In his letter to the Galatians, Paul describes what Jesus does for us. He doesn’t only give us eternal life, (so thankful for that!) but trusting Jesus gives us . . . Him. His Spirit, His wisdom, and His ways. When His Spirit lives within us, we become more like the Indweller–a God of love, grace, and goodness. These traits don’t only bless us; as they change our hearts, they bless others. We call these the “fruit” of the Holy Spirit, and the very first fruit is love because love changes everything.
what is the fruit of the spirit of love?
Love stirs up different images and feelings for each of us. It’s a word defined by culture. I think our grandparents or great-grandparents would define it differently than we.
But what is God’s love?
According to an article on the site Life, Hope, and Truth, by Eddie Foster,
The love that is listed as the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22 is much different. It is translated from the Greek word agape, used here to express the highest form of love that comes through the Holy Spirit. The love we are supposed to be demonstrating must be a godly love, which comes from God, the being who personifies this attribute.
How do we demonstrate godly love? The love we emit on our own looks like our worldly definition of love. And through those lens we perceive other’s actions and emotions toward us. But to love with Agape, godly love, we must have help. This where His Spirit comes in.
Just like an apple tree doesn’t produce bananas, so we can’t produce “good fruit” love without the source of LOVE Himself. He has made this possible by grafting us into the tree of God. His nourishing Holy Spirit feeds and waters us, and the Spirit produces the fruit of untainted love. We can better understand this untainted love by studying the biblical words for “love.”
the greek and hebrew “love” words
Underneath our English translations of Galatians 5:22-23, the first fruit is the Greek word, Agape. The definition for Agape may surprise you. According to Blueletterbible.org, Agape’s definitions include: charity, benevolence, and affection.
Think of God’s love and how He’s loved us through Jesus. Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). We were spiritual paupers. God’s love , His affection, stirred His heart to reach down to us with benevolent, charitable love because we were poor in heart. He demonstrated that benevolent love through the gift of His Son.
The Hebrew counterpart to Agape is Chesed. Both the Greek word (Agape) and the Old Testament Hebrew word (Chesed) define a tangible type “love.” David wrote about this love, “Because your love (Chesed) is better than life, my lips will glorify you” (Psalm 63:3 addition mine). Read through the definition for this very important Hebrew word:
Chesed: One of the most important words in the OT, chesed essentially denotes an act of kindness, love or mercy. The quality of kindness shown is usually reserved for close friends and family members but the act of chesedcan be demonstrated in any relationship…or covenant…but God’s chesed is not bound by covenant itself, and though men may prove unfaithful to this relationship, God’ chesed is everlasting.” (emphasis mine Key-Word Study Bible)
When David wrote of an active, merciful kindness. Sometimes we think we can earn somebody’s love—even God’s love. But mercy cannot be earned nor can kindness. Chesed is not earned. It simply flows out of the heart of the giver. It’s in His DNA. It is who He is. And when we accept that kindness and mercy, His lifegiving charity, it changes our spiritual DNA from orphan to daughter, rejected to desired, empty to full.
why love comes first
Love comes first in the list of the fruit flowing from the Spirit because the greatest commandments involve love. When asked about the most important commandments, Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind . . . and the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself'” (Matthew 22:36-40).
God never demands what He does not provide or makes possible. He knows we need help in the loving department. The fruit of Agape love helps us love Him and others, but also if you look at the rest of the fruit produced by the presence of Jesus in our hearts, those fruits cannot flow from a “loveless” heart. Love gives us joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.
3 Steps to live love out daily
If this is the most important fruit from the Spirit in us, how do we walk it out? Hopefully, this article has helped you with the first step which is revelation. We can’t give what we don’t understand.
- Revelation–pray for it.
What do I mean by revelation? I use this term to mean “understanding.” It’s that “a-ha!” moment. Like the moment you first “got it” concerning Jesus, or you finally figured out how to do a difficult algebra problem (which I never did!). When we have a new understanding of God’s ways, a grasp on what the gospel of Jesus Christ really is (His reign in our hearts), then whatever has kept us from producing Love will no longer stop its flow. The Fruit of the Spirit of Love will only be produced in us if Jesus has made himself home in our hearts.
2. Let Jesus move in–surrender.
Paul prayed for the Ephesian church that Jesus would “dwell” in their hearts. Here’s a portion of his prayer:
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:16-17
The word “dwell” means more than being a roommate. I unpack this more fully on my in the video teaching, “He Lives Here.”
But simply, we can understand it’s meaning by our own moves into our homes. When we move in, what do we do? We make it ours. My husband and I recently moved, and immediately we began unpacking our things, putting our furniture in each room, and our favorite paintings and family pictures on the wall. Those things make the home ours. We fill it with what gives us joy, and that’s what Jesus does when He dwells in our hearts. He makes it His by His Spirit’s presence. The third step helps us experience His life-giving, heart-changing presence.
3. Walk daily, hourly, minute, by minute with Jesus.
This third step may seem impossible. But nothing is impossible with God. Writing this post, an old hymn, “In the Garden,” kept playing in my mind. Maybe this chorus will be familiar to you too:
And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own,
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.
Do you hear the love in the songwriter’s words? Do you hear the joy? The difference between religion and relationship is experience. I pray you experience Jesus in your walk with Him.
How do we walk with Jesus? We can do that by prayer throughout the day–nothing fancy, just talking with Him as you would a friend. Listen for His response. Let it be a dialogue, not a monologue. Journaling always makes me feel closer to Him too and makes my prayers more tangible. Along with prayer, spending time in His Word also strengthens our faith and relationship with Him.
If you need help with that, here’s a Bible reading plan with a daily verse to read. It’s really just a place to start. See where He leads you after each scripture. You might copy it in a journal and circle the words that stand out. Or you may read the entire chapter. Let Him lead you. (Free PDF.)
Prayer For the fruit of love to flow
Beloved, you are cherished by the Father, and loved with a sacrificial, benevolent love. We aren’t alone. Our faith is not about us making good things happen; it’s about the Spirit changing us from the inside out for our own good but also for the good of our spouse, children, friends, neighbors, colleagues, and even our enemies! Love changes things. Let’s pray for His love to take over. Hold my hands.
“Father, thank you for Jesus! Thank you for your Agape, merciful, loving kindness. Help us understand it and accept it. Jesus, move in to our hearts and make them your home. Soften our hearts, heal our bitterness, our fear of others, our fear of you, and our pride . . . whatever is keeping your love from flowing from our hearts into the lives of those around us. We love you. Amen and amen.”
Live Teaching every faith friday
Come on over to my home via Instagram @wordsbyandylee every Friday morning at 9:00 ET. Bring your coffee, Bible, journal and your reading plan. We’ll be digging into one of the week’s verses. If that’s not possible for you, hop on over to YouTube @andyleeauthor to my Beloved and Becoming channel/podcast for the teaching and many others. Thanks for joining me today! Receive this blessing, “The LORD bless you and keep; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace. Amen.”
You are beloved,
Andy