Aug 14, 2026 It’s The Fruit of the Spirit, Not of Ourselves – Words of Grace Blog – August 14, 2026
This time through Galatians 5, I was reminded of a reality of the Christian life that, if missed, can put us back into the bondage of self-generated righteousness. The qualities being cultivated in our lives are the fruit of the Holy Spirit in us, not the product of our own heart.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).
Why would we think these qualities are the product of our heart and cultivated in our own power? Because they are contrasted with the works of the flesh, which are indeed from our heart.
The verses just before the passage on the fruit of the Spirit are about the works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21). The sins listed are sexual, religious, and relational in nature. They can be carried to excess if left untouched by God’s grace and harbored in unrepentance. These sins are the works of our sinful nature. They do not require any power outside of us to exist and be expressed. No help is required for us to sin.
But the fruit of the Spirit is the holy, Christlike qualities that are set in contrast to the works of the flesh. We can mistakenly think that just as sin comes from our heart naturally, so these holy qualities come naturally if we just set our mind and will to generate and express them. This would put us under a heavy burden to produce what only the Holy Spirit can produce in us.
This should not be. These qualities are the fruit of God’s Spirit, not of our spirit. Our spirit is dead in our sins and therefore produces sin. To produce the qualities of the Spirit, we must have our spirit made alive by the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of holiness. We need him to be holy.
So, how is the fruit of the Spirit generated and cultivated in our heart?
We must be born again. The Spirit of God must give us the new birth, making us spiritually alive and able to respond to him in faith and obedience.
We acknowledge our inability to produce the qualities of holiness from our own nature and power. By faith we acknowledge that Christ in us is the power to bring forth the holiness that is like him.
We work out salvation, which means we work with what God is doing to make us like Christ. As the Spirit searches our heart with the light of God’s word, we respond. When the residue of sin is exposed, we repent. When new ways are revealed, we walk in them. New desires for Christ are fed with action. New decisions are made for the things that please the Lord.
We think, desire, decide, and do as humans who have God’s Spirit. As we do, the Holy Spirit transforms us and conforms us to the image of Christ. He produces the fruit of holiness in us.
Be encouraged. God is at work in you to produce the fruit that pleases him. So, keep in step with the Spirit, and he will see it through.
I’ll see you Sunday.
-Scott