Fruit Of The Spirit - Love (Sermon Blog)
What does it really mean to love like Jesus?
As we continue our study of the Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5, we begin with the very first fruit Paul mentions: love.
Last week, we learned that Christ has set us free—not so we can simply do whatever we want, but so we can walk by the Spirit. Paul takes that freedom and summarizes how it should change the way we live:
“Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Imagine how different our families, neighborhoods, churches, and communities would look if we really lived that out.
Love Is the Foundation
Galatians 5:22–23 begins:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”
It's no accident that love comes first. Love is foundational to everything that follows.
The Bible tells us plainly that “God is love.” If the Holy Spirit is working in our lives and making us more like Jesus, then love should increasingly become visible in the way we treat the people around us.
But what kind of love are we talking about?
Four Kinds of Love
We use the word love for almost everything. We love our spouse, our children, our friends—and we might also say we love coffee or Italian food.
Biblical Greek gives us a richer vocabulary for understanding love:
Eros — passionate, romantic, and sexual love.
Storge — natural and protective love, like the love between family members.
Philia/Phileo — deep affection and friendship; the kind of relationship where someone feels like a brother or sister.
Agape — unconditional, sacrificial, and selfless love. This is the highest kind of love.
All forms of love can involve risk. When we open our hearts to people, we can be hurt, disappointed, or even betrayed. But being hurt doesn't mean we should close our hearts forever.
God can restore our hearts and teach us to love again.
Agape: The Love of God
The clearest picture of agape love is found in John 3:16:
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son...”
Try making that verse personal.
For God so loved [your name] that He gave His only Son.
God's love wasn't simply something He felt. He gave. He acted. He sacrificed.
John 3:16 is agape love personified.
That's an important distinction because biblical love is much more than emotion.
Love Is a Verb
We can feel compassion for someone. We can feel sorry for someone who is hurting. We can even tell someone we love them.
But genuine love eventually moves us toward action.
Love does.
Paul makes this point powerfully in 1 Corinthians 13. We can possess incredible gifts, knowledge, faith, and generosity, but without love, Paul says it all amounts to nothing.
So what does love actually do?
Love Is Patient and Kind
First Corinthians 13 begins its description this way:
“Love is patient, love is kind.”
Another translation says, “Love suffers long and is kind.”
Sometimes loving people requires patience because people can be difficult. They disappoint us. They make mistakes. They test us.
When our patience begins to run out, Pastor Steve suggested asking ourselves a simple question:
“Has God been patient and kind with me?”
God has been incredibly patient with us through our mistakes, failures, and wrong choices. Remembering His patience can help us extend that same grace to others.
Love Celebrates Instead of Envying
Paul continues:
“Love does not envy.”
Envy makes it difficult to celebrate when someone else succeeds. We compare their life to ours and wonder why they received something we wanted.
Spirit-produced love allows us to say:
I'm genuinely happy for you.
Being able to celebrate someone we might otherwise envy is evidence that the Holy Spirit is changing our heart.
Love Chooses Humility and Grace
Love also:
Doesn't brag or parade itself
Isn't puffed up with pride
Isn't rude
Doesn't always demand its own way
Isn't easily irritated
Extends grace instead of assuming the worst
As Pastor Steve shared, sometimes a person who is rude to us may be carrying a story we know nothing about. They may be grieving, struggling, or experiencing something incredibly difficult.
We don't always know their story.
Love gives us the ability to extend grace even when grace isn't what we initially feel like giving.
Love Doesn't Keep Score
First Corinthians 13 also says love “keeps no record of being wronged.”
Healthy relationships can't survive when we're constantly keeping score.
You hurt me.
You disappointed me.
I'll never forget what you did.
Love chooses forgiveness instead.
That doesn't mean remaining in an abusive or unsafe relationship. Forgiveness and healthy boundaries can exist together. But it does mean refusing to let bitterness become the permanent record we carry against another person.
Love Never Gives Up
Paul ends this section with one of the most beautiful descriptions of love:
“Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”
Jesus didn't give up on His disciples when they failed Him. Paul didn't give up on struggling churches.
Agape love keeps hoping.
It keeps believing.
It keeps loving even when love becomes difficult.
Love Is How the World Recognizes Jesus in Us
Christianity isn't simply about attending church or calling ourselves Christians. The Holy Spirit wants to transform us so deeply that the people around us can actually see the difference.
Jesus said:
“By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
The world doesn't simply need Christians who talk about love. It needs followers of Jesus who live it—people who go the extra mile, extend grace, forgive, serve, sacrifice, and love people in ways they couldn't on their own.
Because ultimately, Jesus Himself showed us what love looks like:
“Greater love has no one than this, that a person will lay down his life for his friends.”
That's agape.
That's what love does.
And that's the kind of love the Holy Spirit wants to produce in us.