9 fruits of the spirit scripture

In the Bible, there is mention of fruit. So what kind of fruit are they? What does each fruit mean? Find out with me. This article may contain errors. Hope to get everyone's opinion. fruits of the spirit wall art

In the Bible, there are 9 types of fruits that symbolize our virtues that the Holy Spirit wants to infuse into our bodies. The nine types of holy fruit of the sacred tree, respectively, include:

1. Love

Saint Paul lists love as the first fruit of the Spirit. Strictly speaking, this is not the first fruit but the only one. In the New Testament, agape is the core of the Christian life. This word carries the meaning of concise. Here, we only want to focus on one edge, which is love. True, charity is deeper than states or gestures, but charity includes sentiments and processes them into polite gestures as well. Jesus and lion canvas

There are people who have a friendly and gentle quality that is natural or trained, display a rich feeling, and know-how to receive feelings as well as information from others. Unfortunately, there are people who think of themselves as “pious” or “charitable,” but find it cold in the way they interact with others. This, of course, is a misguided understanding of charity.

Sacred Heart, "heart" refers to thoughts for others, but refers to the center of love, emotions, desires and worries, joys and sorrows. When Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will also be” (Matthew 6:21), people mean both thoughts and feelings toward their closest device. In sending the letter to the Romans, "You have brotherly affection for one another" (Romans 2:10), Saint Paul was aiming for what is most precious to the man whose signal becomes active for all. work. Left, in describing the errors of the Gentiles, the saints call them "timeless" (Romans 1:31) and "heartless" (2 Timothy 3:3), in the sense that once you refuse to believe in God, then will also come in of stubbornness.

2. Pleasure

Humans are born looking for happiness. However, happiness on the one hand is the result of a human effort, on the other hand, is also a gift of God. Peace of mind and serenity, the expression of happiness, is also a gift from God.

In his homily, St. John Chrysostom decided that: “No one can make us unhappy unless we make ourselves unhappy; Likewise, no one can make us happy if we don't make ourselves happy.”

Pleasure is not a new virtue that can be effectively acquired over and over again. If we aim pleasure for in the action, we will see it slip out of our hands. Indeed, pleasure is a state of mind that accompanies the action and arises from a life consistent with one's signals. The complete externalities (such as health, money, ...) can contribute some part to the natural realm, but cannot create it. Joy is associated with the spirit, associated with the consciousness that we live in accordance with the right.

Joy (as well as happiness) is within us and is lifted up by inner forces that bring about a lofty ideal of life.

It should be emphasized that joy, as the gift of the Risen Christ, is not an object given to the disciples, but a presence of the Risen Lord. Christian joy comes from the belief that God loves us and is close to us. Even after Jesus ascended to heaven, “the disciples were still filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit,” as we read about in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 13:52).

3. Peaceful

In the context of the New Covenant, peace is not only the opposite of war, which is not limited to peace of heart, but also and above all to the peace of the Kingdom of God, the kingdom of the People of God, the peace of God the peace that God gives to those who live as God's children. Considering the gift of the Holy Spirit, peace presupposes that the Kingdom of God and the work of reconciliation have come to earth. Saint Paul observes: "Having been justified by faith, we have peace through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1).

Peace, brought by the Holy Spirit, helps the believer to be a leaven in the world, carrying out works of reconciliation and pacification in the church and among people. The peace of the Spirit permeates souls, helping them find answers to social justice. From a psychological point of view, most conflicts stem from inner dissatisfaction and frustration, and then from there outwardly, moving into the realm of relationships with others. Aggressive aggressors often carry in them something that disturbs and causes instability in them.

4. Patient

On a natural level, patience is a virtue acquired for character training, following the pattern of the Greek philosophers of Rome. From a Christian perspective, patience is an expression of charity and a fruit of the Holy Spirit. According to St. Thomas, patience (generosity) is a virtue that helps us to be patient, to persevere in the midst of toil, based on hope in the good things that God promises.

In relation to others, patience not only does not allow us to retreat in the face of adversity but also perseveres in pursuing our ideals with ever-changing enthusiasm. When we look under our natural eyes, we want to abandon sinners and let them drift, but motivated by our generosity, we cannot give up, but trust in God's redemptive plan to continue. apostolic work. The apostolate encounters many obstacles; worldly forces will seek to resist the way of the Gospel. Therefore, Saint Paul exhorts: "Be of good courage and perseverance, and be more active in the work of God, knowing that in the Lord your toil is not in vain" (1 Cor. 15,58).

5. Lenient

Saint Hieronymus describes kindness as follows: "Mercy, also called gentle, (because the Greek word restores implies both meanings) is a virtue of gentleness, attractiveness leading others through soft words and tolerant manners”.

