Notes of Faith January 3, 2026

Notes of Faith January 3, 2026

Pastor’s Pen Pulpit

Series - “Fruit of the Spirit”

January 16, 2000

THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT

Galatians 5:22, 23

“For the Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience (long-suffering), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, against such things there is no law.”

First you will note that “fruit” is singular. There are not nine Fruits of the Spirit. There is one fruit with nine flavors. These nine flavors are the constituent elements of one fruit. Let’s look at each one.

LOVE

There is a sense in which everything else in this verse flows out of love.

• Love is greater than faith and hope (I Corinthians 13:13)

• Love is the great commandment (I John 3:23)

• Love fulfills the law (Romans 13:8-10)

• Love serves an evangelical purpose (John 13:34, 35)

I Corinthians 13 is the most complete commentary we have on love. Love is seen in 15 movements or expressions in verses 4-7 - all self explanatory.

Love -

suffers long

is kind

does not envy

is not puffed up

does not parade itself

does not behave rudely

does not seek its own

is not provoked

does not keep a record of a wrong suffered

does not rejoice in iniquity

rejoices in the truth

bears all things

believes all things (puts the best possible construction upon everything)

hopes all things

endures all things.

Paul wrote to the Colossians that he prayed for them when he “heard of their faith in the Lord Jesus and their love for all the saints (Colossians 1:4).”

So love is our badge. Let’s wear it!

Love to all –

Charles Covington

I spent ten to twelve weeks preaching on the fruit of the Spirit. I think I could have taken many more. The fruit of the Spirit is the nature of God Himself and His Spirit that lives within the believer will produce this fruit if the person the Spirit is living within will submit to the will of God. The battle of the flesh and the Spirit is great, but in the end we will be with God the Father, because our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ made a way, through the power of the Holy Spirit living within us!

May you overflow with fruitfulness today!

Pastor Dale