Greetings friend, welcome back, it is great to have you here today!
Today we will finish up our discussion about abiding in Christ, and how it is the key to overcoming. I can tell you that after many years of trying to be free from pornography and failing on my own, the key for me has been learning how to come to the cross of Jesus Christ and continually view my Savior there. Seeing the cross of Jesus puts love in my heart, and at the same time, it crucifies my flesh (Galatians 6:14).
As “branches” we can only bear fruit if we are connected to Christ if we abide in Him. Indeed, we can do nothing on our own, even as a disconnected branch cannot bear fruit on its own.
Galatians 5:22-23 NIV But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things, there is no law.
These spiritual fruits are the opposite of the works of the flesh-sexual impurity, self-gratification, lust, and immorality. When we are abiding in Christ, these fruits develop naturally. As the vine pushes nutrients up, through and out of the branches in the form of fruit, so Christ lives His life through the surrendered believer, the one who remains in Him.
Question 1. Looking at the fruits of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23, which one is listed first?
The fruit that is listed first is the one on which Scripture places a priority. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love…” “And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13). The main thing that we experience by dwelling in Christ, above everything else, is love! The Father loves you and sent His Son to be the atoning sacrifice for your sins (1 John 2:2). The Son loves you and gave His life for you (Galatians 2:20). The Spirit loves you and sheds that love abroad in your heart (Romans 5:5) as you remain in Christ.
We left off in lesson 50 with John 15:8, so let’s pick up now in verse 9 to learn about the main effect of abiding in Jesus:
John 15:9 NIV “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.”
God the Father loves His Son above all things, and this is precisely how God the Son loves you! Jesus said it! What we should do is seek to receive and embrace this truth with our hearts and minds, which will then keep us from looking for love in all the wrong places.
A lot of us feel very unworthy of God’s love. I look at my past and the depravity of my sins, and it is challenging to accept that Jesus loves me. Maybe you struggle with the same thing. If so, what you and I must do is believe the Scriptures over our own understanding. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not to your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). When Jesus says He loves us just as the Father loves Him, we need to trust the Lord and believe Him.