The Promises of God - Lesson 22 The Fruit of the Spirit
Introduction:
1. The promises of God are "exceeding great and precious" (2 Peter 1:4). 2.Because God's promises are so special, they deserve our careful attention. 3.One of God's promises is revealed in Joel 2:28-32 -- He promised to send His Spirit. 4.According to the Scriptures,: a.God kept His promise (Acts 2:16-21) b.God has given people various measures of the Spirit, including: 1)the baptism of the Holy Spirit [received by the apostles (Acts 2) and the household of Cornelius (Acts 10)] 2)the miraculous indwelling of the Holy Spirit, accompanied by spiritual gifts [imparted by the laying on of the apostles' hands (Acts 8:14-17; 19:5-6)] 3)the non-miraculous indwelling of the Holy Spirit [received by those who obey the Gospel (Acts 2:38; 5:32)]. 5.Because the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is conditional (Romans 8:9-11), we must comply with the instructions that relate to Him. 6.God wants His children to: a."walk in the Spirit" (Galatians 5:16-17) b."live in the Spirit" (Galatians 5:25) c.sow "to the Spirit" (Galatians 6:7-8). 7.The fruit that we bear shows something about us (Luke 6:43-45). a.Those who walk in the flesh, live in the flesh, and sow to the flesh will bear "the works of the flesh" (Galatians 5:19-21). b.Those who walk in the Spirit, live in the Spirit, and sow to the Spirit will bear "the fruit of the Spirit" (Galatians 5:22-23). 8.In this lesson we are studying the 9 characteristics that make up "the fruit of the Spirit."
A.The Lord highly approves of these characteristics. B.He wants His followers to develop these characteristics and to continually grow in them (John 15:8). C.Requirements for bearing good fruit include: 1.the right kind of "seed" (Luke 8:11; Ephesians 6:17b) 2.the right kind of "soil" (Luke 8:15).
