A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:34, 35 NKJV

Believers are called not only to love each other as yourself, but are also called to go one step further: to love each other as Christ loved you. To do this, you must walk in the Spirit, and you can’t walk in the Spirit without yielding the fruit of the Spirit. If fruit is the product of plant growth; then, spiritual fruit is a reflection of your personal growth and development in the Lord. According to the Apostle Paul, “the fruit of the Spirit is love . . .” (Gal.5:22, 23).

Both the Old Testament and the New Testament analogizes your life as a “tree” (Ps. 1:3; Matt. 7:20). Just as trees are consistent in the kind of fruit they produce, you need to consistently exhibit the fruit of the Spirit because they are the attributes, the character and nature of God in Christ in you, and God is love (1 John 4:7, 8).

Jesus taught that love is the greatest commandment, i.e., loving God and loving others as yourself (Matthew 22:37-40). Love (Agapeo, Greek) far exceeds what the Law and the prophets ever taught or commanded. Why? God is love and love is the fruit of His Spirit which fulfills all the Law and the prophets (Matt. 22:40; Gal. 5:23). Furthermore, Paul reveled to Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:5 that there are three useful qualities that help you cultivate and demonstrate the love of God: a pure heart, a clear conscience, and unfeigned faith. Walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfilled the lusts of your flesh (Gal. 5:16); but rather, you will yield the fruit of the Spirit which is love manifested in eight other attributes as outlined in Galatians 5:22, 23.

God is glorified when you yield the fruits of love. The fruit of the Spirit defines your discipleship in Christ more than other external measures. If you keep the commandments to love God and others as yourself, you then abide in God’s love and His Spirit (John 15:8-12). The fruit of the Spirit is Love!