Series Summary:

#Galatians #2026

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Starter

If you are a believer in Jesus having received the Holy Spirit upon conversion, how have you seen God produce His fruit in your life?

Pray

Study Questions

"Gospel" in Greek is εὐαγγέλιον (transliterated as euangelion), which translates literally to "good news" or "glad tidings". Derived from eu ("good") and angelia ("message" or "tidings"), it was used in the New Testament to describe the announcement of salvation through Jesus Christ (Yahweh is Salvation the Messiah). The word gospel is used 76 times in the New Testament. Galatians uses the word gospel more than any other new testament book.

In chapter one Paul writes, ”I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from Him who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel.”(1:6) In Chapter two He writes, “But we did not give up and submit to these people for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel  would be preserved for you.”(2:5). Chapter three tells the church to place their faith in the gospel. “The Scripture saw in advance that God would justify the Gentiles by faith and told the good news ahead of time to Abraham.” (3:8) Now He reminds believers that of their identity that they are heirs of the gospel. “And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise.” (3:29) He repeats that identity telling them they are children of the gospel “Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.” (4:28) Now we have the freedom of the gospel. “For you were called to be free, brothers; only don’t use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love.” (5:13) So walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. You will produce “the fruit of the” Gospel. (5:16, 22)

READ: Galatians 5:13-6:2

  1. We looked at and discussed verses 13-16 last week. Why might verses 13-16 be important to go back over as we look at the rest of Galatians 5?
  2. Galatians 5:16-18 say that we are in a war. What is the war we are fighting?
    1. Why is it vital for believers to understand the nature of that war if we are going to “walk by” and “be lead in” the Spirit?
  3. It seems as if the works of the flesh are not very obvious today in the western church. They are even ignored or encouraged as long as things are working from a worldly perspective. Why? (5:19-21)
    1. Discuss how the works of the flesh list can be seen as a progression. (5:19-20)
    2. What should those who see the things of the flesh being lived out in them be concerned about? (5:21)
  4. We tend to not see sorcery as an issue for the church today. However, how do Christian’s thoughts and prayers today often reflect more sorcery than surrender? (see: James 4:1-5)
  5. The fruit of the Spirit is ONE fruit not multiple fruits. The Great Commandment in Matthew 22:36-40 says to love God and love people. Some theologians looking at the greek grammar of Galatians 5:22 and argue that THE FRUIT of the Spirit is LOVE. The other things listed after love are more attributes of the Spirit helping us to evaluate our obedience to the Great Commandment (Deuteronomy 6:4-5, Matthew 22:36-40). 1 Corinthians 13 often referred to as the love chapter is structured like Galatians 5:22. How can understanding THE single FRUIT be helpful as we strive to live out the Great Commandment in the power of the Holy Spirit?
    1. How can understanding THE single FRUIT of the Spirit prevent us from slipping away from the gospel into a works based mindset of trying to be more loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, or self-controlled in our own strength?
  6. How can we discern the difference between simple moral will power and THE FRUIT of the Spirit?
  7. Naturally healthy things grow, produce fruit, and reproduce. What implications should understanding this have for us as believers and churches in evaluating being lead by the Spirit?
    1. What fruit does the modern church often tend to focus on over spiritual health, spiritual fruit, and spiritual maturity? Why?

READ: John 4:24, 6:63, 14:17, 14:26, 15:26, 16:13

  1. What do these verses say about the Spirit?
    1. Discuss why is it vital to understand these truths about the Spirit to evaluate the fruit of the Spirit in our modern age?

READ: Matthew 3:8, 7:15-20

  1. What do these verses help us to understand about the fruit that is produced by the Spirit?