Gloria Copeland - Walking in the Fruit of the Spirit

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Walking in the Fruit of the Spirit
Releasing the Nature and Power of God in Your Life

2021 Gloria Copeland

ISBN 13 TP: 978-1-60463-422-8 KCM ID: 30-0584
ISBN 13 ePub: 978-1-60463-425-9 KCM ID: 31-0584
ISBN 13 LP: 978-1-60463-424-2 KCM ID: 30-0585
ISBN 13 .mobi: 978-1-60463-426-6 KCM ID: 31-1584

Published by Harrison House Publishers
Shippensburg, PA 17257

Kenneth Copeland Publications
Fort Worth, TX 76192-0001

For more information about Kenneth Copeland Ministries, visit kcm.org or call

1-800-600-7395 (U.S. only) or +1-817-852-6000.

Printed in the United States of America. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher.

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Chapter 1

S UPERNATURAL F ORCES OF D IVINE L IFE

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

G ALATIANS 5:22-23

T he fruit of the spirit are powerful spiritual forces. Theyre more than just nice character traits for Christians to have. They are our daily victory. Walking in the fruit of the spirit actually opens the door for us, as believers, to walk in the gifts of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, goodness and kindness are all supernatural expressions of the character and presence of God who lives inside us. When we yield to them, the Holy Spirit enhances and strengthens them in us to become a river of living water that flows out of us to help bless others!

Each fruit of the re-created human spirit supplies us with something we need so we can walk in the blessings and wholeness that Jesus provided for us. And each one provides us with an element of divine power that equips us to meet the challenges of life and come through in victory.

These fruit are born into us when we receive Jesus as our Savior and Lord in the new birth (1 Peter 1:23). They give us the power we need to rise above the snares of the devil and the pull of this fallen world. They help us fulfill our divine calling and keep us strong and stable enough to complete our God-appointed race on this earth. When were ready to go to heaven, like the Apostle Paul, we can say, I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing (2 Timothy 4:7-8).

Without walking in the fruit of the spirit, the gifts of the Spirit wont work. Galatians 5:6 says that faith works by love. So without the spiritual fruit of love, your faith wont work. And without faith, as Hebrews 11:6 says, it is impossible to please him.

Nothing the devil comes up with can defeat you when youre walking in the fullness of the fruit! As author Greg Zoschak puts it, There is not any situation, trial or temptation that a child of God will face that one of the fruit of the spirit will not enable him to overcome.

If the devil tries to stir up trouble in your relationships, for instance, forces like love and kindness will come to your aid. If he tries to discourage you with contrary circumstances, forces like faith and patience will see you through. If he tempts you to get into pride because youre excelling on the job, or to get into fear and turmoil because youre in danger of being laid off, the fruit of humility and peace will protect you.

On the other hand, if one of the fruit is not operating in your life, you cant be totally successful because that particular area will be the place where the enemy will concentrate his attack. Without the force of self-control, for example, even though you may have all the other spiritual fruit in operation, without that fruit to help you rein in your natural desires, youll be vulnerable to getting pulled off course by the lusts of your flesh.

Thats why, throughout the New Testament, God tells us continually to cultivate all the fruit of the spirit! He loves us and wants us to be over-comers. And thats what the fruit empower us to do.

I first began learning about the fruit of the spirit in 1988, a few weeks before our annual West Coast Believers Convention. Id been fellowship-ping with the Lord in preparation for the meetings and, as always, I asked Him, Lord, what do You want me to preach?

It usually takes a few days for me to discern what Hes saying. I have to listen to my spirit for a while until Im sure Ive heard clearly from Him. But that morning was different. He spoke to me so powerfully, I heard Him right away:

I want you to teach on the fruit of the spirit, He said.

His answer totally surprised me. Id never taught just on the fruit of the spirit. So I began an organized, in-depth study on it. I knew Id received the Lords direction, so I dove in and got started!

I began searching my Bible, looking at the many scriptures that talk about the fruit of the spirit, and I got some wonderful books on the subject. Then, with all my resources piled around me, I read and prayedhour after hour, day after dayand let the Holy Spirit teach me what youre about to read.

What the Lord showed me not only blessed me, it changed my perception in a way that has impacted my life ever since.

The fruit of the spirit will produce a strong foundation for victory.

I dont know about you, but I want to finish my life as a winner. When reward day comes, I want to hear Jesus say, Well done, My good and faithful servant!

Im sure you do, too. For that to happen, though, well need to keep growing consistently in the fruit of the spirit.

Partakers of the Divine Nature

How exactly do we go about walking consistently in the power of the fruit of the spirit? you might ask.

The first thing we do is go to the Bible to see what God has to say about the subject. One passage Ive studied quite a bit is 2 Peter 1:3-11. It says that God: