we are revealing the truth of His mighty glory and more.
On the night of Passover before Jesus was crucified, Jesus gave His disciples His parting words, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have Loved you, so you must Love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you Love one another” (John 13:34-35). Recall that the Bible states that “God is Love” (1 John 4:16). Love is God, and God is Love, it means the same thing. By Loving our neighbors, we glorify God and each another. Jesus said, “And the glory You have gave Me I have given them; that they may be One, even as We are One: I in them, and You in Me, that they may be made perfect in One. I in them, and You in Me, that they may be made perfect in One” (John 17:22-23).
“As I Have Loved You, Love One Another”
Jesus further affirmed, “As 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. I have told you this so that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have Loved you. Greater Love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are My friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know His master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from My Father I have made known to you.
“You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in My name the Father will give you. This is My command: Love each other” (John 15:9-17). When the passage speaks of “bearing fruit” in this passage, it speaks of the “Love-Fruits” of the Spirit we can read in 1 Corinthians 13:1-12, also, refer appendix **** below). Jesus told the disciples, “Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).
In speaking of God’s inspiring Love, Jesus gave an equally inspiring metaphor to make His Love command clearer. He said, “I am the true Grapevine, and my Father is the Gardener… Yes, I am the Vine; you are the Branches. Those who remain in Me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in Me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. But if you remain in Me and My words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! When you produce much fruit, you are My true disciples. This brings great glory to My Father” (John 15:1, 5-8). So, where is the Spirit’s work in this enlightening metaphor? It is shown in the fruits, or more precisely Love-Fruits, produced through the branches representing every human being.
Did you notice what John just said there, the more Love-Fruits of the Spirit a person produces, this in turn brings greater glory to God, and by extension the believer, the producer of the “Love-Fruits” through the Spirit. Jesus goes on to say, “He (the Father) cuts off every branch of Mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and He prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the Vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in Me” (John 15:2-4).
By saying, “If you remain in Me and My words remain in you… You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in Me” (John 15:7), how do we interpret the Spirit’s functionality in Jesus’ utterances (Word)? The Bible shows that the Spirit’s work is like fire, wind, water, and breadth. (Act.2:2-3; John 7:37-39; Heb.12:29; John 3:8; John 20:22-23). So Jesus’ utterances can be associated in the divine manner that’s likened to physical elements we can humanly understand.
By saying “You cannot be fruitful unless you remain in Me” in John 15:4, harmonizes with the passage quoted earlier, “Christ in you, our hope of glory” (Col.1:27). Recall, the Holy Spirit cannot enter human life without Christ first appearing to redeem humanity as Savior, thereby rescuing mankind from sin and death. (Rom.6:23; Act.2:33). When Christ was crucified upon His cross, all humanity was crucified with Him. Then, when He was resurrected, we were resurrected with Him, and in His ascension we were given new life in the Spirit of God’s power and glory.
In our fallen human state, we have inherited the enemy’s works which brings curse, incarceration, and ultimately death. However, Paul tells us this in his letter to the followers of his time, “You were dead in your sins, but God made you alive in with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; as He has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (Col.2:13-15). Jesus guaranteed our deliverance and freedom and rendered Satan powerless through public humiliation at His cross.
So, in the act of baptism which believers undergo, they are always restating these astounding truths revealed by God our Father through His Son in fellowship with the Spirit. (Rom.6:5-7; Gal.2:20; Matt.3:16-17). The Spirit cannot enter human life without Christ mediation first (Rom.8:16). Acts 2:33 tells us that the Spirit’s ministry in humanity comes from Christ.
The Promised Holy Spirit Comes Through Christ’s Mediation as Redeemer
So, Jesus’s exaltation in heaven allows Him to continue His ministry by pouring out the Holy Spirit on humanity (John 7:39; Act.2:38; 1 Cor.3:16). The Holy Spirit is said to take up residence in the hearts of believers. According to Romans 8:16, when the Spirit of God leads a person’s life, “the Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.”
In the first place, humanity must understand God has saved all mankind through Jesus as Savior, and appeals to us to receive Him so we can receive His Holy Spirit of power. (Act.2:38; John 3:16). Let us remind ourselves that due to Adam’s fall in Eden, the death penalty has passed down upon humanity. (Gen.3:1-6). Paul tells us, “For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Cor.15:21-22).
