A little long but meaningful!!! :)
~*Galatians 5:16-26*~
“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for those are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”
Works of the flesh:
"Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these."~*Galatians 5:19-21*~
Definition: I don't really know how to define all of these other than things that we shouldn't do and that are spiritually unhealthy. Feel free to look the definitions up if you are unclear on them :)
“For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.” ~*Romans 7:15-18*~
Fruit of the Spirit:
1.) Joy: the emotion of great delight or happiness by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elation
2.) Peace: freedom of the mind from annoyance, distraction, anxiety, an obsession, etc.; tranquility; serenity
3.) Patience: an ability or willingness to suppress restlessness or annoyance when confronted with delay; quiet, steady perseverance; even-tempered care; diligence
4.) Kindness: kind favor; friendly feeling; liking
5.) Goodness: moral excellence; kindness; generosity; excellence of quality; strength
6.) Faithfulness: true to one’s word, promises, vows, etc; steady in allegiance of affection; loyal; constant; reliable; trusted; believed
7.) Gentleness: kindly; amiable; not severe, rough, or violent; mild; refined
8.) Self-Control: control or restraint of oneself or one’s actions, feelings, emotions, etc.
9.) Love: “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” ~*Romans 5:8*~
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” ~*1 Corinthians 13:13*~
Passages to think about:
~*Romans 7:14-25*~ “We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.”
("The Law" is the law of God which is good. The problem stated by Paul about himself (and that of all believers (1 Corinthians 3:1-3)) is we are sold to sin. Even though we are believers, we continue to fall short of God's moral standards (Romans 3:23). Being fleshly means there is a conflict that mystifies us as believers and we may not understand it (thus the mystery). We find ourselves defeated, not doing what we want to do, but doing the things we hate to do: sin. The battle between two identites in the believer is: first, we acknowledge that the law of God is good and the second is that the sin within produces evil. The problem is in the flesh there is nothing good. The will is the desire to do good yet we are lacking the ability to perform that. The delight in the law of God causes believers in Christ to want to line up with the the new nature God has given. The law of sin rejects the portion of the mind that seeks after God. That sin seeks to draw us away from God's work in us. There is victory through Christ who delivers us from the flesh (2 Corinthians 5:17)).
~*Galatians 2:20*~ “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
~*John 15:1-16*~
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 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. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other.”
(and I could go on and on and on and on.................)
(If you didn't figure this out in the process of reading: Bolded is Scripture (or pulled from Scripture). Not bolded are my thoughts or definitions not pulled from the Bible)
