Let us turn now for our scripture reading to 1 Corinthians 13. Well, 1 Corinthians 12, we're going to begin with the last two verses of 1 Corinthians 12. And we'll read through chapter 13. And in the very first part of Chapter 14 verse one. Beginning then with first Corinthians 12 verse 30 or verse 29. Are all apostles, are all prophets, are all teachers, do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? but earnestly desire the higher gifts, and I will show you a still more excellent way. If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, And if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind. Love does not envy or boast. It is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way. It is not irritable or resentful. It does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away. As for tongues, they will cease. As for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child. I thought like a child. I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now, we see in a mirror, dimly, but then, face to face, Now I know in part, then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three, but the greatest of these is love. Pursue love." The opening two verses of the next chapter. Let us also turn to Galatians chapter 5. Our text this morning is just part of verse 22 but I want to read the context of our text and so I'm going to back up a bit and begin reading at verse 16 and just to the end of the chapter Galatians 5 verse 16, but I say walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh for the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit and the desires of the spirit are against the flesh. For these are opposed to each other to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident. Sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, Against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the spirit, let us also walk by the spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ. There's no doubt that the intended impact of the Holy Spirit in inspiring that list of the works of the flesh is to show us the shameful and the hateful character of our depraved nature. As we read those words it seems like it goes on and on and on and it seems very heavy and very hateful. the works of the flesh. And in contrast with our depraved nature, as we even hear the works of the flesh, we ought to be able to give thanks for our deliverance from the guilt and the corruption of these sinful passions that apart from Jesus Christ would yet rule our lives. And they should also then inspire us or deter us from giving in to these desires of the flesh. When we come to the fruit of the spirit there is a stark contrast. It begins with the word bat, the fruit of the spirit. It's like a breath of fresh air. This beautiful list of the fruit of the spirit and no doubt here again the intention of Paul the intention of the Holy Spirit is to display here the attractiveness and the beauty of a renewed life and to encourage believers in the assurance of the Holy Spirit's work to produce these characteristics more and more in our lives and even to inspire us to pursue them as they are presented to us in their attractiveness. Our theme this morning is the Holy Spirit produces Christ-likeness in Christians. Now you might say, why do you say Christ-likeness? There's no reference here in our text to Christ or Christ-likeness. Well, I do that because the Holy Spirit indeed is our sanctifier who renews us in the image of God in which we were originally created, that we might rightly know him, heartily love him and live with him. to renew us supremely in the image of God as that is perfectly manifested in our humanity in our Lord Jesus Christ who is the express image of his person and who reveals the fullness of the beauty of true humanity in perfection. The fruit of the spirit presents to us so many aspects of Christ likeness. And by putting it that way also, we are enabled to see the true character and the true beauty of the specific fruit that is elaborated here, especially as these things are displayed in our Lord Jesus Christ. As we look at the fruit of the Spirit, we see that it begins with most basic qualities and possessions of hearts and lives that have been renewed and are being renewed by grace. Love, joy, peace. Those spiritual graces that are given such prominence and are given such a priority in the Word of God. Let's look together at the specific beauties of these graces of love, joy, and peace. You know that according to many professing Christians, many Christians, they emphasize the kind of work of the spirit that wouldn't call first attention to these things. for many people you almost get the impression that the thing that really shows the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit are not love, joy, peace, but perhaps speaking in tongues or perhaps performing miracles. Those extraordinary gifts are so impressive to so many and they receive so much attention as if these are the things that are worth getting excited about in the church. That's why I included those verses of the last part of chapter 12 in our scripture reading that refers to miracles and gifts of healings and tongues and the gift of interpretation. Do all perform miracles? Do all have these gifts? The implied answer is no. And then we're exhorted to seek the best gifts. And then Paul says, and yet I show you a more excellent way A way that is yet far superior than the best of these extraordinary gifts, like prophecy, which actually at least reveals the will of God. And of course that most excellent way is the way of love. Love. Beloved, let us love one another, John says, for love is of God. And everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. Love is the first and greatest likeness to God. And love itself carries with it a whole spectrum of God's qualities. Think of 1 Corinthians 