"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another," Galatians 5:22-26.
Love
Love is the fundamental principle of the Law. God is love. His creatures came into existence as the result of God’s love and their character was impregnated with love. Anything contrary to God’s love is sin.
This divine characteristic is clearly present in both the Old and in the New Testament. When Moses was reviewing God’s dealing with His people, he declared: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” Deuteronomy 6:4, 5.
When questioned by the doctor of the law about the great commandment, Christ answered him: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” Matthew 22:37-39.
Paul also followed the same line of thought when he said: “Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law,” Romans 13:8-10.
The same apostle gives the most beautiful description of this love in 1 Corinthians 13:1-8, 13: “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endure all things. Love never ends…So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
“No matter how high the profession, he whose heart is not filled with love for God and his fellow men is not a true disciple of Christ. Though he should possess great faith and have power even to work miracles, yet without love his faith would be worthless. He might display great liberality; but should he, from some other motive than genuine love, bestow all his goods to feed the poor, the act would not commend him to the favor of God. In his zeal he might even meet a martyr’s death, yet if not actuated by love, he would be regarded by God as a deluded enthusiast or an ambitious hypocrite.
“‘Charity [love] suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up.’ The purest joy springs from the deepest humiliation. The strongest and noblest characters are built on the foundation of patience, love, and submission to God’s will.
“Charity ‘doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil.’ Christ-like love places the most favorable construction on the motives and acts of others. It does not needlessly expose their faults; it does not listen eagerly to unfavorable reports, but seeks rather to bring to mind the good qualities of others.
“Love ‘rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.’ This love ‘never faileth.’ It can never lose its value; it is a heavenly attribute. As a precious treasure, it will be carried by its possessor through the portals of the city of God.” Acts of the Apostles, pp. 318, 319.
Love is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. The other attributes mentioned are different manifestations of the same love.
Joy
Truly happy people are those who know Jesus Christ by personal experience. It is called the “joy of salvation.”
After his deep repentance of his sin in the case of Bathsheba, David prayed: “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.” Psalm 51:12. This true joy is possible only for those whose sins have been forgiven.
“There are souls to be revived; many to receive the joy of salvation into their own souls. They have erred, they have not been building a right character, but God has joy to restore to them, even the joy of His anointed. This will give efficiency and happiness and sanctified assurance—a living testimony. Tell the poor desponding ones who have gone astray from straight paths … [that] they need not despair. There is healing, cleansing for every soul who will come to Christ. There is a balm in Gilead; there is a Physician there.—Letter 93, Sept. 30, 1896, to A. T. Robinson, a pioneer missionary and organizer in South Africa.” —The Upward Look, p. 287.
“Transformation of character is to be the testimony to the world of the indwelling love of Christ. The Lord expects His people to show that the redeeming power of grace can work upon the faulty character and cause it to develop in symmetry and abundant fruitfulness.
“But in order for us to fulfill God’s purpose, there is a preparatory work to be done. The Lord bids us empty our hearts of the selfishness which is the root of alienation. He longs to pour upon us His Holy Spirit in rich measure, and He bids us clear the way by self-renunciation. When self is surrendered to God, our eyes will be opened to see the stumbling stones which our un-Christlikeness has placed in the way of others. All these God bids us remove. He says: ‘Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.’ James 5:16. Then we may have the assurance that David had when, after confession of his sin, he prayed: ‘Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation; and uphold me with Thy free Spirit. Then will I teach transgressors Thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto Thee.’ Psalm 51:12, 13.” —Testimonies for the Church, vol. 6, p. 43.
Peace
“Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:1.
In Isaiah 9:6, Christ is called “the Prince of Peace”. Maybe you have seen this expression somewhere: “No Jesus, no peace. Know Jesus, know peace.” It really makes sense. But what is the true meaning of knowing Jesus? In His intercessory prayer, recorded in John 17, Christ declared: “This is eternal life, that they know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent” (verse 3) Revised Standard Version.
“[John 17:3 quoted.] These words mean much. It is only by knowing Christ that we can know God. The Sent of God calls upon all to listen to these words. They are the words of God, and all should give heed to them; for by them they will be judged. To know Christ savingly is to be vitalized by spiritual knowledge, to practice His words. Without this, all else is valueless.” —The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, pp. 1145, 1146.
“The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.” Psalm 29:11.
“Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another,” Mark 9:50.
