“Pastor Kunle Johnson served a small church in the US city of Atlanta-Georgia. During which time none of his members gave tithes or offerings because they disagreed with the Bible teachings on giving and receiving. He was tempted to leave pastoring but stayed on and took a job to support the ministry and his family. He kept teaching the truth of God’s word until the church members repented, opened up their spirit, received the Word, and obeyed it.”
The Bible mentions the fruits of the spirit to be, “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).
Question: In the light of the fruits of the spirit, what fruits did Pastor Kunle Johnson manifest until he saw positive changes in the lives of his congregants? And how did each fruit help him overcome his trials?
He Manifested the Spirit of Forbearance & Gentleness. The Spirit Of Forbearance Enabled him to exercise patience and the spirit of gentleness enabled him to be calm & careful. But Pastor Kunle Johnson Would Have Understood That Pastoring Is Not A Carrier Neither A Profession But Pastoring Is A Calling. God Is The Caller. God Pays His Workers Not The Church’s Offering Or Tithes Hebrews 11:6, Luke 10:1-24, Matthew 6:33.
(How does God pay His workers? There may be many avenues through which God rewards His servants but Primarily the tithes and offerings are some of these avenues or means that God set in place to provide food for His house (Malachi 3:10). And the Pastors oversee these areas, not the Church attendants. Yes, offerings and tithes don’t belong to Pastors but to God but God has given the Pastors (Church Leaders) the responsibilities to run the church affairs with the provisions available in/within the Church (Mal 3:10).
It’s not God’s will that a full-time Pastor takes a job elsewhere to support his family and church. The Church that receives his full-time ministry should be able to sustain him. A church without any source of funding cannot survive as a church, maybe as a house fellowship or prayer cell. Even at that, you pay rents and maintenance costs for that house. In short, any Church that cannot support its minister/Pastor via tithes or some kind of offerings cannot grow in the Lord. And cannot help the Lord’s Church grow as well. There will be so much carnality going on in that Church.
This is not just godly and biblical but the world without Christ agrees with that too. Your time is your life. Where you give your time the most is where you spend your life the most. And it’s wise that where you spend your time should sustain your life. That’s why people go to work and are paid salaries because they spend their time there working. A church without a source of funds cannot survive the test of time. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this.
Pastor Johnson Manifested The Spirit Of SELF CONTROL Which Helped Him To Put Himself Under Control Instead Of Reacting Negatively. He Again Holds Unto To PEACE As A Fruit Of The Spirit That Enabled Him To Maintain Quietness. But As A Matter Of Fact, Pastor Johnson Lacks The Spirit Of Love Because Love Depends Absolutely On God Not Offering & Tithes 1 Corinthians 2:9. He Was Not Faithful To God Because Faithful Is He That Call You Who Will Also Do It. 1 Thessalonians 5:22.
How could you justify the fact that Pastor Kunle exhibited the fruits of peace, self-control, and forbearance, yet he had no love in him? Love practically let to the others and love sustained the others. Your patience and self-control in trials should attest to your love for that thing whatever it is. Your love and passion withhold you from doing just anyhow. Pastor Kunle didn’t love money but God. His love for God made him stay on and teach God’s word, at a time it didn’t feel like. He was not teaching his self-invented or induced philosophies but the Bible teachings on tithes and offerings which is the Word of God. If he had loved tithes and offerings more than God, he would have left the ministry at the time they disagreed with him; at the time he had nothing to live on; at the time he took a secular job. Someone who loves tithes and offerings can in no way do a secular job to support the same people who refused him what he loved the most.