13, where it defines love as patient and kind. Love is patient and kind. Interestingly, As we go through this list of the fruit of the spirit, we find patience, kindness, and so we're given to see that these are not graces that are separated from the grace of love, but in a way, patience and kindness are so many characteristics of love. Love is patient, love is kind, and that relates to something else that we'll look at a little bit later in terms of how to understand the fruit of the spirit. But you see how fundamental love is that even these other aspects of the fruit of the Spirit are included with it. For love is patient and love is kind. Love is the bond of perfection, as Paul says. Above all things, he says in Colossians 3, put on love, which is the bond of perfection. It is that which, in a sense, unites and holds together every other Christian characteristic, whether it's patience or kindness or gentleness or meekness or joy. It is love that gives them their divine quality, at least the characteristics that reflect the divine nature, the Lord Jesus Christ. Love is the active proof of true faith. Earlier on in this chapter, Paul speaks of faith which works by love. The reality of faith becomes evident in activities of love. Love is given first place. What is love? Think of our Lord Jesus Christ. Think of his compassion, his love for this rich young ruler that came to him saying, teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? He was all willing to do something to gain heaven, but when that clashed with his covetousness, he went away sorrowful because he was very rich and didn't want to part with his goods when Jesus said, sell all that you have and give to the poor and come and follow me. But the interesting thing that's recorded for us is that Jesus looked at him and he loved him. He loved him with a compassion. This man who was basically covetous and who was unwilling to part with his riches to be a follower of Jesus. Yet look, Jesus looked upon him and he loved him. Love is Jesus' mild and gentle rebuke, even of Judas. When Judas came to deliver him to the soldiers in the garden, And Jesus saw him coming and he says, friend, why have you come? Well, he knew why he came. He calls him friend as if to get to his conscience. Yet, even at this point, Judas, do you betray the son of man with a kiss? He's still aiming to get to him. That's love. Love is Jesus' conduct in the upper room the very night that he was betrayed. the night before he was crucified. He loved his disciples. He loved them to the end. He loved them as one who had come from God and was going to God. He was going by way of the cross. And after supper, we're told that he rose from supper, laid aside his garment, and poured water into a basin, and took a towel and girded himself and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel with which he was girded. The text, it's almost as if it moves in slow motion to enable us to see all these activities of the Lord Jesus Christ so that we can join the disciples with our mouths open and wonder, what is he doing? He's acting the part of a slave. Yes, indeed, in washing the disciples' feet, but what he is doing is a parable of a far greater display of love, because he indeed is the one who had come from God, and who was infinitely and eternally rich, but for our sakes, he became poor. He laid aside his divine glory. And he took upon himself the form of a servant to wash us, not with water, but to wash us clean with his own blood. Herein is love. While we were enemies, Christ died for us. And we love because he first loved us. And that love also teaches us to see others in a different way. To learn more and more to love others in a dim reflection of the way that we've been loved. You know that John 3.16 is probably the most well-known text. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Perhaps some of the children have already memorized that verse. But did you know that there is another John 3.16, that's about love, it's in 1st John. 1st John 3.16 says this, In response to this saving love that God has for us in Christ, we ought to lay down our lives. Such love is reasonable as a response, Such love is, it is beautiful. It is beautiful in the big things, when people actually lay down their lives for others. It is beautiful in the little things, when family members make those daily small sacrifices for each other, in whatever form it takes. It is a beautiful work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of Christians, making them like Jesus. The fruit of the Spirit is love. The fruit of the Spirit, secondly, is joy. Rejoice that your names are written in heaven, Jesus said to his disciples when they came back, all excited because they had been given power to cast out demons. And he said, don't rejoice that the demons are subject to you, but rejoice because you're going to heaven. The most important thing is settled already. And that's true for every believer. Whatever achievements or trials we might face in this life. Whatever gains we might acquire or losses we might suffer, whatever successes or failures, this one thing is already settled for Christians. The most important issue in our lives has already been settled. resolved. The greatest hazard that we will ever face has already been escaped. And the biggest question that you might have, some of you young people might have many questions about your future. What kind of work you'll do, if you'll marry, whom you'll marry, will you have kids, maybe have some anxieties or you anticipate many things in life. Many important things but the most important issue for a Christian has already been resolved and settled. That is, we have the forgiveness of sins through Christ. Our names are written in heaven. Now there's reason for joy. Whatever our circumstances, there is an unchanging, solid reason for Christians to be