“In the ritual service, salt was added to every sacrifice. This, like the offering of incense, signified that only the righteousness of Christ could make the service acceptable to God. Referring to this practice, Jesus said, ‘Every sacrifice shall be salted with salt.’ ‘Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another.’ All who would present themselves ‘a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God’ (Romans 12:1), must receive the saving salt, the righteousness of our Saviour. Then they become ‘the salt of the earth,’ restraining evil among men, as salt preserves from corruption. Matthew 5:13. But if the salt has lost its savor; if there is only a profession of godliness, without the love of Christ, there is no power for good. The life can exert no saving influence upon the world. Your energy and efficiency in the upbuilding of My kingdom, Jesus says, depend upon your receiving of My Spirit. You must be partakers of My grace, in order to be a savor of life unto life. Then there will be no rivalry, no self-seeking, no desire for the highest place. You will have that love which seeks not her own, but another’s wealth.” —The Desire of Ages, p. 439.
Then true peace comes from the Prince of Peace. The effect of righteousness will be peace. Since we have no righteousness in ourselves, the only way to have and enjoy real peace is by accepting the righteousness of Christ by faith.
Patience
The patience of the saints is one of the main characteristics of God’s church in these last days. Says the prophet: “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus,” Revelation 14:12.
Patience is mentioned in the list of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) and in the ladder of Christian progressive character (2 Peter 1:6).
James emphasizes the need of patience in the Christian battle for victory: “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door. Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.” James 5:7-11.
And Paul makes clear that patience is a direct result of justification by faith and is connected with the love that the Holy Spirit sheds in the believer’s heart.
“Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us,” Romans 5:1-5.
“Patience as well as courage has its victories. By meekness under trial, no less than by boldness in enterprise, souls may be won to Christ. The Christian who manifests patience and cheerfulness under bereavement and suffering, who meets even death itself with the peace and calmness of an unwavering faith, may accomplish for the gospel more than he could have effected by a long life of faithful labor. Often when the servant of God is withdrawn from active duty, the mysterious providence which our shortsighted vision would lament is designed by God to accomplish a work that otherwise would never have been done.” —The Acts of the Apostles, p. 465.
Kindness (gentleness)
“Paul’s writings show that the gospel minister should be an example of the truths that he teaches, ‘giving no offense in anything, that the ministry be not blamed.’ Of his own work he has left us a picture in his letter to the Corinthian believers: ‘In all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in watchings, in fastings; by pureness, by knowledge, by long suffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; as sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich.’ 2 Corinthians 6:3, 4-10.” —The Acts of the Apostles, p. 369.
“And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:32.
Goodness
(For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth) Ephesians 5:9.
“The apostle’s earnest words of entreaty were not fruitless. The Holy Spirit wrought with mighty power, and many whose feet had wandered into strange paths, returned to their former faith in the gospel. Henceforth they were steadfast in the liberty wherewith Christ had made them free. In their lives were revealed the fruits of the Spirit—‘love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.’ The name of God was glorified, and many were added to the number of believers throughout that region.” —The Acts of the Apostles, p. 388.
There are many Bible verses exalting the goodness of the Lord and very few making reference to the goodness of man. The reason is very simple: God is good by His own nature, and man is evil by his own sinful nature. The only way to be good is by accepting the goodness of the Lord as revealed in the perfect character of Christ.
“From a worldly point of view, money is power; but from the Christian standpoint, love is power. Intellectual and spiritual strength are involved in this principle. Pure love has special efficacy to do good, and can do nothing but good. It prevents discord and misery and brings the truest happiness. Wealth is often an influence to corrupt and destroy; force is strong to do hurt; but truth and goodness are the properties of pure love.” —The Adventist Home, p. 195.
“The difference between a good person and a wicked person is not always caused by natural goodness of disposition. Goodness is the result of divine power transforming human nature. By believing in Christ, the fallen race that He has redeemed may obtain that faith that works by love and purifies the soul from all defilement. Then Christlike attributes appear, for by beholding Christ people become changed into the same image.” —Christ Triumphant, p. 49.
Faith
Faith is an essential attribute for our salvation. Man cannot produce it. It is a gift of God. Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:8-10: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
“The just shall live by faith,” Romans 1:17.
“Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God,” Romans 10:17.
“Whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” Romans 14:23.
“Only by faith in Christ can the sinner be cleansed from guilt and be enabled to render obedience to the law of his Maker.” —The Acts of the Apostles, p. 425.
“Holy men of old were saved by faith in the blood of Christ.” —Ibid., p. 424.
“It is the triumph of the Christian faith that it enables its followers to suffer and be strong; to submit, and thus to conquer; to be killed all the day long, and yet to live; to bear the cross, and thus to win the crown of glory.” —Ibid., p. 467.
Meekness
Words of Jesus in His sermon on the mount: “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth,” Matthew 5:5.
“The statement made by Moses under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that he was the meekest man upon the earth, would not have been regarded by the people of his time as a commendation; it would rather have excited pity or contempt. But Jesus places meekness among the first qualifications for His kingdom. In His own life and character the divine beauty of this precious grace is revealed.”
