“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.”

Psalm 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

Jeremiah 17:7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.

8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

II Peter 1:5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;

6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;

7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:

11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

MEMORY VERSE: Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits. —Song of Solomon 4:16

CENTRAL THOUGHT: The pleasant fruit we bear is a blessing to our lives and to the lives of those around us, giving joy to our Lord and lasting into eternity.

WORD DEFINITIONS

Psalm 1:2 “Delight”: longing; desire; pleasure. “In his law doth he meditate”: “The law or truth of God is not distasteful to him, but he so delights in it as to desire to become more and more acquainted with it, and to have its truths impressed more and more on his heart” (Barnes’ Notes on the Bible). “It is no irksome restriction of his liberty but the object of his love and constant study” (Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges). “To meditate in God’s word, is to discourse with ourselves concerning the great things contained in it, with close application of mind and fixedness of thought. We must have constant regard to the word of God, as the rule of our actions, and the spring of our comforts; and have it in our thoughts night and day” (Matthew Henry Commentary).

Jeremiah 17:8 “Shall not see when heat cometh”: shall not fear when heat cometh (Hebrew text; Septuagint; Vulgate; Revised Version). “Shall not be careful in the year of drought”: shall not be anxious. Because it is planted by the riverside, it is not dependent on rainfall.

II Peter 1:5 “Diligence”: Haste; bringing in all zeal or effort. “Unless you work with haste, with earnestness, and therefore with much putting forth of strength, your faith will not evolve the graces of character which is in it to bring forth. All that galaxy of light and beauty will shine forth on the one condition of diligence, and it will not appear without that.” (MacLaren’s Expositions). “Virtue”: moral excellence; manliness; valor. “Knowledge”: “experiential, functional knowledge, connecting theory to application” (HELPS Word Studies).

II Peter 1:6 “Temperance”: dominion within; self-control; self-restraint; true mastery from within. “Patience”: a remaining behind or remaining under; endurance; steadfastness; perseverance. “Godliness”: from two Greek words meaning “well” and “venerate or pay homage.” A heart response that expresses itself in reverence to God.

II Peter 1:7 “Brotherly kindness”: affection for fellow believers. “Charity”: goodwill; from a word which means “to prefer;” hence, a moral preference or act of the will.

II Peter 1:8 “Barren”: idle; lazy; thoughtless; unprofitable; injurious. “Unfruitful”: from two Greek words meaning “no fruit”; eternally fruitless; a waste; profitless.

II Peter 1:11 “Abundantly”: richly; copiously.

LESSON BACKGROUND AND LIFE APPLICATION

We end this study with the picture set forth in Psalms 1 and Jeremiah 17 of the person who sets his or her hope, trust and delight upon the Lord, and loves and meditates upon His Word. Similar pictures in Ezekiel and Revelation describe a beautiful tree of life, also by the river, whose fruit and leaves are for healing. This is very deep and most certainly applies to Christ; but, as He is, so are we in this world. The fruit and leaves are symbolic of the way we share the life and wholeness and healing of Christ within us to the troubled souls about us.

Jesus spoke in John 15 of the fruit that should “remain.” The apostle Peter connected this beautiful, fruit-bearing life to the other world, the eternal realm. Peter went on to talk about his “decease,” using the Greek word “exodus,” which Luke also used in his gospel when he spoke of the conversation Jesus had with Moses and Elijah about His “decease.” But Peter also talks about an “entrance” into eternal glory. Surely, to the Christian, death is truly an exodus from the bondage, corruption, and limitations of mortality and an “abundant” entrance into the eternal presence of our Lord and Savior. When Paul gave his beautiful exposition about love, he said it “never fails.” It endures. These are eternal fruits. Their beauty—the pleasure they give to others and to God—never ends.

Our memory verse is from the spiritual allegory written by Solomon, where we find many comparisons of marriage to our spiritual relationship with Christ. In this verse, the bride invites the north and south winds to blow into her garden and release the fragrance of the spices and fruits there for the enjoyment of her spouse. In the same way, we don’t fear the heat, drought, winds, or other trials of life, because through them the fragrance of the fruit of our lives can be released to bring joy and beauty to our Lord.

—Sis. Angela Gellenbeck

DISCUSSION:

1. What does the blessed man do and not do; and to what is he compared?
2. In Jeremiah’s tree illustration, what four things are a result of being planted by the water and spreading out roots by the river?
3. Name the seven qualities to be added to our faith and the quality that accomplishes this.
4. From what negative characteristics will we be kept if we add and abound in these graces?
5. Of what two things will we assure ourselves if we are diligent?
6. What brings out the fragrances in the beloved’s garden? Share the spiritual application.

REFLECTIONS

The fruits produced in our lives will manifest the “spirit” that is being given liberty to work within us! And herein lies the secret to the fruit of the Spirit. If we have consecrated our lives to God, allowed His love to be perfected in our hearts and lives, then His love, working in and through us, will cause us to be willing to deny ourselves for the good of others. But this fruit will only continue to bear as long as that consecration is maintained! The real question is, what are we allowing to work in our lives?

If we yield to the desire of the flesh, to speak “one word” in retaliation, to get even, to inflict pain, cause hurt, or to cast a reflection on the one who has wronged or displeased us, it will hinder the good fruits from bearing in our lives! While that “one word” may not cause us to be “cut off” from God, we must remember that the enemy’s goal is to get us to be like the tree in Luke 13:7. “One word” may seem like a little thing to some, but oh what a difference it would make in our world today if people followed our Savior’s example and the fruits of the Spirit were allowed to bear in people’s lives!

How many marriages would be prospering instead of ending up in bitter divorce? How many lives would be saved because the good fruit brought about reconciliation between siblings instead of resulting in murder, as in the story of Cain and Abel? How many homes would be a haven of rest, a place of encouragement and support instead of a place of continual strife and contention? How many arguments, hurt feelings, and misunderstandings would be avoided if that “one word” had not been spoken?

How much difference would it make in our lives, our homes, our marriages, our congregations, if we would each humbly follow our Savior’s example and instead of rising up in our own defense, meekly endure the wrong, the hurt, the disappointment, or frustration, and be willing to “suffer in silence” for the salvation of their souls?

—Bro. Curtis and Sis. Karen Williams, Sapulpa, Oklahoma

Married August 13, 1983