Bible lesson taken from Galatians 5:22-23

1. The Fruit of God's Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23) The Fruits of God’s Spirit Source : Devoted Unconditionally to Christ's Kingdom & Service http://www.d-u-c-k-s.com

2. The original manuscripts were written in the Greek language, Agape and Phileo. Agape means gives, deep and constant love of a perfect being (God) towards an unworthy object (mankind). In contrast, Phileo is defined as to be a friend to, indicating feelings, warm affection or love that can come easily because of the same interests or commonalities. Phileo is never used in a command to men to love God. LOVE "For God so loved (agape) the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16) "Love (agape) is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails" (1 Cor 13:4-8).

3. The source of joy and peace are from the Lord not the circumstance. We must be responsible to exhibit joy and peace in our lives thru Holy Spirit that God has given to us. Other people around us will see Christ in us thru these joy and peace. JOY & PEACE "The joy of the Lord is your strength" (Neh 8:10). "Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: Rejoice!" (Phil 4:4) "Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you." (II Thes 2:16) "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." (2Ti 1:7)

4. PATIENCE / LONGSUFFERING Patience is defined in several terms as follows: 1. the bearing of provocation, annoyance, misfortune, pain, etc., without complaint, loss of temper, or irritation. 2. an ability or willingness to suppress annoyance when confronted with delay. 3. quiet perseverance; even-tempered care; diligence. "And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." (Romans 5: 2-5)

5. GOODNESS & KINDNESS Kindness - the sincere desire to doing good for the happiness of others (the thinking) Goodness - moral excellence; virtue; generosity; the activity calculated to advance kindness (the doing) Kindness is like a seed that God plants in our lives through the Holy Spirit, goodness is the next step that God wants us to take through the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit. "But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked." (Luke 6:35)

6. Faithful is firm in the adherence to promises or in the service of duty, dependable, trustworthy, believed, loyal, honest, full of faith, believing. "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'" (Mathew 25:23) FAITHFULLNESS

7. Gentleness is mildness in dealing with others, displays a sensitive regard for others and is careful never to be unfeeling for the rights of others. Gentleness is an active trait describing the manner in which we should treat others. "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Mathew 11: 28-30) GENTLENESS

8. Meekness is not occupied with self, what belongs to it, what is right by it or how it should be treated. Meekness is a passive trait describing the way we respond to others when we are mistreated. When a man is meek it not is because he cannot help himself; but because meekness is a calmness toward God. It is accepting God's dealing with us and does not blame God for the evil doings of men. "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you." (Luke 6:27-28) "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted" (Galatians 6:1). MEEKNESS

9. Self-control is the exercise of inner strength and sound judgment under the direction of the Holy Spirit that enables us to do, think and say the things that are pleasing to God. Other un-controlled emotions like resentment, bitterness and self-pity aren't as harmful to others as they are destructive to ourselves and our relationship with God. All of these sinful emotions have one thing in common - a focus on self. "But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self- control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love" (2 Pet 1:5- 7). TEMPERANCE / SELFCONTROL