Since 1988 I have been teaching, leading groups, and discipling women toward Christian transformational living and spiritual maturity in areas that we all experience as part of the human condition— brokenness, self- interest based moral ethic, and having lost one’s intimate connection with God. The issue of personal growth in spiritual maturity as people seek change has continued to evolve in my teaching over the decades.
God has been speaking in my heart and mind about the role of the fruit of the Spirit described in Galatians 5. This scripture is a portrait of an individual’s spiritual development once the Holy Spirit has come to abide within. A human being has a human spirit, in fact; it is a spirit and soul in the image of God housed in a temporal physical body. That spirit is subject to many influences- worldly and spiritually, holy and unholy. Our human spirit is going to bear fruit as a result of how it is formed and fed. It is going to have impact. How it is regarded by God will be the ultimate mark of our impact during our life. As I have told multiple times students, you will be used by God. Some will be a good example; others will be a horrible warning. It depends on how much we entrust of our will and lives to God’s will.
For background, we need a little differentiation between the gifts of the Spirit and the Fruit of the Spirit. Rich Villodas, author and lead pastor at New Life Fellowship, a large multi-racial church with more than 75 countries represented in Elmhurst, Queens has observed : “The gifts of the Spirit are not meant to give us a short cut to maturity. One of the dangers in the Church is we expect the gifts of the Spirit to quickly do what only the fruit of the Spirit is meant to do slowly.”
For background, the Gifts of the Spirit equip us for good works. They are temporal and are for the building up of the church in the world. They are outward manifestations of DOING the Christian life and may even be used to exalt one’s self. Judging one’s Christian faith and maturity by what one DOES can be risky. Some people are very adept at DOING good for the approval of others or to fulfill the desires of their own flesh. They indulge their own pride of life, securing their immediate reward from their satisfaction enjoyed in DOING good works.
The fruit of the Spirit enables us individually to BE holy. It is eternal in nature and is the character we take with us into eternity. The Fruit of the Spirit is not like the Gifts of the Spirit in which an individual is given one or two dominant gifts out of the list of several dozen through which God will work in her life for the benefit of the entire church, in coordination with the gifts of others. With the Fruit of the Spirit the expectation is that all of the fruit will be borne on the tree of one’s life and in an ongoing manner, just as the tree in the Bible that bears its fruit in and out of season. Jesus’ cursing of a fig tree for not bearing fruit, even out of season, was an up close and personal object lesson for his disciples about what is expected of Christians bearing the Fruit of the Spirit! (Mark 11:12-14, 20-26) He refers, also, back to Psalm 1 “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither- whatever they do prospers.”
And also consider Ezekiel ‘s vision of the rebuilt temple and the river flowing from it in chapters 40-49 as a type and shadow of heavenly things, or perhaps more to the point, of the coming of heaven on earth for which we pray. It speaks of the temple of our lives becoming the dwelling place of God’s spirit. Observe in Ez. 47:12 “By the river (flowing from the temple in the holy city) on its bank, on one side and on the other, will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither and their fruit will not fail. They will bear every month because their water flows from the sanctuary, and their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing.” This is a picture of a mature follower of Christ exemplifying the Kingdom of God, “here and yet still coming” that exists in and through the lives of his people.
Jesus made a clear distinction between Spiritual gifts and Spiritual fruits in Matthew 7:15-24. He cautions us to beware of false prophets that come in sheep’s clothing but are actually wolves. Then he talks about the kind of fruit produced by a good tree and that of a corrupt tree. He emphasizes that every tree that does not bring forth good fruit will be cut down and cast into the fire. It is clear that by our fruit we will be known, not by what we DO in the world, but by what arises in us and goes forth from us as a result of our being in intimate union with Christ. Then he points out that many come to him seeking to be commended for their good works that they view as wonderful- they prophesied, they cast out devils, they visited prisons, they fed the poor, etc. But Jesus saw no righteousness in their hearts. His response to them is “I never knew you. Depart from me, ye that WORK iniquity.” So it is with the rich young ruler who came to Jesus to know more he must do to enter into the kingdom. He prided himself on keeping the law but could not surrender his wealth and stature to stoop to follow Christ. Similarly, the Pharisees gloried in their self-avowed righteousness by keeping the Letter of the Law while condemning the Son of God whose higher call is to live into the Spirit of the Law. To do so would demand leveling the field among all people. That offended the pharisees’ pride. In their hearts they were stirred with wrath and envy, not love.
Paul gives a specific characterization of the Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:13-26.