You also said that Pastor Kunle was “Not Faithful To God Because Faithful Is He That Call You Who Will Also Do It. 1 Thessalonians 5:22.” Yes, God is faithful to all, but Pastor Kunle was also faithful to God in respect to his calling. The way you stated the fruits of the spirit, it seems as if these fruits are independent of each other which isn’t really so. These fruits need each other in different situations. At times one or few may be so paramount than others but they all work in harmony and for the ultimate glorification of godly purposes to the glory of God. It’s not as if PEACE will come and LOVE disagrees with it or PATIENCE will flow and SELF CONTROL refuses to flow. No! They all work together. Where there’s a will to let one flow, the others will agree and support that will for the common goal.
The fruits of the spirit are not the gifts of the spirit. Both are two different things of the same Spirit. On the one hand, Every Child of God has the fruits of the spirit. It’s not just for Pastors but for all Christians, brought about by the Holy Spirit and delivered into the spirit of the Christian at the moment one becomes born again. Of course, you have it in you but you may never make use of it because of ignorance, disobedience, or walking in the flesh.
On the other hand, the gifts of the Spirit are not for everyone but for those the Spirit chooses and as He wills (but everyone has a gift of some sort which may not necessarily be the ministry gifts of the Spirit as spoken in 1 Corinthians 12). The fruits of the spirit can manifest at any time, anywhere and any day according to the will of the child of God. But the gifts of the Spirit may not manifest anyhow, in every place or every day. It is manifested as the Spirit wills not as the Christian wills.
The fruits of the spirit work in harmony or in agreement with the other fruits. Say, peace for example. The fruit of peace will work with love or gentleness or faithfulness etc. They complement each other. It’s not like one releases peace and cannot release love or patience. It’s impossible because all the fruits agree and flow together from the same willing spirit. It’s wrong to say “ Mr, kunle exhibited love and peace but cannot or has no patience to back it up… etc.” Where does peace come from? Where does patience come from? From the spirit of a willing child of God. Although some fruits may be more pronounced than others, depending on circumstance, they all support each other, they all flow together to give the child of God the victory needed. If you could yield to the Holy Spirit for your spirit to bear just love as a fruit, that same willingness will give you additional fruits which you may need to fully overcome that situation.
Finally, Unlike the fruits of the spirit, the gifts of the Spirit may manifest independently of each other. The gift of faith may manifest even if the gift of healing is not in manifestation. The Gift of tongues can manifest even if the gift of healing is not in manifestation. The gift of miracle can manifest even if the gift of tongues is not in manifestation…etc. But this cannot be said of the fruits of the spirit. Your ability to bear just one fruit is that same ability it takes to bear the others. But the ability to work miracle may not be the same ability needed for tongues manifestation.
Pastor Kunle in the story above manifested these key fruits:
1. Forbearance
2. Gentleness
3. Faithfulness
4. Love and
5. Self Control
Now the roles these fruits played in him overcoming his trials are:
1. Forbearance: this fruit is defined as an act of being able to hold oneself back from doing a particular thing (restraint). This helped him in holding himself back from walking out from Pastoring. He restrained himself from letting the devil win by walking out of Pastoring.
2. Gentleness: this fruit that helps Christians overcome trials in this Christian race likewise a Pastor. This fruit took away pride from him that he had no shame or pomposity in taking a job rather than eating from the temple like it is said: “he who walks in the temple eats from the temple”. He humbled himself to rather take up the job to sustain himself and his family rather than being greedy.
3. Faithfulness: when there is faithfulness, there is a commitment, Pastor Kunle was faithful to his God, he remained steadfast and committed, therefore the devil couldn’t easily win his heart because he was faithful and knew he had souls to save and this act of faithfulness kept him in the faith!
4. Love: After the Bible listed all these fruits, the Bible went further to exalt love stating that love is the greatest of all! Pastor Kunle had love for his congregants, his love for them did not permit him to forsake Pastoring knowing that the people are in darkness, light had not come to them, they needed someone to open their eyes to the truth like he finally did, his congregants were robbing God as stated in Malachi 3:8-10, they were under a curse as in Malachi 3:9, and but for the love, He would have left them to sink in ignorance and continued operating under the curse of robbing God, yet his love for them, God and his Ministry saw him through!