“Jesus emptied Himself, and in all that He did, self did not appear. He subordinated all things to the will of His Father. When His mission on earth was about to close, He could say, ‘I have glorified Thee on the earth: I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do.’ John 17:4. And He bids us, ‘Learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart.’ ‘If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself’ (Matthew 11:29; 16:24); let self be dethroned and no longer hold the supremacy of the soul.”
“Human nature is ever struggling for expression, ready for contest; but he who learns of Christ is emptied of self, of pride, of love of supremacy, and there is silence in the soul. Self is yielded to the disposal of the Holy Spirit. Then we are not anxious to have the highest place. We have no ambition to crowd and elbow ourselves into notice; but we feel that our highest place is at the feet of our Saviour. We look to Jesus, waiting for His hand to lead, listening for His voice to guide. The apostle Paul had this experience, and he said, ‘I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.’ Galatians 2:20.
“The meekness of Christ, manifested in the home, will make the inmates happy; it provokes no quarrel, gives back no angry answer, but soothes the irritated temper and diffuses a gentleness that is felt by all within its charmed circle. Wherever cherished, it makes the families of earth a part of the one great family above.
“Far better would it be for us to suffer under false accusation than to inflict upon ourselves the torture of retaliation upon our enemies. The spirit of hatred and revenge originated with Satan, and can bring only evil to him who cherishes it. Lowliness of heart, that meekness which is the fruit of abiding in Christ, is the true secret of blessing. ‘He will beautify the meek with salvation,’ Psalm 149:4.”
“The meek ‘shall inherit the earth.’ It was through the desire for self-exaltation that sin entered into the world, and our first parents lost the dominion over this fair earth, their kingdom. It is through self-abnegation that Christ redeems what was lost. And He says we are to overcome as He did. Revelation 3:21. Through humility and self-surrender we may become heirs with Him when ‘the meek shall inherit the earth.’ Psalm 37:11.” —Thoughts From the Mount of Blessings, pp. 14-17.
“The language of the meek is never that of boasting. Like the child Samuel, they pray, ‘Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth’ (1 Samuel 3:9). When Joshua was placed in the highest position of honor, as commander of Israel, he bade defiance to all the enemies of God. His heart was filled with noble thoughts of his great mission. Yet upon the intimation of a message from Heaven he placed himself in the position of a little child to be directed. ‘What saith my Lord unto his servant?’ (Joshua 5:14), was his response. The first words of Paul after Christ was revealed to him were, ‘Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?’ (Acts 9:6).
“Meekness in the school of Christ is one of the marked fruits of the Spirit. It is a grace wrought by the Holy Spirit as a sanctifier, and enables its possessor at all times to control a rash and impetuous temper. When the grace of meekness is cherished by those who are naturally sour or hasty in disposition, they will put forth the most earnest efforts to subdue their unhappy temper. Every day they will gain self-control, until that which is unlovely and unlike Jesus is conquered. They become assimilated to the Divine Pattern, until they can obey the inspired injunction, ‘Be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath’ (James 1:19).” —The Sanctified Life, p. 15.
Temperance (self-control)
One of the best definitions of self-control or temperance is found in Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 562: “True temperance teaches us to dispense entirely with everything hurtful and to use judiciously that which is healthful.”
Temperance is connected with the fruit of the Spirit. No man can be temperate by himself. Only the grace of Christ can make us temperate in all things.
“In order to preserve health, temperance in all things is necessary,—temperance in labor, temperance in eating and drinking.”—Healthful Living, p. 68.
“Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God," 1 Corinthians 10:31.
“God requires all men to render their bodies to Him a living sacrifice, not a dead or a dying sacrifice, a sacrifice which their own course of action is debilitating, filling with impurities and disease. God calls for a living sacrifice. The body, He tells us, is the temple of the Holy Ghost, the habitation of His Spirit, and He requires all who bear His image to take care of their bodies for the purpose of His service and His glory. ‘Ye are not your own,’ says the inspired apostle, ‘ye are bought with a price’; wherefore ‘glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s’ (1 Corinthians 6:19, 20). In order to do this, add to virtue knowledge, and to knowledge temperance, and to temperance patience.
“It is a duty to know how to preserve the body in the very best condition of health, and it is a sacred duty to live up to the light which God has graciously given. If we close our eyes to the light for fear we shall see our wrongs, which we are unwilling to forsake, our sins are not lessened but increased. If light is turned from in one case, it will be disregarded in another.
“It is just as much sin to violate the laws of our being as to break one of the Ten Commandments, for we cannot do either without breaking God’s law. We cannot love the Lord with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength while we are loving our appetites, our tastes, a great deal better than we love the Lord. We are daily lessening our strength to glorify God, when He requires all our strength, all our mind. By our wrong habits we are lessening our hold on life, and yet professing to be Christ’s followers, preparing for the finishing touch of immortality. . . .
