In contrast to “the works of the flesh,” Paul now presents a listing of “the fruit of the Spirit.”

Before going through the list, three things should be noted. First, in talking of human nature, Paul uses the word “works” (Good News Translation what human nature does), whereas in talking of the Spirit, Paul uses “fruit” (Good News Translation the Spirit produces). This is significant, for Paul wants to emphasize that the manifestations of human nature stem from human endeavor. The whole expression “works of the flesh” is therefore roughly equivalent to “works of the law.” On the other hand, the “fruit” of the Spirit is the natural product of the Christian’s relationship with the Spirit, and so it issues forth spontaneously in the Christian’s behavior.

Secondly, one should note that “fruit” is singular, indicating that to Paul spiritual life is a unity, and that all of these qualities which he is about to mention are found whenever one is led by the Spirit.

Finally, Paul talks elsewhere of “the gifts of the Spirit” (1 Cor 12.1-11). These should not be confused with the “fruit” of the Spirit. The “gifts” are functions and capacities which are given to various people to enable them to serve the Christian community. Obviously, then, all Christians would not share the same gifts. However, the “fruit” which Paul talks about here is found in its entirety in every believer whose life is led by the Spirit of God.

The list itself consists of nine qualities. In view of their being contrasted with the previous list, they should be understood as referring primarily to the believer’s relationships with his fellowmen, that is, in the same areas where the works of the flesh are manifested.

There have been attempts to come out with some kind of classification of the list. One such attempt is to divide the list into three: the first dealing with Christian mental habits in their more general aspects (“love, joy, peace”), the second including special qualities relating to a man’s relationship with his fellowmen (“patience, kindness, goodness”), the final trio including principles which guide a Christian’s conduct (“faithfulness, gentleness, self-control”). But one should not put too much emphasis on trying to fit these into a neat logical sequence. Most translations, including Good News Translation, simply enumerate them in the order in which they are found in the Greek text and separate them with commas.

In most languages it is impossible to speak of what the Spirit produces as being a kind of “fruit,” since the metaphorical extension of a receptor language term for “fruit” seems to be quite inappropriate when talking about such human qualities and experiences as love, joy, peace, patience, et cetera. In general, the fruit of the Spirit must be spoken of in terms of verbal or predicate expressions, for example, “people love,” “people are joyful,” et cetera. The relation of the Spirit to these experiences of the believer must often be expressed as causative, for example, “the Spirit of God causes people to love….”

Love is the opposite of “enmity,” and should be taken not as referring to a person’s love for God, but primarily to a person’s love for other persons.

Joy is something independent of outward circumstances, since it is grounded in God. In some languages joy is essentially equivalent to “causes people to be very happy.” In order to indicate that this joy is not merely some passing experience, one may say “to be truly happy within their hearts.” In some languages joy is expressed idiomatically as “to be warm within one’s heart,” or “to dance within one’s heart.”

Peace may refer either to tranquility of mind as a result of a right relationship with God, or to restoration of right relationships between people. The latter should be preferred in view of the fact that Paul’s emphasis here is on human relationships. If one adopts the first interpretation of peace, it may be translated as “God calls his people to experience peace in their hearts,” or, idiomatically as in some languages, “to sit down in their hearts.” On the other hand, if the preferred interpretation is followed, then one may often translate as “causes people to be reconciled to one another,” “causes people to live in peace with one another,” or, stated negatively, “to live together without quarreling.”

Patience connotes endurance and forbearance in the midst of provocation and injury from others (New American Bible “patient endurance”). In a number of languages patience may be rendered as “enduring troubles” or “remaining quiet when persecuted.” Patience may be expressed idiomatically in some languages as “not answering the threats of others,” or “sitting quiet while others rage.”

Kindness and goodness both refer to one’s favorable disposition toward his neighbor, with goodness probably being general and kindness specific. Kindness is often expressed as “causes people to be kind to one another,” or “causes people to help one another.” Goodness is often expressed in very similar ways, for example, “the Spirit causes people to be good to one another,” or “… to cause good for others.”

Faithfulness translates the same word which is elsewhere translated “faith.” It is tempting to understand this in terms of man’s relation to God, but here it probably includes the elements of faithfulness, trustworthiness, honesty, trustfulness, and reliability in one’s dealings with others. Faithfulness is often expressed by a verbal phrase, for example, “causes people to be trustworthy,” or “causes people to be such that others can trust them.”

Humility can be understood as humble submission to God, but here primarily in the sense of gentleness and patience in dealing with others. Humility is often expressed negatively as “not being harsh with others,” or “not pushing others around.”

Finally, self-control refers to mastery over the desires and passions of the self. Since the verb form of the noun is used in 1 Corinthians 7.9 in the sense of controlling sexual desires, it is possible to read that meaning here also. However, since it seems to be antithetical to drunkenness and orgies, it may mean restraint in a wider context. Perhaps Paul here means self-restraint in a general way rather than in a specific area. Self-control is often rendered as “being able to say no to one’s own desires,” “commanding one’s own desires,” or “being able to refuse what one’s body wants to do.”

What does Paul mean by concluding this enumeration with the statement There is no law against such things as these? What he probably means is that the law just has no part to play in the realm of the Spirit. The law exists for restraint, but there is nothing to restrain in these qualities. This meaning is reflected in New English Bible: “There is no law dealing with such things as these.” One may also translate as “The laws do not even speak about such matters as these,” or “These actions are not even contained in any of the laws.”

It is possible to understand the statement in another sense, and that is to read the Greek word for such things as these as masculine, in which case Paul would be saying “There is no law against such men.” This is reflected in Knox: “No law can touch lives such as these.” The law was never meant for people who demonstrate these qualities, since no law can check or condemn their conduct. One may also translate “There are no laws which speak against people who live in this way,” or “… who do these things.”

Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Galatians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1976. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .