Christlikeness

[Rowan]

To me one of the ways to abide in Christ is to walk in The Spirit. Then we will develop the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is a word picture of Jesus Christ, as well as a word picture of the kind of believers God wants all of us to be. Jesus is the Vine, we are the branches, and the fruit of the Spirit is the character that will be produced in our lives if we daily abide in Christ.

The purpose of this thread is to help us discover and experience more deeply the fruit of the Spirit of love as we battle against our sinful nature and imitate the love of Christ.

Here is what the bible has to tell us about the fruit of the Spirit.

5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 5:23 gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 5:24 Now those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 5:25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also behave in accordance with the Spirit. 5:26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, being jealous of one another.
Galatians 5:22–26

 

[praise_yeshua]

To me one of the ways to abide in Christ is to walk in The Spirit. Then we will develop the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is a word picture of Jesus Christ, as well as a word picture of the kind of believers God wants all of us to be. Jesus is the Vine, we are the branches, and the fruit of the Spirit is the character that will be produced in our lives if we daily abide in Christ.

The purpose of this thread is to help us discover and experience more deeply the fruit of the Spirit of love as we battle against our sinful nature and imitate the love of Christ.

Here is what the bible has to tell us about the fruit of the Spirit.

5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 5:23 gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 5:24 Now those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 5:25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also behave in accordance with the Spirit. 5:26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, being jealous of one another.
Galatians 5:22–26

In "our walk" in the Spirit there is Divine and direct guidance to us that could never come from the limitations of any law. Laws do not completely define how to please God. They are a just basic communications. They can never communicate what we truly need to be successful with God. Those that walk in the limitation of any law, have really never learned the intimacy that comes through the never ending Prescence of the Spirit of God in our lives.

Also. Laws can never limit our emotions. Simply complying with God's leading isn't enough. We must desire what God desires. There is no desire or intent without emotions. In verse 22 you will see that the first two words "love and peace" are emotions.

If God can't have us at an "emotional level", then He can never be completely pleased with us.

It not enough to say we love God, we must sincerely and at a deeply emotional level commit ourselves to loving God. To love God is to love His ways.

That is more than just "lip service". It is more than just words. It is a connection without words that sets at "peace with God". Such can never come from laws or the teachings of others. It must come from the Spirit of God for us to know when we are not pleasing God. It must be experienced to know it.

 

[Rowan]

In John 15:1-6, Jesus uses the illustration of a vineyard to tell us how to allow the Holy Spirit to produce His fruit.

I AM the True Vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser.
2 Any branch in Me that does not bear fruit [that stops bearing] He cuts away (trims off, takes away); and He cleanses and repeatedly prunes every branch that continues to bear fruit, to make it bear more and richer and more excellent fruit.
3 You are cleansed and pruned already, because of the word which I have given you [the teachings I have discussed with you].
4 Dwell in Me, and I will dwell in you. [Live in Me, and I will live in you.] Just as no branch can bear fruit of itself without abiding in (being vitally united to) the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me.
5 I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing.
6 If a person does not dwell in Me, he is thrown out like a [broken-off] branch, and withers; such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, and they are burned.

In this passage Jesus is the Vine, we are the branches, and God is the Divine Gardener. From this illustration, we find two things we must do to become the people God wants us to be.First, we must allow God to be our Pruner.

Our Heavenly Father is our spiritual Gardener, so He knows the importance of pruning—removing unnecessary parts from a plant to increase fruit production and quality. Jesus says, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener”. Then, He states: He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit.

This refers to people who are not true believers. They are “branches,” like Judas Iscariot, who only appear to be connected to the Vine. They go to church, use Christian jargon, and seem to be believers but are not.

In Matthew 7:20, Jesus tells us how we can recognize true believers.

20 Therefore, you will fully know them by their fruits.
Mt 7:20.

If we are truly connected to the life-giving Vine, spiritual fruit will be evident in our lives. Jesus says every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful . He is talking about true believers.

Jesus is the Vine, which means He is our source of spiritual life, and God is our spiritual Pruner. A good pruner uses sharp tools for pruning. Let’s look at two ways the Master Pruner prunes us …

God prunes us with the Bible. As we read and apply the Bible, it reveals all the stuff—sin—in our lives that prevents us from producing the fruit of the Spirit. God’s Word is living and active. The word living means “alive.” Because God’s Word is alive, it works in our lives to prune us as we read it or listen to it being taught or preached.

The ultimate measuring stick for our obedience to God is His Word.

 

[Rowan]

In "our walk" in the Spirit there is Divine and direct guidance to us that could never come from the limitations of any law. Laws do not completely define how to please God. They are a just basic communications. They can never communicate what we truly need to be successful with God. Those that walk in the limitation of any law, have really never learned the intimacy that comes through the never ending Prescence of the Spirit of God in our lives.

Also. Laws can never limit our emotions. Simply complying with God's leading isn't enough. We must desire what God desires. There is no desire or intent without emotions. In verse 22 you will see that the first two words "love and peace" are emotions.

If God can't have us at an "emotional level", then He can never be completely pleased with us.

