Galatians 5:22

“But the fruit of the Spirit, etc..] Not of nature or man's free will, as corrupted by sin, for no good fruit springs from thence; but either of the internal principle of grace, called the Spirit, (<480517>Galatians 5:17) or rather of the Holy Spirit, as the Ethiopic version reads it; the graces of which are called “fruit”, and not “works”, as the actions of the flesh are; because they are owing to divine influence efficacy, and bounty, as the fruits of the earth are, to which the allusion is; and not to a man's self, to the power and principles of nature; and because they arise from a seed, either the incorruptible seed of internal grace, which seminally contains all graces in it, or the…”

“love--the leader of the band of graces (Co1 13:1-13). gentleness--Greek, "benignity," conciliatory to others; whereas "goodness," though ready to do good, has not such suavity of manner [JEROME]. ALFORD translates, "kindness." faith--"faithfulness"; opposed to "heresies" [BENGEL]. ALFORD refers to Co1 13:7, "Believeth all things": faith in the widest sense, toward God and man. "Trustfulness" [CONYBEARE and HOWSON].”

“But the fruit of the Spirit - That which the Holy Spirit produces. It is not without design, evidently, that the apostle uses the word “Spirit” here, as denoting that these things do not flow from our own nature. The vices above enumerated are the proper “works” or result of the operations of the human heart; the virtues which he enumerates are produced by a foreign influence - the agency of the Holy Spirit. Hence, Paul does not trace them to our own hearts, even when renewed. He says that they are to be regarded as the proper result of the Spirit’s operations on the soul. Is love - To God and to human beings. Probably the latter here is particularly intended, as the fruits of the Spirit are…”

“Love - The root of all the rest. Gentleness - Toward all men; ignorant and wicked men in particular. Goodness - The Greek word means all that is benign, soft, winning, tender, either in temper or behaviour. Galatians 5:23”

“5:22 Unlike following the sinful nature (5:19-21), letting the Holy Spirit guide (5:16) produces a life pleasing to God, which human effort and the law cannot do (cp. John 15:1-8). • These virtues directly address the issues in the church of Galatia. • love: The greatest Christian virtue encompasses all the others (1 Cor 13:4-7). Only the Spirit of God can produce in us love for those who hate us (Matt 5:43-48; Luke 6:35-36). • Joy produced by the Spirit does not depend on circumstances (Rom 15:13; 2 Cor 6:10; 8:2; 1 Thes 1:6). • Peace with God creates internal well-being (Rom 5:1; Eph 2:15; Phil 4:6-7; Col 1:20) that spills into our relationships with others so that we become peacemakers…”

“the fruit: Gal 5:16-18; Psa 1:3, Psa 92:14; Hos 14:8; Mat 12:33; Luk 8:14, Luk 8:15, Luk 13:9; Joh 15:2, Joh 15:5, Joh 15:16; Rom 6:22, Rom 7:4; Eph 5:9; Phi 1:11; Col 1:10 love: Gal 5:13; Rom 5:2-5, Rom 12:9-18, Rom 15:3; Co1 13:4-7; Eph 4:23-32, Eph 5:1, Eph 5:2; Phi 4:4-9; Col 3:12-17; Th1 1:3-10, Th1 5:10-22; Tit 2:2-12; Jam 3:17, Jam 3:18; Pe1 1:8, Pe1 1:22; Pe2 1:5-8; Jo1 4:7-16 goodness: Rom 15:14 faith: Co1 13:7, Co1 13:13; Th2 3:2; Ti1 3:11, Ti1 4:12; Pe1 5:12 Galatians 5:23”