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What the Bible says about Fruit of the Spirit
(From Forerunner Commentary)

1 Corinthians 2:12

As the apostle Paul begins his first letter to the Corinthians, knowing that he is writing to a congregation divided among various factions, he patiently explains to them what makes them different from those in the world yet at the same time unites the members of the church. He, of course, refers to God's Holy Spirit, given to all Christians at conversion by the laying on of hands. The apostle John calls it "the anointing which you have received from Him" (I John 2:27), implying that Christians have been ordained, and thus set apart or sanctified, to a task or office that others have not been given.

This sets up a dichotomy. On the one side are Christians who have freely received God's Spirit, and on the other are all other human beings who, Paul says, have received "the spirit of the world" (see also Ephesians 2:2). Thus, there is a clash of spirits, a collision of motivating forces, at work between the Christian and the world. The apostle writes in Galatians 5 that the two spirits are diametrically opposed, one producing "the works of the flesh," while the other bears "the fruit of the Spirit" (verses 16-25). In fact, he declares in Romans 8:7, "The carnal mind is enmity against God"; the worldly person, imbibing of the spirit of this world, lives in hostility to God and cannot do what God commands.

The Spirit from God, though, removes the human hostility and allows the Christian to know—that is, realize, understand, and use—the gracious gifts of God. These gifts are predominantly spiritual blessings rather than physical ones. Jesus advises His disciples not to worry about food, drink, and clothing because God knows that physical human beings need such things to live (Matthew 6:25-32). Instead, He says, "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" (verse 33). The Christian's mind is to be focused on God's goal and godly things that will propel him along the way there, and he can do this only by the many gifts bestowed through God's Spirit.

Paul's focus in this passage seems to be on knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. Earlier, he had mentioned that God has chosen to spread the gospel message through preaching, which the worldly Greeks considered "foolishness" (I Corinthians 1:23). Yet, this only exposes the fact that the Greeks did not have the ability to understand spiritual matters, and God would ultimately confound them in their "wisdom" through weak and foolish people preaching a "foolish" message of a crucified Savior. The difference is that those weak and foolish people possess a Spirit that comes directly from the Creator God that allows them to know the truth in all its divine splendor.

Thus, in terms of the apostle's overall goal in persuading the Corinthians that they should "be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment" (I Corinthians 1:10), he emphasizes that they have this one commonality, God's Holy Spirit, that makes all the difference to them as individuals and as a congregation. So, as he goes on to say, there is no reason for them to be so judgmental one against the other, for they all "have the mind of Christ" (I Corinthians 2:16). Having one mind and being all in one Body of Christ, as he later discusses (I Corinthians 12:12-27), dividing themselves into cliques is both counterproductive and contrary to God's purpose.

Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Galatians 5:19-21

Hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, dissensions, envy, and murder are all related to anger. In addition, anger need not be in the form of rage or fury. Some have quipped that "depression is merely anger without enthusiasm." It is still a problem even when it does not have visible intensity. The seriousness of these attributes is revealed at the end of verse 21, where Paul warns that "those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." God considers these traits the opposite of eternal life in His Family.

Consider how contrary anger and its cousins are to the fruit of the spirit, found in verses 22-23: "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." Unrighteous anger will inhibit the expression of godly love. It will leech the joy out of life. Anger is certainly the antithesis of peace and longsuffering. It erodes kindness and is rarely in alignment with biblical goodness. Anger despises gentleness and resists attempts at self-control. In short, the fruit of the spirit will not be found in a person while he is practicing the various forms of ungodly anger.

Recall, however, that anger can be godly. It is an emotion created by God, and in the right circumstances, it is appropriate and even necessary. The Bible reveals God being angry and wrathful at times, and we can be sure His anger is always appropriate and in the right proportion.

However, He is motivated by love, not anger, which is certainly not the case with man. What men like to think of as righteous indignation may not be anything more than a self-centered temper. A person in God's image, though, is one who is angry on the right grounds, in the right manner, at the right moment, for the right length of time, and with the right words and actions. That, we realize, is a very tall order!

In "Anger: Spiritual Drano®" (Forerunner, December 1997), Dr. David Maas suggests that "the godly purpose of anger is to consume and destroy its target utterly. Nothing [is] to be left. . . . In every case in which godly wrath is exhibited, the target is sin, not people, although sometimes people get caught in it." Later, Dr. Maas writes,

Psychologists have taken a long time to discover that anger does not dissipate until it has totally and utterly consumed its target. Some advise their patients to "let it all out," but Proverbs 29:11 says, "A fool vents all his feelings, but a wise man holds them back." Venting anger only brings in more "oxygen" to make the fire burn hotter and more destructively. Again, the only use for anger is to destroy everything in its path, a scorched-earth policy. This emphasizes how important a correct target for anger is.

However, anger that cannot reach and annihilate its target is turned inward, and as it was designed, it begins wreaking havoc. Physicians claim that anger turned inward can aggravate or cause digestive troubles, eye disorders, dental problems, skin diseases, hives, and ulcers. A person who cannot find a target for his anger becomes like a rattlesnake that, if restrained, will strike its fangs into itself, effectively committing suicide. Those with unresolved angers need to focus on the sins that keep the anger boiling.

Notice the principle that anger will acquire a target—whether wrong or right—and the anger will not dissipate until that target has been destroyed. The safest target for our anger, then, is our own sin—something that can and should be destroyed.

But what happens when anger is allowed to develop for the wrong reason? When it is directed against the wrong thing? When it is kept inside, held onto, nursed, and even secretly enjoyed? This anger eats away at a person, stealing his joy in life, limiting his potential, and keeping him miserable. It reaches out to injure anyone who makes a suitable target. What is especially alarming is that such anger can be hidden even to the person retaining it yet manifest itself in ways that are subtle, indirect, and illusive.

David C. Grabbe
Hidden Anger (Part One)


 




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