Galatians 5:22

But the fruit of the Spirit,.... Not of nature or man's free will, as corrupted by sin, for no good fruit springs from thence; but either of the internal principle of grace, called the Spirit,

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Confirming Galatians 5:18 by the contrariety between the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit.

The fruit of the Spirit; those habits which the Holy Spirit of God produceth in those in whom it dwelleth and worketh, with those acts which flow from them, as naturally as the tree produceth its fruit, are, love to God, and to our neighbours: joy; the soul’ s satisfaction in its union with God, as the greatest and highest good; with an actual rejoicing in Christ, and in what is for his honour and glory, called a rejoicing in the truth, ; and in the good of our brethren, : peace; quietude of conscience, or peace with God, (of which peace of conscience is a copy), and a peaceable disposition towards men, opposed to strife, variance, emulations, &c.: long-suffering; opposed to a hastiness to revenge, and inclining us patiently to bear injuries: gentleness; sweetness and kindness of temper, by which we accommodate ourselves, and become mutually useful to each other: goodness; a disposition in us to hurt none, but to do all the good we can to all: faith; by faith seemeth here to be meant, truth in words, faithfulness in promises, and in dealings one with another.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Ver. 22. The fruit of the Spirit] The spirit of grace are those two golden pipes, Zechariah 4:12, through which the two olive branches empty out of themselves the golden oils of all precious graces into the candlestick, the Church. Hence grace is here and elsewhere called the fruits of the Spirit, pleasant fruits, Son 4:16; Son 6:2; John 15:16. Longsuffering] It hath been questioned by Aquinas whether a man can be longsuffering, sine auxilio gratiae, without the help of grace. But that which is right is a fruit of the Spirit. Gentleness] Gr. χρηστατης. Usefulness, sweetness. Faith] That is, faithfulness, as Matthew 23:23; 1 Timothy 5:12; Titus 2:10.

(22) The fruit of the Spirit.—There does not seem to be any essential difference between this term and that used above: “the works of the flesh.” The fruit of the Spirit is that which naturally grows out of the operation of the Spirit, in which it naturally results. The expression “fruit” is, however, generally used by St. Paul in a good sense. The list which follows brings out in a striking manner the peculiar finish and perfection which belongs to the Christian morality. It will be seen at a glance how it differs from any form of pagan or philosophic ethics. At the head of the list is “love,” which Christianity takes as its moving principle—not being, perhaps, alone in this, but alone in the systematic consistency with which it is carried out. Next comes “joy,” a peculiarly Christian grace, which has a much deeper root than mere natural cheerfulness of temper, and is rather the unfailing brightness and equanimity which proceeds from calm and settled principles animated by the Divine Spirit itself. It may be questioned whether “peace” is here the tranquility which is shed abroad in the heart by the sense of reconciliation with God, or rather, from the context that follows, peaceableness towards men. The remainder of the list, it will be seen, is made up of those delicate and fragile forms of virtue which the ordinary course of society is least likely to foster. Patriotism, courage, generosity, prudence, fortitude, are virtues that would be produced by the regular action of natural selection left to itself. “Long-suffering,” “gentleness,” “goodness,” “faith,” “meekness,” “temperance,” need a more spiritual process for their development. Gentleness, goodness.—Perhaps, rather, kindness, goodness. The difference between the two Greek words and the ideas which they denote would appear to be somewhat similar to the difference between these two words in English. The second would represent a rather more positive tendency of disposition than the first. Faith.—Rather, perhaps, faithfulness; not here in the sense peculiar to St. Paul, in which faith is the primary Christian virtue, but rather (as the context shows) “faithfulness,” or “trustworthiness” in dealing with men, along with, perhaps, that frank and unsuspicious temper which St. Paul ascribes specially to charity (1 Corinthians 13:7).

