We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus (Gal. 1:1–5). That is all! However, this does not mean we do nothing (Gal. 5:16). As with a tree’s active photosynthesis, we are called to “keep in step with the Spirit” (Gal. 5:25), which proves that our faith in Jesus is genuine (John 15:8). But we must be careful; it is always possible to slip into legalism, thinking we can somehow earn God’s favor. However, just as we received “the promised Spirit through faith” at the moment we believed (Gal. 3:14), so we must “stand firm . . . through the Spirit, by faith” every moment until Jesus returns (Gal. 5:1–6). We continue as we first began: by the Holy Spirit’s love and power (Gal. 3:3).

Fruit Pie or Fruitful Tree?

Many of us love a good homemade pie. Whether apple, berry, or peach, a homemade pie is the result of a specific process in the kitchen. The baker arranges and prepares her ingredients, presses out the dough, creates a suitable filling, and adds a lattice crust, and—voilà!—the finished product is a delight to the eyes and the taste buds.

The fruit of the Spirit is not like a homemade pie. But how many of us think of things in this way? Start with some love, add a bit of joy and peace, fill with patience and goodness, and top with some self-control, and—voilà!—we hope we got the recipe right. We trust that all our efforts are enough. We pray that the finished product is a delightful (and fruitful) Christian life.

But God’s word tells us that the fruit of the Spirit is precisely that: of the Spirit. It is not “of us.” Rather than picturing the Spirit’s fruit, then, as a homemade pie that depends on its ingredients, we are to picture it as a tree:

[The blessed man] is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers. (Ps. 1:3)

A fruitful tree is dependent on external factors to survive and thrive. It bears fruit because it is well hydrated, supplied for, and nourished through its roots. Everything a tree needs it receives from outside itself. Even a very active process such as photosynthesis involves air, sunlight, and water. God’s word is telling us that believers are like trees: fully dependent on him for any growth and fruitfulness. A holy life in Christ produces holy, good fruit.

The Fruit of the Spirit Is . . .

Consider your present thinking about the fruit of the Spirit. Do you tend to think of it as a homemade pie, which depends on your own efforts and a combination of the right ingredients? Or do you think of a fruit-bearing tree that relies on its sources of nourishment to flourish? The differences are enormous: worship rather than legalism, prospering versus exhaustion, joy instead of frustration. When it comes to this important spiritual reality, we will want to have the mind of Christ and a heart deeply rooted in his words. We will want to be like a tree.

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Gal. 5:22–23)

The apostle Paul wrote these familiar words to a church family struggling to keep believing the good news about Jesus (Gal. 1:6–7).

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