In our introductory post for this series on the Fruit of the Spirit, we took a general look at the list to begin to uncover the meaning of the Apostle Paul’s words to the Galatians. Now we will examine each of these slices of the Spirit’s fruit, starting with love.

Defining love is not an easy task, but here’s one that attempts to sum up the biblical nature of love: Love is a holy, divine affection toward others produced by the Spirit of God in all believers. This is spiritual love – produced, wrought, and empowered by the Holy Spirit. So, what does this love truly mean?

First, spiritual love is not natural.

Spiritual love is not the natural affection of the world. The world might be capable of love in the human sense of the term. We know there are unbelievers who have good marriages. There are also unbelievers willing to sacrifice for the good of humanity. It is possible to do these things without having true love as God defines it.

As Paul says, a person could be a great philanthropist but not have love (1 Corinthians 13:3). The world might do many things that appear sacrificial, loving, and giving; yet it does not have divine love, so these actions profit them nothing. We must not judge love solely by someone’s works.

The world cannot have biblical love because this attribute is a fruit of the Spirit. The ungodly do not have the Spirit of God within them (1 John 4:7). Unbelievers are devoid of the Spirit (Jude 19). The world labels its great works as love, but God does not define it as such. Love is from the Lord and produced by the Spirit, which is why unbelievers cannot love as God requires.

In fact, so far from love, the unbeliever’s life is one of malice, envy, and hatred (Titus 3:3). A person devoid of the Spirit might appear to have love, but what really lies underneath is a life enslaved to various lusts and pleasures. In addition, the place where these vices are most evil is found in religious hypocrisy, as Jesus taught with the parable of the tax collector and Pharisee (Luke 18:9-14). Worldly, natural love springs from the desire to boost or to worship oneself.

Love is also the virtue the evil one would most like to counterfeit, making people believe they are possessed of the Spirit when their love is nothing more than hypocrisy and corruption. The evil one spends much effort to imitate God’s love to draw souls from the true love of the Spirit and satisfy them with fool’s gold. How we must exercise our minds with wisdom in the Spirit as we seek to discern the love from God and the pseudo-love of Satan!

Second, spiritual love is toward God.

The love produced by the Spirit of God is not a product of sinful lusts or pleasures. This love does not praise sinful behavior, nor does it rejoice in unrighteousness. It rejoices with the truth (1 Cor 13:6). Thus, true love does not delight with those who are living in sin, or condone false doctrines, or rejoice when false gospels are being proclaimed.

True love weeps, warns, and admonishes.

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