22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Prior to this verse, Paul had presented the vile behavior of those lost in the world (adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like.) Paul then gave us this incredible view of the dramatic contrast between that evil against the goodness of the Holy Spirit!
- Love – self-sacrificing affection for others
- Joy – deep-seated gladness regardless of circumstances
- Peace – inner quietness and repose irrespective of circumstances
- Longsuffering (patience) – forbearance even under provocation
- Gentleness (kindness) – benevolence and graciousness
- Goodness – constructive action reaching out to others
- Faith (faithfulness) – reliability, trustworthiness
- Meekness – not aggressive, acquiescence to authority and consideration of others
- Temperance (self-control) – the ability to master oneself
This is quite a list of goodness! Who wouldn’t want to be around people like this? Think what this world would be if we all strived to have these qualities. It might be like heaven.
John 3:36 