Love is the first fruit of the Spirit. In this episode, Krisan Marotta shows that this fruit is not a warm, passing feeling. It is a changed way of seeing God, ourselves, and other people: learning to live as those who stand equally guilty and equally loved before Him, and then acting for the good of others the way we would want them to act for us.
In this week’s episode, we explore:
- What Paul means by “fruit”: not instant transformation or spiritual mood, but the long-term result of the Spirit’s work in us through struggle, trials, and growing understanding
- Why the fruit of the Spirit are not feelings, but perspective changes that come as the Spirit reshapes our worldview and teaches us to see truth more clearly
- How 1 Timothy 1:5 shows that love flows from sincere faith, a pure (undivided) heart, and a good conscience rooted in genuine understanding of the gospel
- The biblical command to “love your neighbor as yourself” in Leviticus 19:18, and how it forbids vengeance and grudges while calling us to act with the same patience and forgiveness we would want if the roles were reversed
- How 1 John 3:16–18 and Luke 6 teach that love is action, not talk—doing good, blessing, praying, giving, and seeking another’s welfare even when they do not treat us well in return
- The difference between biblical equality before God and modern ideas of equality, resentment, and victim/oppressor categories—and why love grows from knowing that we are all equally in need of mercy
- Why learning to love this way is both our present struggle and our future hope: evidence that the Spirit is at work now, and a promise that one day we will love as Christ loves, easily and fully
After listening, you’ll have a richer, more concrete understanding of what “love” really means as a fruit of the Spirit—and why it is so much more than being naturally kind or emotionally warm.
Series: Fruit of the Spirit
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