Joy transcends the highs and lows of life. This leads naturally to peace. The word is eirene, which in both the Septuagint and the New Testament is the equivalent of shalom, and peace was an essential component of Old Testament theology. That is why Paul so often says, “grace to you and peace.” Grace is the great promise of the New Testament and peace of the Old. He is fusing the two together in Christ.

In each of these three lessons, we will consider three of the virtues that Paul lists as the fruit of the Spirit, so our first will be love, joy, and peace.

There are real connections within these groupings. With our first set of virtues, we will discover the foundation for the ones that follow. Love, joy, and peace are virtues that cause our lives to give off the aroma of Christ. They define that atmosphere we produce to everyone around us, and they become more visible through the other virtues that are listed. These are the foundation or root, the next three are the visible fruits, and the final three are the enduring ones.

We should note, of course, that Paul speaks of a singular fruit of the Spirit, and it is expressed through these nine virtues. Thus, each is intrinsically connected to the others. We see this clearly in 1 Corinthians 13, where Paul beings his definition of love by reaching for two other virtues within the fruit of the Spirit: love is patient, love is kind.

And we could do the same with each. What is patience? It is loving, joyful, peaceful, etc. Each virtue defines and illuminates the other eight.

Even so, these three are the roots from which the rest spring forth, which is why I have called this lesson “The Rooted Disposition of a Fruitful Marriage.” Like roots, these virtues are not always immediately visible, but they give life to the more noticeable ones. They are deeply internal virtues with marvelously external consequences.

The pattern for each of these teachings will be first to consider the virtues themselves, then to consider how they are perfectly displayed in Christ, and then to apply them specifically to marriage. Those applications certainly cannot be exhaustive; rather, they are meant to spring us into our small group discussion time.

The Virtues Explained

Paul fittingly begins with love, which he clearly views as the supreme virtue. John, of course, tells us that God is love. Love is not a force that exists outside of Him, but God is the very source of love. The Greek word is agape, which we have already encountered in the Song of Songs.

Interestingly, agape was a relatively uncommon word before the translators of the Septuagint used it. Christians continued the use, so that it came to refer to the rooted, covenantal love. Agape is deeper than the passionate and romantic love of eros, but as we have seen in the Song of Songs, the two do not conflict. Agape properly grounds eros.

With things as difficult to grasp as love, we are sometimes most helped by the way of negation. What then is the opposite of love, for that tells us something of love itself? Most would probably say hatred. But that is not quite right. Kierkegaard points out that hatred requires passion, which may still be converted to love. Apathy is a better opposite.

For Lewis, the opposite of love is selfishness. He argues that you cannot combat selfishness with trying to be unselfish. Love is the opposite of selfishness.

Both are correct. Both apathy and selfishness are opposed to love because love is fundamentally other-centered. It looks past myself and onto the good of others.

That is why love is the great command. Love God and love others. Loving God requires our gaze to be turned toward Him, and the same for loving our neighbor. We are born with a natural love of self that must be given in equal part to those around us. Indeed, those who are given to self-deprecation are still turned inward upon themselves. Self-pity is very much a form of selfishness.

Love, then, is fundamentally other-oriented. No wonder it is the first virtue on the list. In fact, the Holy Spirit is the great example of love. He never draws attention to Himself but is eternally focused upon the glory of the Son and of the Father.

And what of joy? The Greek word is chara, and while it can mean gladness, it is much deeper than mere happiness as an emotion.

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