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THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT
And
The Beatitudes
by Wayne F. Schlichter
(Note: Wayne is a longtime friend and one of my
mentors in my spiritual walk. He sent me this outline for a study he was
doing and I asked him if I could place it on the AFITN site for your use; he
graciously agreed.
This entry is more of a study outline
than an article. You could learn just from reading through it but you
will gain
even more from printing this page out, reading the scripture passages, and
jotting your notes on this outline. You can then go back to it and
refresh your memory or add other notes as you learn more in your life.
May The Lord bless you in your studies. - Bill)
Matt. 5:1-12
Observations:
1. The Beatitudes do not present a way of salvation.
2. Christ is presented as King over His people.
3. It is written for:
a. The Jewish believers He was speaking to
b. Believers today, who honor Him as Lord of their
lives
c. Those in the Millennial Kingdom, when He reigns as
King of kings, and Lord of lords.
1st Beatitude: Blessed are the poor in spirit- Theirs
is the Kingdom of Heaven (Matt 5:3)
Gal. 5:22 "The fruit of the Spirit is love...".
Wm. McDonald: "...poor in spirit is not natural disposition,
but deliberate choice and discipline. Those who acknowledge their
insufficiency apart from Christ, and rely upon Him for all their spiritual
need. The K. of heaven is where self-sufficiency is no virtue, and the
K. belongs to them."
Question: How can this come about in our own lives?
Gal. 5:22 It comes by the filling of the Spirit and is the fruit
of the Spirit.
1. Be filled with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18)
a. Compare Eph. 5:1-ff
Notice that the filling of the Spirit involves a walk-
-in love (5:2)
-in holiness (5:3-5); compare 5:8-ff
-in joy (5:18)
-in thanksgiving (5:20)
What if we sin? (see 1 John 1:9)
So, the first blessing is driven by love- love for Christ, and love for
others.
2nd Beatitude: Blessed are those who mourn- They shall be
comforted (Matt. 5:4)
Gal. 5:22 "The fruit of the Spirit is... joy...".
The opposite of mourning is joy (Gal. 5:22), the second quality of the fruit
of the Spirit.
How do I get joy from a time of mourning? Or what can turn my
mourning into joy? (Neh. 8:9-10, & compare Ps. 16:11)
There are numerous reasons why we mourn, such as:
€ The loss of a loved one
€ Physical afflictions
€ The reverses of life, etc.
As we look at Christ, and what He has resolved, we come into His presence and
see His grace, and the Victory that He has accomplished. We have joy in Him.
He has conquered death. He will overcome the world.
3rd Beatitude: Blessed are the meek- They shall inherit the
earth (Matt. 5:5)
Gal. 5:22 "The fruit of the Spirit is... peace...".
The saying is, "Meek does not mean weak".
Moses was the meekest of men (Numb.12:3).
Meekness involves permitting the Lord to fight our battles (Exo. 14:13).
"Meekness is strength under
control."
God
took up for Moses, and He will take up for you (Ps. 37:7-11).
Permitting the Lord to fight our battles brings great peace to those who allow
this.
The quality of meekness is a result of
God's peace ruling in our hearts.
How does this happen?
Matt. 11:29-30
John 14:26-27, & 16:32-38
Phil. 4:1-9
It is a matter of trust.
4th Beatitude: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after
righteousness- They shall be filled (Matt. 5:6)
Gal. 5:22 "The fruit of the Spirit is... Longsuffering
...".
Eph. 5:9- Here, righteousness is a result of the fruit of the Spirit.
The beatitude implies something that one might suffer over a period of
time to experience.
From where do we derive righteousness in our lives? We find it in Christ
€ Rom. 1:14-17
€ Rom. 3:19-23
€ Rom. 10:3-4, & 9-10
€ Rom. 4:1-8
€ 1 Cor. 1:26-31
€ John 6:27-35
€ John 7:37-39
By now, we should be seeing that all our blessing are in Christ.