5. Faith: as it is said: faith without work is dead. He took up the job while trusting in God to Change the situation! And in this, he created no room for the devil to use him; like it is said ‘an idle man is the devil’s workshop. His faith in God really aided his victory! In a nutshell, Pastor kunle played along with all the fruits of the Spirit and altogether he overcame and saved his ignorant congregants, doing this, he pleased God, and surely a Reward awaits him in Heaven! Kudos to you #Pastor_Kunle!
You said, “ In a nutshell, Pastor kunle played along with all the fruits of the Spirit and altogether he overcame and saved his ignorant congregants, doing this, he pleased God and surely a Reward awaits him in Heaven!”
That was a good line right there! But it seemed you forgot to talk about the rest: joy, peace, kindness, goodness, and self-control. Although you mentioned “ self-control “ you didn’t say something about it. However, your presentation was a great one and the comments on each point were interesting. Thanks for your contribution. I really loved it.
Pastor kunle bears all the fruit of the spirit mentioned in the book of Galatians 5:22-23. In love, he loved the Church and I know he will also be Praying for the Church every day of his life. In Joy, he has the joy of the LORD and in doing the work of GOD because is GOD that rewards. In Peace, he has peace of mind in all that he was doing knowing that one-day GOD will remember him. Forbearance he bore all that the church did to him and, having faith that one day they will turn from all that they were doing. He was kind to them because after going out to work he will still come back to teach them the words of GOD. He was gentle and calm and never show proudness to his church. He was a good example to his Church by Controlling himself in the midst of his Church members. That was a good display of the spirit of Self-control.
Your response was creative, compressed, and on point. A Good contribution indeed. Thanks, sister, and congratulations, your answer is among the many impressive answers that we have.
The answers are :
1 the fruit of love;
2 the fruit of faithfulness
1 Pastor Johnson has immense love for God and that was why he was determined never to give up on God’s project. The love to continue cultivating in God’s vineyard no matter the odds and has helped him to win souls back to God and great is his reward.
2 the Bible says with faith you can move mountains. The Pastor has exhibited great faith even in the time of huge tribulation. When everything seemed to have been lost the Pastor remained undaunted in his faith in God and even to the point of considering other positive options to make sure he keeps the ministry alive. This pastor could be likened to Moses in the Bible who, despite the unfaithfulness of the people of Israel to God, never got discouraged.
This faith he has exhibited has helped him to have more faith in God and ever ready to Pastor the Church of God no matter the odds.
Yes, of course, love and faithfulness were manifested and even more. I had expected more from you, however, your commentaries were very interesting. Thanks so much for that contribution, Thomas.
Pastor Kunle Johnson manifested all the fruits of the Holy Spirit in Galatians 5;22-23 (9 of them)
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The fruits that played very important roles in him are as follows:
LOVE: It was that strong feeling and affection to minister the word of God that made him persevere. As we all know, Love is the ultimate rule. Someone would not engage him/herself in doing something he/she does not love. The fruit of love did not allow him to depart from something he cherished so much which is pastoring. He loved God and His teachings, so he couldn’t have left it because of mere refusal to give tithes and offerings. His love for Christ and pastoring led to his patience, kindness, goodness, and self-control. As written in 1 Cor 13:4-7, that Love is patient and kind…
The fruit of love led to his manifestation of the other fruits of the Holy Spirit.
JOY: Of Course, when you love something, then you derive joy in doing it. Joy really helped him. Without the joy of preaching the word of God, he would have given up. He derived pleasure and joy in it that he couldn’t stop even when he derived no profit! That burning joy of pastoring in him could not let him stop. He counted his trials in ministering as joy which made him steadfast as in James 1:2. It was this joy that satisfied him and led him to success!
PEACE: It was peace that made him stay in friendship with his congregation without arguing. It was the peace in him that made him avoid violence, it kept him quiet and calm even without profits from his pastoring. Peace held him from anger!