It not enough to say we love God, we must sincerely and a deeply emotional level commit ourselves to loving God. To love God is to love His ways.

That is more than just "lip service". It is more than just words. It is a connection without words that sets at "peace with God". Such can never come from laws or the teachings of others. It must come from the Spirit of God for us to know when we are not pleasing God. It must be experienced to know it.

Yes I totally agree. He must be our heart desire.

God's desire for our heart is a central theme throughout the Bible, reflecting His longing for an intimate connection characterized by love, obedience, and faithfulness. This desire is not merely for outward compliance but for a genuine relationship where your heart aligns with His intentions.

God's desire for our heart is about cultivating a relationship where our desires are shaped by His love and purpose. By delighting in Him, seeking His will, and allowing Him to transform our heart, we can experience the fulfillment of our true desires in alignment with His divine plan.

 

[praise_yeshua]

Yes I totally agree. He must be our heart desire.

God's desire for our heart is a central theme throughout the Bible, reflecting His longing for an intimate connection characterized by love, obedience, and faithfulness. This desire is not merely for outward compliance but for a genuine relationship where your heart aligns with His intentions.

God's desire for our heart is about cultivating a relationship where our desires are shaped by His love and purpose. By delighting in Him, seeking His will, and allowing Him to transform our heart, we can experience the fulfillment of our true desires in alignment with His divine plan.

Good. I agree completely!

I would also say that there is no law nor writing within the Scriptures themselves that completely guide a person in everything that person should do through the Spirit of God. For example,

We can read in the Scriptures that the apostles through the Spirit were answered and given divine guidance to do the will of God that no "law" could ever impart.

Act 16:6 Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia,
Act 16:7 After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not.
Act 16:8 And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas.
Act 16:9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us.
Act 16:10 And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them.

We can read about their experience and know that the Spirit can lead us but we can't just believe God wants us to do the exact same thing. I see that from time to time when someone is looking to know what to do for God. They believe they can read about God being with others and think that the Scriptures are telling them to do the exact same thing.

That isn't often true. We can learn from their experience but the Spirit itself must impart to us what we should do exactly. We must learn how we "fit" in this life for God. To know this, we must know the Spirit of God's direction.

At times, this can be one of the most difficult aspects of pleasing God. I believe sometimes if we don't know this fact, we can waste plenty of time trying to do what God told others to do.

To me, this speaks to the necessity of our own experience through the Spirit of God's leading.

 

[Adherent]

Nice OP, I'm encouraged.

But I say, walk and live [habitually] in the [Holy] Spirit [responsive to and controlled and guided by the Spirit]; then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh (of human nature without God).
— GALATIANS 5:16

There is a price to be paid in order to walk in the Spirit. We must say no to some things to which we would rather say yes, and say yes to some things to which we would rather say no. We must follow the prompting (leading, guiding, and working) of the Holy Spirit through our own spirit.

 

[Rowan]

Thank you Sir. It's a topic that has been on my mind for a while. I see that @praise_yeshua has some very deep thoughts on the subject.

 

[Aeliana]

Thank you Sir. It's a topic that has been on my mind for a while. I see that @praise_yeshua has some very deep thoughts on the subject.

Had to share this as it fits right in

Post in thread 'Trusting God Day by Day'

Friday at 8:40 AM

August 8

Abide in Christ

Just as no branch can bear fruit of itself without abiding in (being vitally united to) the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me.
JOHN 15:4

Whenever I return home from ministering at conferences, I revitalize myself by abiding in Jesus. I pray, meditate on His Word, and spend time with Him. I say, “Thank You, Lord, for strengthening and refueling me. I need You, Jesus. I can’t do anything without You.”

I know I must abide in Him if I want to bear good fruit. Abiding replenishes the energy I use in my conferences. For many years I...

• Aeliana

 

[Richard]

My thoughts are we must abide in Christ. Jesus tells us: Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches” John 15:4–5

Whenever, though, they turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are—face-to-face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We’re free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.
2 Corinthians 3:18 MSG.

 

[praise_yeshua]

My thoughts are we must abide in Christ. Jesus tells us: Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches” John 15:4–5

Whenever, though, they turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are—face-to-face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We’re free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.
2 Corinthians 3:18 MSG.

When I read your comments I had the "thought"....

"Never enough". There is never enough of Him. The well never runs dry. The drink never ceases and is always full. The bread never ends is always new!

It is a never ending process of discovery for us.

 

[Richard]

When I read your comments I had the "thought"....

"Never enough". There is never enough of Him. The well never runs dry. The drink never ceases and is always full. The bread never ends is always new!

It is a never ending process of discovery for us.

"Never enough" would make for a great bible study and thread here. The good news is we will have eternity to get to know Him.

 

[Rowan]

Richard reminds us in his post #9 what Jesus said.

4. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

5. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
John 15:4–5

Jesus uses the words remain five times in these two verses. To bear spiritual fruit and become the people God wants us to be, we must remain in Christ. To remain or abide in Christ, we must do two things …

We must be filled with the Holy Spirit.

So, remaining in Christ requires our being filled with the Holy Spirit.