But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23

I usually hear sermons about the fruit of the spirit and the preacher or teacher is usually bringing it into discussion after mentioning the way that people act. And then bringing up the fruit of the Spirit as an expectation for people to meet. 

The fruit of the Spirit is God’s perfect gauge of what it means to be godly, and when we compare that with our own actions, we always seem to fall short. They are also a perfect measure of how humble you are before God, so that He may fully be Himself through you.

Is the fruit of the spirit something you can expect someone to act out and exhibit after you tell them what they’ve done wrong? 

No. 

The fruit of the Spirit is this: 

The actions of God expressed through you, so you know that when these are present, it is the Holy Spirit. (The same is for the lusts of the flesh, where in when we see them we know that we are walking in the flesh. As fallen creatures, where walking in the flesh is human nature, you cannot exhibit fruit of the Spirit, without God. As new creations, we can only exhibit them, BECAUSE of God.) 

And sometimes our tongues get the best of us. So we don’t always experience this. But neither can we unless it be God’s own work. Or in other words, you cannot will the Holy Spirit and His fruit is evidence of Him. 

God allows His children to make mistakes so that He can teach them. This is how you learn that God’s power is not yours.

All believers are called to exhibit fruits of the Holy Spirit. All believers are given the gift of the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ. During the process of sanctification and renewal of mind, God trains our flesh and spirit to obey Him. And when our minds, bodies, and spirits obey God, we submit to Him and become a living sacrifice that He can live through fully. 

When we are saved He is already completely there, but the processes we must go through to experience the fullness of His living in and through us, takes time. And time that is special between us and Him so that we can experience the fullness of who God is and His love for us. 

None of this is an excuse for you to treat others wrongly or not take accountability, but knowing that it is Jesus who lives in us, and not ourselves, exhibiting the fruits of the Spirit. When we lack those things, we must pray. And, while most teachings teach the opposite, we must NOT believe that we can will the Holy Spirit. Because the fruit of the spirit is evidence of Him being there. Not a list of things we must try to accomplish on our own. 

Only God can do what God can do. 

Nonetheless, understand this and find areas where you lack these things, because it is evidence of a rough spot and you need to spend more time with God so that you may submit those parts of yourself to Him. Through this you are healed and one more step closer to experiencing the fullness of God. 

Some places hurt. And some places are hard, but God has a tender touch and will be sure not to harm you. He knows you and it pleases Him to be patient with you as you trust Him.

Knowing that there are things that are evidence of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, and even though we may not always see the fruit of Him in certain situations, which can cause you to doubt you are saved at all- 

How do you know you are saved and struggling, in God’s hands on the way to full submission, OR unsaved believing you are saved and that the Holy Spirit is in you, when He isn’t? 

Before I answer, if you believe or learn that the Holy Spirit is not in you, God is merciful to forgive you when you repent. Because the Holy Spirit isn’t in a lot of people leading them to all truth and they aren’t living in the reality of God, when they teach others they cause them to stumble and be misled because of these misdeeds. 

Some people may not know that they are not saved because they had good intentions when they were baptized with water. It is still important for you to know that you must be born of the Spirit also. Continually seek God, so that He may reveal this to you if it is true for you.

 Here are some things that show whether the Holy Spirit is in you or not:

• You justify your unbiblical actions.
  • There are things in the Bible that God isn’t pleased with. But you do these things. You justify why it is okay for you to do them even though you learn in the Bible that God clearly, does not approve. You may tell yourself it’s different now and the Bible was written so long ago. Or you may even justify your actions by saying God loves you. And even though He does, when you do this you insult Him. He can tell you right from wrong and still love you. 
  • When I first got saved, I was coming from a life of heavy smoking. I used the fact that God created the plant so it was good for me. However, I felt guilty doing it, and looking back, I know that I had my own interest in mind. God quickly taught me that smoking was wrong. What did it for me? “I wouldn’t stand in the middle of a house fire, so why would it be okay to inhale smoke.” I took God’s word out of context and insulted Him by not displaying His care for my health. I was ignorant and He knew this. As His child He allowed me to learn and move past this obstacle. And through this and many other things He taught me that He will always teach His children and take care of them. And because of this, when I see someone joyfully in sin and even promoting things that lead to sin or cause others to stumble, I know they are not of God. God’s children are important to Him and He will never let them continue life believing that something that they are doing wrong is right. 
  • As His child, you will do things wrong, but because He is in you, you will know that you are wrong and you will not desire those things. Especially the way you did in the world, when you looked forward to it.  
  • When you are not His child, you will feel freedom in doing whats wrong, and you will find joy in it. You will do it habitually and it will be your lifestyle, as if you are not being convicted. Because you are not. Because the Holy Spirit is not in you.