FORBEARANCE: This gift helped him a lot. It was because of forbearance that he derived the ability to stay calm and tolerate his congregation’s attitude without complaining. It was forbearance that made him continue pastoring even though it was difficult and with no help. He was able to accept the annoying behavior of his congregation without becoming angry.
KINDNESS: It was the fruit of kindness that kept him gentle, friendly and generous. Kindness did not stop him from preaching!
GOODNESS: it was because of his goodness that he continued pastoring without trying to quit preaching since his congregation did not appreciate it. It was out of the goodness of his heart that he continued pastoring.
FAITHFULNESS: it was because of his trust in God that kept him devoted to preaching the word of God. He believed so much in God that he achieved success. He worked by faith and not by mere sight as in 2 Cor 5:7 (c)
GENTLENESS: The fruit of gentleness kept him in humility and gave him the ability to be calm and kind. It led him to deal with his situation in a quiet and careful way. His gentility prevented him from being violent. A gentle mind is always in peace. His gentility led to humility which made success a possibility. Pastor Kunle is truly a gentleman as he was never harsh and acted in well and good manners.
SELF-CONTROL: It was the fruit of self-control that enabled him to remain calm and not show his emotions even though he was feeling angry. He controlled his anger which would have made his congregation leave his ministry and that would have made the situation worse for him. Self-control made him not to be violent and unwise. With it, he was able to deal with his situation carefully and with wisdom. A man who has no self-control will surely be unwise and violent. Self-control eliminated a situation in which he will start regretting his actions. Indeed self-control rewards!
The fruits of the Holy Spirit is very important in our daily activities just like it manifested in Pastor Kunle!
God bless!
Your write-up was very creative and elaborate. The commentaries and Bible citations were relevant to the points made. You said, ”The fruits of the Holy Spirit is very important in our daily activities just like it manifested in Pastor Kunle!” What a fine line! Truly, we all need it daily. There’s nothing more to add. I’m so glad I read through your work. Thanks for that immense contribution. There are many impressive answers that we have, but your answer is the second-best answer, Congratulations!
Pastor kunle exhibited the following characteristics according to 1 Corinthians 4:4-5.
1. Faithfulness: this is an act of been steadfast in the ministry. Meaning he did not let go despite the challenges he was facing from his congregants. They refused to pay their tithes and offerings because they disagreed with his teachings about giving and receiving, instead to leave the Church as one would have thought, he went and took a job and supported his ministry with it just to strike a balance. Thank God he never let go of the faith he had in God.
2. Love: according to 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.
Yes, faithfulness and love were manifested and even more. You would notice (as pointed), that Pastor Kunle didn’t leave the Church nor the ministry, although he took up an additional secular job to support the same Church that refused his divine rights. I Totally agree with the citation on 1 Corinthians 4:4-5, and on love. They give us some food for thoughts. We must avoid judging others, for only God can reveal the “why” people do certain things the “way” they do them. And Love truly does all these things you mentioned. Thank you for that great input of yours. And congratulations, your answer is among the many impressive answers that we have.
Pastor Kunle manifested the following fruits of love, self-control, gentleness, forbearance, and faithfulness. With his love, he was able to stay on because he had a deep affection for his Church and family members. His Self-control helped him by giving him the ability to remain calm and not show his emotions. The fruit of forbearance made him able to hold on because he was patient with his church members. Then faithfulness comes in and helped him stay on regardless. Secondly, the fruit of faithfulness which he had made him secure a job and support his ministry and family. Finally, gentleness made him be calm towards his ministry members in a difficult situation.
Your points and commentary were good although condensed. We had expected more from you too and we know you understood the subject but didn’t say much about the other fruits. Next time be so free to say your mind, I mean, others want to learn too. Thanks so much for the contribution. We loved it.
