SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY | FRIDAY | STORY | HELPS

---

LESSON 13

*March 20 - 26

The Fruit of the Spirit: The Essence of Christian Character

Read for This Week's Study:

Memory Text:

*Study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, March 27.

Seek First the Kingdom of God

So often our prayers are more about what we can get as opposed to what we should become. Think about your own prayers, or about the prayers that you hear others pray. No matter how legitimate the concerns are, what category do most of them fall under: What can I get, or what can I become? How do we understand this tendency in light of what Jesus says to us below?

“ ‘But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you’ ” (Matt. 6:33, NKJV). What does Jesus mean when He tells us to seek “first” the kingdom of God? Why seek that first? See Matt. 16:26.

How does Romans 14:17 help us understand what the kingdom of God is?

Notice that righteousness, peace, and joy are the fruit of the Spirit. Therefore, we should seek first the fruit of the Spirit before anything else. In the end, we can have everything the world offers, but what does that mean if we don’t have righteousness, peace, and joy?

If someone were to ask, “But does this mean that Jesus isn’t interested in my physical or financial well-being?” how would you answer in the light of Christ’s command to put the fruit of the Spirit before physical or material needs?

A concerned mother said, “Pastor, please pray for my boy, he is out of the faith, and he has lost his job. Pray that he will find work.” Was this concerned mother seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness for her son? Keeping in mind that the priority of the Christian life is not to get but to become, what should her request for her boy have been?

What are your main concerns as revealed not just by your prayers but by your life in general: getting what you want for yourself or becoming what God wants you to become? What does your answer tell you about your priorities?

Other Fruit of the Spirit

Galatians 5:22, 23 and Ephesians 5:9 are not the only texts that list the fruit that constitute the essence of Christian character. Many of the fruit are repeated in 1 Timothy 6:11, 2 Timothy 3:10, and 2 Peter 1:5–7, where qualities are added, such as godliness, virtue, and knowledge. It is interesting to note that 1 Corinthians 13:4–8 echoes the qualities of love and states many of them using the negative word not: “does not envy; . . . does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity” (NKJV).

It should be clear by now that there is not one official checklist when it comes to the fruit of the Spirit. There are many different aspects and nuances of Christian character. What the apostles do in each case is to list those that are especially applicable to their readers. What led Paul to the enumeration in Galatians was doubtless his pastoral knowledge of the particular needs of the congregation to which he was writing.

The fruit of “godliness” is mentioned in 1 Timothy 6:11. In the original language, the word godliness meant reverence, respect, and piety toward God. Romans 5:4, 5 mentions the quality of “hope.” What role does hope play in the Christian character? When all is said and done, our Christian faith offers us nothing if not hope.

Second Peter 1:5–7 is a list of qualities, among them “virtue,” which is not mentioned in the list in Galatians 5:22, 23. Virtue is associated with moral goodness as modesty and purity. Why is this quality indispensable in the Christian life? How does this quality relate to the seventh commandment?

Second Peter 1:5, 6 adds “knowledge” to the list. Though the word that is used, gnosis (gno’-sis), signifies general knowledge and understanding, as fruit of the Spirit-filled life, what role would knowledge play? How would knowledge relate to, for instance, the gift of discernment?

Peter did not call his list in 2 Peter 1:5–7 the fruit of the Spirit, but essentially that’s what they are, because they reveal what kind of people we should be as followers of Jesus.  

How well are these characteristics manifested in your own life? If you are discouraged by what you see, what’s your one hope? What’s the only place you can flee to, and what can you find there?

Perseverance in Faith

Yesterday’s discussion question brought up the question of how well we are doing in cultivating the fruit that is our privilege to bear for the honor and glory of God. No doubt, as one looks at all these qualities of character and then compares oneself to them, it would be easy to get discouraged. After all, shouldn’t we be bearing more fruit than we are?

That’s a fair question, one that we should all seriously think about. “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith” (2 Cor. 13:5). We need to take stock of ourselves; of how we are living and of what kind of witness we present to the world.

At the same time, too, we can face a danger. As Christians, we have the example of Jesus, the only sinless human being who ever lived. As we compare ourselves to Him, how easy it could be to get discouraged. How easy to see His sinlessness and perfection in contrast to our sinfulness and weaknesses. We do have a perfect standard to follow, a perfect law to obey, and a perfect Savior to emulate. As we all know, we often fall so far short of that standard, of that law, and of that Savior. How easy it can be, too, after falling and falling, after not seeing the kind of growth we would like, to get discouraged, even to the point of giving up, thinking, Why bother, I just can’t do it?

Here, though, is where we need to understand fully what salvation by faith is about. Here is where we need to understand where our salvation lies, and here is where we need to understand what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross.

