
Worksheet
• Love is at the very essence of the fruit of the Spirit. The gifts of tongues, prophecy, wisdom, knowledge, and faith mean absolutely nothing without the fruit of the Spirit expressed in love. Therefore, the fruit of the Spirit must accompany the use of all spiritual gifts.
• While Paul emphasized that the gifts have no value outside of the fruit of the Spirit, believers must also recognize that gifts with the fruit of the Spirit have great power and usefulness in accomplishing the work of the Lord.
• The Holy Spirit is concerned with expressing both the character and power of Christ in and through every Spirit-filled servant of God.
FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT
• We believe the Fruit of the Spirit is developed in us and manifested through us as we partner with the Spirit, rather than by ‘self-effort’ or ‘works righteousness’ (John 15:5, Galatians 5:13).
• Believers who actively follow the leading of the Holy Spirit will manifest the fruit of the Spirit. Spirit-filled fruitfulness is available for every believer who actively surrenders to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
• The principle of fruit bearing is a principle of life. Fruit is not made; it grows.
• Ways to bear fruit:
1. Believers bear fruit when they abide in Christ (Jn. 15:1-8).
2. Believers bear fruit when they are pruned (Heb. 12:11).
• Fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23)
1. Love: It would be impossible to over-emphasize the prominence of this gracious virtue as the chief characteristic of the Christian life. “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love” (1 John 4:7-8). Love is the evidence that one has been born of God. It is not only the inner evidence but also the outer evidence.
2. Joy: Joy is love’s reaction to God’s mercies, blessings, and benefits. Christian joy is not dependent upon circumstances. Joy, which is a facet of love, trusts God even in the most trying circumstances. Human joy looks at the things of the earth and is affected by the surrounding conditions. Joy, as an expression of the fruit of the Spirit, looks heavenward and is unaffected by surrounding conditions, knowing heaven’s benefits are unvarying.
3. Peace: Peace is deeper and even more constant than joy. Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).
4. Longsuffering (Patience): Virtually all modern translations render the word “longsuffering” as “patience.” Patience is not a very prevalent characteristic of the human spirit. However, patience is a very special characteristic of God’s love that grows in believers when they abide in Christ. As believers realize how longsuffering the Lord has been with them, it enables them to be more patient with others. “Every believer needs the Holy Spirit’s help to produce Christ-like patience. The patience of God is crucial for spiritual contentment (Jas. 1:4).
5. Kindness: The Bible frequently uses the word kindness to depict how God deals with His people. The people of God, in turn, bring glory to God as they manifest kindness to each other. Kindness is love expressed to others in response to their weaknesses or faults. Kindness is closely associated with every believer’s need of grace.
6. Goodness: This is observed in practical, loving acts of goodness shown to others. When individuals are truly good at heart, they do good to others: “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good …” (Luke 6:45). Goodness is “love in action.” It is love actively doing good to bless and benefits others. Christians do good because they abide in the goodness of Christ. Spirit-filled believers will demonstrate a practical, loving goodness that overflows to all people.
7. Faithfulness: Faithfulness deals with the character of an individual in relationship to others. Faithfulness indicates the attitude of believers toward others. There are at least two aspects to faithfulness. The first expression of faithfulness is trustworthiness. The second aspect of faithfulness is trustfulness. Martin Luther said, “In listing faith among the fruits of the Spirit, Paul obviously does not mean faith in Christ, but faith in men. Such faith is not suspicious of people but believes the best. Naturally the possessor of such faith will be deceived, but he lets it pass. He is ready to believe all men.” Trustworthiness and trustfulness are both necessary aspects of faithfulness. A true Christian will be neither unfaithful nor overly suspicious.
8. Gentleness: “Gentleness is a calmness of demeanor, a slowness to be angered or take offense. Believers who are gentle are not selfishly aggressive. They are not quarrelsome or demanding. They are not argumentative or boastful. Gentleness is not the same as shyness, timidity, or weakness. Gentleness is not cowardice or a lack of leadership. Rather, individuals are gentle when they are confident of their worth in Christ. Gentle people do not feel the need to prove their worth by controlling people. Rather than a disqualification for leadership, gentleness is an essential characteristic for ministry leaders (see 1 Tim. 3:3; 6:11; 2 Tim. 2:24; Tit. 3:2).”