Pastor Kunle exhibited all the fruits of the spirit, but among them all, it is forbearance that was the most pronounced. All the other fruits lead to forbearance. Love, peace, self-control, etc. It takes forbearance to love, to control one’s self, and to be peaceable. When you love, you bear. When you have self-control, you bear. When you have peace, you bear. Forbearance is the product of all other fruits of the spirit.
Totally from a different interesting angle. I do agree with your stance on this. You could have said more. Thanks, though, for such interesting input.
All of the fruits of the spirit were manifested. In light of the fruits of the spirits that Pastor Kunle manifested, the following could be said:
1) LOVE: Love helped to soften his heart no matter the unbelieving attitude of his members. It also helped him to control his emotions as in 1 Cor 13:4-7, which says love always hopes and perseveres.
2) JOY: Joy exists in the presence of suffering. It helped him to remain steadfast to his members, expecting that they’ll change for the better. He also believed James 1:2 which says, ”Count it all joy, my brothers when you meet trials of various kinds”.
3) PEACE: His heart was peaceful, which made him not to lose hope even when his members were unbelieving. Like Psalm 34:14-15 commands us to have peace with one another.
4) FORBEARANCE: Forbearance helped him to persevere which made him to continue preaching the word of God to his members even when they were unbelieving. It also made him not to give up on his pastoring job.
5) KINDNESS: Kindness helped him to forgive his members just as Christ forgave us (Ephesians 4:31-32). Also, he obeyed Luke 6:31-34 that commanded us to be kind to everyone.
6) GOODNESS: It helped him to be morally excellent over his members. It also helped him to continue relating with his members until they repented.
7) FAITHFULNESS: Only a faithful person can believe that God has absolute power to change circumstances. He believed that God can still change the heart of his members. He believed 2 Corinthians 5:7 which says that ”we walk by faith and not by sight” as well as 2 Peters 3:9.
8) GENTLENESS: Gentleness helped him to be humble because sometimes it requires humility to control people. Also, gentleness helped him to have a compassionate approach towards the weakness of his members as well as helping him to control his anger.
9) SELF CONTROL: It made him manage his emotions and his actions well which eventually helped him not to harm his members. Pastor kunle is a man of great character.
Great presentation and brilliant Bible citations, Stan. Congratulations, your answer was chosen among the many impressive answers that we have.
Pastor Kunle manifested forbearance, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. In forbearance, he endured with patience the hard times he faced. His gentleness helped him to minister faithfully to his congregation in spite of their hardness of heart. His self-control helped him to curtail his desires, live within his means while also fending for Church and family.
Okay, Josh. You stood for three of the fruits and applied them to the context. Thanks for the contribution. Also, take a minute to read the selected answers of others. They had something interesting too.
Pastor Kunle manifested the fruits of patience, love, self-control. But as a minister of the gospel, you suppose to have all the fruits of the spirit to keep you moving.
Not only the ministers but all Christians who are in Christ do have all of these fruits in them. The question is: do they allow the fruits to come out? But you briefly mentioned only three of the fruits yet expected Pastor Kunle to have it all?! You would have mentioned all and demonstrated how you think they helped him pull through. Thanks for the contribution, Callistus. Take a moment to see what others said about this subject.
There’s one fruit that Pastor Kunle exhibited that was not mentioned and that gift is Patience. Pastor Kunle was patient and in the end, he achieved his aim.
Hello Kenneth, Forbearance is the same as Patience, and it is not a gift but a fruit of the spirit just as mentioned in the Bible Galatians 5:22-23. We had expected more from you but we’re glad you expressed your point. Take a moment, please, to see what others have to say on this. Thank you for participating.
In the story above Pastor Kunle manifested all the nine fruits:
Love
Joy
Peace
Forbearance
Kindness
Goodness
Faithfulness
Gentleness
Self-control
There are many Bible verses to follow it but I will use one for each point.
Love: 1 John 4:7, Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Pastor Kunle loves his members, trying to bind them and God’s words together in perfect harmony. He showed his love unto them to clear their minds out from the wrongdoings and turn them to God. Love conquers over all errors.
