TASTY: THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT

LESSON 1
Love
One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: Teacher, which is the greatest commandment
in the Law?
Jesus replied: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the
Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.
Matthew 22:35-40
Opening Illustration: The Most Important Thing in Life
Suppose at your next doctors visit you are told, Heres the bad news. Youre condition is terminal. You have
only a few days to live. A certain prognosis. No cure, no antidote, no treatment. All of a sudden, your financial
balance sheet, the size of your home, the number of people who report to you, your title, educationnone of
these mean what they did before you heard the doctors news.
CREATIVE IDEAS
Wear a doctors coat as you share the illustration, or act it out with a class member.
Google a news story of someone who received a terminal diagnosis and share it with the class.
Have everybody write down the first thing they would change if they got such a diagnosis. Go around the
circle quickly with each person sharing their answer.
To discuss:
If you had just a few days to live, what would you do? What would become important to you in those few
days?
How would that differ from what is most important to you now?
How can you tell what is most important?
What do you think gives your life significance or meaning?
Who You Are Is More Significant Than What You Do
The Bible teaches us that real significance begins with a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We can find and
experience real significance in life when we surrender to Christ and live for Him, with His Spirit in us and guiding
us.
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The evidence of a Christ-centered life is not just the things we do, but more crucially the person that we are.
Gods Spirit inside us changes us, grows us over time, and we become more and more like Jesus in our
attitudes, our character and outwardly in our actions. We are not working our way to God. Rather, Gods
work in us leaves tell-tale evidence on the outside. We dont do Christianity. We are Christ-followers.
Fruit of the Spirit
In Galatians 5:22-23, the Apostle Paul lists some characteristics of Christ-followers. Fruit means that which
comes from something; an effect or result. Not something that originates with you, but something that you are
known for because Christ is in you. (Leader note: Fruit something that is produced by the Spirit in ussee
John 15 for details.)
Read the Scripture:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-
control. Against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23
The fruit Paul refers to is the character, attitudes and actions of a Christ-follower. The Holy Spirit produces fruit
in the life of a believer. Notice that the fruit of the Spirit is singulara fruit. Paul is teaching us that the Spirit
produces all of these characteristics in every Christ-follower. Every believer has love, joy, peacenot just
some with love, or some with joy, etc.
To Discuss:
How does the Fruit of the Spirit differ from the good actions in the life of a non-Christian?
What does a persons actions tell you about them?
Is the fruit in Galatians 5:22-23 attitudes or actions, or both? Explain.
Why does Paul refer to fruit as a singular fruit rather than the plural fruits?
Do you think the list in Galatians is an exhaustive list of character traits of a Christ-follower?
Being Tasty
During this series we are going to talk about each of these nine aspects of the fruit of the Spirit. As we look at
these characteristics individually, well begin to see a picture of the whole believer emerge. This teaching will
reveal the image of a person who is impacting the lives of others, as their Christ-like character is shown in their
outward attitudes and actions.
A Spirit-filled believer is a fruitful person. Think about the kind of person that Paul is describinga person
living out all of these inward characteristics. Do you think theyd be influencing others toward Christ. Would
their life be meaningful and significant? Would you want to be that kind of person? In other words, would that
effective, Spirit-filled life look tasty to you?
Lets begin our look at the fruit today with the characteristic of love.
Influential People Are Loving People
Christ-followers would agree that Jesus Christ is a loving Person. As God He knows everything about Love. As
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a man He demonstrated love in many wayspersonally and profoundlyall the way to His loving and
sacrificial death on the cross. Matthew 22 contains one of Jesus greatest teachings on love:
Read the Scripture:
Jesus replied: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the
Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.
Matthew 22:36-40
Lets explore four aspects of love revealed in this passage from Matthew and other significant passages in the
New Testament.
Love Is a Command
In Matthew 22 Jesus details several aspects of love. The first is that love is not a choice or optionits a
command. Love the Lord your God... is a declarative sentence. You. Must. Love. If that wasnt enough, He
also details the complete nature of our love toward Godwith all our heart, soul, mind and strength. And
He finishes the verse by stating it outright: This is the first and greatest commandment.
To Discuss:
Why is Jesus so emphatic about the importance of love?
Love Begins With God
Jesus says our love begins with God. We are to love God first and above everyone else and everything else.
Look at the words Jesus uses, which go from inward to outward in our expression of love: heart, soul, mind
(inward) and strength (outward). We are to love God with all that we are and that will affect the love that we
showtoward God and others.
If you love God, your love for others will grow even greater, for this upward love supernaturally
produces love for others.
James Merritt
To Discuss:
What is significant about heart, soul, mind and strength?
Is it possible to love others or experience love apart from God? If so, what is different about this love?
What keeps us from loving God with all that we are?
Love Extends to Our Neighbors
Jesus speaks of a second commandment that is like the firstan emphatic and declarative mandate: Love your
neighbor as yourself. See the progression: Beginning with a healthy love for God will then extend to a healthy
love for our neighbors. When we love God the most, we will love others with our best.
Jesus teaching on love with respect to our neighbors is significant throughout the Gospels. He clearly expects
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His followers lives to show fruit in the area of love toward our neighbors.
To Discuss:
Read these passages of Scripture and discuss how loving others is lived out through each biblical example:
Love of the poor: Matthew 25:34-40
Love through serving: Luke 10:35-37
Love that forgives: Matthew 18:21-35
Love with our words: James 3:3-12
CREATIVE IDEA
For larger classes, you may want to break up into smaller groups of 2-4 people, have each take one of the
four passages above. Ask groups to answer a common question, like What does love look like in this
passage?
In these passages we can see love lived out in the way we care for others, serve those in need and less fortunate
than ourselves, forgive others and speak to others. Love is more than an attitude. When we love as God loves, it
invades our actions.
When it comes to love, say it.
James Merritt
Love Comes Back To You
Finally, dont miss Jesus last two words on love in Matthew 22:39we should love our neighbors as
ourselves. This isnt a mandate for self-love. In context, we learn that if we love God properly, well come to
also love ourselves properly. That is, when our love of God is right, it extends to our love of others, and our
love of self doesnt become self-worship or self-idolization.
To discuss:
What does self-worship or self-idolization look like in someones life? What are some examples of how
loving yourself can become sinful?
What does healthy self-love look like?
If you are not loving, you are not living.
James Merritt
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Living it out:
This week take the four ways we talked about loving our neighbors from the lesson, and choose to live one out
in your life:
Love of the poor: Matthew 25:34-40
Love through serving: Luke 10:35-37
Love that forgives: Matthew 18:21-35
Love with our words: James 3:3-12
Scripture to memorize:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first
and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.
Matthew 22:37-39
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