Better Love, Joy, & Peace
Notes
Transcript
Better Love, Joy, & Peace
Better Love, Joy, & Peace
Last week we went through the works of the flesh, we talked about that word work:
A finished thing that you set out, on purpose, to complete
An obvious thing, such that when you are done, when it is seen, everyone know what it is
And we talked about how these things (sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkeness, orgies, and the like)
All point to a form of idolatry, where we setup ourselves as the idol
If we worship ourselves, then we worship another god
And anyone who worships another god is not going to inherit the kingdom of God
Paul is teaching them...
Don’t be an idol...
Be like a tree!
What comes from the Spirit, as opposed to what comes from us, is spoken of like fruit.
Fruit, for the most part, comes from trees. Even grapes come from a vine, which scripture describes as a tree-like thing.
Paul’s analogy is not new.
Proverbs 11:30 “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever captures souls is wise.”
Hosea 14:8 “O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols? It is I who answer and look after you. I am like an evergreen cypress; from me comes your fruit.”
Even Jesus uses tree analogies.
Trees that do not bear good fruit are cut down and burned
Good trees bear good fruit and bad trees bear bad fruit (Mat 7:17)
Good trees don’t bear bad fruit and bad trees don’t bear good fruit (Mat 7:18)
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.
****Fruit of the Spirit...
If any of you have tried to grow anything, you understand that it requires some skill, knowledge, and persistence to get something to grow.
From what I understand...
Soil
Seed
Water
Sunshine
Temperature
Pruning
Harvesting
Also, it may require...
Pest control
Protected against the elements
Predator control
Keep in mind...
The tree does not grow fruit for itself.
Rather, it produces what it was made to produce.
It is a function of its design.
*****Love, Joy, Peace
Love
We have spoken of this word before. Agape, it is a noun. It is not found in noun form in Greek classical writings.
But the verb form of this word is.
There are two other common words for love, Philo (brotherly, family), and Eros (tends to be more sexual, physical).
In the Greek translation of the OT, there is not much distinction between Agape and Eros.
But in the NT, Agape seems to be used to describe love of God for humans and the kind of love humans are to have for others.
Love is the preeminent of all the fruit of which Paul speaks.
Galatians 5:6 “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.”
Galatians 5:13 “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”
Galatians 5:14 “For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.””
But, 1 Corinthians 13:4–8 “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.”
1 Corinthians 13:13 “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
And as we learned going through the Epistles of John, God is Love. It is the defining aspect of his character.
Now, all that said, and thinking about what we have heard, is the Biblical definition of Love a feeling?
Yes and No.
Remember, the fruit that the tree produces is not meant for you, although you have some benefit, it is meant to nourish another.
Paul is not going to stray from this thought.
Joy
Luke 2:10 “And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”
The source of joy is good news.
This may be a different way of thinking about joy, as in an emotion you experience, although that is true, the Spirit brings good news of great joy that will be for all people.
Romans 15:13 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”
Romans 15:32 “so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company.”
Joy, as it would seem, is something that travels, and something that might be better understood as thanksgiving.
It is a common term and was a common name in Greek. Chara (Charo, charity, grace).
Peace
Peace is a term that means different things to different cultures.
The Greeks sought serenity, tranquillity, a quiet mind...
Which was obtained through self-sufficient independence from all trouble in life
This means that most of us have a western, Greek philosophical definition
For us, peace is the absence of pain in the body or trouble in the mind.
This is not the Biblical view of peace.
Shalom in scripture means the perfection of relationships in whatever circumstance, so signifies something very positive
It is the highest good and promotes the best relationships
It is personal wholeness and beneficial relationships
Practically, this means your body may not cooperate, but the spirit can put you at peace with that, knowing that it is NOT GOD that is bringing some punishment.
Romans 15:33 “May the God of peace be with you all. Amen.”
2 Corinthians 13:11 “Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.”
Romans 5:1 “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Ephesians 2:14 “For he himself is our peace...”
The order of these, for me, is interesting.
Love
Joy (thanksgiving)
Peace
Because this is a repeating theme in the Torah.
Love God, Love Neighbor
Give thanks through sacrifice to God
Make peace offerings
In most of the letters of Paul, he opens with a prayer saying, “Grace and Peace to you.” That term for Grace is the root of the term for ‘Joy.’
These concepts...
The Love of God
The Joy of God
Peace with God
Are a challenge for some of you, and others, maybe not so much.
These are such personal things...
They are not intuitive
You might have been taught or believed that God hates you
You might have thought you must ‘force’ joy
You might believe you are at war with God
Too often we internalize instead of externalize them
Moreover, the comparison to ‘work’ of the flesh and ‘fruit’ of the Spirit means that we
Put in some effort to make the best fruit appear
From what I understand...
Soil: What is the foundation of your life? How you grew up, or what you experience is going to be the soil for the seed and may affect how it grows and produces.
Seed: What is the initial belief you have? What did you believe love was, joy was, peace was when you first believed?
Water, sunshine, & fertilizer: What are you doing to nourish the roots?
Too much water and you will drown the fruit tree
Too much sunshine and you will burn the bark and blossoms
Too much fertilizer and you, well, you know what too much BS does
Frost and Freeze: It is possible to kill the plant, the blossoms, with frost or a hard freeze. Who is pouring cold water on your plant?
Pruning: What are you doing to trim the edges so you don’t overproduce? When a tree overproduces, it can take the next year off.
Also, it may require...
Pest control: Who or what are the pests? The little things in your life that want to nibble away at your plant.
Predator control: Who are the predators? The ones that come and eat all the fruit, like a bear, before they go into hibernation. They leave none for anyone, so you must guard your heart.
Keep in mind...
The tree does not grow fruit for itself.
Rather, it produces what it was made to produce.
It is a function of its design.
Romans 8:38–39 “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 5:1 “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
WRAP UP HERE...
Now, who is the fruit made for? Others.
Are you an other?
That means you need people in your life who understand the fruit of the Spirit so you can take the proper nourishment for yourself.
If you make fruit for another, that means another makes fruit for you.
But don’t be stingy, waiting for them to bring a fruit basked first.