• You boast about your abilities.
  • All those saved, know that they were unable to save themselves. They understand God’s mercy and His goodness and know that without God, we can do nothing right. And so when we do, all glory belongs to God. 
  • Someone unsaved will secretly and openly find pleasure in being “godly”. They will boast about how much they read the Bible. How much they go to church. And how much they pray. They will say “I do all these things for the Lord.” They will say “what do you do for the Lord?” In secret, they will look down on others when they seem to not bear fruit. And I will tell you fruit is in the heart and character first, and then you will see it. So someone who doesn’t seem to be doing as many works as you, may truly be bearing more fruit. As the Lord works inside out, (and at times outside in if what you’re doing can hurt you or someone else), works by His hand are meant to last forever. 
  • It is the difference between doing something good because that is who you are and doing something good because you believe that’s how you should be. If that is not who you are, you will eventually fall. If that is who you are, then you will endure all things. Because all good things are a gift from God. And even if you stumble, He will never let you fall. 
  • As God’s child, you can struggle with this, but I assure you, He will humble you so that you may not fall to the temptation to continually boast. He does this in love, according to His promises for those that are now saved.

When you are saved, you are not exempt from experiencing the same temptation you would if you weren’t saved, it is what God does (sanctify and renew) that reveals if you are His child or not. He keeps His promises for His children. 

That’s what’s important, knowing that, as God’s child, He keeps His promises. He will not let you fall. And He will not lead you in the way to cause others to stumble. Nor let you have a prideful lifestyle, not caring about the eyes of another possible child of God, because you want to be able to please your flesh. 

Whether it be through vanity, or the hidden sins of the heart, which are pleasure being arrogant and prideful. 

“God knows my heart.” 

Yes. 

He does.  

It is important to be honest with yourself about your desires. God is real and He is someone. Through the Bible, we learn of His righteousness. If His righteousness offends you, it may be a sign that He is not in you. 

I cannot speak too much about the thoughts of an unbeliever. I know what I know because of the Holy Spirit. Because of the temptation to be a way that is not of God. And I see people embody that same temptation freely. God reassures me, it is because those people do not belong to Him. They do not live in the reality of God, which is by faith and His promises, where what He said, is true for them. They stumble and they fall away. They want the world and they want Him. But surely I will tell you, no matter how much temptation, God’s children will not desire the world, and even more, He will not let them. They will not salivate at riches and feel comfortable embodying the lust of the pleasures of the flesh. Greed, Money, power, vanity..etc. 

When you are saved, you will not stay a way, but you will live according to God’s promises of sanctification and renewal. You will grow. 

When you are not, you will be deceived into thinking you are and that would look similar to being able to enjoy God’s love and the world. This life is a comfortable life, and the enemy will not bother you because that is where he wants you to be: filling up on the pleasures of life and the lust of being able to say that you believe in Jesus Christ because it benefits you and makes you feel good. Like an accessory to your life, or something to get good at. 

Humble yourself before the Lord, so that He may reveal to you the life you live. So that He may reveal to you your joy from being “christian” and living out the desires of your flesh. 

I once lived my life according to my flesh and believing that I was a christian. And it felt really good. But one day the Lord showed me that I wasn’t a christian at all. I confessed to know God, but my actions, my desires, and my heart were FAR from Him. Surely I was in the world. The fact that I grew up in church, and got baptized wasn’t enough. And after that, I could see how blind I was. And I now know how dangerous it is. Because more than anything, you will feel and truly believe you do no wrong because God loves you. And through this, the enemy takes you further and further away from God. 

Turn to God now before it is too late. 

Because TRUE are the words from The Lord Jesus Christ, 

Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

John 3:3