Galatians 5:16-26 Good Fruit
Format for Your Devotions
Instructions: Do not read my example devotion until you have completed your own devotional time in the scriptures. Reading my thoughts first may limit your own understanding. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you alone before looking to see what anyone else has to say, whether it is me, a Bible commentary, or a friend. Let God speak to you before you let another person speak to you. I have provided a format, but modify it to fit your needs. For example, I usually combine my application and prayer together talking to God about the application to my own life. You can go through this devotion process mentally, speaking out loud, or in writing as you wish. Don’t worry if you are not following this process exactly. Sometimes, I add extra information and sometimes I emphasize one part more than others. However, you should always think about what you learn about God from this passage.
Step 1: Pray–Ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance first of all and that God may reveal the lessons that He wants you to have that day. Request that God protect you from Satan’s distractions (and the devil will try to distract you whether it is pinching the baby or putting you to sleep). Ask to see God more clearly as you read and think about the passage.
Step 2: Read the passage–Read to get an overview of the information first. Then start looking at specific parts after the first reading. You may read a larger or smaller section than I have here because you do not have to follow my organization at all.
Step 3: Understand the passage–You can summarize, ask and answer your own questions about the passage, visualize the story, analyze the characters, and relate this passage to other scriptures and personal experiences.
Step 4: What does this reveal about God?–What do you learn about the Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit from this passage?
Step 5: Apply this to your own life.
Step 6: Prayer
My Example Devotion: June 24, 2020 Galatians 5:16-26
Note: In the devotion examples, I leave my questions and thought processes in the text because I am trying to demonstrate that a devotional time is a dialogue with God about what you are reading from His word. As such, any questions or ideas that you have should be explored by talking it out with God. These example devotions are not my attempts to teach you what the meaning of a particular scripture is. They are an attempt to teach you the process of devotions, which is a combination of prayer and Bible study where you explore ideas with God as you read His word.
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
(Understanding the Text) Paul has been telling the Galatians what not to do. Now, he reminds them of how they should live, and he contrasts it with wrong choices so that they have a clear idea of what they were doing correctly before. Previously, Paul said that the Galatians had veered off-course by trying to achieve salvation by the law. Paul says that they are not under the law but under the Spirit because they cannot keep the law, so it condemns them. Now, Paul begins explaining what being under the Spirit means.
(Understanding the Text / Revelation of God) First of all, it is a walk. That means that there is a continuous progression with the Spirit guiding every step of the way. Maybe, guiding is the wrong word. It’s more like walking and holding hands. Paul contrasts walking with the Spirit with gratifying our physical or worldly desires. Basically, the desires inspired by the world and the desires inspired by the Spirit are polar opposites and cannot work in conjunction with each other.
(Understanding the Text)
Worldly Desires: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies
Desires of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control
The first three worldly desires are related: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality. Paul basically covers all the bases here for anything that deals with physical desire being misused. The next two are also related: idolatry, sorcery. The false supernatural and trying to find ways around dealing with God directly are included in these false worships. Then I would group the next eight together: enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy. These all involve feelings of hatred and resentment. They involve looking down at others and having no compassion on them. These are Facebook emotions. Finally, the last two go together even though orgies might be considered physical desire like in the first list, but in reality, they have more to do with drug use or false worship than actual desire: drunkenness, orgies.
All of the worldly desires will interfere with the fruit of the Spirit and never lead to them. Thus, sexual immorality will not lead to joy or any of the other fruits of the Spirit, including gentleness and self-control. They will also never result in love. On the other hand, the fruits of the Spirit are necessary if we want to avoid worldly desires. Self-control is necessary to avoid sexual immorality and impurity. Patience and kindness are necessary to prevent strife and divisions. So, the question arises, do the fruit of the Spirit cause us to have a pure life, or does a pure life result in the fruit of the Spirit. I always just thought it was the second. If you are doing the right stuff, then you will end up with the fruit of the Spirit as a reward, but I think that I have been looking at it wrong. I think that the fruit are given in order to keep you pure. Thus, I receive the fruit of faithfulness first and that inoculates me against jealousy and envy.
(Application / Prayer) The fruit come from walking with the Spirit. What is walking with the Spirit? I think it is choosing to trust Jesus day by day and listening to His promptings. Trusting God. I will have to think about this more, but I have realized today that the fruit are not fruit of a pure life. A pure life is the result of having the fruit, so the fruit come from abiding in Jesus. I think the definition is in the last verse of this passage: If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. Paul is saying not to run ahead thinking that we know better. Instead, we listen to hear what is the Godly way of living. Walking in the Spirit means we don’t value our own ideas above God’s. Walking in the Spirit means interacting with each other in love. In other words, rather than choosing to say something that would provoke the other person, we choose words that build the other person up. Walking in the Spirit means we are happy for each other’s success and blessings from rather than envious. We don’t wish anything bad on others, but rather we enjoy others’ blessings. I pray that You will produce this good fruit in me.