“13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”1. 5 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. Things done in the name of Christ with a love of self that gratifies the flesh will be rejected by Christ, but things done out of the fruit of the Spirit that defines love as sacrifice of one’s own desires for the good of others will be celebrated in heaven.” Let me say that again!
I’ll give a brief overview of how I have observed and taught the Fruit of the Spirit in the last 15 or so years, then I’ll expand on some deeper insights that God has more recently revealed.
As I have worked with women in life recovery during 18 years of long-term intensive discipleship with individuals in residential programs, as well as in churches, and small groups, I have recognized a pattern in the fruit-ripening work of the Holy Spirit in those who were truly embracing a life-transforming new or renewed relationship with Christ.
(WRITE OR POINT TO THE 9 POINT FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT ON THE BOARD)
LOVE:
The first evidence of the presence of the Holy Spirit at work in a life is LOVE.
In the first days and weeks of restoration of one’s personal identity in relationship to God, and that identity being solidified more deeply in connection with Christ, the most immediate evidence of Holy Spirit fruit was what occurred as they said “Yes” to receiving God’s Love. God’s love is where it all begins. As we see in 1 John 4:19, “We love because He first loved us.” Preceding that verse we are shown the relationship between God’s love for us and our love for God and for one another. 1 John 4:7-12 says, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because GOD IS LOVE. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.”
It is a great feeling as God’s love makes one feel more than accepted, but also beloved and cherished. One truly begins to believe that, even in spite of any past dark history or brokenness, she can truly be loved by God. It leads to expressions of gratitude to God and reciprocal loving feelings toward God, toward one’s self, and even toward others.
Some have suggested that Galatians 5:22-23 much like 1 Corinthians 13 is, in fact, a multicolored, broad-view landscape portrait of godly love itself. That seems very consistent with the view of the Fruit of the Spirit as holiness maturing in a life. And since it is “love”, like that of the Father, that the scripture calls to be perfected in our lives, that kind of love has to start somewhere and progress to a state of godly perfection as observed in Jesus.
Close on the heels of LOVE is the expression of JOY:
And Joy itself also has an early recovery stage companion, which is renewed Hope. The joy of feeling loved and of hope reborn follows quickly as one’s sense of burden, guilt, brokenness, etc. is lifted off her shoulders.
Then, PEACE: A deep exhale of the soul’s anxiety occurs and PEACE follows. It is a peace that really makes little sense in light of the reality that most of the things about one’s desperate circumstances have not really changed much in the early days of the restoration of the image of God. That in and of itself, its sheer irrationality, is not based on anything other than one’s recognition of and joyful feeling of being loved. This irrational peace itself confirms that it is the working of the Spirit of God bringing ease to the human spirit and soul within. And even one’s body and behaviors will begin to be modified in the light of that love, joy, and peace.
I have called these three the “low hanging” Fruit of the Spirit…..this first harvest triplet of “Love…Joy…and Peace” in one’s renewing of spirit and soul is like strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries that can be plucked from a plant and eaten heartily until fully satisfied. God pours it out in abundance all around the new believer or the returning prodigal. . No preparation is required and unlimited servings are available. It’s like getting a dessert buffet first in a banquet for a starved soul. There is a risk here in the image and identity recovery process, though. As soon as one feels the Love…Joy…and Peace settling in and one is able to have communication with previously alienated family members or others again, she starts to think with more confidence and hope and less fear, they think this is the end of the journey.They are likely to say, “This is what I was lacking in life! Love. Joy. Peace. I see a way through it all now and I’m eager to get back to the REAL world. I’ve got Jesus now, let’s go. We’ve got this.” This is an immediate, immature, even false confidence, a sense of readiness, saturated in Love, Joy, and Peace. It is the temptation to take up one’s life again before the rest of the fruit is even evident! It presents a picture of one who may have been profoundly and passionately moved by recognizing the difference between believing in God and the possibility of having a truly personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. However, it can become like the proverbial seeds that fall into rocky or thistl -filled soils. It is likely to dry up or get choked out or simply never attain maturity without additional cultivation, stabilization and nurture.
Then comes the next triplet- PATIENCE, KINDNESS, AND GOODNESS
I will return here for a more scrutinizing look later. But for now, we will compare these three to peeling a naval orange. That takes the application of personal effort, or what the Bible calls “cooperation” with the Holy Spirit. One has to get her fingernails into it and peel away the thick rind. Then you have to strip off the inner layer of stringy flesh, then pinch out the top center seed core, and separate the segments while checking for any other random seeds before you can enjoy it.
