“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
I would venture to guess that this passage from Galatians 5:22-23 is one of the most widely quoted passages in all of scripture. To me, it serves as both a rich encouragement and a powerful challenge. When we say “yes” to Jesus, the Holy Spirit transforms us from the inside out, and these virtues are the evidence of a transformed believer’s life. But have you ever considered the order in which the Fruit of the Spirit are written? To illustrate this point, consider the following example.
When my husband and I were serving as interns at the University of Georgia Wesley Foundation, we had the opportunity to take the Strengths Finder assessment. This assessment allows people to learn where their strengths and talents lie in order to maximize efficiency, productivity and engagement. It was amazing to not only learn our “Top 5,” but also spend time with a strengths coach and learn what they mean. One thing that we learned was that your #1 strength was that particular strength in its purest form. For example, when I think about positivity, I think about someone who always sees the best possible outcomes, and they are the genuinely happy, always-uplifting type person. In its purest form, that may be true, but if positivity is #4 or #5 on the list, it might look different depending on what strengths come before it. In other words, the strengths might look slightly different depending on their order, and the #1 strength is the lens through which the other strengths are lived out. In the Fruit of the Spirit passage, there is evidence (and commentaries) to suggest that there is no particular order within numbers 2-9, but I believe that Paul started with love on purpose.
From Matthew 22:36-40
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
From Luke 10:25-28
And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”
From 1 Corinthians 13:13
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
We can safely assume that love is of the utmost importance, and Paul shared this belief with Jesus. In the first passage, Jesus summarizes the law in its entirely into 4 simple words: love God, love people. In the second passage, Jesus describes love as an all-consuming virtue that ought to drive our desire to love God and love people. And finally, in the third passage, love is described as the greatest virtue of all. So my question again, does order matter? As it is written in 1 John 4:7-8,
“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
Love is the lens through which the rest of the virtues are possible, for GOD is the person through which all of this is made possible. Without love, how would we show patience to those we come in contact with on a daily basis? Without love, how would we express kindness, goodness, or gentleness? Without love, there is no fruit of the Spirit, for there is no Spirit. When we bear the virtue of patience, we bear the image of God, in love, to the person whom we are showing patience towards.
So what does this mean for us? When we are faithful, kind, gentle, or joyful, we are living examples of God to those whom we come in contact with. Let us remember that fruit is grown through the Holy Spirit. Press in towards Him and grow in love so that others may experience that love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self control of Christ through us.
