This document discusses the fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit. It describes the nine fruits of the Spirit as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. It also outlines nine spiritual gifts: word of wisdom, word of knowledge, gifts of healings, working of miracles, gift of faith, gift of prophecy, discerning of spirits, tongues, and interpretation of tongues. The document emphasizes that both fruits and gifts are important for spiritual growth, and that while fruits develop over time, gifts can operate immediately through the Holy Spirit's power.

1. Fruit and Gifts of the Spirit
Dr. Becky Slabaugh
In John 15:8 we read, “By this my Father is glorified that you bear
much fruit so you will be my disciples.” In Galatians 5:22-23 we
read, “But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. We bear
fruit through the Holy Spirit that resides within us by aligning our
desires with Him and having and releasing our faith. When Paul
talks about the fruit of the Spirit, he is referring to man that takes
on the very nature of Jesus Christ (our attitude of love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, gentle and good). Our relationship with God is
meek and balanced which brings a witness for those around us in
our lives. This is an ongoing process that is developed each day as
we continue to grow in the nine-fold fruits of the Spirit.
Author Graham Cooke has an excellent way of speaking of the
movement of the ebb and flows of life:
Beloved, see yourself in the Spirit,
Do you not know that you are in no way tied to just the natural
world?
There is an old and limitless power available to you as you learn
to step back into your inner man of the Spirit.
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2. This anointing is like the creative operation of the ocean.
Wave after wave of revelation, power and anointing will wash
over you as you learn to stand in the right place.
This place in the Spirit demands a transparency of honesty and a
purity of heart.
I will help you to lower your resistance to the work of the Holy
Spirit.
This is the dawn of a new season in your life,
where the Son will rise upon you with a new warmth and light.
What now may be possible for you?
What dreams long buried in your heart may surface to receive
faith and recognition?
What now may emerge in your relationship with Me
that will bring you into an increased significance in the Spirit?
Come away from the natural as you learn to be My bride,
My beauty, My love.
What does walking in the Spirit that bears fruit look like in your
life? Below are continued points to reflect on:
1. Walking in the Spirit is demonstrated by fruit and walking
in the manifested presence of God (which comes out of
your relationship with Him).
2. The power of the Holy Spirit is to destroy the works of the
devil while the fruit of the Spirit is to demonstrate the life
of God in the believer.
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3. 3. The fruit of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit are not in
opposition to one another. The reason they seem to oppose
one another is because we desire to have one without the
other.
a) We boast of the power we have in a self-centered and
arrogant way.
b) We overextend ourselves in the flesh by sabotaging our
relationship with God in works or assignments that are not
from God.
4. Being born again does not guarantee that fruit will be
released. The example would be when you are in a family
not everyone is going to uphold the same standards as the
parents.
5. Fruit comes by moving forward and pressing in toward
maturity by:
a. The Word of God
b. Prayer
c. Obedience
The fruit of the Spirit contrasts the acts of a sinful nature. When
we live allowing the Holy Spirit to direct and influence our lives
sin’s power is destroyed, the sinful nature is replaced with a Spirit-
led fellowship walk with God.
The fruits of the Spirit listed below are:
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4. 1. Love (Greek, “agape”) which is a caring for and seeking
the highest good of another person without motive of
personal gain (Romans 5:5; 1 Cor. 13; Ephesians 5:2; Col.
3:14).
2. Joy (Greek, “chara”) is the feeling of gladness based on the
love, grace, blessings, promises, and nearness of God that
belong to those who believe in Christ (Psalm 119:16; 11
Cor. 6:10; 12:9; 1 Peter 1:8; Phil. 1:14).
3. Peace (Greek, “eirene”) is the quietness of the heart and
mind based on the knowledge that all is well between the
believer and his or her heavenly Father (Romans 15:33;
Phil. 4:7; 1 Thess. 5:23; Heb. 13:20).
4. Patience (Greek, “makrothumia”) is an endurance,
longsuffering, being slow to anger or despair (Ephesians
4:2, 11 Tim. 3:10; Hebrews 12:1).
5. Kindness (Greek, “chrestotes”) is not wanting to hurt
anyone or cause them pain (Ephesians 4:32, Col. 3:12, 1
Peter 2:3).
6. Goodness (Greek, “agathosune”) is a zeal for truth and
righteousness and a hatred of evil; it can be expressed in
acts of kindness (Luke 7:37-50) or in rebuking and
correcting evil (Matthew 21:12-13).
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5. 7. Faithfulness (Greek, “pistis”) is a firm and unswerving
loyalty to a person to whom one is united by promise,
commitment, trustworthiness, and honesty (Matthew 23:23,
Romans 3:3, 1 Tim. 6:12, 11 Tim. 2:2, 4:7, Titus 2:10).
8. Gentleness (Greek, “prautes”) is a restraint coupled with
strength and courage; it describes a person who can be
angry when anger is needed and humbly submissive when
submission is needed (11 Tim. 2:25, 1 Peter 3:15).
9. Self-control (Greek, “egkrateia”) is mastering one’s own
desires and passions, including faithfulness to one’s
marriage vows, also purity (1 Cor. 7:9, 9:25, Titus 1; 2:5).
In Beth Moore’s workbook, “Living Beyond Yourself,” which
explores the fruits of the Spirit, she writes, “The joy of the Lord is
our strength. What a needed commodity! What a source of
attractiveness to a broken and needy world! Joy! Joy is the
second characteristic of the fruit of the Spirit. That makes perfect
sense. Only love better describes the lifestyle of Christ. Only love
more aptly meets the needs of our torrid age. Love melts the heart
of stone. Joy touches the deepest part of the heart. We need joy,
and our world needs believers who evidence the fruit of joy.”