The final three in the basket are FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENSS, AND SELF-CONTROL. The ripening of these three takes time, repeated practice, and serious effort. Think about trying to open a tough, hard coconut shell with little more than a rock or, maybe at best, a metal file. (Remember the movie “Castaway” and Tom Hanks alone on an island trying to open a coconut with a rock?) It will take a significant application of time, pressure, repeated action, and significant effort before a worn groove in the shell is deep enough to puncture through it with the whack of a strong sharp object to get to the milk and meat inside.
With this visual image and overview. I want to add another layer of differentiation between the three groupings. It is the element of time. These different attributes referred to collectively as “fruit” are as different in the time it takes for the ripening of each as it is for the fruit I have used to represent each group..
How long does it take for the first group, the easily accessed berries, to mature from flower to fruit? Botanists tell us that the berries described take 3-4 months. In my life recovery experience, evidence may be observed, depending on the individual in as little as 1-2 weeks or 2-3 months.
How long does it take for the navel orange to mature from flower to fruit? Generally, it will take about 7-10 months to ripen in the grove or the garden. Similarly, in the Holy maturing process, if sought intentionally, understood, and practiced regularly, one can observe evidence of such ripening beginning in the 6 -8 month timeframe, if the discipleship process continues intensively and regularly.
Now, how long does it take for the coconut to mature from flower to fruit in the tropics? We’re talking 10-13 months according to botanists.
All my life I have been told that the proper way to speak of this Galatians list of ripening spiritual maturity is as it is written in the Scripture, in the singular-“fruit”, not the plural “fruits”- because the seed of all of it is all given as a complete package when the Holy Spirit is received at baptism. That seed is a promise that will be realized in full as it is activated in a life in which the Holy Spirit is given full range to work within one’s spirit, within her soul (which includes the mind, her emotions, her will, personality, and conscience), and in her body. If the quality of the soul’s soil in which it is placed is well prepared and subsequent nurture is received, all of it can be expected to be manifested in the maturing life of a transformed Christian who seeks it by prayer and practice, but not in 12-13 months. Consider Jesus’ disciples. They had three years with him continually and they still had a lot to learn and to grow into when He died. But they, like we, received the Holy Spirit from Jesus after his resurrection and they matured much more quickly in the 50 days from his resurrection to his ascension! These attributes are ALL to be activated in the life of a single individual toward the goal of holiness. The timing is up to God, but it does happen as we seek God and His wisdom.
Neglect of effort toward ripening holiness will lead to dried out, shriveled, and even rotting fruit. Allowing distractions of the world to take one’s focus off of Christ and abandoning obedience will compromise fruit quantity and quality and may result in deep and painful pruning. I’ve already referenced the robust and early-onset of the Love, Joy, and Peace components. Even they though, will ebb and flow at times while one is being discipled and growing deeper in knowledge, understanding, wisdom, and obedience to the Word of God. So we’ll move on to the second set to explore some deeper and more recent insights.
PATIENCE: It is what it is. It will be tested again and again throughout one’s maturing Christian life. It requires diligence and practice, practice, practice. You begin to realize how much you have benefited from God’s patient, long-suffering with you and you gradually begin walking at a steadier pace in the practice of patience. Then someone or something new and more challenging gets added to the mix, catches you by surprise and there goes the patience. You feel like you’re right back at square one again. And you realize you will never master patience without an ongoing anointing by the Holy Spirit and that the “perfection” you’ve heard about is a distant destination.
Kindness seems almost easy by comparison to patience. Most people find it easy to think of themselves as “kind”, or synonymously, some might say “nice” or “polite”. However, nice and polite are not words used in Scripture. Kind, however, is. We are counseled in the Word to “Be ye kind, one to another.” Note here the “one to another.” This is a relational orientation between two people, based generally on their knowledge of and interactions with one another, and usually in regular, familiar community. But it can also indicate kindness to strangers and may be considered as a manifestation of the gifts of mercy or hospitality. It includes behaviors like patience in listening to one another, mutual respect, consideration of one another’s needs and desires, gentleness in speech, empathy, and more. The problem with kindness, though, is that, somewhat as with some of the gifts of the Spirit it, too, can be counterfeited. People can put on a kind demeanor or a mask and it’s really just an outward projection of what they want you to see and believe about them. It may have no depth or authenticity, no truth in reality, but is all for show. Kindness alone, judged too quickly, especially in the absence of evidence of other fruit, is likely to be a self-cultivated persona and not the true fruit of the Holy Spirit. Yet many believe that if they are kind to you and you are kind to them everyone is acting like Jesus. The test of one’s kindness, whether it is being given or received in relationships, begins to be more obvious as the requirement for ripening of the next one in the list begins to ripen.If we are maturing in the fruit of the Spirit, goodness will become a factor. It is, however, very different from kindness. While kindness depends on the experiences, expectations, and interactions between two or more individuals with one another in thoughts and behavior, the origin of goodness is from an altogether different source.