Joy: Neh 8:10 says, “Do not grieve for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” This joy of the lord simply is the gladness of the heart, that comes when one knows God, abides in Christ, and being filled with the Holy Spirit. Pastor Kunle knows God, abides in Christ, and was filled with the Holy Spirit so he kept teaching the truth of God’s Word to his church members. Even through trials of life we know we are children of God no one can snatch us away from him. Because of the joy and gladness of our heart.
Peace: Eph 4:3 says to “Do your best to preserve the unity which the Spirit gives by means of the peace that binds you together.” Pastor Kunle filled with the peace of the Holy Spirit used it to bring his members together, and through the Holy Spirit, he chose not to give up hope. He lived in harmony with his congregations.
Forbearance: Self-restraint, Hebrews 10:35-36 “Therefore don’t throw away your boldness, which has a great reward. For you need endurance so that having done the will of God, you may receive the promise.” Pastor Kunle restrained himself from backing off from the work of God. He endured all the trials and sufferings. Till his work for God manifested in his members.
Faithfulness: Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” Pastor Kunle believed and trusted in the Lord that He will change his members’ hearts to turn to Him. His Faith was steadfast and he was also committed.
Goodness: James 3:13, “Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. The Pastor was good and showed his goodness to his members and changed their minds to repent. Just like in Matthew 12:35, “The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.”
Gentleness: Is the humble and meek attitude of wanting to help other people instead of wanting to be superior to them. James 4:6 and 1 Peter 5:5 both say God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Pastor Kunle showed gentleness to his members never tried to show them he was superior to them. Humility was his guide. He was wanting to help them with his meekness, humble and gentle attitude.
Kindness: Basically kindness means doing thoughtful deeds to others. Phil 2:3-4, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interest but also for the interest of others.” Pastor Kunle acted through with the verse above. He was kind to his members mainly for their interest to turn to God but not for self-interest.
Self-control: Proverbs 25:28, éA man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls Proverbs 29:12, “A fool always loses his temper. But a wise man holds it back.” Pastor Kunle controlled himself by trusting in God and not letting trials and tribulations by his members weigh him down or let him turn his back to God. He controlled his emotions.
Great!!! All the fruits were present, you said!! Your response was creative and on point. Good presentation and relevant bible citations. Congratulations! Your answer is the third chosen answer among the many impressive answers that we have. A Good contribution, indeed, and thanks for sharing.
My contribution to the above discussion are as follows,
Pastor kunle firstly manifested the spirit of FAITHFULNESS in the sense that, he humbled himself and answered his calling as a Pastor, at the same time he was faithful in his worship of God(Romans 4:1-5).
And secondly, he possessed the quality of LOVE. If not for the love that he had for his members he would’ve left the Church and the ministry and sought a nice job for himself and his family, but he didn’t leave the ministry because of the LOVE. His first love for his heavenly father was greater than all other things on earth. And this love comes from John 3:16. It was the love that God had for mankind that made his only begotten son to die for mankind. We also read about this love in John 13:34-35-36 where Jesus told his disciples about love and loving others. Scriptures also talk about love in 1 John 3:1, 11, 4:7, 10, 9.
And thirdly, he exercised FORBEARANCE in the sense that he didn’t give up no matter the condition he found himself in. And at the end, he experienced the joy that was when the members came to their senses and repented
Thank you for joining the conversation, Michelle. Yes, love is the greatest of all gifts and this comes from the Father of our faith. We appreciate your contribution.
Though the Pastor has all the fruits of the spirit, it was faithful and self-control that helped him overcome.
His self-control helped him stay in peace with them, being good and kind to them at a difficult time. And with it, he could forbear any hardship for God,s sake. He accommodated all he preached. He never gave up.
Thanks, Hakim for your thoughts on the conversation. Take a moment to go through what others have to say on this.
