What is the difference between the fruit of the Spirit and the works of the flesh?
The fruit of the Spirit is the natural character of Christ forming in you as you walk with Him; the works of the flesh are what grows when you walk apart from Him. One is produced by the Spirit, the other by the unredeemed self. They are opposed to each other, and you will see one or the other in your life.
This question arose from studying Is the Holy Spirit God? and What is the flesh versus the Spirit?.
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What the Scripture says
The works of the flesh are what the self produces apart from God
Paul lists them without flinching: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, and things like these. These are not occasional failures; they are the natural output of a life lived according to the desires of the flesh, apart from the Spirit's work.
Now the works of the flesh are obvious, which are: adultery, sexual immorality, uncleanness, lustfulness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousies, outbursts of anger, rivalries, divisions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these; of which I forewarn you, even as I also forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
The fruit of the Spirit is what God produces in you
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control. Notice: not fruits, plural, but fruit, singular. This is one character with many expressions, and it is the Spirit's work, not yours. You cannot manufacture it by willpower; it grows as you walk with Him.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
They are opposed to each other
Paul says the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. They are in conflict, so that you cannot do the things you would. The Christian life is not neutral ground; it is a battleground, and which side you feed determines which side grows.
For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, that you may not do the things that you desire.
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace; because the mind of the flesh is hostile towards God; for it is not subject to God’s law, neither indeed can it be. Those who are in the flesh can’t please God.
The key is walking by the Spirit
The command is not 'try harder' but 'walk by the Spirit, and you won't fulfill the lust of the flesh.' Walking implies daily, step-by-step dependence. As you yield to Him, He produces His fruit in you, and the flesh loses its grip.
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you won’t fulfill the lust of the flesh.
If we live by the Spirit, let’s also walk by the Spirit.
The fruit is visible and measurable
Jesus said you know a tree by its fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit. The evidence of the Spirit's work is not ecstatic experience but changed character, visible in how you love, serve, and endure.
By their fruits you will know them. Do you gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree produces good fruit; but the corrupt tree produces evil fruit. A good tree can’t produce evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree produce good fruit. Every tree that doesn’t grow good fruit is cut down, and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
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How do I fight sin in my life?→Our Walk with Him trail“Thus consider yourselves also to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore don’t let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. Neither present your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God, as alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin will not have dominion over you. For you are not under law, but under grace.”What is sanctification, and how does it happen?→Our Walk with Him trail“For this is the will of God: your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual immorality,”What is the flesh versus the Spirit?→Who We Are trail“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you won’t fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, that you may not do the things that you desire.”Hold onto these
Verses to meditate on
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you won’t fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, that you may not do the things that you desire.
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace; because the mind of the flesh is hostile towards God; for it is not subject to God’s law, neither indeed can it be. Those who are in the flesh can’t please God.
By their fruits you will know them. Do you gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles?
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