Recall the Scriptures:
Psalm 100:5 “For the Lord is good; His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations.”
Psalm 119:68 “You are good and do good; teach me Your statutes.”
James 1:17 “ Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”
And significantly, Jesus’ own witness in Luke 18:19 with the rich young ruler, “And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.”
Let’s look at that last one, Jesus’ response, to the rich young ruler who approached Him. Jesus seems to be testing the young man to see if he truly has been informed in his spirit by the Holy Spirit ‘s truth of Jesus’ divine identity. The continuing conversation reveals to us that the young man, in fact, does not know in his heart and mind who Jesus is, and is unable to make the decision for which Jesus calls. He seems more likely to be seeking an affirming commendation for his faithful DOING the Letter of the Law without understanding Jesus’ higher call to LIVING the virtue of the Spirit of the law. Even so, when he said “no” to Jesus’ call, Jesus did not condemn him, but looked after him with compassion. That is love. That is patience. That is true kindness and goodness.
The goodness of God is referenced again and again in Scripture. However, when referring to people, words like righteous, just, merciful, obedient, or faithful are common description. Also, goodness is generally regarding one’s response to and engagement with God’s call and purpose for their lives that reflects wholehearted trust and obedience. God’s goodness which is often linked to steadfastness, when manifested in one’s life includes the ability to maintain a firm posture in love and mercy toward others, to set boundaries against manipulation or being used by others, being honest even when it is difficult, remaining steadfast in the face of resistance, staying within the limits of God’s principles and the character of God even when some will call you “unkind” for not doing what they think you should do because of your relationship to them. The source and purpose of “good” is from God for the sake of one’s relationship primarily with God and for God’s use with us as His representatives or ambassadors. The source of “kindness” may be one’s own spirit or from the Holy Spirit. Its purpose is for the sake of our engagements primarily one with another. If you tend to pull back from decisions, beliefs, values, or actions because someone questions your kindness to them or to someone else and cannot understand your position on the basis of God’s definition of what is good in the situation according to God’s principles and character, then you are waffling in the Holy Spirit’s knowledge of “good” for the sake of your own or someone else’s personal feelings of what is considered “kind” by relational expectations.. That shifting back away from what is “good” by God’s perspective to what is “kind” by human perspective is primary evidence that one’s kindness is of the flesh and not of the Holy Spirit.
Because of this distinction between “kind” and “good,” I am cautious about using the word “good” carelessly. When asked how I am doing, my usual response is, “I am well, thank you. And how are you?” I have even humorously developed a response to people who say, in parting, “Be good.” I’m apt to reply, “I find that hard to do sometimes. But when I’m not, I know who to go to and what to do to fix it.”
FAITHFULNESS: If we cannot be firm in our choice to operate within God’s view of good while also expressing it with a kind manner to others, we will have difficulty living into the fullness of the next item in the Holy Spirit’s fruit basket- faithfulness. Waffling, avoidance because of the risk of conflict, hedging on the hard stuff, backing down in the face of resistance, and ineffectiveness in speaking the Word to explain or defend our position in light of what we know God calls for is unfaithfulness. Recall the servant’s hope is to hear from God at the completion of his work say to him, “Well done, GOOD and FAITHFUL servant.” Goodness, from the perspective of God’s principles and character, is the prerequisite for steadfast faithfulness. And faithfulness to God’s call to holiness is, first and foremost, the goal of the ripening fruit. When one is living into the fruit of faithfulness her consistency of thought, word, and deed, her desire to have her will aligned with God’s own will, becomes apparent. Such a person can be trusted by God to show up, report for duty, and be joyful in the process even when it is difficult. Such people are salt and light in the world to others.
Now, on to GENTLENESS: This degree of refining the focus in one’s life toward holiness in keeping with God’s own, as reflected in the life of Christ, leads to a softening of the personality and conduct of individuals so that the gentleness of the Lord, our Good Shepherd, our gentle and humble Savior, can be observed in her. It may sound easy for some with naturally gentle personalities, for others of us it is a regular source of conviction, repentance, and prayer.