Apart from joy, Pastor Kunle Johnson manifested all the other fruits of the spirit. 1. LOVE: love is the driving force for genuine service. That is service that is independent of situations, service that is after adding value to lives and not intent on selfish gain.
With love as a Fruit of the spirit at work in him, he was able to make sacrificial service. He continued to serve in spite of difficulty and lack of success. The Bible records in Genesis 29:20 that Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his LOVE for her. Jacob had to serve another seven years in Laban’s house because he was given Leah instead of Rachel (Genesis 29:23-28).
So the undying passion for God and His people was what kept Pastor Kunle Johnson serving in spite of his members’ disagreement to pay tithes and give offerings.
2. FAITHFULNESS: he was faithful to the one that called him to service (God), knowing that God who called him to service is too faithful to fail and only Him can transform or change men. His being faithful proved the devil wrong. His faithfulness really paid in the end as the congregation agreed to his teachings, began to pay their tithes, and also give offerings thereby proving the devil a liar in his efforts to blind the minds of the people and contradict God’s word to them. Indeed our faith in God proves the devil a liar.
3. PEACE: the Bible encourages us to follow peace with all men. Conditions are therefore not attached in our following of peace with all men. In Spite of the disagreement, he held his peace. Never insulted the congregation, never cursed them but instead took a job to support the ministry and never left the congregation without a shepherd.
4. GENTLENESS/SELF-CONTROL: I combine these two though they are separate. With gentleness comes self-control. He was gentle and controlled himself not to let his feelings burst at the congregation. If he had reacted angrily to his congregation’s disagreement to offer tithe, offerings and to yield to his teachings, many members would have left the Church. But because he was gentle and controlled himself, no member left and he had a positive result in the end. Gentleness/self-control helped to check his anger as opposed to Moses when the people provoked him to anger.
5. KINDNESS: for him to take a job to support the ministry showed pure kindness. He withheld no kindness from them and this helped him to keep on pastoring and working to support the ministry. Without kindness, he would not have thought of supporting the ministry when he got the job.
6. FORBEARANCE: this fruit of the spirit refrained him from giving up on the small Church he was pastoring. Forbearance gave him the impetus to hold onto the pastoring as well as look for a job to support it.
7. JOY: I believe joy was the end product of the manifestation of the other fruits of the spirit. THE FRUITS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT ARE INDEED A GREAT ASSET TO EVERY BELIEVER!
You made a great point there: “THE FRUITS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT ARE INDEED A GREAT ASSET TO EVERY BELIEVER.” And that’s an all-time truth. Joy is unlike happiness. While happiness can manifest as a result of something good or a result of an action, biblical Joy is the opposite. It comes first before any expected end and even remains unchanged when what is expected fails. Thus, it does not depend on situations as happiness does. You can be joyful in the face of defeat, crisis, hardship just like the Macedonians were (2 Corinthians 8:2). Therefore, Joy isn’t really the end product but one of the very first fruits that someone experiences which also helps carry one through to the other fruits. Remember that the joy of the Lord is your strength. That strength/Joy can cause you to experience others as well.
Secondly, gentleness and self-control, just as the Bible listed them, are two different fruits with different characteristics as well. Your presentation, although with very limited Bible citations, was a good one. We are so glad you did participate in the conversation. Thank you, Okeke.
1) Pastor Kunle Johnson manifested all the fruits of the spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Forbearance, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control until he saw positive changes in the lives of his congregants.
2) The fruits that helped him overcome his trials are as follows:
LOVE: His intense feeling of affection for God and the things of God like evangelism, according to Mark 16:15, and caring for God’s sheep made him overcome his trials. He loved his calling as a Pastor, he loved God that was the reason for his act of obedience according to John 14:15, and he also loved his members as commanded by God in John 15:12 and 17.