Kindness appears to be no different from loving-kindness (as will be seen below) because both are action-oriented. However, the two sides differ in that a person who is “kind-hearted” may have a grimace on his face because he has experienced many hardships in his life; They are ready to help others when needed. Kind people are easy to love because of their cheerful and gentle attitude, making others like to approach them to make friends.

Paul is not afraid to summarize Christ's entire saving plan as an expression of "God's goodness and love (Humanitas)" for us (Titus 3:4). wants to highlight that God wants to be sworn in with man, He wants to appear as someone who cares for people with tenderness.

6. From the heart

In everyday language, it is difficult to distinguish the words "kind", "merciful", "beneficial", and "kind". An example: when a man came to Jesus and said, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life", and Jesus replied, "Why do you say I am good? There is no one good, except God” (Mt 10:17-18). Here, perhaps, it should be translated as "good", because, according to Saint Ambrose, this place is talking about evangelical perfection. However, the saint continued, the perfect person is one who is friendly with his neighbors, and does not impose anything heavy. Goodness, as a fruit of the Spirit, works not only in the heart, but also manifests itself in relationships with others (preaching, helping, devotion). Deeply rooted in the Holy Spirit, good people show themselves not only through a couple of good deeds but also through a determined will to live their ideals in a society full of evil: they do not return evil for evil. , but to repay evil with good, according to the counsel of the Apostle (Rom 12:17-21).

7. Loyalty

Vulgata named this fruit "fides" and caused much controversy: how can a divine (theological) virtue become a fruit of the Spirit? In fact, in the Hebrew language, “believe” (Pistis) has many meanings: to trust, to rely on. Believing is not just accepting a truth based on the credibility of others; To believe is to rely on, to cling to someone. Faith is also associated with hope. In addition, believing also carries with it the idea of ​​persistence, not changing positions.

With so many connotations, it is no wonder that this characteristic is also applied in the Bible to God: He is "faithful" to his promises, despite the times when people break them. God is faithful and does not change his will to save (James 1:17). Based on this faithfulness, how many psalms have cried out to the Lord: "Remember your love, O Lord, remember your faithfulness, come and set us free" (Ps 26, 6). In the New Testament, Christ is proclaimed as the eternal Amen of God faithful to the promises: “Christ, the Son of God… is not both a 'yes' and a 'no', but in him only all 'yes'. Indeed, all of God's promises are 'yes' in him. Therefore, it is also through him that we exclaim 'Amen' to the glory of God" (2 Cor 1:19-20). After all, God is faithful because He is Truth, and at the same time He is Love. As Love, He wants to communicate Himself to us; He loves us, so he doesn't want to deceive us.

8. Gentle

Gentle is on the list of eight blessings. Meekness, accompanied by poverty in spirit, corresponds to the same Hebrew word: He who is poor in the sight of the Lord is naturally meek to his brother.

So we can say that meekness is seen as a characteristic of the Holy Spirit, a sentiment towards others that is expressed in the way we treat others.

Gentleness can be described negatively as the ability not to allow oneself to be carried away by anger beyond its cause, i.e. not to allow oneself to be carried away by irrational emotion. . Anger can be a legitimate response, so it takes meekness to govern it insofar as it is based on truth and love. Sometimes the Gospels recount Jesus being angry, for example when he drove a merchant out of the temple (Mt 21:12-13; Mk 11:15-19; Ecclesiastes 2:1-36); but this anger in defense of higher values ​​has been violated. It comes from a heart that is always united with the Father, so it is not a passion, but a warning to violators of God's rights.

9. Self-control

According to the Vulgata translation, moral theology applies to the domain of abstinence and chastity and includes not only sins related to the sexual sphere but also to the realm of eating. There are other authors who understand Enertia as self-control and apply it to any sin that is emotional, beyond the control of reason, such as anger, violence, and cursing.

In fact, one can understand “self-control” in many ways:

- First of all, mastering lustful passions in all forms. Paul uses the image of athletes who must abstain from everything in order to win the prize (1 Cor 9:25). This invites us to refuse even to do what is permissible, in order to attain heavenly reward.

Self-control also means giving up the “intention to hegemony”, the tendency to want to dominate others. Instead, it is a feeling of respect for others, recognizing that they are also children of God.

Self-control also means that refusing to do things (restricting the use of wealth, limiting food) not only has the value of controlling instinct but also has a social value, which is to share and serve the needy brothers and sisters.

Nevertheless, self-control is essential for coexistence in society: elements will not seek to dominate others, to impose the power of force; On the contrary, they seek to serve the common good, especially to support the lonely, encourage the timid, and timid.