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"'. . . that He may teach us about His ways
And that we may walk in His paths.'
For from Zion will go forth the Law
Even the Word of God from Jerusalem."
Micah 4:2
The Spirit and the Law of God are in Perfect Harmony. The Fruit of the Spirit is obedience to the commands authored by that same Spirit.
This puts a completely different perspective on "the fruit of the Spirit." When the world at large thinks of Christians, it thinks of incompetent, day-dreaming, selfish prissies or irresponsible hippies, who are weak and undependable, concerned only with their own "salvation." Yet if we show forth the Fruit of the Spirit, we should be strong, mature, and responsible; our character should be stable, our work outstanding. Our love and compassion should not be vacuous or passive, but active, self-emptying, conquering the kingdom of darkness through works of light which restore the image of God in the human beings we live and work with.[129] When we think of a Christian we shouldn't think of the nomadic "jesus freak," with a vocabulary of 57 verses and an I.Q. to match. We should continue to admire and emulate the lives of Abraham, Moses, David, and Isaiah, who rejected the approval of idolatrous cultures.[130] We must meditate on God's Law [131] until we all come "unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ, that we henceforth be no more children."[132]
What Galatians 5:22 (and the rest of the New Testament) is teaching, and what no interpretation of the New Testament should contradict, is that the purpose of the giving of the Holy Spirit is to enable us to keep the whole of God's Law - even (especially?) the Old Testament.
Are we saying that the New Testament is unnecessary? Far from it! The Old Testament is insufficient by itself. Our Pharisaistic tendencies need to be corrected, and Jesus Christ, in His office of Prophet, gave the greatest exposition of the Law's demands. Therefore we are told to strive to meet the standard of obedience set by Christ - perfect obedience to the Law.[133] In a sense, all of the Old Testament Law was made new by Christ, because in His life we see the full demands of the Law. Therefore, when we love, we are to love not merely in obedience to the Old Testament Law, but we are to love "as I have loved you."[134] Moses and Christ are not enemies. The Old Testament was written for us by the Holy Spirit, and Moses esteemed Christ, just as we should do.[135]
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Romans 13:10-12; 16:20,26; Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10.