By saying “In Christ all will be made alive,” actually speaks of eternal life or immortality, as John affirms, “For God so Loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). So, just as Paul affirmed to the Romans, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom.6:23). Jesus is the prophesied “Second Adam” who came to rescue humanity once for all from sin and death and bring eternal life (1 Cor.15:45-49, NLB).
The Last Adam—that is, Christ—is a Life-Giving Spirit.
So, the gospel of Jesus Christ has come a full circle and thus gave passage for the Holy Spirit to enter humanity, and making His home in the hearts of human life, “Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear” (Act.2:33; John 7:39; John 14:26; also 1 Cor.3:16) In this way, we are given the Love-Fruits of the Spirit to live and exist in the trinitarian life of God for eternity in Christ.
Yes, Christ’s sacrifice has initiated for all humanity a life of holiness by the power of the Holy Spirit, where we read the following truth, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God…By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Heb.10:10). Then later we read the following, “For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified” (Heb.10:14).
By using the word “sanctified” the passage refers to the meaning of living life in holiness. Now, through the move of the Spirit He brings His Love-Fruits in order that we learn to Love people well through the divine emotions through the trinitarian life in Jesus Christ.
Made Holy in Christ Through Spirit’s Fellowship
Let us close with a prayer, “Almighty God, Father of all humanity, thank You for Your infinite mercy for humanity, that though death has been our lot because of Adam’s fall in Eden, You prepared the Second Adam in your Son Jesus Christ, to enter our temporary existence and redeem and save us from sin and death. (Rom.6:23). Thank You that in Jesus Your Son, we will find redemption and freedom for all eternity in your everlasting family and kingdom.
“Grant Your promised celestial life in Your Son through Your Holy Spirit, and open our eyes to the wondrous gifts You have conferred upon us all so we may serve one another in Your Love, we praise and glorify You in your Son, Amen.”
Prayer is A Solemn One-On-One Spiritual Love Dialogue Between a Person and God the Father.
I welcome you into the celestial life of Love in God’s holy, eternal Family. (1 Tim.6:19) Then keep in touch with God’s Word for you by reading and studying your Bible, and visiting this blog and website and look at various subjects that may be relevant for your situation – go to: http://bulamanriver.net. You can email me with your questions at the address shown below.
Blessing: Until we meet again in my next post, may the blessings of the God who ceaselessly expresses Himself in His dependable Triune Love, be with you always. May the Spirit enliven your spirit and make all things concerning you possible as you live the “Triune Life” of God. Be strong in the Lord’s joy.
In Love, farewell for now!
Kiang, (Your Servant in Christ)
*Triune Life: “Triune Life” speaks of the process of theosis or deification of humanity. What is theosis or deification? “It refers to apotheosis, meaning “making divine.” Theosis or deification is a transformative process whose aim is likeness to or union with God (as taught by the Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Church).” (Wikipedia.org)
The belief in the process of ‘deification’ is understood in accordance with Jesus’ teaching, when He said, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods” ’? If He called them ‘gods,’ to whom the Word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside (cannot be broken)” (John 10:34-35; Psa.82:6). (You can read about the Triune Life at: http://bulamanriver.net/9199, and other posts)
The Human Resurrection to Immortality Through Jesus.
“The Empty Tomb” – Persuasive Imagery of Jesus’ Own Resurrection to Immortality and the Promised Deification of Humanity in Christ Who Directly Reflects “God’s Image” (Col.1:15; Rom.8:29; Gen.1:27; John 11:25)
Adam was solitary and incomplete until God made Eve. He said, “It is not good for the man to be alone (solitary). I will make a helper suitable for him” (Gen.2:18, italics mine). So, God gave Adam a family to raise composed of a father, mother, and offspring, to reflect Himself in His plural Being. The Bible states that the Church’s or humanity’s destiny is to marry Christ, the second Person of the Triune Godhead, in the new age to come which will be an everlasting divine relationship. (2 Cor.11:2; Eph.5:23-27, 32; Rev.19:7) The Bible is abundantly clear about God’s nature and declaration of Himself in His relational Triune Being from the past, the present, and the future. God has never lived as a solitary Being, but a Tri-Personal Being.
