The fruit of the Spirit is probably the most well-known passage in Paul’s letter to the Galatians. You may have memorized these verses as a child. My husband recently serenaded me with a catchy ditty from his childhood: “The fruit of the Spirit is not a coconut.”

Regardless of how much fun we had learning the fruit of the Spirit, Paul here provides serious teaching on the sanctification process. In contrast to his previous list of fleshly acts to avoid (vv. 19–21), Paul offers this list of virtues which grow out of a Spirit-filled life. The Galatian believers were not expected to produce these character qualities in themselves. Their status as “children of God” had already rendered their flesh as “crucified” (v. 24).

It isn’t surprising that love (agape) is first on Paul’s list. He summed up the whole Law by quoting Leviticus: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev. 19:18). This agape love is not merely a fond admiration or emotional affinity. This love is an intentional, sacrificial pursuit of another person’s wellbeing. While the believer’s first love must be God (Deut. 6:5; Mark 12:30), Paul’s focus here is the Christian love for one another. Love is like the fertilizer that feeds the rest of the fruit.

Joy is closely related to hope. Throughout his writing, Paul repeatedly calls his readers to “rejoice in the Lord.” The object of the rejoicing is key. We find hope and joy not in our shifting circumstances but in Christ and through the Spirit. Similarly, peace is not a fleeting, sublime feeling. Like the Hebrew shalom, this peace is a condition of wholeness, well-being, and right relationships. The next several fruits, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self- control, focus on the relational life and how the Spirit-led Christians will treat other people—how they will “love.”

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