9. Self-control: True self-control is true self-love. Individuals who respect themselves, who consider their bodies to be temples of the Holy Spirit, will desire to grow in exercising control over their own impulses. True self-control is not just control over food and drink, but over every phase or desire of life. It is control over anger, carnal passions, appetites, desires for worldly pleasures and selfishness. Before individuals can lead a city, community, church, or nation, they must first be able to rule their own spirit.
GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT
• 1 Corinthians 12:7-10 describes the gifts of the Spirit as public manifestations of the Holy Spirit which are given to people as God determines for the edification of the church. We believe these are for the Church today and are to be earnestly desired.
• Gifts
1. Word of Wisdom: This is not the gift of wisdom in general, but the gift of a “word of wisdom.” Wisdom, in contrast to knowledge, probably means an insight for “practical conduct or action.” In local church life, there are times when important decisions need to be made through the leading of the Holy Spirit. The operation of a word of wisdom provides the Spirit’s guidance (1 Cor. 2:13-16).
2. Word of Knowledge: If a word of wisdom gives insight for practical action, a word of knowledge brings to light the principles of doctrine that form a basis for the action. A word of knowledge may bring scriptural truth to the attention of the church, or it may reveal facts that are needed for further response. The word of wisdom and word of knowledge are gifts to guide believers in knowledge and action. Gifts of revelation work in harmony with the Bible never contradicting the teachings of Scripture (1 Pet. 4:11; 2 Pet. 1:20-21).
3. Special Faith: Many writers on the gifts refer to the gift of faith as that of “special faith.” This is because the gift of faith differs from saving faith or daily faith by which individuals come to God. Special faith often works in conjunction with healings and miracles. The gift of faith is most likely expressed in the healing of the lame man at the gate called Beautiful (Acts 3). Peter had a gift of miraculous faith to command the lame man to rise and walk in the name of Jesus. “Perhaps Jesus was describing this quality of faith when he said to His disciples, “Have faith in God” (Mark 11:22). The Greek in this passage literally reads, “Have the faith of God.” Jesus suggested that with this divinely imparted faith a person might say to a mountain, “…Be removed and be cast into the sea…” (Mark 11:23), and it would happen.
4. Gifts of Healings: In the Greek, the terms “gifts” and “healings” are plural. This suggests there are either many gifts of healing for different diseases or that each exercise of healing power is a separate gift. Nowhere in the New Testament is a person said to have “the” gift of healing. Most evangelists and pastors with effective healing ministries do not claim to have the gift of healing. Certainly, no one has had the ministry of healing every sick person. What is certain is that God has made physical healing a ministry of His church through gifts of healings that operate along with faith. The clause “those who believe” suggests the signs or gifts were not limited to the apostles but available to all who have faith. In the command and promise of Jesus, the “laying on of hands” is an outward expression of faith and love on the part of those who pray, showing that God uses faithful believers as a channel of His power.
5. The gifts of Miracles: As with gifts of healings, working of miracles is also plural. This is not a gift that makes a person a “miracle worker.” It seems from the plurality of the expressions that each miracle is operated through an individual with a gift of faith (see Matt. 17:20; 21:20-22). A miracle is “An event or action that apparently contradicts known scientific laws and is hence thought to be due to supernatural causes, especially to an act of God. In the New Testament, events of supernatural origin are called “miracles, wonders and signs (Acts 2:22, 43; 6:8; 8:13; Heb. 2:4).
6. The gift of Prophecy: The New Testament describes two kinds of prophets: those who occupy the office of a prophet (Eph. 4:11) and those who exercise the gift of prophecy. Those of the first category are among the ministry gifts; those of the second can include any Spirit-filled believer. It seems not all can occupy the office of a prophet: “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets…” [Eph. 4:11], but among Spirit-filled believers “…you can all prophesy one by one…” (1 Cor. 14:31). “I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy…I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy” (Acts 2:17-18). Since every Spirit-filled believer can prophesy, having the gift of prophecy does not necessarily mean someone occupies the ministry office of a prophet.
