Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors-and-teachers. (Eph 4:11) Here are some of…

Introduction The New Testament provides various lists of gifts and roles in the church. The shortest, if you can call it a list, is Peter’s…

Paul’s discussion in 1 Corinthians 12 speaks of the Spirit accomplishing three things through the divine distribution of gifts: (1) proclaiming that Jesus Christ is Lord, (2) producing the common good in a congregation, and (3) maintaining unity with a healthy diversity in a congregation that is made of of many members.

Virtue & Love These virtue lists, and in particular, the fruit of the Spirit, remind us of another list in Paul’s writings, one where he…

Nature of Self-control Self-control (ἐγκράτεια/enkrateia) is a fruit reminding us that though this is the outgrowth of life in the Spirit it bears fruit in…

Nature of Gentleness, meekness, humility Gentleness (πραΰτης/prautēs) is a characteristic of God himself, which takes root in the Christian life and work. As Christians living…

A blog in a series on “Fruit of the Spirit,” this one on faithfulness (πίστις/pistis).

Nature of Goodness English translations render the term ἀγαθωσύνη/agathōsynē as “goodness” (NLT, ESV, etc.), or as “generosity” (NRSV). The term occurs only four times in…

One in a series of blogs on the “Fruit of the Spirit,” this one on “Kindness” or “Goodness”

One of a series of blogs on the “Fruit of the Spirit,” this one on “Patience.”