Spirit here refers to the Holy Spirit, and its fruit is a word that Apostle Paul uses to refer to many gifts. The first gift is love, and he makes it the first virtue in his great words about it in the first epistle to the Corinthians. Then, he continues with joy which is not just a psychological movement but a grace of the Spirit, also peace which is the reconciliation with God and at the same time a description of Christ. After that, he mentions longsuffering and means by it patience over people whatever were they, and expresses himself through kindness which comes from gentleness, and goodness which is inerrancy, and faith in everything God said and if it was true then through it reliance on God. Moreover, he mentions gentleness that’s related to kindness and finally mentions self-control over all impurities.
When he wanted to say that the Law takes the person to these advantages, he expressed it by saying that these have no law against them.
Then Paul’s thought mounts to suggest that those who have these features have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. The Greek word that was translated into “passions” means whims i.e. inner tendencies that lead us into sin.
He ends this section by saying: “If we live in the Spirit (he also means the Holy Spirit), let us also walk in the Spirit”. The Holy Spirit dwells in us and takes us to the good behavior.
After that, he moves into what is bad and warns us from self-conceit i.e. self-esteem in a way being a kind of the kinds of pride. He also warns us from anger that always harms the person that we direct our anger towards, and wants us not to be jealous from each other and to be happy with the goodness that God gives to whom he wants.
Paul knows that even if he advised these virtues, some brothers would still fall, and he wants us to restore them with the spirit of gentleness and not by wigging that might hurt them and make us appear as if we are without any sins. This is why he invited us to look at ourselves and be afraid to fall. Through kind brotherly blame there is no pride. The sinner carries the burdens of his sin in his conscience. This is where his saying comes from: “Bear one another’s burdens”, get tired with the tired, weep with the weepers and the sad. Carry the difficulties of the poor and sick through a real help for them, through providing comfort and staying next to them. He ends by saying: “And so fulfill the law of Christ”. This is a new law because it is the law of love which contains all the virtues.
Love, joy, peace …etc. all of these mentioned in the beginning of the moral section of the epistle to the Galatians become the law of Christ if they met together in the heart and behavior of a person. Therefore, we didn’t stay anymore in the system of ordinances of Moses (what should or shouldn’t be eaten for example), but we went beyond these legitimate laws to commit to the law of love which descends from above and creates all the virtues that Paul mentioned, and invites us to get purified from all the sins that he mentioned. There is, of course, a fight that the soul has to take to keep the love, but before all of this it is the grace from the Holy Spirit that if we changed through it we obtain all the virtues in a sense that we become experienced with them and they take root in us and the illumined heart becomes a fountain that works in us in order to reach through it the eternal life.
Translated by Mark Najjar
Original Text: “ثمر الروح” – 5.12.2010-Raiati no49