Read Romans 3:20–26. What message is there for us about salvation? Why is this truth so important to cling to, especially when we feel discouraged about the state of our own fruit? 

No matter how earnestly we seek to live the Christian life and fight the battle against sin and self, as long as we keep before us, every day, every moment, the reality that our acceptance with God is found in Jesus and His righteousness, which He worked out for us and which He credits to us by faith, we will never give up. Why should we? Our salvation remains secure, not in ourselves but in Jesus.

A Conscience Seared

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15, NKJV). What is this text saying? Does it mean that God doesn’t love those who love the world, or that those who love the world don’t love God? Explain.  

“At times the longings of the soul go out for holiness and heaven; but there is no time to turn aside from the din of the world to listen to the majestic and authoritative utterances of the Spirit of God. The things of eternity are made subordinate, the things of the world supreme. It is impossible for the seed of the word to bring forth fruit; for the life of the soul is given to nourish the thorns of worldliness.”—Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 51.

While we must be aware of the dangers of legalism, ancient Israel always backslid when it tried to contemporize itself and become like the nations around it. First John 2:15 warns that love of the world makes impossible a heartfelt love for God. How careful we need to be as a church in making sure that, in our attempts to reach the world, we don’t become enamored by it and swept into it, all in the name of the Lord!

How can a person know when his or her love for the world has superseded his or her love for God? What signs should we look for?  

The danger of loving the world more than God takes on new meaning in James 4:4: “Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (NKJV). Why would James use the metaphor of adultery for church members who are swept up with the world? Notice, too, how John leaves no room for compromise in 1 John 2:15. It’s either God, or it’s the world.

What aspects of the world do you struggle with the most? What things do you find alluring? How can you learn to fight the fight of faith and not get swept up in something that, in the end, cannot satisfy and will destroy you?

How to Grow the Fruit of the Spirit (John 15:8)

Although we cannot make a seed grow, there are definitely things we can do that will facilitate growth until it bears fruit. So it is in the Spirit-filled life. While the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart of the believer is a part of the great mystery of life itself, Scripture has given us definite instruction on how to encourage that growth so that we may fulfill Jesus’ desire that we bring forth much fruit to the glory of the Father (John 15:8).

What follows below are some ways to encourage the growth of the fruit of the Spirit: Through study of the Word of God. What does 2 Timothy 3:16 declare that the Scripture is profitable for? As a result, what will be accomplished in our lives? (See vs. 17; see also Ps. 119:105.)

Through prayer. “Prayer is the breath of the soul. It is the secret of spiritual power. No other means of grace can be substituted, and the health of the soul be preserved. Prayer brings the heart into immediate contact with the Well-spring of life, and strengthens the sinew and muscle of the religious experience. Neglect the exercise of prayer, or engage in prayer spasmodically, now and then, as seems convenient, and you lose your hold on God. The spiritual faculties lose their vitality, the religious experience lacks health and vigor.”—Ellen G. White, Gospel Workers, pp. 254, 255.

Through the right kind of thoughts. “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” (Phil. 4:8). How can we learn to keep our mind on elevated thoughts?

Through our Christian witness. The man that Jesus healed of demons requested to go with Him. Jesus denied his request and rather asked him to return to where he lived and tell what the Lord had done for him (Mark 5:18–20). How does sharing our faith contribute to the growth of the fruit of the Spirit in our lives?

Further Study:  

Discussion Questions:

As a church, with a mission to spread the three angels’ messages to the world, we often struggle to find ways to make ourselves and our message relevant to the culture around us. What inherent dangers do we face when we do that? History shows that more often than not, the church through the centuries ends up getting converted to the ways of the world, as opposed to the world getting converted to the ways of the church. What about us, as Adventists? Do we fool ourselves in thinking that this isn’t happening to us, or that it can’t happen to us? Do we see evidence of this already happening? And, if so, what can we do?     In the twenty-first century, in your own culture, what are some of the greatest challenges to growing the fruit of the Spirit? What specific aspects of the culture must you unflinchingly fight against?     Why is the Cross so central to the whole question of the fruit of the Spirit and character development? What does the Cross offer us that’s indispensable in character development? After all, without the Cross, what would even be the purpose of bearing this fruit?      Why do our character development and good works bring glory to God? What’s that all about?

SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY | FRIDAY | STORY | HELPS

Join the SSNET moderated email discussion group.  You are also warmly invited to join a group discussion of this lesson Sabbath morning with your local Seventh-day Adventist congregation.

Editorial Office: 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904.

Copyright © 2010 General Conference of Seventh-day Adventist.  All Rights Reserved.

SSNET Web Site Home page
Directory of Sabbath School Bible Study materials
Archive of previous Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guides
Prepared for the Internet by the SSNET Web Team.

Last updated December 16, 2009.