“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control…”
Galatians 5:22-23
Each of the fruit of the Spirit is an attribute of God. God unconditionally says, “They are you.” God knows you have love. He knows you have joy—it doesn’t matter what you are going through. God knows you have joy down there inside you, because Christ is joy.
Peace. How do you explain that? I used to think the Prince of Peace. “Hello, Prince.” I always thought: “Others have the peace. Give me some, Jesus.” But that’s not what the Bible teaches. The Bible says you have peace. When you are unhappy and everything is going wrong, God says, “Have peace.” He doesn’t say, “I’ll give you some peace,” because He can’t give you what you already have. Peace is not a gift; it’s a fruit. Joy is not a gift; it’s a fruit. If God has it, you have it.
In the beginning there was only God. All that is and all that was, was in God—everything. We came out of God. Thus, everything that is in God, is in us: love…joy…peace…patience…kindness…goodness…faithfulness…gentleness…self-control. These are in God and in us.
“Love? I can’t like that person.”
“You’re lying to me,” God says. “What do you mean you can’t love? Your spirit connected to My Spirit can do all things. Since I love, you can too.”
As Romans 5:5 puts it: “…God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit….” After you return to God, the Holy Spirit brings love back to your heart. He ignites the stuff that has been in your heart all along. It’s not that you can’t love; you just don’t want to love. Love isn’t a decision you make, because you already have it. That’s why you can love your enemies.
Everything that is in God, is in us.
