WHAT KIND OF FRUIT ARE YOU BEARING??

Galatians chapter 5







Today we are walking in: What Kind Of Fruit Are You Bearing???







Today we look to the word FRUIT --H6529 -pĕriy -- fruit (literally and figuratively): bough, first, fruitful, reward.










The Torah testifies.........……




Leviticus 19:24



But in the fourth year all the fruit H6529 thereof shall be holy to praise the Lord withal.













The prophets proclaim..................




Ezekiel 36:8



But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit H6529 to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come.













The writings bear witness............




2 Kings 19:30



And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall yet again take root downward, and bear fruit H6529 upward.







FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT




Regarding the qualities of heart that are to mark the follower of Yahusha, the Apostle Paul wrote, "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace; long-suffering, generosity, acts of kindness; faithfulness, humility, and modesty – against such there is no Torah" (Gal. 5:22-23). Notice that while there is "one fruit" of the Spirit (i.e., "fruit" is singular), Yah produces a manifold yield, just as the Tree of Life produces twelve different kinds of fruit, one for each month of the Hebrew year (see Rev. 22:1-2).



"The fruit of the Spirit is love..."




Love




Of course love is the "first fruit" of the Spirit, and rightly so, since "Yah is love" (1 John 4:8) and the mark of the follower of Yahusha is likewise be love (John 13:35). The Greek word Paul uses is agape, which is one of the most frequently occurring words in his vocabulary of the Hebrew life. After all, loving Yah is the primary obligation of life: "Hear, O Israel... love the Most High your Yah with all your being" (Deut. 6:4-6), and the apostle later states that the practice of love is the fulfillment of the Torah: "For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Gal. 5:14). "Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law (Rom. 13:8). This is the "kingdom law" (mentioned in James 2:8. Love is the Source from which all the other virtues flow and is their underlying reason: "I live by faith in Yah the Son, who loved me and gave Himself for me..." (Gal. 2:20).




"For Yah so loved the world that He gave..." (John 3:16). Yah's love is expressed in sacrificial giving, since He is the Source and reason for all that exists. "Yah, who needs nothing, loves into existence holy superfluous creatures in order that he may love and perfect them". Perhaps the best definition of love is found in 1 Corinthians 13, where it is described as longsuffering and kind, full of humility, generosity, forgiveness, and so on. Love always uses the "good eye" to resist thinking evil about about others (lit., "does not impute the bad”, in 1 Cor. 13:5) and rejoices in the truth. Love bears all things, is full of trust and hope for the good... Such is the portrait of Messiah.




Though Yah's love is the font and source for all the other virtues of grace, it has a practical focus in this list, suggesting that love for Yah will be manifested as good will and good deeds shown to others (1 John 3:17). Though the love of Yah has been "poured out" into the hearts of believers in Yahusha by the Spirit (Rom. 5:5), love is nevertheless a matter of the will, an act of duty and a divine obligation, rather than mere sentiment or matter of the affections, and therefore we are called to love our enemies in this age, that is, to indiscriminately practice acts of righteousness that will benefit them.










"The fruit of the Spirit is ... joy"




Joy




The Greek word for "joy" is chara, a word related to "grace", which is the expression of thankfulness for being forgiven and accepted by Yah. "We rejoice in Yah through Yahusha our Messiah, through whom we have received the atonement," the divine exchange of our guilt with His righteousness (Rom. 5:11). A characteristic mark of the grace of Yah, then, is an inward sense of joy, regardless of circumstances; a sense of rejoicing - even in the midst of sorrow (2 Cor. 6:10). The experience of joy is related to that of hope, since "we rejoice in hope of the glory of Yah" (Rom. 5:2). "For the kingdom of Yah is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace (שָׁלוֹם) and joy (שִׂמְחָה) in the Ruach HaQadesh" (Rom. 14:17).










"The fruit of the Spirit is ... peace"




Peace




Peace and joy are regarded as complimentary graces, "since we are justified by faith, we have peace with Yah through Yahusha our Messiah" (Rom. 5:1), and those who are reconciled to Yah have the greatest reason to rejoice (Rom. 5:11). The Greek word for "peace" is erene, though the Hebrew word "shalom" means more than the absence of strife, but also includes the idea of wholeness, health, balance, reconciliation, etc. In addition to the idea of having peace with Yah, shalom implies the peace of Yah, which passes all understanding (Phil. 4:7). The Most High Himself is called the "Yah of Peace" who crushes Hasatan under your feet (Rom. 16:20).




Ultimately the first three qualities of heart come from Yahusha, who calls his followers to abide in His love (John 15:9) so they can know His joy (John 15:11) and experience His inner peace (John 14:27).




"The fruit of the Spirit is ... long-suffering"




Longsuffering




The Apostle Paul uses the word makrothumia (μακροθυμία), which comes from "macros", "great," and "thuo", "sacrifice," a word that suggests patient endurance of wrongdoing without taking vengeance, or, put positively, steadfastness and tenacity of purpose. The corresponding Hebrew phrase means "long of nose" (the word erekh means "long" and means "nose"), an idiom used to picture the slow venting of air through the nostrils which is characteristic of someone who is slow to anger. The idea implies that we are not easily offended by the faults and character defects of others, just as Yah graciously overlooks our sins in Yahusha... Since long-suffering is an attribute of Yah's Mercy (Exod. 34:6-7), it is a part of His essential character, and therefore Paul later writes that "love is longsuffering" in 1 Cor. 13:4. Another word translated as "long-suffering" is the word "patience," which in Hebrew is savlanut.










"The fruit of the Spirit is ... generosity"




Generosity




The Greek word Paul used here is krestotes, which refers to the disposition of kindness toward others. In the Greek Old Testament, krestotes is used to translate the Hebrew word for tov, i.e., "good" (e.g., Psalm 34:8; 136:1, Nah. 1:7), as well as yashar, i.e., "upright" (Prov. 2:21). In the New Testament, krestotes is used to convey kindness that results from tenderheartedness and compassion, and therefore is associated with a generous disposition (Eph. 4:32). The Hebrew nedivut means "generosity" or "benevolence," and nedivut lev means having a generous heart (a nedavah is a "free-will" offering or donation from the heart).










"The fruit of the Spirit is ... kindness"




Kindness




The Greek word is agathosune, a word that occurs only four times in the New Testament, though it undoubtedly it refers to acts of kindness that are esteemed as "good" in the eyes of Yah. Therefore Yahusha asked, "Is your eye evil because I am good?", which associates the good eye (ayin tovah) with a generous spirit (Matt. 20:15). In the Hebraic mindset, the outworking of the "good eye" is expressed as "the bestowal of kindnesses" or the practice of love. Such benevolence is regarded as greater than (doing the right thing out of a sense of duty) because love anticipates the needs of others and acts from a sense of compassion. As an old Hebrew proverb states: "Doing the right thing out of a sense of duty awaits the cry of distress; benevolence anticipates the cry of distress." Note that the word translated "kindness" may be translated as compassion, goodness, mercy, and so on.