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6. In our daily walk under the alignment of God the fruits of the
Spirit within us are growing, increasing, and maturing, while the
gifts of the Spirit are without merit as stated in 1 Cor. 12:11,
“dividing to every man severally as he will.” In 1 Cor. 12:1 we
read, “……I do not want you to be ignorant,” (regarding spiritual
gifts). God wants us to know what our spiritual gifts He has freely
given to us are. It is an interesting point to understand that it is not
necessary to have the fruit of the Spirit before operating in the gifts
as we read in 1 Corinthians. We need the balance of the spiritual
gifts with love that Paul talks about in chapter 13 in 1 Corinthians.
Fruits and Gifts of the Spirit are different. The fruits of the Spirit
are developed within us as we grow whereas the gifts of the Spirit
are without merit as alluded to in the above paragraph. Spiritual
gifts can begin operating in a believer’s life immediately after
being received. Acts 19:6, “and spoke with tongues and
prophesied.” This was an immediate release after Paul laid his
hands upon them.
Some believers only look to the fruit of the Spirit in their Christian
walk but God makes it clear in 1 Cor. 14:37 “be eager to prophesy
and do not forbid speaking in tongues.” Instruction was given to
the gifting and also a command to release the gifts of the Spirit.
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7. In 1 Cor. 14:1 we read, “Follow after charity and desire spiritual
gifts.” It takes both fruit and the gifts for spiritual growth.
Spiritual Gifts and Descriptions:
1. Word of Wisdom: The word of wisdom is a supernatural
revelation by the Spirit of God concerning the plan and
divine purpose in the mind of God. Christ is made unto us
wisdom and the power of God (1 Cor. 1:18 – 30).
2. Word of Knowledge: The God of all knowledge drops the
word of His knowledge into us and our spirit and mind is
then illuminated supernaturally. Example: Peter received a
word of knowledge about Ananias and Sapphira but not
about any others. All got the message though (Acts 5:1-5).
3. Gifts of Healings: The gifts of healings are a divine
intervention in restoring a sick person to health. The Holy
Spirit imparts to the believer healing that is imparted in the
body of the sick person. The gifts of healing are a
supernatural manifestation of the Holy Spirit that like any
other gift has nothing to do with our human abilities or
inventions.
4. Working of Miracles: A miracle is a divine intervention
into the natural laws of nature making is an extraordinary
event. Miracles display God’s power and glory (Psalm
145:3-7). God can allow a miracle to happen to protect His
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8. servant, such as the case of Daniel in the lion’s den. There
are other cases in Matt. 8:24-26 and Acts 12:4-11).
5. Gift of Faith: The gift of faith is a supernatural ability to
believe and trust God for the impossible which opens up
the supernatural realm. This kind of faith releases a strong
confidence that is able to stand any given situation, if based
on the Word of God and the working of the Holy Spirit.
With this kind of faith we can command mountains to
move. Impossibilities become opportunities for
possibilities for God to manifest within. Example: My
girlfriend lives in a small cabin in northern Arizona. Her
income at the time was barely enough for her to live on.
We prayed on the phone together for the oil in the propane
tank would multiply. Living in the mountains, without heat
in the winter time, you would literally freeze to death. One
year later she reported that she did not need to replenish the
propane tank.
6. Gift of prophecy: The gift of prophecy is the ability to
communicate a message from God to the church, a
gathering, or an individual through the power of the Holy
Spirit. It originates with God, pouring through the spirit of
the believer who in turns releases it. Prophecy is the most
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9. important gift as we are call to seek out the gift of
prophecy.
7. Discerning of Spirits: The seeing of spirits is to test, prove,
and decide the spiritual activity going on. Discerning of
spirits gives insight to the spirit world, both good and bad.
Elisha prayed and asked God to show the servant that God
had more horses and chariots than the King of Syria who
had compassed the city (11 King 6:8-17). Visions bring a
manifestation of the gift of discerning of spirits.
8. Tongues: Speaking in tongues is a supernatural utterance
that is given by the power of the Holy Spirit through the
human voice and without the help of the conscious mind.
The Holy Spirit takes the human mind and organs of speech
and utilizes it to worship God or pray in a language that
cannot be created, understood, or perpetuated by the natural
man. The human intellect is not the originator but a yielded
instrument under the control of the Holy Spirit. No human
or other power would know the meaning of such a
supernatural utterance unless it was revealed by the same
Spirit by the gift of interpretation.
9. Interpretation of Tongues: It takes more faith to operate
prophecy than tongues or interpretation of tongues, because
the persons who have these gifts have another to lean on.
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10. The person with the gift of tongues can lean on a person
with the gift of interpretation of tongues and vice versa.
The gift of interpretation of tongues is the ability to know
and give meaning to what was spoken through the gift of
tongues. It is an interpretation, not a translation of tongues.
This ability is not acquired by natural knowledge but
supernaturally imparted.
Author Agnes Sanford of the book, “The Healing Gifts of the
Spirit,” so eloquently writes, “We live precariously in two worlds,
both in time and beyond time, both in space and beyond
space…..nowadays there is a great awakening….a tremendous
urge toward the real power of the indwelling spirit of God who is
indeed able to transform us into new creatures in Christ Jesus.”
The Lord woke me up in the middle of the night a few weeks ago
to my hearing the words, “The veil has lifted.” I believe we are in
a season where God is revealing Himself in dramatic and
incredible ways to the Body of Christ and the unsaved. He longs
for us to know Him and walk with Him. Through the gifting and
fruits of the Spirit, we draw closer to Him in knowing more about
our Heavenly Father and how to dwell in a closer relationship with
Him for the glory of God to be unleashed throughout the earth.
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