compare and contrast the fruits and gifts of the spirit?

Question

Compare and contrast the fruits and gifts of the spirit in the holy Bible

Answer 1

People tend to confuse the fruit of the Spirit with spiritual gifts. The apostle Paul speaks of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23…. “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
People who are “in Christ” (have been filled with the spirit) should exhibit these traits. In the book, The 3 Colors of Love, by Christian Schwarz he discusses “the fruit” at length. He explains that in the original Greek, punctuation was not used, so when it is translated into English, punctuation is inserted where the translators believe it should be. But another interpretation is to consider it in the following way….”the fruit of the Spirit is love: joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” He describes the fruit of the Spirit as love expressed in 8 different ways…..love expressed in joy, love manifested in peace, and so on. This gave me a whole new way of understanding spiritual fruit. He also provides a way of helping the reader determine where their strengths and weaknesses are in these areas and challenges the reader to become strong in all 8 ways of exercising love.

In contrast, spirituals gifts are spoken of by Paul in Romans 12:4-8 and
1 Corinthians 12: 4-31. He speaks of the gifts of administration, evangelism, discernment, encouragement, faith, giving, healing, knowledge, leadership, mercy,
miracles, prophecy, serving, speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues, teaching,
and wisdom. You can find many good study guides at your local Christian book store on this subject with guides to help you determine your strengths. Some people have one area they are gifted in, others may have several. All are considered to be given by God to be used to edify (strengthen / lift up) the body of Christ. You may not even be aware of a gift you have in a particular area if you have not had an opportunity to use it. Many churches encourage their members to try out an area of service they haven’t explored before to see if they might have a gift for it. These gifts can change over the years and should be reassessed from time to time. Unlike the fruit of the Spirit, (where you should be strong in all areas), you are not expected to have all the spiritual gifts, but everyone has at least one.

Answer 2

In the Bible, the gifts of the spirit are referred to in I Corinthians 13 as being like the sounding of a bell. In the Old Testament the priest use to wear a robe that had ornaments around the bottom hem. It would have a promegrate fruit, followed by a small bell, a fruit, a bell, a fruit, etc in an endless loop around the garment. This shows the relationship between the fruit and the gifts of the Spirit.

The gifts of the spirit are intended to bring fruit into the lives of people. That fruit is suppose to prepare us so that we can properly use the gifts of the Spirit. Those gifts produce fruit, and the fruit produces gifts. It continues in an endless cycle each helping to produce the other.

The fruit is what we are becoming. The gifts are what we can do for others. The more become right, the more we can do. The more we do for others, the better we become.

Answer 3

In Corinthians12 it give a list of the gifts of the spirit. These gifts are abilities used to do the work God has called His Church to do. Wisdom, knowledge, etc. The fruits of the spirit is the work we do for Christ and bring more people into Christianity John15:9-17 Also read the Book of James. he writes throughout his book about showing his faith through works. Doing things for Christ cannot save you, but once your a saved Christian you will want to do all you can for Jesus.

Answer 4

The fruit of the Spirit is peace, love, joy, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

When I read about it in Galatians 5:22, I see that it is not "fruits" but fruit. That tells me that each of these is present when a person is a Christian. They are not separate, but like parts of a fruit - seeds, peel, flesh, stem, etc.

As far as what they each mean, peace is an unwavering peace from God, not just contentment. Love is loving people - even people who seem unlovable - by sharing what you have, telling of God's love, and doing no harm. Joy is not just happiness but a real JOY in your heart because you know the living God - even in your darkest hour, you will still have the joy of knowing God when it's from the Spirit. Patience is waiting on God for His timing - not just being nice and keeping your temper when your doctor is running an hour behind schedule Goodness is really doing good and actively seeking to NOT do evil. Kindness is sharing God's love through your words and actions. Faithfulness is keeping your faith in God as number one in your heart. Gentleness is keeping your temper and being just as the word suggests, gentle to others in your words and actions. Self control is holding your tongue when you might like to say something unloving, keeping yourself in check when you might want to partake in something unholy or crass, etc.

As far as contrasting the fruit of the Spirit, it can't really be done because they all work together as one.

Answer 5

Theresa N you rock. Outstanding answer and on the button. Very rare to see quality input here. Keep up the good work and God Bless.

Answer 6

Like fruit baskets?