joyful. Jesus rejoiced in spirit and worshiped and said, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, I thank you that you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them unto babes. Jesus rejoiced in the grace of God in revealing the gospel to the weak, to babes. And he rejoiced in God's sovereignty. Even so, for so it seemed good in your sight. And how much more can we rejoice in God's grace in revealing the Savior to us? Not because we're so great or wise or smart. And we can rejoice in God's sovereignty over our lives. This is the basic energizer for Christian living. The joy of the Lord. is your strength. Jesus said to his disciples, these things I say to you. This was also just before he died on the cross. These things I say to you that my joy may remain in you and your joy may be full. Well, what kind of things had he just told them about? Well, he had assured them of their fruitfulness as they abide in him in relationship to Jesus. He assured them that they would bear fruit. and that fruit would glorify God. He assured them that their prayers would be answered as they abide in him. He assured them that they would abide in his love in the pathway of faith and obedience even as he obeyed his father's commandments and remained in his father's love. And he gives us these assurances so that his joy may be in us that our joy may be full. You see, a joyful Christian displays the beauty of the Lord. It makes the faith of Jesus attractive and shows the work of the Spirit. And then thirdly, peace. Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you, Jesus said. Let not your heart be troubled. And that peace that we have in Christ is a peace of conscience, isn't it? It's the calmness of our hearts and rest for our souls and the knowledge of Christ, who is so often identified in scripture in terms of peace. He is the prince of peace, who is our peace. He reconciled us to God by his blood. He assures his disciples of peace in him. In the world, you will have tribulations. but in me you will have peace." And the knowledge of Christ that reconciles us to God also reconciles us to one another. And it's a peace that makes us peaceable, makes us love peace, makes us want to be peacemakers, makes us want to sow righteousness in peace, as James says. Love, joy, peace. Of course we can elaborate on any of these, but I trust you see the beauty of these characteristics as they are revealed supremely in the Lord Jesus Christ and as the Spirit then produces them in us. That leads us to consider the certain production of these graces. They are called fruit in contrast to the work of the flesh or the works of the flesh. It's like the sinful natures working, working in service to sinful desires. And all the while the flesh is in bondage to Satan. What fruit did you have in those things where of you are now ashamed, Paul asks in Romans. The end of these things is death. What's the payoff? What's the real advantage of living for sin? It's a dead end. The result is death. but the fruit of the Spirit is produced by the life-giving divine presence and power of God within us. You notice that this fruit is not attributed to man at all, but to the Holy Spirit. It's the fruit of the Spirit. Paul doesn't say, but the fruit even of the renewed man. But it's the fruit of the Spirit. You see, your very love for this fruit, the very attractiveness of love, joy, and peace in the Lord Jesus Christ, your very desire to grow in these things as a Christian, well that itself is the result of the Holy Spirit's indwelling. In a few verses before this, Paul says that the flesh, that is the sinful nature, desires against the Spirit. Our sinful nature that still remains in us desires what's contrary to the Spirit. But thankfully that's not the whole picture because the Spirit also desires what is contrary to the flesh. And the Spirit dwells in us and his desires are at work within us. And that's a big part of the production and the growth of the fruit of the Spirit. It's through the Spirit's power and work. It's the very nature of fruit to grow. ripens, fruit sweetens. We have this wonderful little apple tree in our backyard. It's small, but every year, this tree puts out beautiful, tasty apples. And in the spring, they're little hard, inedible balls. And I sit in the backyard, and as the weeks go by, the months go by, I just watch them. They get bigger and bigger and bigger, just from the sunshine, just from the rain, just taking the nutrients of the soil. And then, by the end of August, you've got these delicious apples. The grandkids just love them. They'll walk around eating these apples, because they're so sweet and delicious. And in a way, it's a miracle. It's a wonder. I always think that fruit is just a wonderful creation of God. Well, it's used as an analogy of the work of the Holy Spirit. Yes, the Holy Spirit also uses means, right? There is the sunshine of his word. There are the sacraments. There are the means that God uses. But it's his work. In fact, all things serve his purpose. Romans 8, all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose. And often we stop there and we miss the next part of the next verse, which says, for whom he foreknew, he predestined to be conformed to the image of his son. And what that means is all things work together for good. That doesn't mean that everything's gonna turn out in such a way as to make me rich and happy and healthy, but it means that all things work together for the highest good, that more and more we might become more like Jesus. That's through the power of the Holy Spirit, who has control over everything to serve this purpose. And notice also that the Holy Spirit produces a fullness of Christ-likeness. Here I want to return to what I mentioned before. Our text talks about the fruit of the Spirit. That's singular. And very often we misquote Galatians and