Verse 22. But the fruit of the Spirit] Both flesh-the sinful dispositions of the human heart and spirit-the changed or purified state of the soul, by the grace and Spirit of God, are represented by the apostle as trees, one yielding good the other bad fruit; the productions of each being according to the nature of the tree, as the tree is according to the nature of the seed from which it sprung. The bad seed produced a bad tree, yielding all manner of bad fruit; the good seed produced a good tree, bringing forth fruits of the most excellent kind. The tree of the flesh, with all its bad fruits, we have already seen; the tree of the Spirit, with its good fruits, we shall now see. Love] αγαπη. An intense desire to please God, and to do good to mankind; the very soul and spirit of all true religion; the fulfilling of the law, and what gives energy to faith itself. See Galatians 5:6. Joy] χαρα. The exultation that arises from a sense of God's mercy communicated to the soul in the pardon of its iniquities, and the prospect of that eternal glory of which it has the foretaste in the pardon of sin. See Romans 5:2. Peace] ειρηνη. The calm, quiet, and order, which take place in the justified soul, instead of the doubts, fears, alarms, and dreadful forebodings, which every true penitent less or more feels, and must feel till the assurance of pardon brings peace and satisfaction to the mind. Peace is the first sensible fruit of the pardon of sin. See Romans 5:1, and the notes there. Long-suffering] μακροθυμια. Long-mindedness, bearing with the frailties and provocations of others, from the consideration that God has borne long with ours; and that, if he had not, we should have been speedily consumed: bearing up also through all the troubles and difficulties of life without murmuring or repining; submitting cheerfully to every dispensation of God's providence, and thus deriving benefit from every occurrence. Gentleness] χρηστοτης Benignity, affability; a very rare grace, often wanting in many who have a considerable share of Christian excellence. A good education and polished manners, when brought under the influence of the grace of God, will bring out this grace with great effect. Goodness] αγαθωσυνη. The perpetual desire and sincere study, not only to abstain from every appearance of evil, but to do good to the bodies and souls of men to the utmost of our ability. But all this must spring from a good heart-a heart purified by the Spirit of God; and then, the tree being made good, the fruit must be good also. Faith] πιστις, here used for fidelity-punctuality in performing promises, conscientious carefulness in preserving what is committed to our trust, in restoring it to its proper owner, in transacting the business confided to us, neither betraying the secret of our friend, nor disappointing the confidence of our employer.

19–23. St Paul supplies a test whereby men may ascertain whether they are under the curse of the law or heirs of the promise.First, the Apostle gives a list of the works of the flesh—not complete but comprehensive—the commission of which excludes men from the inheritance. They cannot plead the promise. It is not for such as they. They shall not inherit the Kingdom of God. Then follows, not an enumeration of the works of the Spirit, but a statement of its fruit. Vital Christianity is not a set of acts—a list of good deeds—it is a disposition of the heart—a character. If the tree is good, the fruit will be good; and by its effects ‘a lively faith may be as evidently known as a tree discerned by the fruit’, Art. XII.19 … 21. A fourfold classification of the sins here mentioned has been suggested; (1) sins of sensuality; (2) sins connected with heathenism as a religion (idolatry and sorcery); (3) violations of the law of love, in feeling and in act; (4) sins of intemperance.which are these] ‘such as, for example.’ The catalogue does not pretend to be complete.adultery] Omitted in the best MSS. Jerome, after observing that in the Latin copies ‘adulteries’ and ‘murders’ are contained in St Paul’s catalogue, adds, ‘but it should be known that only fifteen works of the flesh are specified’. It is included in the general term ‘fornication’, which here denotes all improper relations between the sexes, married or single. (Matthew 5:32.)uncleanness] Impurity generally, but with special reference to those unnnatural vices to which many heathen were addicted.lasciviousness] Rather, ‘open, shameless profligacy’.

But the fruit of the Spirit - That which the Holy Spirit produces. It is not without design, evidently, that the apostle uses the word “Spirit” here, as denoting that these things do not flow from our own nature.

22. Three inward graces. Love—Placed at the head, (as hate is placed at the opposite head of malign emotions, Galatians 5:20,) as fountain of all the rest. Joy—Springing from sense of love from and to God and man.