As Christians we’ve been commissioned to “put on” our new IDENTITY (new self) in Christ (See my article, Understand your Identity in Christ).
Put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to PUT ON THE NEW SELF, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
Ephesians 4:22-24
Putting on the new self is the process of transferring who you are in heaven to who you are on earth as discussed in my article, How to Get Healthy Mentally.
But what are the characteristics of the new self? What exactly are we “putting on”?
We’re putting on the Fruit of the Spirit.
What is the Fruit of the Spirit?
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23
These characteristics express Christ’s nature and ours since we are born of Him (1 Peter 1:3).
They are expressed to the world in 3 ways. They are expressed:
- Through our world view: peace, meekness.
- By how we treat others: gentleness, long-suffering.
- By how we live our lives: faith, joy, temperance and goodness.
Love is the expression of all the fruits combined. Love is: joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.
In the absence of sin, these characteristics will be expressed by you naturally. You don’t have to work to achieve them. They are the expression of our new nature as we walk in the Spirit.
Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
Galatians 5:16,25
We live by the Spirit when we confess our sins (1 John 1:9) and remain in God’s perspective (How To Get Healthy Mentally).
In the articles to follow, I will discuss these fruits in the categories mentioned. Next up, The World View of Those Walking in the Spirit.
