BIAY - Spiritual Fruit
Galatians 4-6, Psalm 39
Welcome to the Bible in a Year for 2025. Intro to this series and resource links available here, plus here’s how I’m approaching this year.
Scriptures for Today:
Reflection:
Galatians is arguably Paul’s first letter chronologically (the NT letters are organized by length and recipients)—the other candidate is 1 Thessalonians. We can hear Paul’s conviction that all people—Jew and Gentile—are saved by grace through faith in Christ and that living out one’s faith empowered by personal transformation by the Spirit is God’s goal for people. These chapters have so much to say; alas, here are just a few reflections.
Adoption to Sonship (Gal 4:4-7) - Paul is tapping into the legal and familial status of various members of the ancient household here. The huge idea that he applies to Christian faith is that through the redemption that comes through Jesus, we are “adopted to sonship.” The translation note in the NIV states, “The Greek words for adoption to sonship is a legal term referring to the full legal standing of an adopted male heir in Roman culture.” Now, the initial power of that is pretty evident. Through faith, believers are made not just citizens of God’s kingdom (though we are) or merely workers in God’s kingdom (though, yes, that is true too), but heirs of the royal family! “The full legal standing of an adopted male heir in Roman culture.” Now consider to whom this refers. What did Paul just say? Not just the some men of some ethnicity of some societal status, but Jews and Gentiles, slaves and free, male and female all belong to Christ together. Meaning, of course, that the people of higher and lower status in their culture and society share the same exalted status in the family of God. Amazing.
So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. (3:26-29)
Walk by the Spirit and Produce the Fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:16, 22-25) - Classic verses well worth memorizing and internalizing. Here’s an important contrast. The stuff we don’t want in our lives are the “acts” of the flesh (5:19-21). The stuff we do want in our lives are the “fruit” of the Spirit. Fruit requires cultivation. Fruit requires tending to the various conditions necessary and trusting the process to bring forth something refreshing and nutritious. Deep formation in the character of Jesus isn’t simply an action. It is walking by the Spirit (v16)—following the leading of the Spirit, trusting the Spirit. This is an irony of faith and freedom. “Acting” feels like our own free choice, yet the acts of the flesh actually enslave. Submitting to walk by the Spirit feels like constriction of freedom, yet it sets us free to live as we were intended and with greater joy, hope, love, and purpose.
New Creation is what matters (Gal 6:14-15) - The marker of the old covenant was circumcision. That’s the outward and visible sign by which the people of God could be identified. But Paul has already made clear that the indicators of the old covenant are obsolete. What matters now is whether or not one is sharing in God’s “new creation.” Like the image of adoption to sonship, the idea of “new creation” is a powerful one in the New Testament. The old creation is beautiful yet broken. God is making all things new in Christ and we get to share in that! Paul will mention this notion also in a famous verse, 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
Questions:
Are there any spiritual fruit from Paul’s list that you are particularly drawn to cultivate in your life? How might you listen and walk by the Spirit for that?
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: Lord, help me walk in step with the Spirit. Come produce your fruit in my life! Amen.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
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