That brings us to the big one at the bottom of the list that everyone who is honest desires: SELF-CONTROL: The fact of temptation in life continues. the human soul’s propensity for selfishness does not easily. The risk of yielding to it, however, is less problematic as the final fruit of self-control ripens . However, this final aspect of the fruit of the Spirit is not about me controlling my own SELF at all. It is about my individuated, personal and unique SELF coming under the control of the abiding Holy Spirit within me. My will, my personhood, my heart, soul, mind, and strength will have to be thoroughly, in all areas, to the best of my knowledge and understanding, surrendered and submitted out of love and desire to do the will of God. I will have to entrust my all entirely to God’s consecrating work through the Holy Spirit for God’s glory, others’ gain, and my own good. And, as the Apostle Paul affirmed, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ in me.”
(I have used this graphic to demonstrate the proper position of the self of the flesh once one has entrusted all to Christ. This is the position out of which Fruit of the Spirit will be manifested in one’s life!)
When the Holy Spirit is received into our spirit, soul, and body…… the seed, the shoot, the limbs, the roots, the flowers and the fruit of the Spirit begin to grow. And the fruit provides the new seeds that will be sown into the next generation of maturing believers. By Cathy Byrd, MS CRSS. Titus 2 Partnership, Inc. October 9, 2025
VIDEO PRESENTATION AT CHRIST METHODIST CHURCH-MONTGOMERY, AL 10/9/2025
Addendum:
On another thought today: “Don’t you find it interesting that humility is not included in the fruit-of-the-Spirit list? Why is that? It’s because humility is not the fruit but the ground. Humility is not the end of transformational growth and fruitful life but its beginning and ongoing condition………Wake up sleeper. You are becoming a saint!” -from JDWALT …Seedbed’s Wake-Up Call. 10/7/22
Also, as God would have it several other posts regarding Fruit of the Spirit turned up in my media on 10/10 and 10/11:
Graham Cooke, author at billiantmovement.com and Brilliant Plus observed:
“Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. Gentleness. Self-control……We read that list and immediately turn it into a to-do list. A report card. A standard we’re failing to meet. I need to be more patient. I should have more joy. Why can’t I just be kinder? And we try. We grit our teeth and white-knuckle our way toward becoming better people. But here’s the thing: You can’t manufacture fruit. You can only grow it.
And fruit doesn’t grow through effort alone. It grows through connection. Jesus said it plainly: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
The fruit of the Spirit isn’t something you produce. It’s something that grows in you when you stay connected to the source. So how do you actually grow in the fruit of the Spirit?
Not by trying harder to be patient, but by spending time with the One who is patient with you.
– Not by forcing yourself to be more loving, but by letting yourself be loved first.
– Not by manufacturing joy, but by abiding in the presence of the One who is your joy.
You become like who you’re with. Spend time in anxiety, you’ll grow anxious. Spend time in criticism, you’ll grow critical. Spend time with Jesus, you’ll grow like Jesus. The fruit shows up naturally when the roots go deep.
This means:
You can stop striving and start abiding. You can stop performing and start receiving. You can stop beating yourself up for not being “spiritual enough” and start simply being with Him
Read His word—not as a checklist, but as a conversation. Pray with Him—not performing, but connecting. Rest in His presence—not earning, but enjoying.
The fruit grows in the ordinary moments of connection. In the daily yes to His presence. In the choice to stay close even when you don’t feel spiritual. You’re not a factory. You’re a garden.And gardens don’t grow through force. They grow through faithfulness, sunlight, water, time. Stay connected to the Vine. The fruit will come.”
And finally, one more thought on inauthentic “Kindness” (in relation to others’ perspective) Vs. “Goodness” (in relation to God’s perspective) : A post observed on Threads on 10/10/25
“My therapist told me something that hit harder than I expected:
She said: “People-pleasing isn’t really about pleasing others. It’s about controlling their perception of you.”
And then she looked at me and said: “It’s what happens when fear starts driving—
fear of rejection, fear of disapproval, fear of being too much.”
You start performing instead of living. You start shrinking parts of yourself to fit into rooms that never had space for your truth. You call it kindness, but deep down… it’s survival. Because you learned early that love had rules. That being yourself came with consequences. So you started shape-shifting— trading your authenticity for a fragile sense of acceptance.
But here’s the truth no one tells you: Peace never comes from who you pretend to be. You can please everyone and still go to bed feeling misunderstood. You can be agreeable and still feel unseen.Because people pleasing is just loneliness wearing a smile. And maybe healing isn’t about being “nice” anymore. Maybe it’s about being real. About letting people misunderstand you, and realizing that your peace doesn’t depend on their comfort.
If this hit something inside you… it’s because your inner child still remembers the pain of being too afraid to disappoint anyone. Start healing that version of you.” https://journalflowmind.gumroad.com/l/qdzzea