“…the fruit of the Spirit is…longsuffering…” The dictionary defines longsuffering when used as an adjective as “bearing injuries, trials. Etc. patient for a long time”, and, used as a noun it is “long and patient endurance of trials.” The Bible uses this word on different occasions as descriptive of God. In Exodus 34:7 He proclaimed […]
Taking the fruit of the Spirit one step farther we hear Isaiah the Prophet speaking of a day when God’s rule of righteousness on the earth will bring “peace…quietness and assurance forever” 32:17. While this verse of Scripture is applied to the millennial reign of Christ and the eternal kingdom, it actually began as a […]
This fruit of joy because it is a fruit of the Holy Spirit coming from deep within is amazingly incomprehensible. For example look at the list of hardships and difficulties the Apostle Paul went through for the Lord Jesus and the gospel in 2 Corinthians 11:22-23; in labors, beatings, imprisoned, stoned, shipwrecked, in dangers […]
Ephesians 2:8 says “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” It is the Lord Jesus Christ that has opened the door of “access…into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the […]
As we continue our journey into God’s orchard in Galatians 5:22-23, the first fruit we come to is Love. Love is very characteristic of the Christian life; it is the quality of which Jesus said to His disciples, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” […]
“The fruit of the Spirit is…” Galatians 5:22. What is fruit? It is one’s off-spring, or the product of any plant; the outward manifestations of the life of the plant, or with animate beings of the parents. Likewise the fruit of the Spirit is the outward manifestation of the God-life of the Holy Spirit within […]
For today’s lesson Jesus turns to the type of agriculture called viticulture, in Luke 20 9-16. The farmer set out what seems to be a perfect vineyard, and then when going to a distant country for an extended time placed it in the care of others with the apparent understanding that he would receive a […]
Once again Jesus draws from agriculture to teach kingdom truth, Luke 8:4-15. The picture is that of a farmer sowing seed in his field apparently the old fashioned way scattering it by hand. The seed is the word of God so it is very good seed of which God says it “shall not return […]
In Matthew 13:44-46 Jesus gives us two examples in parable illustrating the superior value of the kingdom of heaven. In verse 44 He likens “the kingdom of heaven (to) treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys […]
With agriculture being an important part of Israeli life Jesus uses it more than once in His teaching about the kingdom of heaven, i.e. kingdom of God. In Matthew 13:24-30, He portrays a farmer that sowed good seed in his “wheat” field; then during the night an enemy came and sowed “tares” (a weed that […]