LOVE - THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT –Part 1
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."
The Christian life begins with the new birth. Jesus told Nicodemus that he “must be born again” to see or enter the kingdom of God. This new birth is a spiritual birth. John 3:6 says, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." From this verse, we learn that the human spirit is born into God’s family. The believer becomes spiritually alive.
How can you tell if a person is born again? One of the ways is that the fruit of the Spirit is seen in the overflow of his life.
The first fruit of the Spirit is love. Love becomes a characteristic of the yielded believer. This love is shed abroad in his heart by the Holy Spirit. Romans 5:5 "And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us."
This love expresses itself in love for the brethren. 1 John 3:14 "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death." This love is essential to the assurance of salvation. This text says, “We know that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren…”
So this fruit of the Spirit identifies the believer as a child of God who is walking in the Spirit. Jesus said in John 13:35, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."
Is love for the brethren a characteristic of your life? If so, it identifies you as a child of God walking in the Spirit.
May the Lord bless these words to our hearts!
In Christ,
Bro. White