we talk about the fruits of the Spirit. Like apples, oranges, pineapples, peaches, grapefruit, whatever it might be. And yes, there are a variety of aspects to the fruit of the Spirit, but there is a kind of wholeness, a kind of coherence to the Holy Spirit's work. It's not like, well, some people have love and other people have kindness, and I might have joy, but no patience. No, it's true that Christians may excel in some of these aspects of the fruit of the Spirit more than others, but they go together. and the Holy Spirit produces a kind of balance and symmetry to Christian character. These aren't natural characteristics, natural weaknesses or strengths that we have. It's the work of the Holy Spirit. It's the fruit. It's not like a selection of certain graces, but when it comes down to long-suffering, well, I don't have any of that. I've got other fruits. The Holy Spirit works a fullness of Christ-likeness, singular, the fruit of the Spirit. And then finally, the blessed pursuit of these graces. The work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of Christians is certain, but that doesn't mean that it's somehow at odds or in conflict with the call to diligent effort. After this wonderful chapter on divine love, I read the opening two words of the next chapter which says pursue love. The kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Therefore let us pursue the things that make for peace and the things which edify one another. Pursue peace with all people. the writer to the Hebrews says, and holiness, without which no one shall see the Lord. Just a few passages where such graces as love, peace, are presented as things that we're to aim at, that we're to pursue, to seek to cultivate and grow in. No, the certainty of the Holy Spirit's work isn't in conflict with diligent effort. Rather, it stimulates that. It encourages effort. God works in you to will and to do for his good pleasure. Now that's presented as the encouragement to what? To work out your salvation with fear and trembling. You go to work, but you know that your strength and your encouragement is that God is working in you. You can't separate the two. They go together. So we're to pursue also the fruit of the Spirit. And that means we are to be eager and attentive, first of all, to learn more of Christ. When Peter says, grow in grace, he joins it with the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. We cannot separate the work of the Holy Spirit as our sanctifier, to conform us to the image of Christ from the most prominent way in which the work of the Holy Spirit is described by Jesus himself which is to take the things of Christ and to make them known to us. It's the work of the Holy Spirit to shine the spotlight of truth upon the Savior and Paul says it's by beholding the glory of the Lord that is by faith learning more of Christ that we are transformed into his image from glory to glory even by the Spirit of the Lord. That's 1 Corinthians chapter 3 verse 18. It's by knowing more of Christ that the Holy Spirit produces his character in us in that marvelous way. And that then also involves our responsibility to be earnest and regular in our use of those means of grace, and to be regular and serious in prayer, in private, in our families, in public worship, and to pray specifically for an increase of love and peace and joy. It's not wrong, it's not selfish to pray for ourselves in these ways. In fact, we're given many encouragements to pray for the Holy Spirit, who produces these things in us, If earthly fathers who are evil give good gifts to their children, how much more will your heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? So to continue in prayer that the Holy Spirit would more and more conform us into the image of Jesus Christ. This is the pursuit that we're called to follow as Christians, and it's a happy pursuit. Unlike the pursuits of the world in unbelief, there's no disappointment here. There's no deception. The world pursues pleasures and riches or whatever it might be, power. The world may even pursue a kind of virtue. You know, the world has its counterfeit of peace, love, and joy. There are humanistic versions of this that don't involve Christ at all. And some disciplined, naturally cultivated people might seem to excel in kindness and joy. We're thankful for that as far as it goes. But if it's without God and without Christ, it's purely humanistic. And it cannot withstand the ravages of this life. And it cannot stand the awful reality of death and facing a holy God. And ultimately the pursuit of pleasures and riches. Riches are deceitful, right? They make themselves wings and fly away. If not in this life, at the end of life, they can't keep anyone alive. They can't give them peace. But there's no disappointment. There's no let now. There's nothing deceitful in this blessed pursuit. The way of happiness is the way of fellowship with Jesus Christ. It's a way of growing likeness to him and growing service like him. So it's a blessed pursuit and I trust that the encouragement of this assured work of the Holy Spirit in our lives as Christians indeed is an encouragement to us to pray with expectation. Ask and you will receive. Seek and you will find. Knock, it will be open to you. The Holy Spirit produces Christ-likeness in Christians. Amen. Let's pray together. Our gracious God and Father, you put gladness in our hearts more than those who love the world, those whose corn and wine is increased. May those who love your name be joyful in you, and may our souls truly be like a well-watered garden, and may the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us. And in this way, may we bring praise to your name. We attribute it all to your grace in the Lord Jesus Christ. Encourage us, we pray, with the work of your spirit. Motivate us to love you and to serve you and to serve one another.