Fruit of the Spirit Archives - Word of Grace Studies

Feeling at Ease with Who You are In Christ

John 15:1, 2, 4 I am the true vine and the Father is the vine dresser. Every branch in me not bearing fruit He lifts up and every branch bearing fruit He cleanses in order that it may bear more fruit…. Abide in me and I in you. Just as the branch does not have the natural ability to bear fruit from itself except it abides in the vine, thus neither can you, except you abide in me.

When we believed the Gospel for Salvation (Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures) we were placed into the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit. This body is a new creation by God in which Christ is the head and we are the body. In this new creation, old thing have passed away. We are no longer in Adam and therefore no longer condemned. Behold, all things have become new. We are in Christ, were we are now counted to be righteous before God, our spirits are connected to God, we are no longer a slave to the sin nature, we have a quality of the mind of Christ, and share in a quality of the Divine Nature. The change that happens at salvation is not a visible change because it begins in our spiritual part, and ends with our full redemption at the rapture with a resurrected body and a saved soul. Nonetheless, this change is very real. We are now able to receive the things of the Spirit and live a life that manifests the character of the resurrected Christ.

How comfortable are you with who you are in Christ? When Jesus first revealed the […]

Love and All Things

What are the “all things” that love is directed at in 1 Corinthians 13:7?

Love bears all, 1 Corinthians 13:7

“All” is restricted by the verb “to bear”, which comes from a word that means, “to put a roof on”, “to keep silent” or “to cover”. It is used four times in Scripture and is typically translated in the context as “remaining silent”. Love does not speak out even when it had the right to demand that which legitimately belongs to it, 1 Corinthians 9:12 (Many translation us the word “suffer”; however, this is not the Greek word for “suffer”, but rather the one for “remaining silent”)

Love believes all, 1 Corinthians 13:7

Belief comes from faith. Scripture defines faith as that which gives hope substance and is the evidence of accomplished deeds not seen, Hebrews 11:1 (Note: Although many of the translations use the word “things”, the original language does not. Faith is the substance of that which is hoped for, the evidence of accomplished deeds not seen.). Since a promise is always the basis for hope, faith is taking God at His Word, Romans 8:24, 25.
Because a promise is the basis for faith, the “all” has to be restricted to that which has been promised. Since love is directed at other believers, John 13:34, 1 John 3:23, 24, it will take a person at his or her word.
The abuse of love is not justified here, for if saints are continually doing wrong they are to be admonished and if they refuse to change their minds (repent) other saints are to separate from them. Romans 16:17; 1 Thessalonians 5:14. This is also an expression of love, by seeking the best for the one loved, which can require separation […]