It’s noteworthy to understand that Eve was not created an individual creation from the dust of the earth as was Adam. She was not created apart from Adam as an individualized separate human being, instead, she was taken out from Adam’s side to show she was biologically one and indivisibly part of Adam, like God is in His Tri-Personal Being of the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit. Eve was not detached (solitary) from Adam, but intrinsically inseparable from Adam’s innermost humanity, as God is in His divine triunity. When Adam saw Eve, he said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man” (Gen.2:21-23) God created humanity to reflect Himself in His unified Tri-Personal Being (Trinity).
Rublev’s Icon of The Trinity (Wiki Commons)
Each one of us was created as an indivisible relational human being incubated and given birth from Adam’s mold as one species, for God created humanity to reflect the eternal likeness in His triunity. We are born for relationships with the divine triune Love as our guiding principle. All this show that humans were created to be indivisibly one to reflect God’s Tri-Personal image of Oneness (Trinity), not solitary separateness.
When God sent Jesus His eternal Son, He became human in order to unify humanity spiritually to the Triune Being of God through Christ once for all time. Hence, when the prophet Isaiah proclaimed Jesus’ coming, He was given the prophetic name, Immanuel (Isa.7:14). The name means “God with us” (Matt.1:23). Humanity is ‘organically’ one with the Triune God through Christ, just as humanity is one with Adam who was created in God’s image and likeness. (Gen.1:26-27)
Most religions believe God as some solitary being. The true God is not solitary by any means, He is the one Triunity in His Tri-Personal Being. God consist of three Persons in One divine triune Godhead. (Matt.28:18-20) They exist in One “homoousion” meaning consisting in one substance, or “consubstantiality.” The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit exist in One hypostatic union, One substance, like Eve was biologically part of and never physically separate, but of one substance from Adam, for she came out of Adam. Likewise, humanity is made of one spiritual substance with the triune God through Jesus Christ who took our humanity upon Himself and joined it to the divine triune existence forever.
The three-dimensional Triune Life/Love is opposed to living the one-dimensional solitary life of the fallen humanity inherited from Satan through Adam’s rebellion. For additional information about the Triune Life: http://bulamanriver.net/?p=8036. Also at: http://bulamanriver.net/9092.
**Bulamanriver: is the metaphor describing the union of man with the Love of the Triune God flowing in humans, making possible the “Triune Life” – the source of the miraculous life in man. To read the different facets of the life of the Bulamanriver, you may obtain a copy of my book, “Bula” Man-River, from Amazon.com; xulonpress.com, barnesandnoble.com, and other online book stores. All proceeds will go towards furthering the work of Gospel of Jesus Christ around the world.
“Bulamanriver” Book Cover
***Mission Statement: Read the Triune Love Mission, Vision, and Value statements at: http://bulamanriver.net/8664
Mission, Vision, Value, Statements
****The “Love-Fruits of the Holy Spirit:” *the fruit of patience, *the fruit of kindness, *the fruit of contentedness, *the fruit of modesty (unboastful), *the fruit of humility, *the fruit of honor, *the fruit of unselfishness, *the fruit of calmness and dignity, *the fruit of forgiveness and compassion, *the fruit of delighting in good and shunning evil, *the fruit of tolerance, *the fruit of responsibility, *the fruit of enduring hope, *the fruit of steadfast perseverance, *the fruit of joy, *the fruit of peace, *the fruit of goodness, *the fruit of faith, *the fruit of gentleness, *the fruit of self-control, *the fruit of zeal and spiritual fervor, *the fruit of friendship, *the fruit of sharing and generosity, *the fruit of prayerfulness, *the fruit of hospitality, etc. (1 Cor.13; also Gal. 5:22-23; Rom. 12:9-21). These attributes may seem ordinary and mundane, but when empowered and propelled in the Spirit’s power, they are transformed into divine elements of transformation.
The “Love-Fruits” of the Holy Spirit:
These Love-fruits speaks volumes and gives us a peek into the different tones of God’s Love. They are not rules to live by as if they are legalistic requirements to follow. They tell us how God in His Tri-Personal Being in the Father, Son, and Spirit, have lived in One unified shared Love-experience from eternity as God, and desires to share His “Triune Life” with believers. They reveal the holy emotions of the Tri-Personal Being of God. These are not human emotions, they reveal the divine passion and desire of how God lives “naturally” in an intuitive and spontaneous fashion amongst Them.
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