JOY: He derived joy in obeying and teaching the truth about God’s word according to 3 John 4 until the members repented. He accepted and enjoyed the calling without complaint of what to gain or lose and with the Lord’s joy that gave him strength as in Nehemiah 8:10b and James 1:2 that encouraged him, he was able to scale through.
PEACE: Romans 8:6 says the mind of a sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace. He allowed the spirit of peace to take over him which helped him to maintain a peaceful atmosphere and with the peace of God that Jesus left in him as seen in John 14:27, he never argued with the members based on their decision.
FORBEARANCE: James 5:7 says to “Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the father waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains.” This is what he did, being a man that knows the truth about God’s Word, he built up his faith which made him to persevere as James 1:4 says that ”perseverance must finish its work so that he may be mature and complete lacking nothing.” He was tempted to leave pastoring but this fruit made him endure knowing that he was doing good which is commendable before God as in 1 Peter 2:20b.
KINDNESS: Kindness is a byproduct of love. 1 Corinthians 13:4a says that Love is patient and love is kind. He was kind enough to take up a job to support the church all for love. He practiced what is written in Ephesians 4:32.
GOODNESS: In Proverbs 11:23, it says ”The desire of the righteous ends only in good, but the hope of the wicked only in wrath.” For him to hold upon his teachings about giving & receiving against all odds means that he has a strong faith that something good will come out of it at the end which is the desire of the righteous. One cannot give out what he doesn’t have. Goodness is generated from the inside. Pastor Kunle led by example by showing the members how to serve God with your resources (time and money) with the help of the spirit of goodness in him, and God favored him as in Proverbs 12:2.
FAITHFULNESS: Matthew 24:45 adds that ”Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time?” The answer is Pastor Kunle. He devoted himself fully to the service of God and humanity. Unlike so many, he did not peddle the Word of God for profit, he spoke the truth about God’s Word with sincerity, withholding nothing like a man sent from God 2 Corinthians 2:17.
GENTLENESS: 2 Timothy 2:24 reads, ”And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. These are the biblical attributes of a gentleman which I believe Pastor Kunle possessed because no quarrel was recorded between his members and him, and he was able to teach the truth of God’s Word showing no feeling of anger until they repented. He was tempted to leave but he humbled himself and took a job, he was peaceable and considerate and showed humility towards all men Titus 3:2.
SELF-CONTROL: Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control (Proverbs 25:28). The spirit of self-control helped him to keep his body under control with little or no anger about what was happening in his church, lest he will be disqualified after preaching to others without winning souls for Christ 1 Corinthians 9:27.
GOD IS A SPIRIT and THEY THAT WORSHIP HIM MUST WORSHIP HIM IN SPIRIT and IN TRUTH. You can’t achieve that without the fruits of the spirit.
You said “GOD IS A SPIRIT and THEY THAT WORSHIP HIM MUST WORSHIP HIM IN SPIRIT and IN TRUTH. You cannot achieve that without the fruits of the spirit.” To this, we say, “Yes indeed.” It couldn’t be truer!!! Excellent write-up, Desty!! It was creative, elaborate, and insightful. It achieved a great deal of clarity, and you showed a good understanding of the Word and use of Scripture. Your citations, biblically speaking, were so relevant. Keep it up, Angel!! With such a write-up, your answer was chosen by the panel as the best among the many impressive answers that we received. CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! So glad about your contribution.
Pastor Kunle possessed all the nine fruits of the spirit according to the book of Galatians chapter 5 verses 22 through 23. Because of these fruits of the spirit, pastor Kunle had been able to endure and manage the congregants until they repented of their sins and followed the true light of God. The rewards of Pastor Kunle will be great in heaven because he did not run away from his congregants when they were ignorant about the mystery of God’s kingdom rather he stood with them and taught them until they received truth. Pastor Kunle fulfilled his commission which God committed into his hand.
Thanks, Alex for joining the conversation. There’s truth in what you said. Many answers like yours are very insightful. Please, take a moment to read the contributions of others as well.