“Closely examine your own hearts, and in your lives imitate the unerring Pattern, and all will be well with you. Preserve a clear conscience before God. In all you do glorify His name. Divest yourselves of selfishness and selfish love.” —Ye Shall Receive Power, p. 79.
“Intemperance of any description is the worst kind of selfishness. How can any man or any woman keep the law of God requiring man to love his neighbor as himself, and indulge intemperate appetite, which benumbs the brain, weakens the intellect, and fills the body with corruption and disease? Those who pursue this course are in a fair way to lose both worlds. Christ came to our world to give to man moral power, that he might, through the mercies of Christ, combined with his human effort, present his body a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is his reasonable service.” —Forest Park Reporter, March 30, 1879.
Wherever they may be, those who are truly sanctified will elevate the moral standard by preserving correct physical habits, and, like Daniel, presenting to others an example of temperance and self-denial. Every depraved appetite becomes a warring lust. Everything that conflicts with natural law creates a diseased condition of the soul. The indulgence of appetite produces a dyspeptic stomach, a torpid liver, a clouded brain, and thus perverts the temper and the spirit of the man. And these enfeebled powers are offered to God, who refused to accept the victims for sacrifice unless they were without a blemish. It is our duty to bring our appetite and our habits of life into conformity with natural law. If the bodies offered upon Christ’s altar were examined with the close scrutiny to which the Jewish sacrifices were subjected, who with our present habits would be accepted?
“With what care should Christians regulate their habits, that they may preserve the full vigor of every faculty to give to the service of Christ. If we would be sanctified in soul, body, and spirit, we must live in conformity to the divine law. The heart cannot preserve consecration to God while the appetites and passions are indulged at the expense of health and life. . . .”
“Paul’s inspired warnings against self-indulgence are sounding along the line down to our time. . . . He presents for our encouragement the freedom enjoyed by the truly sanctified. ‘There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.’ Romans 8:1. He charges the Galatians to ‘walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh.’ Galatians 5:16, 17. He names some of the forms of fleshly lusts—idolatry, drunkenness, and such like. After mentioning the fruits of the Spirit, among which is temperance, he adds, ‘And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.’ Verse 24.” —Counsels on Health, pp. 68, 69.
“When the voice of God awakes the dead, he will come from the grave with the same appetites and passions, the same likes and dislikes, that he cherished when living. God works no miracle to re-create a man who would not be re-created when he was granted every opportunity and provided with every facility. During his lifetime he took no delight in God, nor found pleasure in His service. His character is not in harmony with God, and he could not be happy in the heavenly family.
“Today there is a class in our world who are self-righteous. They are not gluttons, they are not drunkards, they are not infidels; but they desire to live for themselves, not for God. He is not in their thoughts; therefore they are classed with unbelievers. Were it possible for them to enter the gates of the city of God, they could have no right to the tree of life, for when God’s commandments were laid before them with all their binding claims they said, No. They have not served God here; therefore they would not serve Him hereafter. They could not live in His presence, and they would feel that any place was preferable to heaven.” —Christ’s Object Lessons, pp. 270, 271.
Changing the Habits of Thought
“Let none imagine that without earnest effort on their part they can obtain the assurance of God’s love. When the mind has been long permitted to dwell only on earthly things, it is a difficult matter to change the habits of thought. That which the eye sees and the ear hears, too often attracts the attention and absorbs the interest. But if we would enter the city of God, and look upon Jesus and His glory, we must become accustomed to beholding Him with the eye of faith here. The words and the character of Christ should be often the subject of our thoughts and of our conversation, and each day some time should be especially devoted to prayerful meditation upon these sacred themes.” —The Sanctified Life, p. 91.
“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, and peace. Discord and strife are the work of Satan and the fruit of sin. If we would as a people enjoy peace and love, we must put away our sins; we must come into harmony with God, and we shall be in harmony with one another. Let each ask himself: Do I possess the grace of love? Have I learned to suffer long and to be kind? Talents, learning, and eloquence, without this heavenly attribute, will be as meaningless as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. Alas that this precious treasure is so lightly valued and so little sought by many who profess the faith!” —Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p.169.
“Here is held out the very thing for which we are to labor: ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is love.’ If we have the love of Christ in our souls it will be a natural consequence for us to have all the other graces—joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; and ‘against such there is no law.’ The law of God does not condemn and hold in bondage those who have these graces, because they are obeying the requirements of the law of God. They are law keepers, and . . . are not under the bondage of the law.” —In Heavenly Places, p. 244.
“The fruits of the Spirit, ruling in the heart and controlling the life, are love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, bowels of mercies, and humbleness of mind. True believers walk after the Spirit, and the Spirit of God dwells in them.” —This Day With God, p. 291.