the Fruit of the Spirit

When Sha'ul lists the fruit of the Ruach in Galatians 5, we often read it as something new, a gift of the Brit Chadashah laid over an old law. But look closer. Every fruit he names, love, joy, peace, longsuffering, and the rest, is already sung over Israel in the Torah and the Prophets, long before Galatians was written.

This teaching traces all nine fruit from their Greek words back through the Septuagint to their Hebrew roots, and finds each one waiting in the Tanakh. Ahavah. Shalom. Emunah. The fruit of the Ruach turns out to be the oldest harvest of all, the very character of Yahweh Himself.

We begin where Scripture does, with the fruit of our lips, and we follow the seed from the soil of the heart to the vine. For Yeshua, the Living Torah, bore this fruit without one defiled seed, and He reproduces it in every branch that abides in Him.

"Against such things there is no Torah." Come and see why. The fruit was here all along.

We explore the spiritual metaphor of "bearing fruit" from a Hebraic perspective, connecting New Testament teachings back to their Old Testament roots. The core message is that individuals are meant to produce good fruit—representing their character, actions, and impact—which stems from a genuine relationship with God rather than a mere pursuit of knowledge. Jones emphasizes that producing fruit is a process requiring time, care, and abiding in Yeshua (the vine), which means living according to Yahweh's Word (Torah). He distinguishes between good fruit reflecting the Father's character and bad fruit stemming from the "works of the flesh," such as division and contentious behavior.

The lectures methodically examine various types of fruit, including the "fruit of our lips" (the power of words) and the "fruit of the Spirit." The fruit of the Spirit is presented as one singular fruit with multiple facets—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, and self-control—all of which are attributes of Yahweh found throughout the Hebrew Scriptures. Jones refutes the idea that walking in the Spirit is contradictory to the Torah, arguing instead that the "carnal mind" is defined by its refusal to submit to God's law. He posits that God gives His Spirit to empower obedience, write the Torah on believers' hearts, and produce righteousness. The overall message is a call to repentance, cultivating a life that yields positive, life-giving fruit, walking as children of light, and living as a set-apart (holy) people through the transformative power of the Spirit.

Knowledge Points 1. The Principle of Bearing Fruit

• Producing Fruit as a Life Purpose: The lecture introduces the concept that people are meant to produce and bear fruit in their lives. This is a process analogous to spiritual growth, where the "seed" of the Word takes time to mature and may require "tending to," such as pruning (correction).

• The Purpose and Perpetuation of Fruit: The principle of bearing fruit is a consistent scriptural theme. Good fruit is not just for one's own benefit but to give to others. Fruit contains seeds, illustrating the idea of perpetuating good and spreading the "heart of the Father."

• The Nature of Good Fruit: The type of fruit one bears reflects whether they are pursuing the Father's character. Bearing the Father's fruit means showing His character and personality. Good fruit is desirable, while bad fruit is not.

• Fruit Grows, Not Manufactured: Fruit is the result of a process; it begins with a seed and requires time to mature. Good seed is the start of good fruit; bad or mixed seed yields defiled or poor fruit.

2. The Source and Purity of Spiritual Fruit

• The Two Trees: Life vs. Knowledge: Referencing the Garden of Eden, the lecture questions whether our pursuit is of a relationship with the Father (Tree of Life) or merely knowledge about Him (Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil). True pursuit of Him gives birth to knowledge from a relationship.

• Guarding Seed and Avoiding Mixture: Deuteronomy 22:9 is cited to illustrate the principle of purity: "You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed; lest all the fruit be defiled." This principle protects the purity of offerings to Yahweh.

• Firstfruits Given to Yahweh: The first and best of the harvest was given to God. If the firstfruits were pure, the rest of the crop was sanctified. This principle applies to offerings and even income, as God desires integrity (Deuteronomy 23:18, Malachi 1:11).

• Good Ground, Watering, and Hospitable Hearts: Citing Matthew 13:23, the lecture emphasizes that good ground receives the Word, understands it, and bears fruit. Believers must cultivate hospitable hearts, "water" the seed with the Word, and trust God for the harvest.

3. The Fruit of the Lips: The Power of Words

• The Power and Consequence of Words: Proverbs 18:20-21 teaches that a person is filled by the "fruit of his mouth" and will experience the consequences of their words, as the tongue holds the power of life and death.