5th Beatitude: Blessed are the merciful- They shall obtain
mercy (Matt. 5:7)
Gal. 5:22 "The fruit of the Spirit is... Gentleness
...".
Gentleness is only found four times in the
English KJV.
Gentleness
is descriptive of being merciful.
Gen. 19:16- Lot (God is the first to be seen as merciful )
Job 37:13- God gives the rain for correction, for His land, and
for mercy
Psalm 18:35 Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and
thy right hand hath holden me up, and thy gentleness hath made me
great.
2 Cor. 10:1- Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness
of Christ, who in presence am base among you, but being absent am bold
toward you:
Matt. 9:10-13, 27
Eph. 2:4, 1Tim. 1:13
James 2:13, 3:17
1Pet. 1:3
6th Beatitude: Blessed are the pure in heart- They shall see
God (Matt. 5:8)
Gal. 5:22 "The fruit of the Spirit is... Goodness
...".
1st mention:
Exo. 25:11
"pure gold"
(Christ)
Lev.. 24:2
"pure oil"
(Holy Spirit)
Lev. 25:6
"pure table"
(Christ)
Lev. 25:7
"pure
frankincense" (Prayer)
Deut. 32:14 "pure
blood" (Christ)
Psa. 12:16
"pure word"
(God's word)
These should abound in our hearts
They represent the goodness of God
which is first pure, then peaceable (James 3:17)
2Sam 22:27- With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the
froward thou wilt shew thyself unsavoury.
Acts 20:26- Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am
pure from the blood of all men.
2Thes. 1:11- Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count
you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of his
goodness, and the work of faith with power:
1Tim. 3:1- Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.
7th Beatitude: Blessed are the peacemakers- They shall be
called the children of God (Matt. 5:9)
Gal. 5:22 "The fruit of the Spirit is... Faith
...".
For discussion:
The last three beatitudes seem to deal with our inter-personal relationships
with others. Compare these three, and discuss how these are
inter-related.
Questions:
1. How does faith figure in the role of a peacemaker?
2. In what ways, regarding peace, is the
announcement of the angel now and in the future being fulfilled? (Read Luke
2:11-14).
3. Explain how the following verses fit in with this
beatitude.
2 Tim. 2:22-24- "Peace"; The servant of the Lord shall not
strive.
2 Tim. 4:7-8- ...a crown of righteousness for those who love His
appearing.
Isa. 9:6- The Lord Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace.
8th Beatitude: Blessed are those who are persecuted for
righteousness sake- Theirs is the K. of Heaven (Matt. 5:10)
Gal. 5:22 "The fruit of the Spirit is... Meekness
...".
The last two beatitudes are similar in regard to persecution.
These may be the most likely of circumstances that would bring out
the worst in us. Remember that this is persecution for righteousness sake- not
for being obnoxious.
2 Tim. 3:10-12- "...all that will live godly in Christ
Jesus shall suffer persecution."
Questions:
1. Why do you think this is
so?
2. What is the affect of meekness here?
3. In what ways do you think modern day Christians are
experiencing this? (Read John 15:17-20).
The ultimate persecution came to our Lord Jesus Christ when He laid down His
life for our sins (Acts 2: 23)
9th Beatitude: Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you,
and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you
falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: - for great is
your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before
you. (Matt. 5:11-12)
Gal. 5:22 "The fruit of the Spirit is... Temperance
..." (self-control).
Christ was the most temperate of men (Isa. 53:7)
Questions:
1. Do you think this has anything to do with Christ's
command to "turn the other cheek"?
(see Matt. 5:39)
2. Where does this apply?
3. There are seven qualities listed in 2Pet. 1:5-6
that we are to add to our faith. The third addition to faith is
temperance, or self-control. In a practical sense, how, when and
where does this fit into our lives?
Conclusion: As we consider the nine Blessings and the nine qualities of
the Spirit's fruit, we can see that we must be yielded to Christ as Lord of
our lives, if we are to be fruit-bearing Christians. As we abide in Him,
and He abides in us, we shall produce much fruit (John 15).
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