But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

–Parallel verses:
‭‭Acts‬ ‭2‬:‭42‬-‭47‬
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Many of us are goal-oriented. We set goals, go after them with passion and determination, and work hard to achieve them. Sometimes we fall short, and we get back up and try again. Other times we achieve them and experience the exhilaration of success! Without goals, our lives would be purposeless and boring.

When I think about the goals of our walk with Christ, a few things come to mind: 1) Bring Glory to God, 2) Build a personal, loving relationship with him through Jesus, and 3) Love others well.

In order to accomplish #3 above, we must activate the first two goals and be making progress. Our lives, in and of ourselves, are sinful. So, our only hope is ultimately in the person of Jesus Christ.

So how do we produce this fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control? Is it just a mindset or an attitude or an action? It is those things, but it goes much deeper than that. We must build our faith through the spiritual disciplines modeled to us by the early church and by Jesus Christ himself.

In Acts, we see the early church expand exponentially in numbers and spiritual growth. How did they do it? They focused on four pillars of discipline to build their faith and their church: 1) The Apostle’s Teaching, 2) Fellowship, 3) Breaking of Bread, and 4) Prayer. Out of these foundational elements, they began to share and sacrifice for each other’s needs; they were glad and sincere, and they gave praise and glory to God. They loved, had joy, lived at peace with God, bore with one another, were kind, good, faithful, gentle, and they controlled their selfish desires.

And so this is what we are called to focus on: Biblical teaching, Fellowship, Prayer, and Eating Together and spending time in unity. Then God’s Spirit produces the good fruit in our lives as we are disciplined to seek after his ways in life.

Later in Acts, it gives testimony to these practices continuing on in the early church: “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.”
(‭‭Acts‬ ‭4‬:‭32‬-‭35‬)

Lord, thank you for your truth and the formula for spiritual growth success that your early church embraced. It is not flashy or quick, but with diligence in these spiritual disciplines you work your ways into our hearts!