THE BOOK OF GALATIANS
Galatians |ɡəˈlāSHənz| (in full St Paul's Epistle to the Galatians) a book of the New Testament, an epistle of St. Paul to the Church in Galatia.
The book of Galatians was written by the Apostle Paul to the church of Galatia around AD 47-48.
Galatians is most known for the famous verse about the fruits of the Spirit written in Chapter 5:22, “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
Paul explains that when we are true followers of Christ, there should be evidence of some kind of transformation in our lives. That physical transformation is often referred to as “fruit” in the Bible. Jesus says in John 15:5, “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.”
The Bible is very clear that we either live by the Spirit or we live by the flesh. The flesh is also known as our “sinful” nature. We are all sinners in need of salvation. It’s not hard to tell when we are disconnected from the “vine” because our outward characteristics will start looking more like what Paul describes in Galatians 5:19-21…
“When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.”
When I first started reading the Bible and following Jesus I wanted to be as much like Him as possible. But when I read this verse, I began to notice so many of these bad attributes in my life. I wanted to be more like God, so I started praying against these desires in my heart, asking God to transform me from the inside out. If I became jealous or angry, I would simply stop myself and ask God to come into that place in my heart. After some time (and a lot of pruning) my heart began to change—it began to produce fruit!
That fruit is known as the fruit of the spirit. These 9 attributes are character qualities of God—and evidence that we are becoming more like Him!
Here is a simple prayer you can pray every day to grow the fruits of the spirit in your life:
God, help me to be loving—always.
Help me to be joyful in every circumstance.
Help me to bring peace to every situation I encounter.
Help me to be patient with others.
Help me to be kind—putting the needs of others in front of my own.
Help me to be good—as You alone are good.
Help me to be faithful—as You have been faithful to me.
Help me to be gentle—gracious in my speech and actions.
And help me to be self-controlled—slow to speak, slow to get angry.
When we invite God into our lives, it’s impossible for us to stay the same. I’m praying that you and I will continue to grow in the fruits of the spirit—that our lives would be a living testimony of God’s grace, goodness, and mercy—so we can be a witness to those who don’t yet know His love. Amen!
XO-
Sabrina
“So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.” Galatians 6:9