7. Discernment of spirits: The gift of discerning of spirits is the capacity to discern or judge the source of a spiritual manifestation whether it is the Holy Spirit, an evil spirit or merely the human spirit. “Paul wrote: “Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge” (1 Cor. 14:29). This seems to imply that the gift of discernment will be present when the gift of prophecy is used. Apparently, in Corinth, the gift of discernment was as common as that of prophecy (“let the others judge”). Ultimately, all Spirit-filled believers can judge the operation of vocal gifts based on whether they are spiritually edifying to the body. Individuals are not infallible in their exercise of gifts.
8. Kinds of Tongues: In the Greek, “kinds of tongues” is gene glosson. The term “kinds” refers to the fact that there are “new tongues” and “tongues of men and of angels” (1 Cor. 13:1). Some tongues are human languages, such as on the Day of Pentecost when the multitude each heard in their “own tongues the wonderful works of God” to show that the gospel was for all races and nations (Acts 2:5-21). Other tongues are of heavenly origin and are used for praise and prayer that supersedes the constraints of the mind (1 Cor. 14:2; Rom. 8:26-27). The personal prayer language of tongues is given to every believer who is baptized with the Holy Spirit. It is provided to evidence Spirit baptism and to give believers he ability to pray, sing and praise God in the Spirit.
9. Interpretation of Tongues: The Greek word means “translation, explanation or interpretation.” The verb form of the word is used several times to mean “translation” (John 1:38, 42; 9:7; Heb. 7:2). Consequently, the interpretation of an utterance in tongues is an explanation of the tongues’ meaning, not a literal word-for-word translation. Since it is an explanation, it will most likely vary in length from the tongue being interpreted. When the gift of tongues is exercised for the edification of the church or as a sign gift, interpretation is essential. Paul seemed to limit the gift of tongues to personal prayer language unless accompanied by interpretation (1 Cor. 14:13, 27- 28).
• If we deeply believe these are for the Church today, then we can actively pursue and engage with them.
• We want to be able to articulate a biblical understanding of the fruit of the Spirit and passionately pursue the fruit as the tangible evidence of God’s Spirit being fully at work in their lives.
• The Spirit bestows both the fruit and the gifts; both are essential for a complete church. Love is an expression of the fruit of the Spirit. The great “love chapter” of the Bible, 1 Corinthians 13, is positioned between the two great “gift chapters.” This is to demonstrate that love is not an alternative to the gifts but is to be the true motivation for the exercise of all the gifts.
Foundations of Pentecostal Theology, Guy P. Duffield & Nathaniel M. Van Cleave
ARTICLE XII: THE GIFTS AND FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT (yellow)
We believe that the Holy Spirit has the following gifts to bestow upon the believing church of the Lord Jesus Christ: wisdom, knowledge, faith, miracles, prophecy, discernment, tongues, interpretation; that according to the degree of grace and faith possessed by the recipient, these gifts are divided to every and severally as He, the Holy Spirit, wills; that they are to be most earnestly desired and coveted in the order and proportion wherein they prove most edifying and beneficial to the church; and that the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, should be put forth, cultivated and diligently guarded as the resultant adornment, the constant, eloquent and irrefutable evidence of a Spirit- filled life.” (1 Cor. 12:1,31, 1 Cor. 12:11; Rom. 11:29; 12:6-8; John 15:8; Luke 3:9)
Take a few minutes to write you own sentence.
Questions and Scripture
What is the primary difference between the 1 Corinthians 12 gifts of the Spirit and other spiritual gifts in a believer’s life?
Discuss how you eagerly desire these gifts in your life and a time the Spirit used you in one of them.
- Why do you personally think that designating the fruit of the Spirit as “the irrefutable evidence of a Spirit-filled life” is so important? How attentive are you to the Spirit’s fruit in your life (Jn. 15:5, Galatians 5:13)?