Fruit of the Spirit, Week 2

Kindness

The fruit of kindness is the first fruit of the Spirit Derek will speak about today. The essential nature of kindness is treating other people the way we would wish them to treat us. That makes kindness practical, easy to comprehend and, in a certain sense, easy to apply, because we usually know how we would like other people to treat us. In fact, we’re very clear about that in our minds.

 

Goodness

Today Derek Prince will be talking about the fruit of goodness. To understand this fruit, Derek first looks at the word good itself. One of the most common words in the English language, we have watered down this word by using it very cheaply and carelessly. In Scripture, however, the word denotes excellence, especially moral excellence. And in its strictest use, it applies only to God Himself.

 

Faithfulness

Today Derek will speak about the fruit of faith or faithfulness. There are three types of faith: faith to live by, the gift of faith, and the fruit of faith, which is an aspect of character, something that must be carefully cultivated. In some versions of the Bible this is translated “faith,” in others it’s translated “faithfulness.” These are like the two sides of one coin. On one side is depending—that’s faith. On the other side being dependable—that’s faithfulness.

 

Gentleness

Today’s fruit of the Spirit Derek is speaking about is the fruit of gentleness. The word in the original Greek can equally well be translated as meekness. Some versions use one word, some the other. We need to bear in mind that gentleness includes meekness and meekness includes gentleness. But meekness is not weakness, as many people think. But, the exact opposite is the true: meekness is the demonstration of strength.

 

Self-Control

Today’s topic covers the last remaining form of spiritual fruit—the fruit of self-control. In some versions of the Bible, the word used is temperance, but that word is over 350 years old. In contemporary English today, “temperance” is often associated with abstinence from alcohol. However, the Greek word includes abstinence in every area of our lives. It not merely prohibits excessive indulgence in alcohol but just as much excessive indulgence in food, that is, gluttony or overeating.