22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)
Galatians 5:22-23 are well known verses about the Fruit of the Spirit. Many Christians have wall hangings that list the nine fruits, and the list is frequently turned into a craft project in children’s Sunday School classes. The fruit (καρπός / karpos) consists of nine virtues that are in contrast to fifteen representative works of the flesh that are listed in verses 19 to 21. The works of the flesh are evil things that people are capable of doing when their lives are controlled and guided by their sin nature. These works include things like sexual sins, hatred and strife in relationships, and addictions. In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit are character virtues that result when a Christian’s life is controlled and guided by the Holy Spirit. The works of the flesh are a natural product of sinful human nature. The fruit of the Spirit are spiritual expressions of a life transformed by Jesus Christ.
Interestingly, the word fruit is singular in the Greek text of Galatians 5:22 – fruit of the Spirit, not fruits of the Spirit. The Biblical scholar James Montgomery Boice* notes in his commentary that “the singular form stresses that these qualities are a unity, like a bunch of grapes instead of separate pieces of fruit, and also that they are all to be found in all Christians”.
In verse 5:22, fruit is used metaphorically to refer to effects or results. Like our English word “fruit”, the Greek word καρπός was also used metaphorically to refer to offspring or progeny (see Luke 1:42). Of course the word also meant the actual fruit of a tree or plant (see Luke 13:6-9).
Here are links to all the posts for the Fruit of the Spirit:
*James Montgomery Boice, Galatians (The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 10, Romans-Galatians, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, 1976) pg. 498.
Word Focus Lexicon
Lexical Form: ὁ καρπός καρποῦ <Hear It> Gloss: fruit, crop, offspring, result Part of Speech: Second Declension Masculine Noun New Testament Frequency: 66 Strong’s Number:G2590 (Link to Blue Letter Bible Lexicon)
Unless otherwise noted, English translations of Bible verses are by the author from the Greek text and are not quotations from any copyrighted Bible version or translation.
Koine Foundations 
Leave a comment