Be a Person of Holy Spirit

Summary: Paul shifts from the works of the flesh to what becomes evident when the Spirit is producing life within a person. He portrays the Spirit’s fruit as a unified moral harvest—love expressed in joyful steadiness, peace that settles relationships, patience that endures strain, kindness and goodness that actively bless others, faithfulness that remains reliable, gentleness that refuses harshness, and self-control that governs desire and impulse. Against such qualities, he says, there is no law that condemns them. He then describes a decisive change of identity: those who belong to Christ have treated the flesh as something already sentenced—its passions and desires are no longer to be obeyed. Because their life is sourced from the Spirit, their daily conduct is to keep pace with the Spirit’s direction. The passage closes with a practical warning about community life: they must not become driven by empty pride that provokes others or breeds rivalry and envy, but instead live in step with the Spirit in a way that resists competitive, self-exalting behavior.   Teaching: The first thing that appears when we live by the Spirit is love. Love is everything. From joy to self-control, all of them are fruit that comes from love. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of love; Father God is the God of love, and the cross of Jesus is the cross of love. God is love. If one does not know God, there is no love. If one does not love God, love is in vain. When we love by receiving God’s love, we are praised as a faithful servant when God settles accounts. The person who has received the love of God has joy. And this joy gives peace. It is not peace because we do nothing; it is peace that an overcomer can have. Only with this kind of peace can one be patient. And from patience comes true kindness toward people - not compassion or sympathy, but kindness that comes from the love of God. Goodness is kindness with consideration added. Faithfulness comes from faith in God, and gentleness is related to patience: it is enduring suffering well—enduring anger, and enduring when one is insulted. Self-control is when a strong person hides his strength; because he is strong, he restrains that strength. Since a person of the Spirit is clothed with the Spirit’s power, a person of the Spirit has the strength to exercise self-control. A person who becomes like Jesus believes in Jesus: with the death of Jesus the sin of the self dies, and with the resurrection of Jesus the soul comes to life. Excerpt from the sermon by Pastor Lee, Mar 13, 2026 Galatians 5:22-26