By Greg J Daley

Galatians 5:22-23

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. – New King James Version

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.  – King James Version

Here in Galatians 5:22 in the list of fruit that the Spirit produces through us we find evidence of faith or faithfulness depending on your Bible translation.  You might be wondering: is it faith or faithfulness?

The word used specifically is the Greek word pistis, meaning: assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity, which is literally translated as "faith, faithfulness, and trust."

So the fruit produced by the Spirit is more than being faithful, it is having faith! Being a person of faith is what makes us trustworthy or faithful.

Paul goes on to say that “Against such there is no law”, meaning the person who is led by the Spirit will do what is right freely and not by the compulsion of the law therefore, he is not under the Law’s bondage and condemnation.  These virtues are characterized as fruit in contrast to ‘works.” Only the Holy Spirit can produce them, not our own efforts. That is really good news because of the Grace of God. However, that also means you have to have an ongoing relationship with the Holy Spirit, since intimacy with Him produces the fruit that remains: in Him we live and move and have our being.  

I heard a quote the other day, from Bill Johnson, while at the Open Heaven Conference at Bethel that rocked me.  He said: “It is difficult to follow an early church example when we value a book they did not have more than the Holy Spirit they did have.  It is not the Father, Son and Holy Bible.”  Bill wasn’t saying the Bible is not important in our lives.  I know from his books and preaching the value he places on God’s Word.  He does make a good point, however.  How much value and demand do we place on Holy Spirit within us to help us grow and bear fruit and accomplish all God has called us to do without striving to do it our selves.  I remember the change in my life when the Holy Spirit came upon me.  There is a big difference between having the Spirit in you and upon you.   He is in me by covenant, for me but upon me, for you. 

The Spirit increases the fruit of faith, as we read the Bible but, without the Holy Spirit’s illumination, the Bible is just black ink on white pages.  Like the lyrics from the song Fool’s Wisdom – “I got my self some wisdom from a leather backed book, got myself a Savior when I took a second look. I open up the pages and what did I find? A black and white portrait of a King who’s a Friend of mine.” It’s the “second look” through the eyes of the Holy Spirit that imparts the faith we need to see and believe.  Ephesians 2:8 says: For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.  So then, faith, along with grace, is a gift from God as we come to Christ.

Even Jesus said “You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.”  John 5:39-40 NIV

So we see that faith is a spiritual gift given to the regenerate only as it is produced in their lives as a fruit of the Spirit. How can a lost man have faith? The Spirit has to be at work in His life before anyone has any hope of believing.  Faith is not something we can work up on our own. Our continued ability to take God at His Word, and to trust Christ, is a gift the Spirit produces as we submit to the Spirit’s work in our lives to help us bear the fruit of faith and faithfulness toward God and others and in everyday situations.

When we preach the Word of faith to others we do not bring faith out – God puts the faith in!

So we see that God is faithful and full of faith.  Jesus said in Mark 11:22 “Have the faith of God” 

I find the more I trust in the faithfulness of the Lord, the more my faith rests in every promise He has made for me.  Both faith and faithfulness spring from the same Hebrew root, aman. It is the same root from which we get our word "amen." Even the word "amen" expresses the idea of God's faithfulness, since it means, "verily," "it is steadfast," or "so be it."  We serve a faith-filled God who is faithful to us 24/7.  The Holy Spirit seeks to impart the fruit of His faith into us as he did with Abraham of old.

Abraham’s faith was strengthened and he was able to believe God because he counted God faithful to fulfill His promise. 

He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. Rom 4:20-22

He remained strong in faith giving glory to God.  A heart of thankfulness and praise is good soil for the fruit of faith and faithfulness to grow.  So again we find it all gets back to intimacy with Him.  All the fruit of the Spirit, including faith, is a by-product of our relationship with the Father who imparts the life of the Holy Spirit through the Son. The next time you feel your faith wavering, receive from the Holy Spirit and let Him rain on the soil of your heart and watch your faith in a faithful God grow.