The Spirit of Self-Control

Let’s face it, we live in a society where anything goes. Many people are unaware that God is displeased when a person lives this way. Some believe that He too busy to care. The truth is that God cares about every detail of our lives. He tells us in His Word that some practices and choices will hurt us in the long run. In Galatians 5:19-21(NLT), He tells us what these things are. This passage says, “19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.”

Heavenly Father doesn’t want to make our enjoyment any less. He wants to direct us towards the practices and choices that steer us away from temporary and shallow pleasure, and He wants to put us on a path that leads to a fulfilling and meaningful existence. The temporary and swallow pleasure are usually things that feel good to the flesh for the moment but end up leaving us with a lot of pain that can last a lifetime.

Through the Apostle Paul, God tells us in Galatians 5:22-23(NLT), “22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” The temporary pleasures we try to obtain for ourselves are not covered in God’s love, and this is why they do not last. Heavenly Father tells us not to waste our time with those things, because they will not cause us to bear fruit. Jesus Christ said in John 15:8 (NLT), “When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.” He tells us here the difference between living life by an ‘anything goes’ attitude and mindset and living life by the power of the Holy Spirit. When we live by the Spirit, we will bear fruit that last, and this proves we are true disciples of Christ. And our being a true disciple of Christ is what pleases and bring glory to God!

We must note that Galatians 5:22 tells us that the Holy Spirit produces fruit, our responsibility is bear what the Spirit produces. It’s not our job to make sure tree produces fruit; the Lord takes care of this. He has already made sure that a tree will do what a tree does. An apple tree produces apples. An orange tree produces oranges, and the Spirit produces all the extraordinary fruit we see named in Galatians 5:22-23, but actually bearing fruit is a different matter altogether.

1John 4:16 tells us that God is love, and everyone who lives in love also lives in God, and God lives in them. God is in us! Our body is the place He calls home. Ephesians 1:3 assures us that we’ve been given ALL spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. God has made us trees planted by the river. We’ve got the sun, the water, and the nutrient-packed soil. He’s made sure our leaves have the capacity to continually stay green, but whether they do or not is completely left up to you and me. This is why the fruit of self-control is so important to bear.  

The decision to stay clear of those things that cause our leaves to wither is ours to make. The Spirit is our Source. Living with his power gives us access to Kingdom resources and allows us to stay connected to God’s rich supply. Jesus Christ said in Luke 6:44 that every tree is known by the fruit it bears. See, it’s up to us to bear the fruit; we’re in charge of doing what is necessary to take what the Spirit produces on the inside and manifest it on the outside.

2Timothy 1:7 tells us that God hasn’t given us a spirit of fear. He’s given us the spirit of power, love, and self-control. We have everything we need on the inside of us through Christ to abstain from the things that hold us back and prevent us from advancing in God’s purpose. 2Corinthians 5:21 tells us that Jesus Christ never sinned. He had no sin in his being, not one drop. He took on our sin—this is the reason he died on the cross. It was us who should have been on that cross, but he took our place. Romans 6:6 affirms that the person we used to be was crucified with Christ so that the body of sin could be destroyed. So, we shouldn’t serve sin anymore, but instead, we should bear the fruit of self-control as we allow the Spirit to lead and guide us in every aspect of our lives.■

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

“The Spirit of Self-Control” by Alexandra Copeland. © 2020. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.