• Speaking Words of Life: Referencing Hebrews 13:15 and Isaiah 57:19, the lecture encourages speaking words of life, peace, and hope. Words have the potential to bring healing or cause lifelong struggles (Proverbs 12:18-20).

• Repentance as Words and Offerings: Hosea 14:1-2 frames repentance as "taking words with you" and offering the "bulls of our lips." This connects speech to sacrificial offerings, emphasizing that our words should produce good fruit.

• Weighing Words and Fulfilling Vows: Ecclesiastes advises letting words be few and considered. Yeshua's teaching to let one's "yes" be yes and "no" be no is presented as a principle of integrity reflecting the Father's heart.

4. Fruit of the Spirit vs. Works of the Flesh

• A Tree is Known by its Fruit: Luke 6:43-44 is cited: a good tree produces good fruit, and a rotten tree produces rotten fruit.

• The Works of the Flesh Defined: Galatians 5:19-21 lists deeds such as sexual immorality, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, rivalries, divisions, and heresies. Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom.

• Heresy, Division, and Contention: "Heresy" is defined from its Greek root as "to choose yourself"—prioritizing one's own opinion over truth, leading to division. The lecture warns against this contentious behavior (Acts 20:30, Titus 3:10) and highlights that sowing discord is an abomination to Yahweh (Proverbs 6:19). The goal should be reconciliation, not winning arguments.

• The Fruit of the Spirit: One Fruit, Multiple Expressions: Scripture speaks of the "fruit" (singular) of the Spirit, which is one fruit with multiple facets: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). This reflects the unity of God.

5. Hebraic Roots of the Fruit of the Spirit

• The Fruit of the Ruach is an Established Concept: The attributes listed in Galatians are not new but are rooted in Hebrew scripture, reflecting Yahweh's character.

• Love (Ahava): The first mention of "love" in scripture is Yahweh's instruction to Abraham to offer Isaac, foreshadowing the Father's love in John 3:16. Loving God is defined as keeping His commandments (1 John 5:2-3).

• Joy (Simcha): Distinct from fleeting happiness, joy is a constant state found in the Father's presence (Psalm 16:11), which can exist even in sorrow.

• Peace (Shalom): More than tranquility, shalom means complete restoration and wholeness, actively destroying chaos.

• Long-suffering (Erachapaim): This is connected to keeping commandments, which brings "length of days, years of life and peace" (Proverbs 3:1-2).

• Kindness/Goodness (Tov): Tov signifies things functioning in their created order. Yahweh's goodness is laid up for those who fear Him (Psalm 31:19).

• Faithfulness (Emunah): The word "Amen" is a declaration of faith, meaning "faithful," and can be an acronym for El Melech Ne'eman ("Elohim is the faithful King").

• Meekness (Anav): Meekness is not weakness but strength under control. Yeshua is the prime example.

• Self-control (Hazak): Related to the Hebrew word for "to be strong," this strength comes from Yahweh and is linked to following His commandments (Deuteronomy 11:8).

6. The Spirit, The Law (Torah), and Righteous Living

• Torah Defines Sin; Sin is the Enmity: The lecture clarifies that sin, not Torah, is enmity against God. Torah reveals sin. The problem is humanity's failure to follow Torah.

• Life in the Spirit vs. the Flesh: Romans 8 teaches that the "carnal mind" is hostile to God because it does not submit to His law (Torah). Being "spiritually minded" involves living according to the Torah through the power of the Spirit. The Spirit is given to empower obedience (Ezekiel 36:24–27).

• Abiding in the Vine to Bear Fruit: John 15:5 is central: "Apart from me, you can do nothing." To bear fruit, one must "abide in the vine" (Yeshua), which means staying in the Word and moving from hearing to doing.

• Reconciliation through Messiah: The cross dealt with the debt of sin (Colossians 2:13-15), enabling reconciliation. What was abolished was the "enmity" and the record of our sin, not the Torah itself (Ephesians 2:14-16).

• Walking as Children of Light: Believers are called to walk as "children of light," letting their righteous conduct be visible to others. This involves living as a holy, set-apart people, as commanded in 1 Peter 1:14-16: "Be holy, for I am holy."